The Catholic Book Club discussion

It is time to vote for our January 2020 BOTM. You may vote for as many as two books from the Voting List below. A reminder: after voting, all books that get 0 or 1 vote will be removed from the Voting List – those that get 1 vote will be returned to the end of the Nominations List – and no book is protected from removal. Fratelli Tutti has been added to the list for a second month as the Current Interest Book.

Voting will remain open until approximately 6:00 P.M. Central Time on December 18.

Bodies and souls, by Maxence Van der Meersch, nominated by Fonch.
This dramatic novel about doctors, students, nurses and patients, has become a classic. It seems to be difficult to obtain in English (it doesn't even have a page in Goodreads), but it can easily be got in other languages (French, Spanish or Italian). This is their page in Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Voting History: August 2020 - 2; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 3; December 2020 - 2

The Divine Milieu, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Teilhard de Chardin -- geologist, priest, and major voice in twentieth-century Christianity -- probes the ultimate meaning of all physical exploration and the fruit of his own inner life. The Divine Milieu is a spiritual treasure for every religion bookshelf.
Voting History: August 2020 - 1; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 1; December 2020 - 2

Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn, nominated by Fonch
In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and has never been resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend Sharon, become interested. Tom indeed becomes obsessed. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't and that violates everything Tom knows about history. What's was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?
Voting History: December 2020 - 5

God or Nothing, by Robert Sarah, nominated by John
The idea of putting Magisterial teaching in a beautiful display case while separating it from pastoral practice, which then could evolve along with circumstances, fashions, and passions, is a sort of heresy, a dangerous schizophrenic pathology. I therefore solemnly state that the Church in Africa is staunchly opposed to any rebellion against the teaching of Jesus and of the Magisterium. . . . The Church of Africa is committed in the name of the Lord Jesus to keeping unchanged the teaching of God and of the Church.
Voting History: None

In This House of Brede, by Rumer Godden, nominated by Mariangel
This extraordinarily sensitive and insightful portrait of religious life centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful professional woman who leaves her life among the London elite to join a cloistered Benedictine community.
Voting History: December 2020 - 5

Invasion '14, by Maxence Van der Meersch, nominated by John
Novel about the effects of the War on the French families behind the German lines.
Voting History: November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 2

The Light: Who Do You Become When the World Falls Away?, by Jacqueline Brown, nominated by Madeleine
A blinding flash … then darkness. Bria Ford and her three closest friends are stranded on a country highway in the middle of a November night. No phones. No car. No lights. Helpless and hundreds of miles from home, they put their lives in the hands of handsome Jonah Page and his flinty sister, East, strangers who somehow know Bria better than she knows herself. As the group bonds to adapt to a new, yet old, way of life, the secrets of Bria’s past provide them with the means to survive the extremes of Mother Nature, and the even more frightening extremes of human nature.
Voting History: August 2020 - 1; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 2; November 2020 - 1; December 2020 - 4

The Mango Murders, by Mara Campos, nominated by Madeleine
All is not what it seems in Old San Juan, in the Pio Nono home for boys, in the life of the island's most famous artist, or in the memories of his models. Detective Sergeant Julio Ramos and gringo FBI agent Steve Halloran work in uneasy alliance to catch a serial killer with a penchant for mangoes and a need to avenge lost love and lost innocence. To come to truth, the investigators have to face their own painful issues, and even their targets must choose between light or darkness. In language, memory, race, and blood, the novel tells the story of the burden and the promise of identity.
Voting History: August 2020 - 3; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 2; November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 2

The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis, by Carrie Gress PhD, nominated by Marlicia
As the world descends into chaos, Christians are thinking deeply about how to stem the tide. Many options and suggestions have been presented to deal with Christian persecution and cultural decadence, but none can hold a candle to The Marian Option.
Dr. Carrie Gress provides a thoroughly researched bird’s eye view of the significant cultural and military events mediated through Mary on behalf of her spiritual children. From miraculous victories to the soaring heights of culture, you have never seen Mary like this before. Until now, books on the Virgin Mary have generally focused upon one apparition or various theological elements of this mysterious woman. But the scope of The Marian Option is far greater. Drawing from a vast array of dogmas, Vatican approved apparitions, and writings of the saints, Dr. Gress has pulled together the remarkable story of Mary’s overwhelming influence and intercession.
Voting History: August 2020 - 1; September 2020 - 3; October 2020 - 2; November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 3

Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Sergio
A collection of essays relating to his conversion to Catholicism.
Voting History: November 2020 - 1; December 2020 - 2

Paul: A Biography, N.T. Wright, nominated by Jill
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology—transforming a faith and changing the world.
Voting History: August 2020 - 3; September 2020 - 5; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 1; December 2020 - 5

Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria, nominated by Fonch
An explosion is heard off the coast of sixteenth-century England, and a woman washes up on the shore. She is barely alive and does not speak English, but she asks for a priest... in Latin. She has a confession to make and a story to tell, but who is she and where has she come from? Cast out of her superstitious, Maltese family, Warda turns to begging and stealing until she is fostered by an understanding Catholic priest who teaches her the art of healing. Her willful nature and hard-earned independence make her unfit for marriage, and so the good priest sends Warda to serve an anchorite, in the hope that his protege will discern a religious vocation.
Voting History: August 2020 - 1; September 2020 - 5; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 4

Race with the Devil by Joseph Pearce proposed by Fonch.
Joseph Pearce is foremost Catholic biographer of our time, but it wasn't always so. Imagine discovering God for the first time in the confines of a jail cell. Imagine spending the first half your life amidst the seedy underground of the white supremacy movement before becoming one of the foremost Religious scholars in the world. Imagine being converted by the writings of Chesterton, and years later writing a biography on him. Joseph Pearce doesn't have to imagine it - he lived it.
"In Race With the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love" take a journey through the peaks and valleys of one of the most fascinating conversion stories of our time, written first-hand by Pearce himself.
Voting History: October 2020 - 4; November 2020 - 4; December 2020 - 6

The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips from an Expert, by Dan Gallagher
There are six interrelated segments to a complete financial plan: Cash & Budget Planning, Insurance & Risk Management, Tax Management, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, and Estate Planning. What aspects of the financial plan require sophisticated planning by a professional, and what can savvy, well-educated consumers handle themselves? The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning empowers readers to take charge of their financial present and future, regardless of where they are financially, by presenting technical jargon in a way that's easy to understand.
Voting History: August 2020 - 2; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 2; November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 2

Understanding The Mass, by Maynard Kolodziej, nominated by The Catholic Book
Understanding the Mass from Catholic Book Publishing is a practical, easy-to-use and understand booklet about the Mass. Written by Rev. Maynard Kolodziej, O.F.M., Understanding the Mass contains helpful and informative explanations about the meaning of Holy Week, the Paschal Mystery, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. With an attractively photographed, flexible cover, this booklet is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to participate more deeply and fully in the Mass.
Voting History: None

And, in its second appearance as the Current Interest Book:
Fratelli tutti. Sulla fraternità e l'amicizia sociale, by Pope Francis, nominated by Jill
Pope Francis’s third Encyclical Letter. Pope Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, invites every Christian to be a Good Samaritan, to embrace and care for others with a humble and open heart. Pope Francis challenges us to rise above the isolation and discouragement that is so prevalent in our world today and to set our sights on Christ's call to love one another deeply and sacrificially.
No one is disposable, Pope Francis reminds us, and every person is endowed with dignity as a daughter or and son of God. This truth allows us to acknowledge, appreciate, and love each person. It also allows us to meet people in their place of suffering‚ whether it be the physical suffering of hunger or exploitation, or the unseen suffering of loneliness.
Voting History: December 2020 - 2

My votes are for Bodies and souls, by Maxence Van der Meersch, and The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips from an Expert, by Dan Gallagher.

I vote for these.
Bodies and souls
God or Nothing
Paul, a Biography

Nelson wrote: "I vote for these.
Bodies and souls
God or Nothing
Paul, a Biography"

Hi Nelson, you may only vote for two. If you don't revise your vote, I will count the first two for your votes.

Nelson wrote: "I vote for these.
Bodies and souls
God or Nothing
Paul, a Biography"
Nelson you only can vote for two books and you have put three books you will have to choose two out three.

I will cast my votes for

God or Nothing

and

Paradoxes of Catholicism

Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria
Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

Invasion 14'
Poor banished children

the Marian Option

God or Nothing

God or Nothing by Robert Sarah
Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson
God or Nothing, by Cardinal Sarah

In This House of Brede, by Rumer Godden

God or Nothing
Race with the Devil

The Marian Option
Mango Murders

My votes are for:
Bodies and souls, by Maxence Van der Meersch
The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips from an Expert, by Dan Gallagher.

In this house of Brede
The light

I vote - Poor Banished Children, by Michael Flynn and Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

In This House of Brede
Invasion '14

The light
In this house of Brede

In this House of Brede
The Marian Optiom

Paul - NT Wright
God or Nothing - Robert Sarah

Paul, by N.T. Wright

The Mango Murders

Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

In this House of Brede

Bodies and Souls
and
Invasion 14

God or Nothing by Robert Sarah
Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

Race with Devil or Paul, A Biography.

Voting is closed. Results will be posted shortly.