Reading suggestions from scholars—some long, some short…
Literature
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Man of Contradictions
I first discovered Mario Vargas Llosa in 1990 when I was in Peru to see a friend climb Machu Picchu and write an article That was the time when Vargas Llosa the novelist was running for president of Peru The guerilla movement Shining Path was terrorizing the countryside and the economy was fal
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
A Legend Unraveled
Cesar Chavez is widely considered a great American hero. But ‘From the Jaws of Victory’ by Matt Garcia explores some of the activist’s flaws not often acknowledged by those who know only the legend.
Posted inArts & Culture, Ideas
Beat Attitude: Jack Kerouac’s unexpected life
Despite his popular image, Jack Kerouac was born and died a self-identified Catholic.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
A Mother’s Tale
‘The Testament of Mary’ tells an intriguing though not always convincing story. It’s main character—and to an extent its only character—is an old woman fretting about her past as she tries to get the facts straight.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Youthful Indiscretions
Julian Barnes’s new novel is a philosophical mystery that morphs into a morality tale.
Posted inArts & Culture, In All Things
Readings: A Great Book is Like the Eucharist
I don rsquo t read on the beach The beach is for long walks and quick plunges into the surf I am at Sea Bright the northernmost town on the Jersey Shore for two weeks and I brought Pat Conroy rsquo s My Reading Life with me perfect company as I sit in the front room or on the balcony overloo
Posted inFaith, In All Things
Fay Vincent on George Hunt
Thanks to former Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent for sending this remembrance of George W. Hunt, S.J.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Marriage Counsel
A memoir of desire, relationships and spiritual transformation.