Book Reviews and More: March 2025

Monday, 31 March 2025

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books First Quarter 2025

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books First Quarter 2024

It has been a great year for reading so far, not my best to date, but well up there. I averaged over a book a day. Faster than the last few years, but I had the first few weeks off work, and so many books and series I am working through.

In April of 2023 I wrote a piece called How I Read So Much? Because I get asked the question so often, read the piece linked above if you are looking for some ideas on ways to read more.

This quarter I read 132 books and I did not any to the ‘did not finish’ list, one of my highest quarters since I started keeping track, below is the comparison with the last 9 years:

2025 - 132

2024 - 119

2023 – 160

2022 – 145

2021 – 97

2020 – 96

2019 – 123

2018 – 91

2017 – 100

2016 – 52

As can be seen this is right about on par, with the last few years. One factor that impacts this year is Lent started much later, in fact the latest it can start, and during Lent I try and read and pray a Stations of the Cross each day which provides a bump during those 48 days. But back to this quarter by the numbers:

Books Read: 132

First Time Reads: 89

Fiction: 32

Non-Fiction: 100

5/5 Stars: 105

I was really surprised; when the year started I expected it to be another year with a dip. In fact I planned on it. I did not see hitting close to the high water mark again, so I am pretty surprised by these results.

Here is my top ten fiction and non-fiction books of the fourth quarter of 2024.

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books:

1. Books by Pope Benedict from the Catholic Truth Society

10 Things Pope Benedict Wants You To Know - John L. Allen Jr.

Do Not be Afraid to Believe Homilies and Addresses in Africa

2. Jesus and the Jubilee - John Bergsma - The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor

3. Hope: An Anchor for the Soul: 30 Daily Devotions - Amy Welborn

4. Books by Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua

Holy Places Sacred Sites in Catholicism

Patron Saints A Feast of Holy Cards

5. Led by the Immaculata - Joshua Mazrin

6. Honor Thy Wife - Kevin Lowry - A 31-Day Spiritual Journey of Marital Renewal

7. CTS Children's books by Juliette Levelier

Prayers Around the Crib

Praying at Mass

Praying with the Friends of Jesus

Praying with the Holy Spirit

The Rosary

8. Drawing Close to the Holy Spirit: Keys to a Transformed Life and Joyful Heart - Sr. Mary Ann Fatula, OP

9. Great Spiritual Teachers Series - Ave Maria Press

Let Nothing Disturb You: 30 Days with Teresa of Avila - John Kirvan

Simply Surrender: 30 Days with Thérèse of Lisieux - Caroline Myss

Come into the Silence 30 Days with Thomas Merton - John Kirvan

10. Just One More Thing Stories from My Life - Peter Falk

11. Catholic Truth Society Books associated with the new Lectionary

The Gospel of John - Fr John Hemer MHM

The Gospel of Luke - Fr John Hemer MHM

The Gospel of Mark - Fr Javier Ruiz-Ortiz

The Gospel of Matthew - Fr Javier Ruiz-Ortiz

The Book of Psalms and Canticles - The Abbey Psalter

12. The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicolas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth - Thomas Salerno and Dillon Wheelock

Bonus Books:

Catholicism and Mental Health - Dr. Pravin Thevathasan - CTS Explanations

Deepening Prayer: Life Defined by Prayer - Mary David Totah - CTS Deeper Christianity

Devotion and Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus - J. B. Midgley - CTS Devotions

Lectio Divina: Spiritual Reading of the Bible - Jean Khoury - CTS Deeper Christianity

Louis Marie de Montfort - Alan J. Frost - CTS Great Saints

Louis Marie de Montfort: His Life, Message and Teaching - Paul Allerton SMM - CTS Great Saints

Spiritual Warfare Fighting the Good Fight - Vivian Boland - CTS Deeper Christianity

Thérèse Teacher of Prayer - Craig Driscoll - CTS Spirituality

The Upward Arrow - Fr. Colum Power

Top Ten Fiction Books:

1. Honeymoon from Hell - Declan Finn

Cross Over

Fae'd To Black

2. The Second Skater of the Apocalypse - Fiorella De Maria - Skaters Book 2

3. Madness of Worlds - Karina Fabian

Madness Bound

Madness Unbound

Madness of Worlds

4. Joline - Jim Sano - Father Tom Book 5

5. Incarnate - Antony Barone Kolenc - Incarnate Series Book 1

6. In Plain Sight - Leslea Wahl - Finding Faith Book 3

7. Space Traipse: Hold My Beer: Season Eight - Karina Fabian

8. Pogue One - Edited by Spearman Burke - Raconteur Press Anthologies Book 44

9. The Case of the Mixed-up Marathon - Karen Kelly Boyce and Sue Anderson Gioulis - Sisters of the Last Straw Book 9

10. Jumping into Joy - Theresa Linden and Kelsey Doherty - Caitlyn and Peter's Rosary Adventures Book 1

Bonus Books:

Books by Gordon Korman:

Jake, Reinvented

No More Dead Dogs

Old School

The Toilet Paper Tigers

The Twinkie Squad

The Zucchini Warriors - Macdonald Hall Book 5

My reading has been up and down over the last few years it is staying pretty consistent at about a book a day for the year. I attribute in part to Brandon Vogt’s course Read More Books Now, removing all games but 1 brain game from my devices. Working from home reading took a little more discipline, and we are now back to a hybrid model with 5 days a month in the office, so things have changing again.

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 favourite books year by year list.

All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Statistics Books Read By Year:

132 - 2025 January-March

363 - 2024

455 - 2023

438 - 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

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

Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2022

Top Ten Books Fourth Quarter 2022

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2022

Top Ten Fiction Books 2022

Top Ten Books First Quarter 2023

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2023

Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2023

Top Ten Fiction Books Fourth Quarter 2023

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2023

Top Ten Fiction Books 2023

Top Ten Books First Quarter 2024

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2024

Top Ten Books Third Quarter 2023

Top Ten Fiction Books Fourth Quarter 2024

Top Ten Non-Fiction Books 2024

Top Ten Fiction Books 2024

Top Ten Books First Quarter 2025

Top Ten Books Second Quarter 2025

...

All Top Ten Lists on Book Reviews and More

Sunday, 30 March 2025

Jesus and the Jubilee - John Bergsma - The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor

Jesus and the Jubilee:

The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor

John Bergsma

Emmaus Road Publishing

ISBN 9781645854050

eISBN 9781645854067

ASIN B0D5J3GVL7

Jesus and the Jubilee - John Bergsma - The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor

Wow this was an absolutely fascinating read. I have read a few volumes for the Jubilee of Hope in 2025 and this is an excellent offering. Once I started reading I could hardly put this book down. The description of this volume states:

“Jubilee means joy—a joy that’s not fleeting, a joy that lasts.

In biblical times, a jubilee was a time to rejoice. And this is still the case when the Church announces a jubilee.

In Jesus and the Jubilee, biblical scholar John Bergsma gets to the roots of the jubilee, showing how this practice was established in order to preserve freedom, family, and the fullness of God’s blessing for the ancient Israelites.

But what the Israelites were promised by God—and experienced partially—was truly fulfilled by Jesus. As Jesus and the Jubilee reveals, the Catholic Church is the perpetual jubilee, offering redemption, release from spiritual bondage, return to our true home and family, and rest in God’s fullness.

Discover how the jubilee is the very center of Jesus’s mission and how we can fully participate in this ongoing “year of favor.””

The chapters in this book are:

Introduction Our Need for Jubilee

1 Back to the Garden:

Creation as the Model of the Jubilee

2 The First Jubilee:

Israel’s Exodus from Egypt

3 Laws of Liberation:

The Structure 7at Sustains Freedom

4 Liberty Lost and Regained (Forever):

The Calf and the Jubilee Laws

5 Jubilee in Theory . . . and Practice:

Did the Israelites Actually Observe the Jubilee?

6 Miracle at Qumran:

Hard Evidence for the Jubilee

7 A Year of Favor:

The Coming of Christ, the New Melchizedek

8 Freedom from Sin:

The Liberating Power of Confession

9 Perpetual Jubilee:

A Spirit-Led Lifestyle of Liberty and Liturgy

Conclusion:

Conversion: The Heart of Jubilee

Epilogue

The Jubilee and Me

I highlighted a number of passages while working through this book, some of them are:

“God never stops offering us the gift of grace and promises us a kind of freedom that can never be taken away.”

“In the wake of the golden calf debacle, God gave Moses a liturgy and a lifestyle to implement that would institutionalize freedom for his people. The sacrifices, laws, and especially the liturgical patterns—the cycle of Sabbaths and Sabbath years—culminated in the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the year of rest, where the sins of Israel were atoned for and forgiven, the family was fully restored, debt was erased, slaves were released, and ancestral land was returned to its rightful owners. Everything reverted back to its pristine beginning. Deliverance flowed from God, and this divine liberty was reflected in the natural liberties of his creation.”

“Through the coming of Jesus, all that had been promised is fulfilled. The purpose of the jubilee, and its celebration, can be fully realized now that the Spirit of jubilee is given to the Church. The power to proclaim forgiveness of spiritual debt and freedom from slavery live on through Christ’s bishops and priests and the sacraments they perform. At long last, the people of God—each of us—can enjoy the superabundance provided for us by our loving Creator.”

“Throughout this book, we will highlight the jubilee throughlines in Scripture and, if we open our hearts to the Spirit of jubilee, I believe God can and will speak powerful truths to each of us about the freedom he deems to bring about.”

“The cycles of sin, oppression, infidelity, and ambivalence that the Israelites found themselves entrenched in bear striking resemblance to the societal ills of today. We are in constant need of the jubilee and all that it brings.”

“Let’s go back and take a closer look at God’s grand finale, his masterpiece: man, created on the sixth day. When we look more closely at the creation of man, we recognize that God gave him five roles.

The first role was sonship.

The second role was kingship.

The third role was priesthood.

The fourth role was prophethood.

The fifth and final role that God gave to man was that of a bridegroom.”

“Everybody remembers the Exodus as the great act of liberation in the Bible, but the Exodus has a backstory. As we saw in the last chapter, the patriarchs gave rise to a whole nation: Israel. The patriarchs sought the jubilee goods of forgiveness, freedom, family, and fullness, but only partially achieved these goals in their lifetimes.”

“We remember the Exodus as an event in which God delivered Israel from physical slavery to the Egyptians. But in reflecting on the ten plagues, we realize that God first freed Israel—and any Egyptians who were paying attention—from their spiritual slavery to the Egyptian gods. The plagues were a trouncing of the Egyptian deities, a kind of exorcism of the land of Egypt. This is so closely connected to the idea of jubilee, because we will later see that spiritual freedom always precedes physical freedom in jubilee thought. Indeed, in late Jewish thought, the jubilee becomes associated with the exorcistic power of the Messiah.”

“But God used the journey through the desert (the Exodus) to show Israel, over and over, that spiritual and natural freedom are attained only through him.”

“There is a paradox in the human condition: we feel like boundaries (laws) restrict our freedom, but if we fail to observe good boundaries (laws), we end up losing our freedom to sin and addiction—and this is true of both individuals and societies.”

“Every seven days, Israel observed the Sabbath to commemorate God’s completion of creation. Every seven years, they were to observe a Sabbath year, resting from their labor and enjoying God’s abundance. And, climactically, at the end of every seven weeks of years (seven times seven, a total of forty-nine years), they were to observe a jubilee year, a kind of super-Sabbath.”

“In the year of jubilee the Israelites shall rest, as in a Sabbath year, but the jubilee had many unique features that distinguished it even from other holy years. We can arrange these unique features around four major actions: redemption, release, return, and rest, and these actions are aimed at the four goods we have mentioned already in the introduction to this book: Forgiveness, freedom, family, and fullness. Let’s work through these four actions, step by step.”

“But the real jubilee began with the purging and driving out of sin and evil from Israel—including evil spirits, for the Day of Atonement was like a great general exorcism. The removal of sin and evil allowed reconciliation of God with his people and a restoration of the family bond of the covenant.”

“I’ve spent several years of my life studying the jubilee laws, and I’m not that pessimistic. Although I can’t prove it, I suspect the jubilee was observed the first time it came around, after they had settled the land under Joshua—and maybe the second time it cycled around, as well. After that, it seems to have fallen into disuse, becoming a so-called blue law—still on the books, but ignored.”

“I scarcely need to mention that early Christian interpreters saw this as speaking of Jesus: he is the Prince Messiah who showed up at the end of the five hundred years, was cut off, and made a “strong covenant”—the New Covenant—with many. But it is important that we see that the whole chronology is based on the jubilee cycles. “Seventy weeks of years” is 490 years, or ten jubilee cycles, each lasting forty-nine years between jubilees. Ten was a perfect number. At the end of ten jubilees, the Messiah would arrive to proclaim the final jubilee of history—indeed, to open up a jubilee era.”

“Every feature of the jubilee, promised so long ago, was about to come to startling fruition. And as is so often the case when our heavenly Father makes good on his word, our expectations are exceeded by orders of magnitude.”

“Christ created the mystical body of his Church and appointed ministers with the power of the Holy Spirit to be prophets and priests of the order of Melchizedek: to proclaim liberty and free people from slavery to Satan and debt to sin. This was the order of Melchizedek, not the order of the Levites.”

“Through his Church, Christ established his sacraments for us and by them sin is vanquished. Death is conquered through the gift of eternal life. Jesus passed on his Melchizedekian, jubilean powers to the chosen Twelve. He worked through them, by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. He gave them his authority and responsibility, which they passed down to their descendants—bishops and priests today.”

“In a way, he was saying, “As many times as God has forgiven Israel, so you should forgive others.” But there was also a sacramental, liturgical aspect to Jesus’s statement to Peter, because Peter was going to be the first pope. He was going to be the head of the Church and the head of those in Holy Orders. And those in Holy Orders—the priests and bishops—are God’s chief forgivers. One could almost say their chief duty is to forgive sins and to free people from slavery to Belial. Thus, when Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive, Jesus’s “seventy times seven” response meant: be generous as your Father in heaven was generous. Jesus commissioned Peter and his successors to be the living embodiment of jubilee, to perpetuate the age of the Messiah.”

“And as high priest, Jesus performed the greatest exorcism on the Cross, purging all of God’s people from the defilement of evil. He cried, “It is finished,” and gave up his spirit (John 19: 30). And God tore the curtain wall of the temple into two (cf. Matt 27: 51). The Old Covenant was shattered. The New Covenant was here. With those words, the chains of sin were broken, the power of Satan was destroyed.”

“So the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of freedom (2 Cor 3: 17), the Spirit of jubilee, flows from the Passion of Christ that John sees as blood and water, which are signs of the sacraments: the Eucharist and Baptism. And the sacraments are the usual way in which we experience jubilee, which flows from Christ through this body, the Church.”

“How much more liberating is Confession, since it is a direct path to reconciliation with God and freedom from slavery to sin? It is a sacrament of jubilee! Together let’s examine this tremendous gift of the new jubilee.”

“I’ll use an analogy. Most of us are probably familiar with the process of “accepting cookies” on our laptop, tablet, or phone. When we visit a new website, often a dialogue box will open that asks if we will accept “cookies” from the website or remote server—in other words, if we will consent to the remote site making modifications to our operating system and the software on our device. By clicking “Yes,” we consent to give this alien agent—this remote server—authority to act in our machines. Most servers and sites are legitimate and trustworthy and don’t take advantage of everything they could do to and with our local device. But not all are legitimate and trustworthy! Therefore, cybersecurity experts recommend that we periodically “flush the cookies” by going into our settings and denying all the permissions we have granted to remote servers. Confession works like this: when we make a good confession, we “flush the cookies” and revoke all the permissions we granted to Satan and his evil spirits. They are driven out through Reconciliation—and afterward, they might be able to harass us externally, but they cannot work inside us.”

“My experiences prepared me to think about the Sacrament of Confession very differently than most people, whether Catholic or Protestant. I never saw the confessional as a judgment chamber, or like walking into a court room. It never occurred to me to be afraid of it. Rather, I looked at Confession as a way to obey the Bible and as a means of spiritual warfare and deliverance from Satan and other evil spirits. This would end up playing an important role in my conversion to the Catholic Church.”

“St. Josemaría Escrivá also recommended and practiced weekly confession. His philosophy was “keep short books.” This is accounting terminology. Bookkeepers and accountants try not to let expenditures pile up before reconciling and balancing the books—and this is a great philosophy for reconciliation. We should go when our sins are fresh in our mind, so they don’t pile up and dull our senses (see Matt 13: 15–17). That way we will receive more grace from the sacrament, which will help break Satan’s grasp and strengthen us to stop committing any habitual sins permanently.”

“Confession is the most direct means to victory in spiritual warfare and the most direct path to spiritual freedom and jubilee. It helps break habitual sins and addictions; it helps us receive Our Lord worthily in the Eucharist—our daily bread, Communion of everlasting life. Why wouldn’t we want to confess often?”

“By all appearances, Confession is the dullest of the sacraments! To celebrate almost any other sacrament, people get dressed up, and the priest has magnificent vestments. In the other sacraments, we get the “smells” and “bells”: we get oil, we get water, we get the crucifix, we get readings, we get processions, we get hoopla. With a confession, what do we get? Twelve people standing in line on a Saturday afternoon for an hour, and the most exciting thing that happens is, every five minutes, we shuffle forward.”

“At any time, on any day of the week, we can be forgiven from our debt of sin and freed from slavery to the evil one. At any time, we can drink from the salvation flowing from his divine side. At any time we can receive his jubilean mercy, and we can live.”

“All the goals of the jubilee are fulfilled by the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit forgives our sins, grants us freedom from the tyranny of Satan, institutes us as children of God and members of his family, and initiates us into the fullness of God so that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1: 4). For that reason, the Jubilee 2025 is a highly appropriate time for individuals and communities to enter more deeply into the life of the Holy Spirit.”

“Yet devotion to the Spirit, of course, is not limited to one group or movement within the Church. All baptized Catholics should seek to grow in their devotion to and experience of the Spirit in their lives during the jubilee year. I would urge both a return to and a renewed appreciation of traditional devotions as well as openness to contemporary ones.”

“I urge every Catholic to choose at least one book to read or one devotion to practice related to the Holy Spirit for this jubilee year, because life in the Spirit is the fulfillment of jubilee.”

“Now that we know what jubilee is, where it came from, and how it exists today, how can we enter into it? What are some practical steps to bring jubilee into our hearts? How do we embrace the Spirit of jubilee and not the letter of jubilee? How do we make good use of 2025 and the years following? How do we make jubilee a lifestyle? How do we sustain liberty?”

“The jubilee year is the opportune time for us to begin participating in the sacraments more frequently. The two sacraments that we can partake of regularly are Eucharist and Reconciliation.”

“Purgatory is merciful and necessary for a departed soul to become completely detached from sin and made pure; however, in a way, it is sad and entirely unnecessary, since Christ and his Church give us ample opportunities to rectify this payment on earth, if we sincerely make use of them. These opportunities are indulgences.”

“The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available on any given day. And all the sacraments help us overcome the evil one and become free. The spiritual battle rages on, but falling wounded is not the worst thing in battle. The worst thing is not being healed. It is not being restored and getting back into the fight.”

“Throughout this book, we have seen the story of salvation in a new light and come to recognize that jubilee is and always has been at the heart of God’s plan.”

I pray those samples give you a feel for the poser of this slim volume. John gives up a history of then Jubilee from the bible and from Jewish history. He clearly explains the fulfilment of prophecy and Jesus as the Jubilee of Jubilees. He walks us through the role of Melchizedek historically and continuing through history. His words on confession, the sacraments and purgatory are clear, concise and deeply moving. The conclusion of the book focuses on way we can experience the Jubilee in a deeper and fuller way. And in the epilogue John shares his own history with the Jubilee as a focus of research, the great Jubilee of the year 2000 and his own conversion to Catholicism. In which he is open, honest and transparent with us his readers.

This is an excellent volume. I have read 14 volumes related to the Jubilee of Hope so far. This is one of the best. If you are going to only pick up one book ok the Jubilee to read, make it this one, if you are willing to pick up 2 make it this and Hope An Anchor for the Soul 30 Daily Devotions by Amy Welborn.

This is an excellent volume that any Catholic would benefit from reading. It is a life changing volume. One certain to have a lasting impact. I challenge you to pick it up and read it. A wonderful volume to read on this Jubilee year of Hope! I highly recommend it.

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!

Jubilee of Hope 2025 Book List:

Hope An Anchor for the Soul 30 Daily Devotions - Amy Welborn

Pocket Book of Hope: Words of Inspiration - Living with Christ

Stations of Hope: Praying the Stations of the Cross for Today - Father David M. Knight

Faith is a Journey, Meditations for Pilgrims and Wayfarers - Pope Francis

A Light in the Night Meditations on Hope - Pope Francis

Jesus and the Jubilee - John Bergsma

...

Notes on Prayer Series:

1. Prayer Today: A Challenge to Overcome - Cardinal Angelo Comastri

2. Praying with the Psalms - Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi

3. The Prayer of Jesus – Juan Lopez Vergara

4. Praying with Saints and Sinners - Fr Paul Brendan Murray, OP

5. The Parables of Prayer – Msgr Antonio Pitta

6. The Church in Prayer - Carthusian Monks

7. The Prayer of Mary and the Saints Who Met Her - Sr Catherine Aubin, OP

8. The Prayer Jesus Taught Us: Our Father - Fr Ugo Vanni

…

Overview of the Notes on Prayer Series

...

Books by John Bergsma:

A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament

Bible Basics

Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of Christianity

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Priesthood

Jesus and the Jubilee The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor

Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood

Love Basics for Catholics

Murmuring Against Moses

New Testament Basics for Catholics

Psalm Basics for Catholics

Stunned by Scripture: How the Bible Made Me Catholic

The Bible and Marriage

The Jubilee from Leviticus to Qumran

The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Mass Readings for Solemnities and Feasts

The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year A

The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year B

The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C

Yes, There Is a God... and Other Answers to Life's Big Questions

…

Saturday, 29 March 2025

The Chicken Doesn't Skate - Gordon Korman

The Chicken Doesn't Skate

Gordon Korman

Scholastic

ISBN 9780545289252

The Chicken Doesn't Skate - Gordon Korman Reprint Edition

This book was originally published in 1996 by Scholastic, in has been through numerous reprint since then, the currently not in print. According to Goodreads there are 14 editions and versions format including paperback, hardcover, cassette and even CD. The covers have been through 2 rebranding’s. My introduction to Korman’s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. Since then I have read 56 of his books. Just over half way thorough his canon, but with each one I read I am entertained and often challenged. And always entertained. I do plan on trying to read them all. My son, who is 17 often, reads these books to me or with me, and he still loves them.

A description of this volume states:

“What do a scientist, a screenwriter, and a hockey team all have in common? A chicken!

Milo has a problem. He's trying to do a project on the food chain, so he charts the growth of a baby chick, and makes arrangements to serve his specimen to the judges at the science fair. But he's baffled by the rest of his class. They name the chick Henrietta. They sign up to take her home on weekends. They claim that she's a good luck charm, a friend, even the new hockey team mascot!

Milo just wants to win the science fair to impress his dad. But when the class finds out that Henrietta will be cooked and eaten for Milo's project, everyone panics!”

This story is another excellent read and one that took me completely by surprise. I had figured out one of the major twists but did not know really what to expect. At first I thought the chicken would have been a new hockey player or even the new kid in town taking up the sport. I had not read the description and was unsure what to expect. But once I started reading I could just not put this book down. In some ways it reminds me of Tribes by Arthur Slade. And I really enjoyed the way the story was written. Like many of Korman’s books it is written in a series of first person narratives, but each voice has very different styles, one starts and or ends with screen play pieces, one is written like notes in lab books. One is a captain’s log. The chapters are by:

Captain Adam Lurie 7

Files of Zachary Gustafson 8

Experiment Notes Milo Neal 4

Psychology Talks Kelly Marie Ginsberg 3

Diary of Mrs Baggio 1

Secret Recordings Joey Sorrentino 1

Clipboard Coach Crenshaw 1

This story does a great job of capturing middle school or even early high school groups and feel. A chicken that is being raised for a school project takes on a larger than life role in the school and community. It becomes the team mascot. The hockey team wants to win the championship so they get to play a school from Canada. Milo Neal just want to understand what is going on, and to have more attention from his dad who is back in LA. Zachary want to be a screenwriter and is doing all he can to befriend milo. And Kelly Marie has fallen in love with the little animal. Oh and the title of the book appears three times in the text, it will make you smile, maybe even laugh.

This was the penultimate of Korman’s stand-alone books for me to read. I still have one to go and about 40 books from series left to read to have completed the canon of Korman’s works. I am grateful I gave it a read. It is a wonderful School Story and Korman is a master of the genre. If you can track it down pick it up and give it a read I am certain it will entertain and you will likely laugh out loud a few times!

Books by Gordon Korman:

MacDonald Hall Series:

This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (1978)

Go Jump in the Pool (1979)

Beware the Fish! (1980)

The Wizzle War (1982)

(formerly The War With Mr. Wizzle)

The Zucchini Warriors (1988)

Light’s Camera, Disaster (1991)

(aka Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood)

The Jokes on Us (1995)

(formerly Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall)

…

Bugs Potter Series:

Who is Bugs Potter? (1980)

Bugs Potter LIVE at Nickaninny (1983)

…

Jeremy Bloom Series:

The D−Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1992)

The Last-Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom (1996)

…

Monday Night Football Series:

The Quarterback Exchange (1997)

Running Back Conversion (1997)

Super Bowl Switch (1997)

Heavy Artillery (1997)

Ultimate Scoring Machine (1998)

NFL Rules! Bloopers, Pranks, Upsets, and Touchdowns (1998)

…

Masterminds Series:

Masterminds (2015)

Masterminds: Criminal Destiny (2016)

Masterminds: Payback (2017)

…

Slapshots Series:

The Stars From Mars (1999)

All-Mars All-Stars/The Dream Team (1999)

The Face-off Phony (2000)

Cup Crazy (2000)

Ouch I got slapped (2023)

…

4-in-1 Slapshots: The Complete Collection (2008)

…

Nose Pickers Series:

Nose Pickers from Outer Space! (1999)

Planet of the Nose Pickers (2000)

Your Mummy Is a Nose Picker (2000)

Invasion of the Nose Pickers (2001)

…

4-in-1 The Ultimate Nose-Picker Collection (2006)

…

Island Series:

Shipwreck (2001)

Survival (2001)

Escape (2001)

…

3-in-1 Island Trilogy Collection (2006)

…

Son of the Mob Series:

Son of the Mob (2002)

Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle (2004)

…

Everest Series:

The Contest (2002)

The Climb (2002)

The Summit (2002)

…

Everest Trilogy Box Set (2002)

Dive Series:

The Discovery (2003)

The Deep (2003)

The Danger (2003)

…

On the Run Series:

Chasing the Falconers (2005)

The Fugitive Factor (2005)

Now You See Them, Now You Don't (2005)

The Stowaway Solution (2005)

Public Enemies (2005)

Hunting the Hunter (2006)

…

Kidnapped Series:

The Abduction (2006)

The Search (2006)

The Rescue (2006)

…

Swindle Series:

Swindle (2008)

Zoobreak (2009)

Framed (2010)

Showoff (2012)

Hideout (2013)

Jackpot (2014)

Unleashed (2015)

Jingle (2016)

…

Titanic Series:

Unsinkable (2011)

Collision Course (2011)

S.O.S (2011)

…

The 39 Clues Series:

One False Note (2008)

The Emperor's Code (2010)

Vespers Rising (2011)

The Medusa Plot (2011)

Flashpoint (2014)

…

Hypnotists Series:

The Hypnotists (2013)

Memory Maze (2014)

The Dragonfly Effect (2015)

…

Ungifted Series:

Ungifted (2012)

Supergifted (2018)

…

Slacker Series:

Slacker (2016)
Level 13 (2019)

...

Non Series Books:

I Want to Go Home! (1981)

Our Man Weston (1982)

No Coins, Please (1984)

Don't Care High (1985)

Son of Interflux (1986)

A Semester in the Life of a Garbage Bag (1987)

Radio 5th Grade (1989)

Losing Joe's Place (1990)

The Twinkie Squad (1992)

The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993)

Why Did the Underwear Cross the Road (1994)

The Chicken Doesn't Skate (1996)

Liar, Liar Pants on Fire (1997)

The Sixth Grade Nickname Game (1998)

No More Dead Dogs (2000)

Maxx Comedy: The Funniest Kid in America (2003)

Jake, Reinvented (2003)

Born To Rock (2006)

Schooled (2007)

The Juvie Three (2008)

Pop (2009)

Restart (2017)

What's His Face? (2018)

The Unteachables (2019)

Notorious (2019)

War Stories (2020)

Game On (contains The Chicken Doesn’t Skate and The Toilet Paper Tigers (2021)

Unplugged (2021)

Linked (2021)

Operation Do-Over (2022)

The Fort (2022)

The Super Teacher Project (2023)

Mixed Up (2023)

Slugfest (2024)

Faker (2024)

Old School (2025)

Snoop (2025)

…

Gordon Korman - Sheelagh Matthews - Remarkable Writers

...

The Chicken Doesn't Skate - Gordon Korman Original Cover

Friday, 28 March 2025

Patron Saints A Feast of Holy Cards - Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua

Patron Saints: A Feast of Holy Cards

Barbara Calamari

Sandra DiPasqua

Abrams

ISBN 9780810994027

ASIN

Patron Saints A Feast of Holy Cards - Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua

I stumbled upon another volume by this writing team and have since reading that first one tracked down all but 1 in digital format. Because of a dual form of dyslexia I greatly prefer eBooks. The first volume I read was all about Holy Cards, and it was a fascinating read. This is the seventh and final volume I have read by this writing duo and I can easily state they are all been great. I do sincerely wish that they had more in the works. But back to this specific volume, the description of this book states:

“An introduction to Catholic patron saints is illustrated by color photographs of holy cards depicting the saint and includes information about the saint's life and feast day, other patronages and what they may be invoked for.”

The chapters and sections in this volume are:

Introduction

Saints of Health

Saints of Nations

Saints of Nature

Saints of Occupations

Saints of States of Life

The dustjacket states:

“From the birth of Christianity, saints have inspired the classic works of Western art. They are human representatives of divine grace, and their stories of faith and suffering, trials and transcendence have fascinated the secular and comforted, consoled, and encouraged believers. One of the most important and endearing traditions of Catholic iconography is the holy card. Offering images of the saints, these portable objects of daily ritual are carried for protection, given as remembrances at communions, confirmations, and funerals, and collected and traded.

In Holy Cards, authors Barbara Calamari and Sandra DiPasqua offer the first book to survey this rich and varied art form. Featuring both a pantheon of major religious figures in Catholicism and many little-known saints—such as St. Clare, patron saint of television, and St. Monica, patron saint of disappointing children—this book is sure to inform and inspire. Beautifully reproduced, the holy cards are arranged thematically and each is accompanied by a brief biography of the subject, including attributes and powers. A glowing compendium of jewel-like images, Holy Cards can be treasured for both its spiritual and artistic qualities. Indeed, it is the perfect gift for all those interested in Catholicism and devotional art.

110 illustrations in full color.”

As the final volume I read by this writing duo it packs a lot of punch. From the introduction we are informed:

“There are more than ten thousand saints in the Catholic calendar. They hail from all corners of the world, as well as every social class and ethnic group. They have all suffered from human faults, made terrible mistakes, endured illnesses, and borne disappointments both large and small. Some were great rulers and leaders, traveling the world; many never left the towns and cities where they were born, toiling in dull, quiet lives.”

“Since holiness is an energy that transcends all boundaries and does not weaken and disappear as material things do, Catholics believe that the saints exist on a spiritual plane and have a very real presence in the world today. In life, saints served as human examples of what one could achieve by using Christ’s precepts of universal love, and they continue to guide and aid the living in the afterlife by praying with and for them upon request. Every Catholic has a patron saint who functions as a guide or mentor throughout their earthly existence.”

“The word “patron” derives from the Latin word patronus, which means “protector of clients” or “defender.” The intercession of a patron saint is thought to help speed the efficacy of one’s prayers before God. There are many ways to find one’s patron saint, although the most common way is through one’s name. Children are often named in honor of a relative, who in turn was named for a saint. In this way, the saint serves as an ancestral guide through life, connecting several generations of a family. Others claim their patron saint by matching their own day of birth with a saint’s feast day, which commemorates the day of a saint’s death.”

“Representing an immense range of human experience, the stories of holy people related in this book span over two thousand years of history. Because it is common practice for Catholics to carry images of their patron in holy card form, we have chosen to illustrate this book solely with these images. We have divided the patronages of these saints into five basic categories: Health, Nations, Nature, Occupations, and States of Life. In the instances where a saint has multiple patronages that span across these categories, we list all their other areas of support.”

“Saints can enjoy both local and global popularity. Some are well-known in particular regions of the world and totally unknown in others. Their traditional patronages are derived from details about their lives, birthplaces, occupations, or visual iconography. There is no official or comprehensive index of saints; rather, there is a myriad of sources listing saints and their patronages.”

The saints by chapters are:

Saints of Health:

St Louis de Gonzague

Martin of Tours

Anthony of Padua

Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

Agatha

John the Apostle

Peregrine Laziosi

Margaret of Antioch

Saint Placid

Saint Maurus

Camillus of Lellis

Saint Roch

Saint Willibrord

Saint Blaise

Francis de Sales

Margaret of Cortona

Joseph

Lucy of Syracuse

Genevieve

Gregory the Great

Margaret of Castello

Teresa of Ávila

John of God

Bernadine of Siena

Vitus

Gerard Majella

James the Greater

Anthony the Abbot

Casilda of Toledo

Andrew Avellino

Rita of Cascia

Saints of Nations:

Cyprian of Carthage

Francis Solano

Francis Xavier

Colman of Stockerau

Cyril and Methodius

Louis Bertran

Wenceslaus

Ansgar

Dominic de Guzman

George

Thérèse of Lisieux

Boniface

Andrew the Apostle

Stephen of Hungary

Thomas the Apostle

Patrick

Catherine of Siena

Vincent de Paul

Paul the Apostle

Adalbert of Prague

Ephrem of Syria

Josaphat

Gertrude the Great

Saint of Nature:

Gerlac of Valkenburg

Ambrose of Milan

Perpetua and Felicity

Columba of Rieti

Gregory Thaumaturgus

Margaret of Hungary

Barnabas the Apostle

Hippolytus of Rome

Martin de Porres

Wendelin

Magnus of Füssen

Januarius

Edmund of East Anglia

Saints of Occupations:

Pelagia the Penitent

Helena

Blessed Fra Angelico

Cosmas and Damian

Augustine of Hippo

Stephen the Martyr

Vincent Ferrer

Hilda

Fiacre

Catherine of Alexandria

Brigid of Ireland

Apollonia

Conrad of Parzham

Francis of Assisi

Dorothy of Caesarea

John Gualbert

Mary Magdalene

Elizabeth of Hungary

Eligius

Ivo of Kermartin

Isidore the Farmer

Saint Anne

Ignatius of Loyola

Rupert

Peter Claver

Cecilia

Raymond Nonnatus

Hildegard of Bingen

Justin Martyr

Christina the Astonishing

Albert the Great

Blessed Lydwina of Schiedam

John Regis

John Baptist de La Salle

Clare of Assisi

Saints of States of Life:

Germaine Cousin

Clotilde

Zeno of Verona

Martina

Adelaide

Julian the Hospitaller

Afra

Julitta and Cyriacus of Iconium

Philomena

Catherine of Genoa

Blandina

Joachim

Benedict Joseph Labre

Nicholas of Tolentino

Monica

John Damascene

Norbert

Godelieve

Edward the Confessor

Leopold III

Denis

Benedict

Frances of Rome

A few samples of saints I was unfamiliar with:

“Cancer / Peregrine Laziosi,

1260–1345,

Feast Day: May 1

An antipapist political leader, Peregrine converted to Catholicism after his violence against the papal legate was rebuffed with kindness. He eventually became a popular preacher, dedicating himself to working with the hopelessly ill. He himself was diagnosed with cancer. The night before he was to have his leg amputated, Christ came to him and healed him in his cell.

Other patronages: incurable illnesses, running sores

Invoked: for medical breakthroughs”

“Austria / Colman of Stockerau,

d. 1012,

Feast Day: October 13

A monk from the British Isles, Colman was making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land when he was stopped in Austria under suspicion of spying for their enemy, Moravia. Unable to speak German, he could not defend himself and was tortured and hanged. His body was left to dangle as a warning, and for eighteen months, it did not decompose and no animal touched it. The Austrians recognized this as a sign of his sanctity and made him their patron.

Other patronages: horned cattle, horses; hanged men

Invoked: against hanging, plague.”

“Pastures / Wendelin,

554–617,

Feast Day: October 21

The pious son of a Scottish king, Wendelin made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was advised to follow his heart. He toured religious sites in Europe and settled in Germany, where he tended sheep, which enabled him to pray most of the day. Eventually he founded a community of religious hermits that became the Benedictine Abbey of Thole.

Other patronages: farmers, shepherds.”

“Dentists / Apollonia,

d. 249,

Feast Day: February 9

During festivities celebrating the Roman occupation of Egypt, a violent mob began attacking Christians. Apollonia, a revered deaconess, was repeatedly hit in the face until her teeth were broken. Confronted with a raging bonfire if she did not denounce her faith, she voluntarily threw herself into the flames. Another version of this story says that she was tortured by having her teeth pulled with pincers before being burned.

Invoked: against toothache.”

“Childless People / Julian the Hospitaller,

dates unknown,

Feast Day: February 12

A noble layman, Julian was out hunting when a stag warned him that one day he would kill his own parents. To avoid this fate, he moved far away and married. After years of searching, his parents located him and went to surprise him. Returning to his house, he saw two figures in bed. Thinking his wife was with another man, he killed them. Turning back the covers, he saw it was his parents. He and his wife then gave up everything and went on a pilgrimage. Julian did penance, helping the poor and opening a sanctuary for lepers, until he earned divine forgiveness.

Other patronages: hospitality; boatmen, circus workers, clowns, fiddlers, innkeepers, jugglers, murderers, pilgrims, shepherds

Invoked: to find lodging while traveling.”

I must admit there were numerous saints I was unfamiliar with in this volume. It was wonderful to read through. The layout is a picture of a holy card then the information about that saint, and if applicable ‘other patronages’ and ‘what they are invoked for.

This is another excellent volume from the team who created it. It ties in well with the books the duo have written on Holy Cards, Mary, and Saints. This is a stunning volume and I look forward to the release of the eBook edition. I greatly enjoyed working through it and plan on rereading it again. It is a wonderful book I can easily recommend for home, school, or church library!

Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!