Take your book catalog on the go with LibraryThing's new app!

The fourteenth century Bishop of Durham, Richard de Bury (d. 1345), wrote an entire book on the love of books, Philobiblon (excerpts from which are given in this post at Medievalists.net), in which he waxed poetically and movingly of the value of books, saying:

How safely we lay bare the poverty of human ignorance to books without feeling any shame! They are masters who instruct us without rod or ferule, without angry words, without clothes or money. If you come to them they are not asleep; if you ask and inquire of them they do not withdraw themselves; they do not chide if you make mistakes; they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. O books, who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully!

A lover of books for as long I can remember, I have several times said (partly) in jest that I intend to be my own library by the time of dead. To this end, I have acquired more than 1,500 books in my 37 years of life. This is, if my say so, a worthy start.

Of course, having such a collection of books needs a way to keep track of the books and to prevent acquiring a copy of the same book twice (as sometimes happens). To assist with this, I have for years made use of LibraryThing, a personal online catalog of sorts. After you have created an account, you can add books from your library to your online catalog using the title, author, and even the ISBN number (which I find to be the most efficient way).

Yesterday I noticed that LibraryThing finally has an app for the iPhone which you can freely acquire at the Apple store. I have been very impressed with the app so far, which even allows you to scan the bar code of a book and add it to your catalog. With this app, you'll never be far away from the books in your collection and can see if you already have a copy of a book that catches your eye.

Having so many books, of course, makes an arduous task of moving house but, because as Richard de Bury also says, "Books delight us, when prosperity smiles upon us; they comfort us inseparably when stormy fortune frowns on us," the effort is well worth the trouble (and provides an easy way to find out who your real friends are).

And while we are on the topic of the love of books, here's an interesting manuscript image of a deceased bibliophile:

Buried with books. In case you get bored being dead. @MorganLibrary m454.021ra pic.twitter.com/YvX055MVCp

— Dr. Zweder Masters (@Zweder_Masters) November 7, 2015

To gift a book

Make Twain once said, "Books! I dunno if I ever told you this, but books are the greatest gift one person can give another."  I could not agree more with this sentiment.

No one who gives a book as a gift does so randomly, either a random book or to a random person (and certainly not both!).  No, giving a book is always a personal choice, either in the choice of the book that is given or in the choice of the person to whom the book is given (and often both).  Even when given as a gag gift, a book is chosen for the person; one isn't simply taken off of the shelf and handed over.  Indeed, the best book given is the one specifically chosen for a specific person, but such a choice is rarely easy because it is so deeply personal.

To give a book is to reveal something of the giver and of his relationship to the receiver.  No one who gives a book gifts a book he does not enjoy himself.  What would be the point?  The choice of the book that is given reveals more than the givers interests - sports, art, history, theology, trivia, etc.; it reveals something about his personality, about what he holds dear and what he deems important, important and dear enough to share.

Books given for particularly important occasions - such as Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, etc. - are usually given not because they are especially useful but because they have made an impact on the one who gives the book.  In the choice of a gifted book, something of the giver's soul is revealed and the giver makes himself somewhat vulnerable in this action.  He opens himself up to the one to whom he gives the book and quietly opens the way for a conversation about what he values most.

At the same time, the choice of the person to whom a book is given often says, with more or fewer words, that the giver has found in the receiver something of a kindred spirit, one who is inspired by the same interests and holds the same things dear.  To give a book to another is recognize a bond of friendship that is shared, or at least to recognize the potential for such a bond to develop.  Hence Voltaire's quip that "only your friends steal your books."

Difficult and risky as it is, this Christmas why not give the gift of a book?  Make it personal, and make it matter.  What book has molded, changed, or inspired you?  Let it do the same for another. If you do, your books may not be stolen.

A good book for children

As you likely know, on Saturday of next week, March 17, Holy Mother Church will observe the memorial of Saint Patrick.

As I made my way to back to Springfield from Tucson through the airport in San Franciscan, I stopped at what I think is the best airport book store I've ever found.  In it, on a table of various Irish-themed books, I found one by favorite children's author, Tomie dePaola: Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.

When I saw it, I decided to pick one up for my nephew.  It is a typical work by dePaola and contains a couple of stories from Saint Patrick's life about which I was unaware.  Now I wish I'd picked up another copy for myself; dePaola's books are great for reading to grade school students.  And older students, too, and even adults, especially The Clown of God.

What's on your night stand?

One of my long-time friends recently asked me for a list of books she should read.  After a quick perusal through my shelves I sent her the following list (in no particular order):

• The Clown of God by Tomie dePaolo
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel
• The Life of St. Clare Virgin by Thomas (Tomaso) of Celano
• Seven Words of Jesus and Mary by Fulton J. Sheen
• The Art of Dying Well by Robert Bellarmine
• Angels (And Demons) by Peter Kreeft
• Ten Dates Every Catholic Should Know by Diane Moczar
• The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins
• The Art of Loving God by St. Francis de Sales
• The Fulfillment of All Desire: A Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints by Ralph Martin

Now you have you reading list for 2012.  Enjoy!

A little request

Have any of my Quincy readers seen Michael K. Brinkman's two volume work, Quincy, Illinois Immigrants from Munsterland, Westphalia Germany?

The work intrigues me, but I'm not sure I want to buy the volumes. If you happen to have a copy of it, would you mind checking the index for Zehnles? If we're in there, then I'll happy purchase a set.

This looks promising

Last year when I made my first annual retreat in Hawaii, I brought with me His Eminence Christopher Cardinal Schönborn's Loving the Church. It is a series of retreat meditations he preached to the Servant of God Pope John Paul II and the Papal household.

I think I've just found the book for my retreat next year.

Ignatius Press has recently published a series of meditations preached by His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze to the Holy Father Benedict XVI and the Papal Household: Meeting Jesus and Following Him.

Nearing publication

You may remember some time ago Word Among Us Press contacted me requesting permission to use my vocation story for publication in a book being published in honor of the Year for Priests, A Priest's Life: The Calling, the Cost, the Joy.

Yesterday I received word that the book has gone to press and will be available 1 March 2010. You can place an order for the book now and it will be shipped to you when it is available.

Two new books you should get

Friday I stopped in Effingham for dinner with several friends and stopped by the local Christian bookstore before hand on my way from a meeting in Mattoon.

I was looking for Francis Cardinal George's new book, The Difference God Makes and found two recently released books from Baker Academic in their Catholic Commentary on Scripture series: II Corinthians and Ephesians. I've used the volume on Mark extensively and highly recommend it.

If you haven't looked at this series yet, be sure to do so.

Looking for a good book?

Among the most common ways of honoring the Lord's Day are attending Holy Mass and visiting with family and friends. These days, another good way to keep Sunday is very much under-appreciated: reading spiritual books.

This afternoon I read Mike Aquilina's Angels of God: The Bible, the Church and the Heavenly Powers (Cincinnati, Ohio: Servant Books, 2009).

This short book, consisting on an introduction, twelve chapters, and a selection of prayers, hymns and prayers, is an excellent resource both for learning more about angels and for teaching others about them.

Aquilina addresses the creation of the angels, free will in relation to the angels and the role of angels in the lives of men. He also includes chapters on the Archangels Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. Of particular interest to me was his insightful chapter on the guardian angels. Consider this:

Our angels can be immensely helpful too in everyday life. We can call upon
our own angel as well as the angels of those around us - our family members,
coworkers, neighbors and even our adversaries...

If you're married, for example, it's useful to know that your spouse's angel wants you to succeed in creating a happy home. You can ask for the help of your honey's angel.

If you're a parent, it's helpful to keep in mind that your children have guardian angels, and those angels want you to succeed at parenting. So when you're beginning to lose patience, ask your own guardian angel to help you. If the situation keeps getting worse, call on your kid's guardian angel as well. If face, the system works best if you greet each child's angel (silently, in your heart) each time your the child strolls into your presence.

Saint Josemaria suggested that guardian angels can be a big help in evangelization too. "Win over the guardian angel of the one you want to draw to your apostolate. He is always a great 'acomplice'" (53-54).

I am happy to recommend this book to you. If this is a topic you are especially interested in, don't forget Peter Kreeft's excellent book, Angels and Demons: What Do We Really Know About Them? (San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press).

Looking for a good book?

If you are looking for a source for daily reflection and prayer for the season of Lent, let me recommend again to you Daily Prayer 2009.

The book contains the Gospel for each day of the year, together with a short reflection, a few intercessory prayers and a closing prayer. It can be a helpful book for those seeking an aide for daily prayer or a help for preachers in preparing a homily. The intercessions could also be used at Mass.

I was asked to author the prayers and reflections for Advent, Christmas, Lent and much of Easter (through the third week). Many parishioners have purchased the book and found my Advent reflections very helpful. It is my hope that they will also find my Lenten reflections to be of help.

As a sort of preview, here is the reflection I wrote for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday:

Why do we look for great reward here in this life? Why do we convince ourselves that this life matters more than the one to come? In these days of penance, we have a graced opportunity to encounter the mercy of the Lord and to carry our cross with him. If we abandon ourselves to the Lord he will not abandon us, but will cary us to the glory of the Resurrection. For what, then, are we waiting? Let us enthusiastically take up our cross, embrace our penance, and follow after the Master. If we lose our lives in Christ Jesus we will find all that our hearts have ever sought.

For the record, I have already received my compesation for my work and receive no futher proceeds from the sales of Daily Prayer 2009.

A handy book

The Word Among Us Press has brought us a very useful book for preachers and those seeking to learn the Gospels ever more deeply: The Joy of Knowing Christ: Meditations on the Gospels.

The anonymous editor of the book has gleamed the homilies and addresses of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for very treasures on certain passages of the Gospels.

This little book contains fifty-five meditations from the Holy Father on fifty-four passages from the Gospels and one from the Acts of the Apostles.

I expect to make much use of this book.

An excellent resource

If you're looking for a great book to help with a Bible Study - both for a group or for you individually - let me recommend to you the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series. I'd seen it advertised in jounals like First Things and decided to order the volume on The Gospel of Mark by Mary Healy.

Dr. Healy provides an introduction to the Gospel of Mark, and then procedes to comment on the text of the Gospel, giving both an historical and spiritual background.

The evidence of her research is seen clearly through the excellent connections between the Gospel and the Old Testament.

The volume provides the places in the Lectionary where a particular passage is found, as well as Old Testament foreshadowings and New Testament parallels, and commentaries in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I used this volume to help prepare my homily for this weekend (the text of which I have abandoned in light of the auto accident, for which reason there is no homily post this week); this may be the best Scripture commentary I've seen.

You can read an excert from the book here. I look forward to seeing other volumes in this series.

A shameless plug

If you're looking for a book for daily prayer for next year, let me recommend Daily Prayer 2009, published by Liturgy Training Publications.

DP 2009 roughly follows the order of the Liturgy of the Hours and includes an antiphon, Psalm, reading, reflection, intercessions and prayer for each day of the year. The reading comes from the readings for the Mass of the day. Each reflection is brief and can help with homily preparation or reflections for the RCIA. The intercessions could easily be used at daily Mass.

LTP approached me and invited me to be involved in this project. It was my pleasure to author the reflections for the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Lent.

I'm pleased to say that DP 2009 is now available.

N.B.: I have already received compensation for my work. This plug will not profit me financially in any way.

The Life of St. Anthony of Padua

Browsing around this afternoon I stumbled upon the web site of Edizioni Messagero in Padua, Italy.

From the web site you can order the Assidua, the Life of St. Anthony written by a Franciscan who was a contemporary of the Evangelic Doctor.

To my knowledge, this is the only English translation of the life of the Saint. I finally found it this past January when in the Vatican bookstore. It is very good.

You can also order several other books concerning the Saint of Padua, most notably his Sermsons for Sundays and Festivals two volumes, one for Sundays from Septuagesima to Pentecost and the other From the First Sunday after Pentecost to the Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost.

There are a few other books whose titles are in English but whose descriptions are not. I may order or two and let you know what I think of them.

Unfortunately, the web site seems only to be in Italian so you'll have to guess your way around.

Book Memories

A Catholic Mom in Hawaii has tagged me for the Book Memories Meme:

1. Do you associate reading particular books with the places you read them or events of the time you read them?

I want to say that I do but as I try to think of what book I associate with what place I can't really think of any, so I suppose I don't. From time to time as I read a book again I may remember where I was I first read it. I suppose the only book that I associate with a place - off the top of my head - is Pope Benedict XVI's Deus caritas love. When I was in Hawaii I read a good portion of it on Sunset Beach. That was a beautiful day.

2. Do you remember the books you read or do they fade quickly? Or do you remember some better than others? How about remember details like character names, not just overall plot?

More often than not I don't quite remember but thumbing through them very briefly it starts to come back to me. I've one of cursed memories that remembers what pages look like. I can think of a quote - more or less - and know what author wrote it and get a visual in my mind of the layout of the page its on. I then go to my books and start flipping hurriedly through the books of that author until I see the page layout I wand and then skim until I find the quote. It works 85% of the time (give or take a couple of pages). Character names aren't always so clear for me but the general plot usual sticks, though I may a reminder or two to get it going.

3. Have you ever forgotten you've read/own a book and borrowed/bought it again?

Not so much that I've read a book, but that I own it. That's one reason I've started using Library Thing. Now when I see a book I'm not sure if I own I hop online and find out (though I've only added a third of my library...).

If you want to be tagged for this meme, you are!

Parental help needed

This query is directed primarily to parents, but anyone who has an answer may of course offer one.

One of my parishioners has asked me to recommend a good book on Saint John Bosco for her son, who has taken a liking to him recently. He is in, I believe, the seventh grade.

I can field many questions, but this one is out of my range of knowlege. I'm not sure at what level a seventh grader reads. I'm not even sure at what level the average American adult reads (though I'm sure it's not where it should be)!

Might any of you have any suggestions for me?

Good news

...via Amy: Our Sunday Visitor is preparing to publish Questions and Answers by Pope Benedict XVI in February. The book will be a collection of the questions the Holy Father has answered in various audiences since ascending the Chair of Peter.

It looks like you can get quite a deal through Amazon.com if you pre-order it.

Book Meme

Thom at Ad Dominum has tagged me a book meme. He likes to tag me for the ones that take some time to answer… Here goes:

One book that changed your life:
The First Life [of Saint Francis of Assisi] by Tomaso de Celano. If you haven’t read it yet you really should. It would make for a great Lenten read, as would Celano’s The Life of St. Clare, Virgin.

One book that you’ve read more than once:
Man at Play: Or Did You Ever Practice Eutrapelia? by Hugo Rahner (Karl’s older – and more easily understood – brother). This is a fantastic look at the theological and philosophical realities of play. Josef Pieper’s In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity goes right along these same lines, and is one I’ve read more than once.

One book you’d want on a desert island:
Given the usual wording is missing (“you can have only one”) this one isn’t so difficult to answer. Among the books I would have with me on said desert island would be Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. You have to have something to pass the time.

One book that made you laugh:
In Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus. There’s nothing finer than a dry, sarcastic wit!

One book that made you cry:
I can’t think of one, really. I think I almost cried when reading Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven by James Bryan Smith.

One book that you wish had been written:
Night Truly Blest: Reflections of the Exultet, so I would already be finished with it.

One book that you wish had never been written:
Oh, pick one by Martin Luther. Incidentally, if you haven’t read him yet you ought too, even if only to realize how very illogical and contradictory his argumentation is.

One book you’re currently reading:
The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. I saw it in the store one day and realized I’d never actually read them and thought I should.

One book you’ve been meaning to read:
The Fulfillment of All Desire by Ralph Martin. You can also pick a great many of the literary classics to answer this question.

Now tag five people:
Ellen, From Across the Net;
Esther, A Catholic Mom in Hawaii;
Peter at Utter Muttering;
Sr. Mary Martha of Ask Sister Mary Matha (who, by the way, now wears a Santa hat);
and Daniel at Ride of Rohirrim (maybe this will get him back to blogging again).

Your recommendations, please

One of my parishioners is looking for a book on the saints. In particular, she is looking for one that has several stories of saints, and especially the lives of more recent saints. Have you any suggestions?

Angels and demons

This morning as I was waiting as new tires were put on my car - apparently I'm not very kind to tires - I finished reading Angels (and Demons): What Do We Really Know About Them? by Peter Kreeft.

This publication of Ignatius Press is a series of one hundred questions Peter Kreeft has encountered in his teaching career, covering topics from whether or not angels exist to whether they can eat food, and everything in between. I daresay there is not a topic he does not include.

The answers he provides are clear, to the point, and always in line with Church teaching. This little book should be on the bookshelves of most everybody, especially as more and more people become interested in angels. It will be helpful for those who are simply curious and essential to those who wish to teach about angels.

I give it my hearty recomendation.