Novel Thoughts blog
  1. James Casper

    The Past is a Foreign Country

    March 19, 2015 1:06 pm 3 Comments

    Much we know about the world would be lost were it not for artistic renderings of the past. Memories otherwise would seldom outlive those who remember. Eamon Duffy’s The Stripping of the Altars forced professional historians and casual readers alike to revise assessments of the Catholic religion in England in… Read more »

    Tags: Evelyn Waugh G.K. Chesterton George Bernard Shaw Latin T.S. Eliot writing

  2. John Herreid

    Great Films for Kids: Song of the Sea

    March 13, 2015 9:08 am 5 Comments

    Animator Tomm Moore’s vision is the vision of old Irish folktales, where saints and heroes, fairies and angels, monsters and missionaries comingle in stories and legend. His first film, The Secret of Kells, is a fanciful and wondrous imagining of the creation of the Book of Kells. His second, Song… Read more »

    Tags: animation great films for kids movie reviews movies

  3. Ignatius Press Novels

    NEW: The Wife of Pilate

    March 10, 2015 5:45 pm Leave a Comment

    “A book to be treasured. The times and places are beautifully and accurately evoked, and the stories are gripping to read.” – Lucy Beckett, Author, Postcard from the Volcano “Von le Fort’s serene and probing intellect examines with absolute honesty the dilemmas of our human striving for authentic faith and… Read more »

    Tags: Gertrud von le Fort new books stories

  4. Good Catastrophes, Part 3

    March 9, 2015 3:20 am Leave a Comment

      I’ve been arguing for the importance of a revitalized Catholic literature that is eucatastrophic, grounded in confidence of the truth of the Christian faith and nourished by the reality of the sacraments. I’ve repeatedly referenced Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings as an example of what we need to… Read more »

    Tags: Catholic literature eucatastrophe J.R.R. Tolkien recovery

  5. John Herreid

    Great Films for Kids: The Secret of Kells

    March 6, 2015 9:05 am 13 Comments

    If the world is going to ruin, what is the purpose of creating beautiful things? That’s a question you might find interwoven in the plot of an art film aimed at adults. But here it is in a movie for kids. And it’s better expressed here than in many other… Read more »

    Tags: animation great films for kids movie reviews The Secret of Kells

  6. Good Catastrophes, Part 2

    March 4, 2015 3:13 pm 1 Comment

      What makes for vibrant Catholic literature? Is there something missing in Catholic literature today? A lively discussion on the subject has been unfolding over the past two years. Paul Elie started the discussion with a 2012 piece arguing that we are seeing a decline in serious engagement with faith…. Read more »

    Tags: Catholic literature Catholic writers Dana Gioia eucatastrophe Evelyn Waugh Gregory Wolfe J.R.R. Tolkien Roger Thomas writing

  7. John Herreid

    Free e-book from the author of Tobit’s Dog!

    March 3, 2015 10:22 am 2 Comments

    Michael Richard writes at his blog: There is a five day FREE promotion on amazon for my novel Bogfoke. For those who have read Tobit’s Dog, it is not the same sort of book, but if you enjoy fantasy fiction, you might like this. Some people have written of Tobit’s… Read more »

    Tags: ebooks free downloads Michael Richard Tobit's Dog

  8. Ignatius Press Novels

    CatholicMom’s The Accidental Marriage Book Club

    February 25, 2015 11:07 am Leave a Comment

    The Catholic Mom online book club for The Accidental Marriage by Roger Thomas starts this Saturday! Posts go live on Saturday mornings at 8AM Pacific/11Am Eastern time!  Visit CatholicMom.com for more information.

    Tags: book club Roger Thomas The Accidental Marriage

  9. Meryl Kaleida

    A Warning: A Review of Kingsman: The Secret Service

    February 24, 2015 12:05 pm 21 Comments

    Move over Fifty Shades of Grey, because you’re not the only horrible movie in theatres right now. Kingsman: The Secret Service is not at all what its trailer portrays it to be—an action packed, fun-loving, spy film. No, no, and no. I cannot iterate enough how no one should watch… Read more »

    Tags: Kingsman movie reviews

  10. John Herreid

    Fiction for Lent

    February 20, 2015 11:02 pm 6 Comments

    About ten or so years ago I decided to read through all of the short stories of Flannery O’Connor during Lent. In her exploration of many of the darker aspects of humanity, I found a great deal to meditate upon. It made for one of the most fruitful Lenten seasons… Read more »

    Tags: lent reading lists

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