Aside from a plague, 2020 turned out to be a good year for reading, what with the abundance of time on my hands.
All books are listed in order of being read, not necessarily in ranking of quality.
Methodical Realism * Etienne Gilson--a short, relatively accessible primer on philosophical realism. Parts of this were interesting, others, not so much.
Ian Pollock's Illustrated King Lear by William Shakespeare--While I didn't appreciate Pollack's illustrative style, I did like that the play was visually presented with the unabridged text. Essentially, this was a graphic novelization of Lear. This was better than just reading the play, though without helpful notes, it still falls short of experiencing the play live. By the way, did anybody catch the Stratford Festival of Canada's streaming of many of their productions in late spring through midsummer? Lear happened to be one of them and it was the first time I saw the whole piece.
Gravity and Grace * Simone Weil--Yeah, I know Weil is the bee's knees for some people whom I respect, but I just don't care for reading someone's notes--which is what this was.
The Saint and His Bees * Dessi Jackson--A readable story about St. Modomnoc of Ireland, but this was another illustrated piece which had a style I found less than compelling.
Soul of the Sky: Exploring the Human Side of Weather * Dave Thurlow and C. Ralph Adler, eds. This was a hit-and-miss collection of essays related to the weather, of course. Thinking back, the only essay that stands out was about a snow storm, but I know there were other pieces that I enjoyed.
How to Be Good * Nick Hornby--A decent novel about an English marriage falling apart, which is "saved" by the apathetic husband's glomming on to guru of sorts, who wants to make the world a better place, but really has no idea how to do it. "The flesh is willing," but is lacking supernatural grace, one could say.
Woman and the Salvation of the World * Paul Evdokimov--I don't know why, but generally when I read theology books the ones that resonate with me the most are by Orthodox authors. I moved from Pentecostalism to evangelicalism to Roman rite Catholicism, and I have read authors that have spoken to me from all those traditions, but EO writers have something that stirs up a thrumming in me when I read them. This particular book is a theological anthropology focusing on the charism of woman. One thing I walked away from was how Evdokimov sets up the Theotokos as a model for women and John the Forerunner (Baptist) for men as Jesus is the paragon for all believers. This was in the top five of best books of 2020 for me.
The End of the Affair * Graham Greene--I saw the movie with Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore when it came out on DVD (remember renting those?) I liked the film and finally got around to reading the book. Not bad.
The Spirit of Early Christian Thought * Robert Louis Wilken--This came highly recommended. It's a survey, which sometimes are quite good and others, meh. This one fell in between the two.
Planet Narnia * Michael Ward--One of the top five reads for me this year. The thesis is that a pattern exists for organizing the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, namely the medieval ideas about the planets in our solar system. Very good.
A Separate Peace * John Knowles--Highly acclaimed novel about two friends in a New England prep school during WWII. I can say I read it. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't grab me either.
White Rose * Kip Wilson--Another truly good read for 2020. This was the story of Sophie Scholl (sorry, no umlaut available on Blogspot) told in verse. Sophie and her brother and some friends started the White Rose, an anti-Nazi student resistance group. It doesn't end well (for the group, not the book).
White Noise * Don DeLillo A novel about the banality of suburban life in the 80s. Also, Hitler Studies!
On the Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ * Maximus the Confessor--I had expected some explicit tie-ins to ecology (the understanding of it for Maximus' time anyway) but got none. People who connect Xianity and ecology sometimes mention Maximus. Perhaps another piece of his?
Transfiguration * Michael Martin--My friend wrote this book as any attempt to reimagine many aspects of life under a Catholic understanding. The only place I thought he didn't succeed was his chapter on art. I would have liked to have seen some recommendations of artists he thinks fulfill a radical Catholic vision.
Living the Sabbath * Norman Wirzba--I reread this to participate in an online book club and a talk with Wirzba himself. The author seeks to apply the concept of Sabbath to all of life, including the economy.
Acedia and its Discontents * R.J. Snell--An interesting little book. Acedia, commonly translated as sloth, isn't laziness, but an ennui, even hatred of everything, especially one's duty/love of God.
The Wingfeather Saga: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness * Andrew Peterson While this lacks the theological depth of Lewis' Narnian chronicles, this one is a bit more fun. The illustrations help, too. Looking for a new fantasy series? Though aimed at a middle school audience, adults will enjoy it as well.
Confessions of a Recovering Environmentalist * Paul Kingsnorth A collection of essays from a guy who thinks Environmentalism, Inc. is heading in the wrong direction. Principally, relying on more technology to solve the problems that technology has created with our treatment of the land and water. He also addresses the need for stories and the cultivation of language. Another in the top five for year.
Kindred * Octavia Butler--A fantasy novel involving time-travel from 1976 to the Antebellum South by a black woman. She's tied to a particular Southern man and keeps bouncing from her present to the past as he grows from boyhood to man. This was the best novel I read in 2020.
The Merry Wives of Windsor * William Shakespeare--A so-so comedy involving John Falstaff.
Edith Stein: The Life and Legacy of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross * Maria Ruiz Scaperland--A middling biography of one of the wisest women of the 20th Century who died in a concentration camp.
A Gathering of Days * Joan W. Blos--A short young readers novel about a year in the life of a 19th century girl in New England.
The Benedict Option * Rod Dreher--Since Dreher spends a lot of his blog posts on his books, I felt that I knew much of what was in here...and I wasn't wrong. However, it's a good book to spark discussion even if you disagree with his premise.
The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes * Dan Egan--According to this book, it's better and worse than I thought for our region.
Ancestral Shadows: An Anthology of Ghostly Tales * Russell Kirk--For the most part, these stories were very good; one even had me a little tense about where the action was going. Most of these are about vengeful spirits who exact a hard justice, but there's some Catholic theology thrown in for good measure.
Johnny Cash: The Life * Robert Hilburn--If you want to know about Johnny Cash, this is the book to read.
Black Robe * Brian Moore--I saw the movie decades ago and found that everyone, Indians and Jesuits, were not to be trusted. The book was a bit more nuanced. A good read if you like historical fiction.
The Phantom Tollbooth * Norton Juster--Mrs. Gordon, my third grade teacher read this to our class. I remember it as being a strange book. Though I'm not quite finished with it, the verdict stands. But in a good way, if you liked Alice in Wonderland, not the castrated Disney version, but the book, chances are you'll like this.
The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400-1580 * Eamon Duffy--The other book that I started in December and haven't yet finished (at least 500 pages to go!). Duffy's thesis is that England was rich in Catholic culture prior to the Reformation, not a hodgepodge of folk or syncretistic beliefs, though that was true, too. It just wasn't the dominant ethos. Very good so far.
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