So much has happened since I wrote anything substantial on the Mamas, I guess I'll just have to kind of back up and start where I left off.
We had our December meeting of the Inkblots, my book club, the week before Christmas. December is an important meeting for us, because we set the calendar and selections for the next year. Everyone came with some suggestions, and so I think we have a nice mixed bag of things to read for next year:
January: Mother Angelica by Raymond Arroyo. I've already read this one, but no one else had. It's definitely worth the read, but now I can't find my copy (surely I didn't check it out of the library, did I?) and have to buy a new one.
February: Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt. This one was my suggestion. It has been on so many "must read" lists that I've lost count. I worry that that means that I will hate it, being the contrarian that I am. One less book to buy, as I already own this one.
March: The Cave by Jose Saramago. Picked by our "retired English teacher" member. It will either be great or terrible. Her choices have always left us either blown away or scratching our heads.
April: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. Recommended by a member of the group who said, "I hated it when this book ended." A memoir with recipes.
May: The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin. We wanted to read a couple of selections from the Loyola Classics imprint; this is one of our choices for the year. All of us have seen (and loved) the movie. We hope that the book will be even better. But we may all watch the movie again at the May meeting.
June: Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi. Nazis and a dwarf. Another selection by our retired teacher. I got a copy for Christmas. Now it'll sit in the "to read" pile for a couple of months. This was an Oprah book club selection, so us picking it violated one of the founding rules of the group: "No Oprah books". Ah, well, Oprah also picked A Fine Balance which is one of the finest books I've read in the past few years, so she has an OK track record by me.
July: The Golem by Isaac Bashevis Singer. A short book, by an author I really like, because of what we're reading in August!
August: The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. I have mixed feelings about Merton, and I read this several years ago. I'll have to re-read this one, it's been too long.
September: Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris. I read this years ago, upon recommendation of my priest. It was good, but another I'll have to re-read. I also have to re-buy, since I apparently gave my copy away. I'm bad about that.
October: Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy by Rumer Godden. This one is being reissued by the Loyola Classics folks. We loved In This House of Brede so much that we couldn't wait to put this one on the list.
November: The Light of Evening by Edna O'Brien. A book just out, set in Ireland. We're waiting until the end of the year, hoping it'll come out in paperback, or at least get enough used copies to make it affordable through Alibris or the Amazon used book sellers.
December: The Saintmaker's Christmas Eve by Paul Horgan. We read Things As They Are by this author in 2006. While he won Pulitzers for his history writing, he is also pretty darn good at fiction. Plus we wanted something "Christmas-y" in December.
There you have it. Any of you read any of these?
You might consider the audiobook version of Mother Angelica. I hear that it is suppose to be pretty funny since Raymond does a great imitation of Mother Angelica and he also imitates a whole bunch of other people.
Love Possession! Looking forward to your thoughts on it.
I'll pass the list, or at least the January selection, on to dad so he can get it for mom. She doesn't come home till Monday, I miss her.
It is Kathleen Norris, not Morris - and I love her writing though I worry about her theology just a little bit.
My favorite short bit by her is an address she gave to a college audience - The Quotidian Mysteries. One line - she was at a Mass (not really knowing what was going on) and at the end was fascinated by the priest purifying the sacred vessels - "Look - he's doing the dishes!"
Alicia, thanks for the catch. It was a mis-type, and I have corrected it! I know what you mean about her theology, but since she wasn't a Catholic when she was there (did she ever convert?), we should be able to keep that in mind...
Aisling, I mailed your mom a copy of the list. Could you find out if it arrived?
Jeff, I'm looking for the audiobook now; it's checked out of our library.
CJ, now I just hope I like the book!
I read Tender at the Bone last year and really enjoyed it. I've also read Riechl's book "Comfort Me with Apples".
I enjoy Isaac Bashevis Singer's writing. I'm slowly currently reading "The Cloister Walk". I laughed aloud when I read Alicia's comment. I worry about her theology a bit too, but I'm Presbyterian! And the Quotidian Mysteries is the best that I've read of Norris so far.
I appreciate reading your book list because it exposes me to fine books I don't usually run across.