One perk of being a book reviewer is that publishers regularly send me a steady stream of advanced review copies.
I try to review as many as I can, but I can’t get to them all. So every couple months, I highlight a handful of new and upcoming books I’m particularly excited about.
(The descriptions below are either from the publisher or from Amazon.)
House of Hospitality (75th Anniversary Edition)
by Dorothy Day
Our Sunday Visitor, 175 pages, paperback
Released on February 26, 2015
“A great many of these notes were not written for publication, but for my own self in moments of trouble and in moments of peace and joy.”
Dorothy Day’s reflections-written on the fly over five hectic years-reveal not only the beginnings of the Catholic Worker Movement, but the mind of a heroic woman as she responds to the demands of faith.
Now back in print after seventy-five years, House of Hospitality is packed with stories of sacrifice and kindness, strikes and protests, hunger and soup lines, the rough reality of tenement life, and the foul odor of poverty. “I do penance through my nose continually,” Dorothy wrote.
And yet, as she said, “Our lives are made up of little miracles day by day.” Dorothy Day and her fellow workers were “poor for the poor,” as Pope Francis has exhorted, and the early years of this Gospel-driven moment have much to teach us about how we can live, today, with a heart for others. “Love and ever more love,” Dorothy said, “is the only solution to every problem that comes up.”
The Thrill of the Chaste (Catholic Edition): Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On
by Dawn Eden
Ave Maria Press, 224 pages, paperback
Released on January 26, 2015
Dawn Eden, internationally known speaker and author, presents a completely revised Catholic edition of her bestselling work, The Thrill of the Chaste. In this version, Eden shares her story of conversion to Catholicism and invites readers into a Catholic understanding of chastity and its spiritual benefits.
When Dawn Eden released The Thrill of the Chaste in 2006, she was a Jewish convert to Protestant Christianity, preparing to make the final leap into Catholicism. Now, nine years later, Eden has extensively updated The Thrill of the Chaste, sharing how her Catholic faith, the lives and intercession of the saints, and the healing power of the sacraments have led her to find her true identity in Christ.
This revised, Catholic version offers spiritual and practical advice for both men and women seeking to live chastely in a world that glorifies sex. Eden offers tips to help readers avoid temptation and live faithfully—including dressing modestly, but not being afraid to feel good about the way they look; trusting that God has a plan for their life and relationships; and making sure their “yes” comes from the heart.
Simply Good News: Why the Gospel Is News and What Makes It Good
by N.T. Wright
HarperOne, 208 pages, hardcover
Released on January 6, 2015
The bishop, Bible scholar, modern heir to C. S. Lewis, and revered author of Simply Christian and Simply Jesus offers a fresh look at the Gospel, explaining why Jesus’ message is “good news” and why it is more timely and transforming today than we know.
The Gospel means good news. But if the message has been around for 2,000 years, what makes it significant today? What’s so “good” about stories involving damnation, violence, and a God who sacrifices his only son?
Noted Bible scholar N.T. Wright shows us how Christians today have lost sight of what the “good news” of the gospel really is. In Simply Good News, he takes us back in time to reveal how the people of the first-century—the gospel’s original audience—would have received Jesus’ message. He offer a clear and thoughtful analysis of what the “good news” really is, and applies it to our lives today, revealing its power to transform us.
The Mystical Body of Christ
by Fulton J. Sheen
Ave Maria Press, 352 pages, paperback
Released on March 9, 2015
The Mystical Body of Christ captures the theological brilliance of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, nationally renowned Catholic television and radio personality, before his meteoric rise to fame in the 1950s. First published in 1935, this book reveals Sheen’s accessibility and theologically astute teaching styles as he writes about the Church as an extension of the Incarnation. Recent advances in his cause for canonization make this classic text especially timely.
Sheen’s radio and television broadcasts, including Life Is Worth Living, have reached millions of homes since the 1950s. With more than thirty of his works still in print, Sheen is one of the most beloved Catholic evangelists of all time.
This full-length and fully developed work on the Church as an extension of the Incarnation reveals Sheen’s accessible and theologically astute teaching style in the early years of his ministry. First published in 1935, the book’s themes of the Eucharist as a source of unity for the Mystical Body of Christ—the Church—and the link between the liturgy and works of social justice were echoed in the Second Vatican Council several decades later.
A recent advance in Sheen’s cause for beatification, the healing of a young boy for which there is no medical explanation, will create renewed interest among his admirers and introduce the spirituality of this Catholic icon to a whole new generation of believers.
Filling Our Father’s House: What Converts Can Teach Us About Evangelization
by Shaun McAfee
Sophia Institute Press, 200 pages, paperback
Released on March 17, 2015
Converts often bring to the Catholic Church an evangelical zeal that can renew and energize even the most tired and battle weary among us.
The Church is hurting for enthusiastic voices to proclaim her teachings on truth and morals. In these pages, Shaun McAfee, a convert from Evangelical Protestantism shows how we can take the best tools of evangelization and use them to reach countless souls with the fullness of the Christian Faith.
With Shaun’s help, you’ll learn simple ways you can make the visitor in your parish more at home, how to speak compellingly about the Faith, simple ways to integrate daily Scripture reading into your life, why small groups are important for spiritual enrichment, and how to communicate with souls who have never considered joining the Catholic Church.
The simple steps Shaun outlines in these pages will also show priests and lay leaders how to more effectively engage modern society with our Catholic Faith.
Our society is awash in secularism. It’s eating away at the sense of God, and the emptying of the pews in our own parishes is its natural effects. What we need is a renewal of enthusiasm for the battle against secularism and this book is a beginner’s guide to getting us back on track.
What new and notable books are you looking forward to?