New reads bearing Yuletide joy
The assignment, “pluck books that stir the soul, and tell us how they do so,” is one that only gets richer, the bookshelves more crowded. And yet, the very definition...
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Mary Oliver’s ‘Devotions’ offers snapshot of a half-century of work
“Devotions” by Mary Oliver, Penguin, 480 pages, $30 For more than half a century, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver has been training her eye on the mysterious and mystical thrumming...
‘The Happiness Prayer’ by Evan Moffic reviewed in this week’s spiritual book roundup
"The Happiness Prayer" by Evan Moffic, Center Street, 208 pages, $25 The title of Evan Moffic's newest and richest book (this is his fifth) might have you thinking this is...
James Martin’s controversial ‘Building a Bridge’ leads this week’s spiritual roundup
"Building a Bridge" by James Martin, HarperOne, 160 pages, $19.99 James Martin had to know, even before he typed a single word of "Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church...
Spiritual roundup: ‘The Islamic Jesus’ considers how faiths intersect
"The Islamic Jesus" by Mustafa Akyol, St. Martin's, 288 pages, $26.99 If there is a book for which this tumultuous moment in history cries out, "The Islamic Jesus: How the...
Appraisals of Dorothy Day, Rumi and St. Francis in this week’s spiritual book roundup
"Dorothy Day" by Kate Hennessy, Scribner, 384 pages, $27.99 It's the tag line, six words wafting just above a watery image of a mother and child up to their ankles...
Anne Lamott’s ‘Hallelujah Anyway’ reviewed in this week’s spiritual roundup
"Hallelujah Anyway" by Anne Lamott, Riverhead, 192 pages, $20 Praise be the heavens, just when we think the world is teetering off a cliff, Anne Lamott, high priestess of side-splitting...
Motherhood: Why we do it
I'd just pulled the sheets up toward my nose when, from the far end of the house, the ring rang. The little guy, from his bed across the hall, announced:...
Religious humor in ‘Sin Bravely’ leads spiritual book roundup
"Sin Bravely" by Maggie Rowe, Soft Skull, 225 pages, $16.95 Admittedly, the "religious humor" section of the bookshelf is markedly sparse. Yet that's where you'll find "Sin Bravely: A Memoir...
Ann Voskamp leads this week’s spiritual book roundup
'The Broken Way' By Ann Voskamp, Zondervan, 288 pages, $22.99 From the first sentence of "The Broken Way," Ann Voskamp, a writer of exquisite capacity, does what she does best:...