Finding out that there was an annotated “Wind in the Willows,” I just had to put it on my Christmas wish list. I had been assuming that even though other annotated classics have turned out to be disappointments, there was no way anyone could ruin “Wind in the Willows.” Right?
Wrong. But the book did give […]

I’m very late catching up on some old business that came my way before the trip. The one I really want to get to is a mistake I made back HERE when I was reviewing “The Boundless Garden” by Alexandros Papadiamandis (known as “The Greek Dostoyevsky.”) I said then that the book was out of […]

When I opined back here that I had been a little disappointed with “The Brothers Karamazov,” Father Luke Hartung commented that I might prefer the writings of Alexandros Papadiamandis, who has been called “The Greek Dostoyevsky.” Father Luke also volunteered to send me a collection of Papadiamandis’ short stories called “The Boundless Garden” if I […]

I’ve had three books sitting on my desk for days, waiting patiently till I had time to do a quick review. They are: “The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann 1973-1983″*, “The Brothers Karamazov”** and a totally absurdist romp called “The Areas of My Expertise”*** by John Hodgman. The private thoughts and worries of an Orthodox […]

I finished reading “Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett, and I was really conflicted about whether to say anything about it or not. It’s a hot-selling fictional treatment of how a 12th century English cathedral might have been built. That could have been a great book … heck, judging by the sales, a lot […]

I tried to make my way through “The Pilgrim’s Regress” again, armed with “Finding the Landlord: A Guidebook to C. S. Lewis’ Pilgrim’s Regress.” I thought it would help me unravel all the esoteric allegories. I’d love to report that it did, but … nope. I still only partly understand who Mr. Sensible and the […]

Ugh! I had just been boasting to Greg that I hadn’t had a cold in a long time when whammo. The Theophany troparion hadn’t left my mind before some nasty germs decided to take up residence in my poor old body. As things have progressed, my head has gotten stuffier and my voice has gotten […]

Finished “HP and the Deathly Hallows”. And this is what I can say safely opine on without giving away anything for those who haven’t read it yet:

Not that my opinion matters in the ocean of opinions out there on this book, but still, I give it great marks. I don’t read a lot of recent […]

It seems certain that I’m going to start quoting this one as I did with “Diary of a Russian Priest” so I might as well give a bit of introduction and information to anyone who isn’t already familiar with this Orthodox gem.

“My Life in Christ” is a volume full of snippets from a short paragraph […]

My priest sent out an e-mail of the liturgical schedule all the way up to Pascha, thus cementing the feeling that Lent is coming along way too fast this year.
It makes me start thinking about a good book to read through Lent. Last year I read Frederica’s “First Fruits of Prayer: A Forty-Day Journey Through […]