Book Reviews and More: ReginaDoman

Showing posts with label ReginaDoman. Show all posts

Thursday, 30 June 2022

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Second Quarter 2022

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Second Quarter 2022

It has been a very good first half of the year. Many great reads. I have read just over a book and a half a day. I read 110 books this quarter and 258 so far this year. Part of it is due to my youngest two children’s reading skills really growing and they read to/with me for 20 minutes four or five days a week. As well as this Lent I tried to read a different Stations of the Cross booklet each day. And have continued each Friday since Lent. In the spring of 2016, I worked through Brandon Vogt’s course Read More Books Now (now available on ClaitasU). The year before that I removed all games from my phone and tablet and my reading had doubled.

But back to this quarter. By the numbers:

Books Read: 110

First Time Reads: 86

Fiction: 31

Non-Fiction: 55

5/5 Stars: 74

Here is my top ten fiction and non-fiction books of the second quarter of 2022.

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books:

1. The Bible in a Year Companion, Volume I - Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavin

2. The World of Marian Apparitions: Mary's Appearances and Messages from Fatima to Today - Wincenty Laszewski

3. Books by Benedict XVI

Give Yourself to Christ: First Homilies of Benedict XVI

Lourdes: Love is the True Cure

4. Saint Brigid of Ireland - Alice Curtayne - Cluny Media Reprint Edition

5. Silent Prayer - Andrzej Muszala - CTS Devotions

6. Books by Deacon Nick Donnelly

Companion to Faith - CTS Year of Faith

Praying The Creed In The Year Of Faith - CTS Year of Faith

7. Peace of Heart: According to St Benedict - Father Bernard Ducruet, OSB

8. Father Damien And The Bells - Arthur and Elizabeth Shehan - Vision Books

9. Benedict XV: Pope of Peace - Father Ashley Beck - CTS Biographies

10. The Activated Disciple - Jeff Cavins - Taking Your Faith to the Next Level

Bonus Books:

Stations of the Cross for Kids - Regina Doman and Christopher Lewis

Way of the Cross at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy - Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception

Books by J.B. Midgley

Companion to Saint Paul - CTS Companions

Francis de Sales - CTS Great Saints

John Vianney - CTS Great Saints

Top Ten Fiction Books:

1. Short Stories by Karina Fabian

42 Years of Summer

Falling Up - A Rescue Sisters Story

Marathon to Mordor

They Also Serve

2. unSPARKed Books by Corinna Turner

Please Don't Feed the Dinosaurs - Book 1

A Right Rex Rodeo - Book 6

FEAR - Book 7

3. St. Tommy NYPD Books by Declan Finn

Hell Spawn - Book 1

Death Cult - Book 2

Infernal Affairs - Book 3

4. Southpaw - J.D. Kirk - Robert Hoon Thrillers Book 2

5. Paul McGrath Books by Andrew Grant

Invisible - Book 1

Too Close to Home - Book 2

6. Space Traipse: Hold My Beer, Season 5: Science Fiction Parody - Karina Lumbert Fabian

7. Deathwings - Arthur Slade - Dragon Assassin Book 12

8. Detective Cooper Devereaux Books by Andrew Grant

False Positive - Book 1

False Friend - Book 2

9. White Ops 01 White Ops - Declan Finn

10. Ghosts of Malta - edited by Lawdog - An Anthology

11. Run - Andrew Grant

Bonus Books:

A Reason for Everything - Amy Welborn

More Precious Than Gold - Leslea Wahl - All for One Episode 2

Miracle at the Mission - Joseph Lewis - Westthorpe Academy Book 2

The Bone House - J.D. Kirk

The first half of 2022 has been a great, and this was another excellent quarter for reading. A few new authors, some favorites. Books in old series, and the beginnings of some new series. Again this year, at least so far, I managed to write reviews for all books read for the only the third time.

Note: I do not include books that have been read in previous years and were reread this year in my top ten lists, they are sometimes in the bonus section. But if you want more options check out my favorite books year by year list.

Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2020
Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2020

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2020

Top Ten Fiction Books 2020

Top Ten Books First Quarter 2021

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2021

Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2021

Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2021

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2021

Top Ten Fiction Books 2021

Top Ten Books First Quarter 2022

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2022

...

All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Statistics Books Read By Year:
258 - January-June 2022

365 - 2021

317 - 2020
392 - 2019
359 - 2018
380 - 2017
272 - 2016
177 - 2015
130 - 2014
88 - 2013
176 - 2012
163 - 2011
302 - 2010
142 - 2009
98 - 2008
83 - 2007
191 - 2006
151 - 2005
60 - 2004
52 - 2003
97 - 2002
50 - 2001
41 - 2000
71 - 1999
73 - 1998
131 - 1997
101 - 1996

Saturday, 14 May 2022

Stations of the Cross for Kids - Regina Doman and Christopher Lewis

Stations of the Cross for Kids

Regina Doman

Christopher Lewis (Illustrator)

TAN Books

ISBN 9781505118575

eISBN 9781505118599

eISBN 9781505118582

ASIN B08VW48N13

This is the eleventh volume from the pen of Regina Doman that I have read. I have actually had it for over a year before I got to reading it. Last year was very busy. And then over the year I stuck with version I know well. I try and pray a Stations each day during Lent, and at least Fridays throughout the year. I enjoyed this one so much I picked up the eBook edition so I could give the physical copy to my son. There was some significant controversy around this volume last year. FB blocked adds for it as too graphic, and repeatedly censored posts by the author, the publisher and reviewers. It is an excellent edition. My only complaint is that in the eBook edition each page is a picture and text to speech adaptive technology does not work with it. I would love if there was an audio download available to pray along with. But even with those two it is a version I can easily recommend for children and to be honest to be read and prayed by people of any age.

The first page is a history of the stations and the next two are guides to using this version of the stations. That second page states:

“Within each station, you will find the following:

Each station has a street scene with many people. Try to follow Christ and his Mother on their way to Golgotha. Notice what the other people are doing. Who is helping Jesus? Who is hurting him? Who is not paying attention? What sorts of things are they doing? How are the things they are doing related to what is happening to Jesus? See the boy and girl in the top corner stealing apples from their neighbor’s tree. How is their story part of Jesus’s story?

Opening Responsorial

This prayer, probably created by St. Francis of Assisi, is prayed after each station is announced. It is also a good prayer to pray whenever you pass a Catholic church where the Eucharist is housed.

Priest (or leader): We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you

Response: Because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.

Prayer of Love to Jesus

This prayer was composed by St. Alphonsus Liguori for his well-loved Stations of the Cross and can be prayed after each meditation.

I love you, O Jesus my love, with all my heart.

I repent for ever having offended you.

Never let me offend you again.

Grant only that I may love you always,

and then do with me as you will.”

At the bottom of each station is the Stabat Mater in both English and Latin. On the second page of each station is a side bar, a way to go deeper, or learn more about the history, or event related to that station. The first page of each station is a full page artwork with the number and name of the station overlaid at the top of the page and the bottom has the ‘We adore you’ prayer. The sidebar on the first station is:

“Gabbatha:

The Stone Pavement

“When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha” (Jn 19:13). Where was Gabbatha, the place where Pilate condemned Jesus? For many years, it was thought that Pontius Pilate, must have questioned Jesus at the Antonian fortress. This was a tower close to the Temple, which was built by Herod the Great in honor of his patron, Marc Antony. But early historians wrote that the governor stayed in Herod’s palace on the western hill whenever he was in Jerusalem and used the pavement outside for judging criminals. Recent archeology has uncovered a pavement outside of Herod’s palace which fits their description of the praetorium used by Pilate.”

This is a wonderful version of the stations. There is so much details in the illustrations. You can go over them again and again. And the illustrations all overlap. A few are the same base image. I would love to print off copies in the same scale and overlay them to see the passion take place. This is an excellent stations of the cross. It is another great resource from Regina Doman and from TAN books. I highly recommend this for church, school, home use and as a library resource for each as well.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2022 Catholic Reading Plan!

For all other reviews of Stations of the Cross click here.

Book by Regina Doman:
Fairy Tales Retold:
Snow White and Rose Red (1997)
Shadow Of The Bear (2002)
Black As Night (2004)
Waking Rose (2007)
Midnight Dancers (2008)
Alex O'Donnell and the 40 Cyber Thieves (2010)
Rapunzel Let Down (2013)

...

Other Books:
The Story of Job

...

Graphic Novels:
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis: I Believe in Mercy

...

Contributed to:
Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut
Catholic Philosopher Chick Comes on Strong
The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide
The Chestertons and the Golden Key

...

Picture Books:
Angels in the Water (2004)
Fairy Tale Novel Paper Dolls (2009)

...

NonFiction:
Our Fairy Tale Romance - Andrew Schmiedicke (2009)

Stations of the Cross for Kids

...

Author Profile Interview with Regina Doman

Saturday, 29 September 2018

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Third Quarter 2018

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Third Quarter 2018

My total books this quarter is down a bit from last quarter, but my page count is actually up. Just variations in the length of material read. The Quarter by the numbers:

91 books read
59 received 5/5 stars
8 of those had been read before
48 were non-Fiction
11 were fiction

The Fiction was pretty easy to narrow down to a simple top ten list. The non-fiction on the other hand was a very, very, very difficult. But this is what I managed to come up with.

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books:

1. The booklets by Helena Scott and Ethel Tolansky:

Pius XII

Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan

Benedict XVI

Josemaria Escriva

Alvaro Del Portillo

A Pope of Surprises: The First Five Years of Pope Benedict XVI's Papacy

Sophie Scholl and The White Rose: Resistance to the Nazis

Johann Gruber and Jacques Bunel: Victims of the Nazis

2. Encounter the Saints Series

Blessed James Alberione Media Apostle

Saint Bernadette Soubirous: And Our Lady of Lourdes

Saint Katharine Drexel: The Total Gift

3. How to Think Like Aquinas: The Sure Way to Perfect Your Mental Powers - Kevin Vost
4. Last of the Romantics: St. Josemaria in the Twenty-First Century
5. The Eight Doors of the Kingdom: Meditations on the Beatitudes - Jacques Philippe
6. Saxum: The Life of Alvaro del Portillo - John F. Coverdale
7. Catholic Truth Society booklets:

A Simple Prayer Book

Marian Prayer Book

Paul VI - Anthony Symondson - CTS Biographies

Finding Life's Purpose: Inspiration for Young People - Pope Benedict XVI

John XXIII: The Universal Parish Priest - Josephine Robinson - CTS Biographies

Five Loaves and Two Fish: Meditations on the Eucharist - Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan

8. Footprints of the Northern Saints - Basil Cardinal Hume
9. A Soldier Surrenders: The Conversion of St. Camillus de Lellis - Susan Peek - God's Forgotten Friends Lives of Little-known Saints Book 2
10. The Cries of Jesus from the Cross: An Anthology - by Reverend Fulton J Sheen

Bonus:
11. Foundations of the Faith: God, Christ, and the Church - Jeff Vehige - Find the Faith Book 1
12. Love's True Meaning: The message of Humanae Vitae 50 Years On - Fr. Anthony Doe
13. The Way of the Christian Samurai: Reflections for Servant-Warriors of Christ - Paul E. Nowak

Top Ten Fiction Books:

1. Roland West Outcast - Theresa Linden - A West Brothers Book
2. Down Time - Barry Lyga - An I Hunt Killers Prequel
3. We Are All Jacob's Children: A Tale of Hope, Wisdom, and Faith - Noah benShea
4. Dragon Assassin - Arthur Slade
5. The Story of Job - Regina Doman and Ben Hatke
6. Where You Lead - Leslea Wahl
7. Birthday Secrets - Corinna Turner - I Am Margaret Short Story
8. The Mystery at Midnight - Lisa M. Hendey and Jenn Bower - Chime Travelers Book 4
9. The Whisper in the Ruins - Lisa M. Hendey and Jenn Bower - Chime Travelers Book 3
10. In Front Of My House - Marianne Dubuc and Yvette Ghione

If you give some of these a try I am sure they will be with the read! But unfortunately, two of the fiction books have yet to be published. Number s 1 and 4 will be published later in the fall. I also had a conundrum about number 9 non-fiction and number 5 fiction. These could have been either fiction or non depending on your interpretation. But this is where the chips fell.

Note: I did not include books that have been read in previous years and were reread this year in my top ten lists, they were in the bonus section. As stated it was no easy task making this quarter. But if you want more options check out my favorite books year by year list. This post is going up early because of the end of the quarter falling during holy week.

Monday, 16 July 2018

Pope Francis I Believe in Mercy - Regina Doman and Sean Lam

Pope Francis:
I Believe in Mercy
Regina Doman
Sean Lam
Manga Hero
ISBN 9780983639787
ISBN 9780983639794

I need to state that a physical copy of this sat on my bedside table for a few years. The problem is not the book, it is me, with my dual form of dyslexia I really prefer reading eBooks, even for graphic novels. I had picked this book up a few times, but never got very far, and by the time I came back to it I started over again. But I recently read the eBook edition of Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI, written by Doman and illustrated by Lam. And though the style is not my favorite, it is so well done I have give both books a 5 out of 5 star ratings. This was an excellent read!

The style of the art in the two volumes is a little different. And because of the lives being portrayed the stories are very different. But both stories are told with jumping back in time and then up to the present. This one is written with underlays of excerpts from Pope Francis's writings. The book gives us great insight into the man and his journey, that ultimately lead to his becoming pope. I have read a number of books about and by Pope Francis since his election, but even with all of that reading there were a few surprises in this volume.

Before I even finished this book, my children showed great interest in it. I have now read it with my youngest daughter and am currently reading it for a third time with my son. The story and artwork hold up over multiple readings even back to back. My children love the graphic novel format. My only wish is that it would come out in an eBook, that way they can each have it on their device without having to buy a second copy, currently they are debating who should keep it on their bookshelf and why.

The illustrations in this volume are wonderful. I especially loved the illustrations of mass or times in prayer. There is so much to appreciate about the artwork, and the written story. This book provides excellent insight into the man, the priest, and now our Pope.

This book is a great read for anyone who would like a glimpse into the life of Pope Francis before he ascended to the throne of Peter. It is an excellent read for teens, and even to read to younger children. It was instantly a family favorite. And we give it the McEvoy family seal of approval. I would love to see what Doman and Lam would do telling the story of other Pope's or saints, because this is an excellent read.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2018 Catholic Reading Plan!

...

Other Books:
The Story of Job

...

Graphic Novels:
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis: I Believe in Mercy

...

Contributed to:
Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut
Catholic Philosopher Chick Comes on Strong
The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide
The Chestertons and the Golden Key

...

Picture Books:
Angels in the Water (2004)
Fairy Tale Novel Paper Dolls (2009)

...

NonFiction:
Our Fairy Tale Romance - Andrew Schmiedicke (2009)

Stations of the Cross for Kids

...

Author Profile Interview with Regina Doman

Wednesday, 11 July 2018

Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI - Regina Doman and Sean Lam

Habemus Papam!
Pope Benedict XVI
Regina Doman
Sean Lam
Manga Hero
ISBN 9780983639756
ASIN B00DE1NJIC

I need to preface this review with two facts, first I am a huge fan of Regina Doman's prose. He fiction is among my all time favorite books. Second, I do not read a lot of graphic novels. Graphic novels especially in the manga style are typically not my thing. Fortunately, this volume only uses the characteristic oversized heads and super sized eyes for children, so for the most part not an issue. That being said I really enjoyed this book. Over the years I have read much written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Both prior to and after his election to the seat of Peter. But this is really the first time I have read much about him. And there was so much in this volume that surprise, amazed and even astonished me that I plan on reading more about the man that I believe will one day be named a saint.

This book was an incredible read. There is so much information in this graphic novel. Situations and events in his life that were not part of my knowledgebase. I was totally unaware of his sister's role in his life and ministry. I had encountered stories about his brother in numerous readings, but the role Maria played. Even though she worked other jobs, she was his secretary, editor and support throughout her life. She followed his as his role within the church changed all the way to the Vatican.

The book is written as a series of reflections back in time. It begins with Joseph being told by another cardinal either at the conclave or before it that he must become pope. From ether the story goes back to childhood memories, memories of John Paul II's election. Different roles and responsibilities he had that lead to this point. The story is masterfully told. Readers will come to see and appreciate the humble and gentle nature of this man that was known for so long as Pope John Paul II's rottweiler. Readers will encounter the man who was humble enough to step down from the seat of Peter. The man who was misunderstood through most of his public life, and yet a man who served God, the people and the church with all his heart.

The illustrations of the children as mentioned are not in a style that I am a fan of. But, even with that being stated this book is wonderfully illustrated. The spirit of Benedict is captured in both the words and the illustrations. Honestly anyone could read this book, no matter their knowledge of graphic novels or Pope Benedict XVI and appreciate it. Learn from it and grow from what they learn.

I could not put this book down, I devoured it in a single reading. And have already started reading it again with my youngest two children. And it has lead to me picking up another book on Benedict XVI already and likely more future readings.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2018 Catholic Reading Plan!

...

Other Books:
The Story of Job

...

Graphic Novels:
Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Francis: I Believe in Mercy

...

Contributed to:
Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut
Catholic Philosopher Chick Comes on Strong
The Mystery of Harry Potter: A Catholic Family Guide
The Chestertons and the Golden Key

...

Picture Books:
Angels in the Water (2004)
Fairy Tale Novel Paper Dolls (2009)

...

NonFiction:
Our Fairy Tale Romance - Andrew Schmiedicke (2009)

Stations of the Cross for Kids

...

Author Profile Interview with Regina Doman

Books by Benedict XVI:

The Way of the Cross - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - Pope Benedict XVI
Finding Life's Purpose: Inspiration for Young People
Don't Be Afraid To Be Saints - with Pope John Paul II
Confession Advice and Encouragement from Pope Benedict XVI

From the Depths of Our Hearts - Pope Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah

Way of the Cross Meditations and Prayers
Way of Calvary: Stations of the Cross
Spiritual Masters Fathers and Writers of the First Millennium
Spiritual Masters Medieval Fathers and Writers

True Revolution: The Call to Be Christian Today

Via Dolorosa with Pope Benedict XVI

Way of the Cross with Pope Benedict XVI 2008

Lourdes Love is the True Cure