Blogging from a Secret Location (heehee)

I've been very much enjoying this time with my family. The big celebration was terrific and most of the family has left (well in fact, all my brothers had to head back home; the girls and families are here for a little longer). In a way it's delightful to see how everyone stays up too late talking (and needs a nap the next day) because we're so anxious to spend precious time together.

I have some very knowledgeable relatives who have been helping me with ideas for good books for our high school plans and I wanted to jot them down here so I don't lose track.

First, a list of books about books to check out (some of these are intended for adults, but seem to have many appropriate suggestions for teens too - besides, I think it's good for the adults to take advantage and do some of their own reading too!)

The first two are published by Ignatius Press, not sure if they're still in print:

Another Sort of Learning: Selected Contrary Essays on How Finally to Acquire an Education While Still in College or Anywhere Else: Containing Some Belated Advice about How to Employ Your Leisure Time When Ultimate Questions Remain Perplexing in Spite of Your Highest Earned Academic Degree, Together with Sundry Book Lists Nowhere Else in Captivity to be Found by James Schall

[I think this might win the prize for best subtitle ever]

Christian Classics Revisited by James J. Thompson Jr.

[This is a collection of essays from New Oxford Review on wonderful books. The essays are very readable and might serve as a useful "prelection" for teens tackling these titles.]

This also reminds me that I want to take another look at Catholic Authors: Crown Edition (Neumann Press)

Here are some specific titles that were mentioned in conversation this weekend - in no particular order...

Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church
Emily Dickinson
Mark Twain, esp. Joan of Arc
two poetry collections from Ignatius Press (one edited by Joseph Pearce) - I can't remember the titles and haven't looked them up yet
Chesterton, of course (esp. The Everlasting Man, Heretics and Orthodoxy)
Hilaire Belloc
John Steinbeck - Tortilla Flats and The Red Pony
Dickens, of course
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
short stories of Flannery O'Connor
A Map of Life by Frank Sheed
Short History of the Church by Philip Hughes
Mythology by Edith Hamilton
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
Kristin Lavransdatter
Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh

I'm starting to put together a potential religion overview for the four years. I'm also hoping to include a well-chosen encyclical each year.

Year One: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part I: The Profession of Faith
A Map of Life by Frank Sheed

Year Two: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part II: Celebration of the Christian Mystery
The Old Testament

Year Three: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part III: Life in Christ
The Holy Gospels

Year Four: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part IV: Christian Prayer
Acts of the Apostles, Epistles and Book of Revelation