It's that time of year again where I list fiction and non-fiction works that I have enjoyed over the last few months and highly recommend for your digestion. Without further adieu, here they are.
Starting with non-fiction, I've recently finished Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn, an autobiographical work that delves deeply into the couple's mutual testimony about why they converted to Catholicism. The work is engaging as both a testimony and a minor course in the scriptural basis of Roman Catholicism; while it is not the work that brought me across the Tiber, it does offer encouragement to converts and cradle Catholics alike regarding both sacred scripture and tradition.
Throughout last year, I had cause to consult the founding documents of the United States of America, as well as the Magna Carta of 1215 around the time of Brexit. I was already acquainted with these documents and some of the best criticism on them, but if you are not, I'd highly recommend getting familiar with them as the Anglosphere is clearly in flux.
You can look up these things individually online or purchase excellent collections like the Library of America edition of the Federalist Papers.
Further to this point, we are currently in the 150th year of the Queen's Dominion of Canada's birth. I would highly recommend taking on the challenge of reading through the preambles of both our constitutional documents, the division of powers in the BNA Act, as well as the Fundamental Freedoms, Democratic Rights, Aboriginal Rights, and Notwithstanding Clause of 1982.
After completing the reading, I ask you to honestly assess how you would reconcile the two - our country's future hinges on this issue.
My final non-fiction recommendation is to order yourself a copy of How to Grow Your Own Tobacco by Ray French. I've found a great deal of joy cultivating my own nicotine, and considering the obscene prices that accompany the most highly-regulated substance in the land, it's worth the effort. Further reading on the topic of self-reliance can be easily found at Books and Company; my own favorite topics include their books on homesteading, home brewing/distilling and firearms maintenance.
As for fiction, I have recently finished Miriam Toews' A Complicated Kindness. This book earned the Governor General's award, a credit that is sometimes misleading but I can assure you this work is well worth the read.
While I mean no offence to my Mennonite background, the story of Nomi in her backwater prairie town of religious fervor and oppression is both humorous and horrifying for its cultural accuracy.
If Flannery O'Connor has a thematic descendant in Canada, Toews might be her.
I currently have the Power and the Glory on order as a belated Christmas present to a friend. I remain convinced that this seminal work by Graham Greene is all the more relevant given what is happening around the world today. The nameless priest who is the center of this work is a perfect representation of the tension caused when human frailty meets uncompromising vocation.
If you'd prefer to watch a movie to the same effect, Calvary with Brenden Gleeson is currently on Netflix.
Finally, I was asked many times over the year what I'm reading for media these days. The truth is I can't really stand anything but Breitbart, the Rebel, the National Post, and Salon, that last publication seeming to be the lone purveyor of intelligent comment from the left. I've honestly attempted reading "higher brow" liberal publications, including our state broadcaster, but the writing is perennially bad, the conclusions insane and the authors arrogant.
So I've stopped giving them ad revenue.
Looking over the list above, I suppose I should try to end on a slightly lighter note. I received a Trump colouring book for Christmas, and it has quickly become one of my most prized possessions. I'm hoping to colour it well, and then give my colourings to my left-leaning friends to put on their walls, fridges and nightstands. I believe the colouring books are available both online and in local bookstores. It's a great gift idea for both detractors and supporters, but especially for the children of detractors.
I hope this reading list keeps you warm and cozy through the coming months. Happy New Year!
