The Catholic Book Club discussion

It is time to vote for our January BOTM. You may vote for up to 2 of the books listed below. The book(s) with the most votes will be our BOTM. If there is a tie, the moderator uses a random list generator to determine the order and they are all read over however many months. Books that receive fewer than 2 votes will be removed from the Voting List, with those that receive 1 vote being placed at the end of the Nominations List.

Voting will end at 11:00 PM Eastern Time on Monday, December 18.

The Voting List for December is:

The Adventurous Nun: Stories My Family Told Me: Biography of Sister Mildred Lungile Madlala, by Marcia Mandisi Mabaso, nominated by Marcia
The Adventurous Nun – Stories my family told me is a comprehensive biography of Sister Mildred Lungile Madlala, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary (FMM), born on Mistake Farm, KwaZulu-Natal south coast, South Africa. As a Sister, a nun, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary, she dedicated her whole life to God until the end. She wanted to tell her story to inspire, teach and motivate others. This book is written for anyone in the world, including people who do not belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
Voting History: NONE

Beheading Hydra: A Radical Plan for Christians in an Atheistic Age, by Dwight Longenecker, nominated by John
Never before has humanity existed in a culture that rejects belief in a transcendent power. Previous cultures ― even when rent by bitter disagreements ― shared a common belief that a greater force stood above the material realm. But when one side acknowledges an ultimate source of truth while the other side denies it, debate is dead, and mutual understanding is impossible. So claims Fr. Dwight Longenecker in his most captivating book yet,
Voting History: December 2023: 2

Benedict XVI: Defender of the Faith, by Joseph Pearce, nominated by Fonch
Pope Benedict XVI will go down in Church history as one of the greatest popes. In this heartfelt defense of Pope Benedict’s words and works, a tribute to his life and legacy and a homage to his sanity and sanctity, Joseph Pearce’s biography provides an unforgettable encounter with this great historical figure.
Voting History: June 2023 - 3; August 2023 - 5; September 2023 - 5; November 2023 - 4; December 2023 - 4

A Bloody Habit, by Eleanor Bourg Nicholson, nominated by Fonch
It is 1900, the dawn of a new century. Even as the old Queen's health fails, Victorian Britain stands monumental and strong upon a mountain of technological, scientific, and intellectual progress. For John Kemp, a straight-forward, unimaginative London lawyer, life seems reassuringly predictable yet forward-leaning, that is, until a foray into the recently published sensationalist novel Dracula, united with a chance meeting with an eccentric Dominican friar, catapults him into a bizarre, violent, and unsettling series of events.
Voting History: NONE

Centurion's Daughter, by Justin Swanton, nominated by Fonch
Her Frankish mother dead, 17-year-old Aemilia arrives at Soissons in Roman Gaul in search of her Roman father whom she has never met. She knows only that his name is Tarunculus and that he is a former centurion. She finds a firebrand, derided by the townsfolk, trying vainly to ignite a spark of patriotism in his fellow Romans.
Voting History: NONE

The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle (5 vols.), by Manuel Alfonseca, nominated by Fonch
Inspired by the Narnia Chronicles, these five fantasy books show how redemption could have been in a different world. The books are:
1. The Journey of Tivo the Dauntless: Book One in the Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
2. The Mystery of the Black Lake
3. The Silver Swan
4. The Secret of the Ice Field
5. The Lost Continent
Voting History: August 2023 - 2; September 2023 - 2; November 2023 - 5; December 2023 - 5

Elfling by Corinna Turner, nominated by Fonch
Alone on the streets of London, young Serapia Ravena seeks her father, her only hope of survival. When the elusive Duke suddenly returns to the city, Serapia finds a loving father, who quickly thwarts her uncle’s murderous plans. But it soon becomes clear that he hides a dark secret, one that threatens his very life, and his very soul. The search for his salvation will carry Serapia hundreds of leagues, to the heart of the wild places, and to the fort of the elfin, bringing her face to face with her own mysterious heritage.
Voting History: ; December 2023 - 2

The Eternal Woman: The Timeless Meaning of the Feminine by Gertrud von le Fort, nominated by Stef
Mary's fiat to God is the pathway to our salvation, as it is inextricably linked with the obedience unto death of Jesus her son. Like the Son's acceptance of the Cross, Mary's acceptance of her maternity symbolizes for all mankind the self-surrender to the Creator required of every human soul. Since any woman's acceptance of motherhood is likewise a yes to God, when womanhood and motherhood are properly understood and appreciated, the nature of the soul's relationship to God is revealed.
Voting History: August 2023 - 4; September 2023 - 4; November 2023 - 6; December 2023 - 6

Francis and Clare: The Struggles of the Saints of Assisi by Kathleen Brady, by Kathleen
When the adolescent Lady Clare agreed to secretly meet Francis Bernadone, the eccentric merchant’s son who had become a wandering preacher, she was desperate to avoid the marriage that her parents were arranging for her. Francis, having gathered more than a dozen male followers, including her cousin, believed Clare to be the one to lead the female half of his movement, a movement that was loyal to the church but inspired by heretical sects where women played a prominent part. Over many meetings he promised a future in which she would preach and serve the lepers of Assisi. Warming to his plans, Clare and her kinswoman escaped their family under cover of night and began to live the life that Francis had envisioned. They continued until one particular cardinal, a future pope, took notice.
Voting History: NONE

In the Shadows of Freedom by C & C Spellman, by Chris
Amanda Burrow, a talented painter, moves to New York City to attend an elite art academy. Once there, she falls for self-assured Ethan Ramsey, a staunch member of the National Citizens the nation's ruling faction. The NCP seeks to banish anything-or anyone-that might jeopardize an individual's autonomy.
Voting History: NONE

Intercession by Kevin J Haar, nominated by Madeleine
Aoife is cursed. Everyone says so, except for her father, Niall, an innkeeper, who knows such things are nonsense. She was born under mysterious circumstances on an isolated island off the coast of Ireland after the Irish Civil War. Now nearing twelve, Aoife is willing to do whatever it takes to rid herself of the malediction and protect her father. She encounters saints and witches while she navigates the superstitions and Irish folklore that permeate her homeland and guide her towards understanding and adulthood. Niall, however, struggles with the coming-of-age and political awakening of his daughter, while his tight-knit island home grapples with its place in a fast-changing world newly lit by electricity.
This book may be difficult to find.
Voting History: NONE

The Last Ugly Person: And Other Stories, by Roger Thomas, nominated by Steven R.
The stories are very different from each other. And could easily be classified as different genres. Starting with a futuristic dystopian tale, an epic military story, an allegory reminiscent to The Pilgrim’s Progress, and concluding with a micro fiction western story. (From Steven R.'s review)
Voting History: June 2023 - 3; August 2023 - 3; September 2023 - 4; November 2023 - 4; December 2023 - 3

Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Sergio
The mysteries of the Church, a materialistic scientist once announced to an astonished world, are child’s play compared with the mysteries of nature. He was completely wrong, of course, yet there was every excuse for his mistake. For, as he himself tells us in effect, he found everywhere in that created nature which he knew so well, anomaly piled on anomaly and paradox on paradox, and he knew no more of theology than its simpler and more explicit statements.
Voting History: December 2023 - 2

Race with the Devil, by Joseph Pearce, nominated by Fonch.
Growing up on the rough streets of Dagenham, England, Joseph Pearce was thrown into a life that led anywhere but to God and salvation. A world of hate and violence was all he knew, until one day he picked up the writings of G.K Chesterton and everything changed. Take a journey through the peaks and valleys of one of the most fascinating conversion stories of our time, written first-hand by Pearce himself.
Voting History: February 2023 - 6; March 2023 - 4; April 2023 - 4; May 2023 - 3; June 2023 - 2; August 2023 - 4; September 2023 - 3; November 2023 - 4; December 2023 - 5

The Saint Monica Club: How to Hope, Wait, and Pray for Your Fallen-Away Loved Ones, by Maggie Green, nominated by Maggie.
In the fourth century, a young man named Augustine turned his back on the Church, plunging into a frenzied life of lust and dissipation. His renunciation left Monica, his pious Catholic mother, weeping and praying for his salvation . . . for more than a decade! In these pages, author Maggie Green provides wise, compassionate guidance for members of what she calls “The Saint Monica Club”: good Catholics suffering like Monica the rejection of the Faith by persons they love dearly.
Voting History: ; July 2022 - 2; September 2022 - 2; November 2022 - 2; February 2023 - 3; March 2023 - 2; April 2023 - 5; May 2023 - 5; June 2023 - 2; August 2023 - 3; September 2023 - 2; November 2023 - 7; December 2023 - 5

The Last Ugly Person: And Other Stories, by Roger Thomas

I vote for The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle (5 vols.), by Manuel Alfonseca and Elfling by Corinna Turner.

The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle (5 vols.), by Manuel Alfonseca
The Last Ugly Person: And Other Stories, by Roger Thomas,

Adventurous Nun, Saint Monica Club

St Monica Club
Centurions daughter

Race with the Devil
In the Shadows of Freedom

A Bloody Habit

Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle;
Francis and Clare.

Benedict XVI: Defender of the Faith, by Joseph Pearce

Benedict XII: Defender of the Faith

Beheading Hydra

Benedict XVI

Beheading Hydra

Francis and Clare

Intercession
St. Monica Club

The Eternal Woman
Adventurous Nun

The Eternal Woman

Benedict XVI

Bloody Habit and Paradoxes of Catholicism (this was hard to pick!)

Paradoxes of Catholicism
Benedict XVI

The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
Elfling

Paradoxes of Catholicism
Race with the Devil

Benedict XVI
Paradoxes of Catholicism

I vote for:

The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle
Elfling

Paradoxes of Catholicism
The Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle

The Eternal Woman

Pardoxes of Catholicism

My vote is for Race with the Devil, by Joseph Pearce.
If it is possible to vote twice, i also vote for Benedict XVI: Defender of the Faith, by Joseph Pearce.

Clara wrote: "My vote is for Race with the Devil, by Joseph Pearce.
If it is possible to vote twice, i also vote for Benedict XVI: Defender of the Faith, by Joseph Pearce."

Yes, you can vote for two books.

Voting is closed. Results are here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...