Book Talk with Grapes on Top

Last year, my heart was broken when there was a drought and there were no grapes. No grapes meant no grape jelly. And though my kitchen stayed whiter, my cupboards were emptier and our PB&Js were not as good.

This year, there! are! grapes! And so, as you read this, I am likely juggling sugar and pectin and grape juice with a 40-pound pup and a 35-pound boy underfoot. It's likely that I've ruined a shirt, laughed a pot of coffee away with my mother-in-law, and licked at least seven spoons.

Now that I have you drooling, how about some noteworthy book talk? :)

Recent Reads

Saint: Why I Should Be Canonized Right Away, by Lino Rulli (Servant Books, 2013)

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Lino Rulli may have just written a Catholic book I'll get my husband to read. And that, my friends, is the highest praise I can give it. I'd like to revise the warning I gave you last week. This book could very well make you laugh until you pee. Theoretically.

a.k.a. Genius, by Marilee Haynes (middle grade fiction, Pauline Books & Media, 2013)

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

In a word, delightful. The characters are real, the story's spot on, and there's humor throughout. My eight-year-old will love it.

Don't You Forget about Me, by Erin McCole-Cupp (fiction, Full Quiver Publishing, expected publication November 2013)

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I had an early copy of this novel, and I wasn't sure what to expect. By the third chapter, I couldn't put it down, and thankfully for my family (and myself), I started it before the weekend. It's fast-moving, full of compelling information, and inherently Catholic without any trace of that sad state of "shoved down your throat" Catholic fiction. I not only enjoyed it, I give it my two thumbs up, five coffee cup stars, and at least one reread before the end of the year. My fiction book club will be hearing about this one!

Current Reads

Mind Over Psyche, by Karina Fabian (fiction, Dragon Moon Press, 2013)

I have been WAITING for this book, and now that it's here, it's all I can do not to just abandon my responsibilities and just read it. So the kids turn to prunes during bathtime? Is that really a problem? And who said I needed to sleep anyway? I'm on chapter 3 and barely keeping myself from tearing through it.

True or False Possession? How to Distinguish the Demonic from the Demented, by Jean Lhermitte (Sophia Institute Press, 2013)

I can't decide if reading this book is humbling or enlightening. Though I'm an avid reader, I'm realizing that, uh, I just aren't that smart, doc. But oh wow! There's some serious fascination in this book. I mean, I cut my teeth in my preteen years on Stephen King and the like. Though I read enough of that back in the day, this is another whole side of things and the science is pretty interesting too. Add to it that this book was originally written over 50 years ago and, well, yeah. I'll be finishing it.

How and When to Tell Your Kids about Sex: A Lifelong Approach to Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character (God's Design for Sex), by Brenna and Stan Jones (NavPress, 2007)

This is one of my "in-between" books, so I'll grab a chapter here or there. There will come a point when I will decide that I've had enough of the slow sludge through it and will whip through it. Until then, and unless something strikes me, I probably won't mention it again...

Emily Post's Manners in a Digital World: Living Well Online, by Daniel Post Senning (Open Road E-riginal, 2013)

I thought I'd finish this book already, really. It's not a hard read by any stretch. I'm just attempting to read 100 books at once. Forget bilocation: I'll take bireading. Good stuff. I've been pondering the manners chapter since my oldest got her first mini-screen back this weekend.

Under the Mantle: Marian Thoughts from a 21st Century Priest, by Donald H. Calloway, MIC (Marian Press, 2013)

In my (unintentionally) slow journey through this book, I've been struck. The last sections I've read have been on confession. And it has really slayed me. I was just at confession not that long ago. Even so, reading about Mama Mary and confession and God's love...it's good stuff.

What have YOU been reading lately?

*Are you on Goodreads? I'll see you there!

Curious about what my ratings mean? Here's an explanation of what the stars mean to me.

Be sure to check out our Book Notes archive.

Copyright 2013, Sarah Reinhard