Whether we love or hate the "Lord of the Rings" films, we have to admire them: they are a monumental cinematic achievement. Shot over 274 days for $281 million and lasting 558 minutes, these films have, at the time of writing and in the United States alone, grossed over $897 million.

In this brief but compelling little book Joseph Kelly professor of religious studies at John Carroll University in Cleveland Ohio offers a thoughtful contemporary theodicy for young Christians Framed as a meditation on the events of Sept 11 2001 the book marshals Kelly rsquo s wide knowledge

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is a fast-paced, well-plotted murder mystery that takes the reader through the Louvre a long night of murders and a police chase out of Paris to a wet morning in London. There the identity of the evil Teacher who masterminded the killings is revealed.

The most startling fact about Edwin O'Connor's life was its brevity The acclaimed author of such mid-century Irish and Catholic classics as 'The Last Hurrah' and 'The Edge of Sadness' seemed a fit and healthy man. Yet he died when he was just 49 in 1968.

Garnished with stories of saintly figures and their teachings, Robert Ellsberg's book consists of eight chapters that are like interlocking facets of happiness and holiness.