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November 2020 BOTM - Voting
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I will vote for:1. Invasion '14, by Maxence Van der Meersch,
2. Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson
(both the new ones I know:-))
(I also will actually try and remember to read whatever has been voted for this time)
Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De MariaThe Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany, by David G. Dalin
I vote for "Bodies and Souls" by Maxence van der Meersch and for "The secrets for sucessful financial planning Inside tips From an expert" by Dan Gallagher
Race with the DevilDoors in the Walls of the World
Doors in the Walls of the WorldThe Myth of Hitler’s Pope
Mod
1. The Divine Milieu
2. The myth of Hitler's Pope
Race with the Devil by Joseph Pearceand
The Mango Murders, by Mara Campos,
My votes are:1. Race With the Devil
2. Poor Banished Children
Mod
1) Race with the Devil
2) Doors in the Walls of the World
My votes are for "Bodies and Souls" by Maxence van der Meersch and for "The secrets for sucessful financial planning Inside tips From an expert" by Dan Gallagher
I have been compiling stats about the last 12 times we voted (which do not correspond exactly to the last twelve months, since there were some ties). In the last 12 votings:
-A book was dropped after receiving zero votes: 8 times
-No book received zero votes: 3 times
-No book was dropped despite receiving zero votes: 1 time (it was its first month on the list).
-There was a tie for winner: 2 times.
I also have stats for times a book received 0 or 1 vote, and average number of votes, in case anybody is interested.
Paul: A Biography, by N.T. WrightThe Mango Murders
I am very sorry that I am late.
Mod
The Mango Murders
I am very sorry that I am late."
Frances, your votes cannot be counted, for the voting was closed 8 days ago, and the results were announced immediately.
Mod
In the last 12 votings:
-A book was dropped ..."
Thanks, Mariangel. I would be interested in knowing how many times The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany received only one vote. I can't say for sure, but I know it's been on the voting list a long time and I think I recall it only getting one vote a time or two. That makes it winning as the November 2020 BOTM somewhat interesting. (Assuming my recollection is correct.) :-)
Interesting that we have no "extra" book eliminated 1/3 of the time. Perhaps it's time for a discussion about the way the selection process is run. We haven't had one of those in a while.
The Myth of Hitler's Pope entered the voting list in March 2018, but I have only made stats starting in Jan 2019. Out of 18 votes since Jan 2019, it got one vote just 4 times. Personal note: in 2020 I have voted for this book 8 times, but in 2019 I did not vote for it. My interest for it developed later, not when it first came on the list.
Thank you, Manuel. I am sorry and will do better next time.
Hello everyone. Since I'm not actively participating right now (slugging through the books on my shelves), I don't have any suggestions as to how to make the on-line process less cumbersome via the limitations of electronics. Although I have read widely, I must admit I don't recognize many of the authors or titles. Perhaps one question is this: how do other groups on Goodreads select their books?
Marcia, I am not in other groups that select books to read, but I think John is, maybe he can answer your question.I also don’t always know the books proposed, but there is a short explanation next to each book we are voting on that helps me decide.
Other groups do it all sorts of ways. The most common one I've seen is taking nominations every month and voting on them. Clean slate.
Mod
This discussion really belongs in the Atrium. I'll move Mary's comment there and respond.
Hello! Brand-new here (thanks for the invite), and I'm not sure how to search what's already been done - but I suggest Anthony Esolen's wonderful, wonderful: The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord
Mod
Hi Joe, Welcome to the group. I would suggest reading our FAQs first - they can be found here, though we've just made some changes to the way we select books and the FAQs may need to be updated.
In short, each month we vote from a Voting List of books to select our book for the next month. This month we are reading Dalin's The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany and we will start voting on our December book on our about November 15. The November Voting List can be seen here.
The Voting List is replenished from the Nomination List, which can be seen here. You can nominate books at this thread. I've added The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord to the list on your behalf.
Again, welcome to the CBC.
Mod
Thank you. Responding to you reminded me that I needed to update the FAQs - I was embarrassed to discover they were probably almost 5 years out of date. :-)
The Catholic Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany (other topics)The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord (other topics)
The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord (other topics)
The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII and His Secret War Against Nazi Germany (other topics)
Doors in the Walls of the World: Signs of Transcendence in the Human Story (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Maxence Van der Meersch (other topics)Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (other topics)
Peter Kreeft (other topics)
Jacqueline Brown (other topics)
Mara Campos (other topics)
More...
It is time to vote for the November 2020 BOTM!!
- You may vote for two of the books on the following list.
- The book with the most votes will be our September 2020 BOTM. If two or more books are tied with the highest vote, we will read them all, one a month, and the randomizer will decide the order.
- The randomizer will also select one book from among those that receive no votes to be removed from the voting list. The following two books were added after our last vote and as first-timers on the voting list, they are exempt from the randomizer: Invasion'14, by Maxence van der Meersch, nominated by John, and Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Sergio.
Voting will finish at 11:00 AM Eastern time on October 19.
The list of books to choose from are:
Bodies and souls, by Maxence Van der Meersch, nominated by Fonch.
This dramatic novel about doctors, students, nurses and patients, has become a classic. It seems to be difficult to obtain in English (it doesn't even have a page in Goodreads), but it can easily be got in other languages (French, Spanish or Italian). This is their page in Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
The Divine Milieu, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Teilhard de Chardin -- geologist, priest, and major voice in twentieth-century Christianity -- probes the ultimate meaning of all physical exploration and the fruit of his own inner life. The Divine Milieu is a spiritual treasure for every religion bookshelf.
Doors in the Walls of the World: Signs of Transcendence in the Human Story, by Peter Kreeft, nominated by Vicky
With razor-sharp reasoning and irrepressible joy, Kreeft helps us to find the doors in the walls of the world. Drawing on history, physical science, psychology, religion, philosophy, literature, and art, he invites us to welcome what lies on the other side of these doors, and to begin living the life of Heaven in the here and now.
Invasion '14, by Maxence Van der Meersch, nominated by John
Novel about the effects of the War on the French families behind the German lines.
The Light: Who Do You Become When the World Falls Away?, by Jacqueline Brown, nominated by Madeleine
A blinding flash … then darkness. Bria Ford and her three closest friends are stranded on a country highway in the middle of a November night. No phones. No car. No lights. Helpless and hundreds of miles from home, they put their lives in the hands of handsome Jonah Page and his flinty sister, East, strangers who somehow know Bria better than she knows herself. As the group bonds to adapt to a new, yet old, way of life, the secrets of Bria’s past provide them with the means to survive the extremes of Mother Nature, and the even more frightening extremes of human nature.
The Mango Murders, by Mara Campos, nominated by Madeleine
All is not what it seems in Old San Juan, in the Pio Nono home for boys, in the life of the island's most famous artist, or in the memories of his models. Detective Sergeant Julio Ramos and gringo FBI agent Steve Halloran work in uneasy alliance to catch a serial killer with a penchant for mangoes and a need to avenge lost love and lost innocence. To come to truth, the investigators have to face their own painful issues, and even their targets must choose between light or darkness. In language, memory, race, and blood, the novel tells the story of the burden and the promise of identity.
The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis, by Carrie Gress PhD, nominated by Marlicia
As the world descends into chaos, Christians are thinking deeply about how to stem the tide. Many options and suggestions have been presented to deal with Christian persecution and cultural decadence, but none can hold a candle to The Marian Option.
Dr. Carrie Gress provides a thoroughly researched bird’s eye view of the significant cultural and military events mediated through Mary on behalf of her spiritual children. From miraculous victories to the soaring heights of culture, you have never seen Mary like this before. Until now, books on the Virgin Mary have generally focused upon one apparition or various theological elements of this mysterious woman. But the scope of The Marian Option is far greater. Drawing from a vast array of dogmas, Vatican approved apparitions, and writings of the saints, Dr. Gress has pulled together the remarkable story of Mary’s overwhelming influence and intercession.
The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany, by David G. Dalin
In 1999, John Cornwell excoriated Pope Pius XII as "Hitler's Pope." In this book, Rabbi David G. Dalin provides a ringing defense of the wartime pontiff, arguing that Holocaust-era Jews justly regarded Pius as their protector, not their tormentor.
Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Sergio
A collection of essays relating to his conversion to Catholicism.
Paul: A Biography, N.T. Wright, nominated by Jill
In this definitive biography, renowned Bible scholar, Anglican bishop, and bestselling author N. T. Wright offers a radical look at the apostle Paul, illuminating the humanity and remarkable achievements of this intellectual who invented Christian theology—transforming a faith and changing the world.
Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria, nominated by Fonch
An explosion is heard off the coast of sixteenth-century England, and a woman washes up on the shore. She is barely alive and does not speak English, but she asks for a priest... in Latin. She has a confession to make and a story to tell, but who is she and where has she come from? Cast out of her superstitious, Maltese family, Warda turns to begging and stealing until she is fostered by an understanding Catholic priest who teaches her the art of healing. Her willful nature and hard-earned independence make her unfit for marriage, and so the good priest sends Warda to serve an anchorite, in the hope that his protege will discern a religious vocation.
Race with the Devil by Joseph Pearce proposed by Fonch.
Joseph Pearce is foremost Catholic biographer of our time, but it wasn't always so. Imagine discovering God for the first time in the confines of a jail cell. Imagine spending the first half your life amidst the seedy underground of the white supremacy movement before becoming one of the foremost Religious scholars in the world. Imagine being converted by the writings of Chesterton, and years later writing a biography on him. Joseph Pearce doesn't have to imagine it - he lived it.
"In Race With the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love" 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.
The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning: Inside Tips from an Expert, by Dan Gallagher
There are six interrelated segments to a complete financial plan: Cash & Budget Planning, Insurance & Risk Management, Tax Management, Retirement Planning, Investment Planning, and Estate Planning. What aspects of the financial plan require sophisticated planning by a professional, and what can savvy, well-educated consumers handle themselves? The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning empowers readers to take charge of their financial present and future, regardless of where they are financially, by presenting technical jargon in a way that's easy to understand.
The Thought of Thomas Aquinas, by Brian Davies, nominated by John.
The works of Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest Western philosophers as well as theologians of the Christian Church, are not only illuminating (for his questions as much as his answers) but surprisingly relevant to our concerns today. This book represents a modern comprehensive presentation of the thought of Aquinas. The book is designed to be accessible to the general reader who has no specialist knowledge of medieval thought or professional training in philosophy or theology.
This book may be difficult to find at an affordable price. Please consider this before voting for it.
A World Such as Heaven Intended, by Amanda Lauer, nominated by Dan.
The Civil War tore the United States apart and many friendships and families as well. In "A World Such as Heaven Intended," Amara McKirnan and Nathan Simmons share a devotion to their Catholic faith but their loyalties lie on opposite sides of the conflict. Dedicated to the Confederate cause, Amara offers to help out at her uncle’s makeshift hospital in Atlanta. Fate brought Nathan to their doorstep and into Amara’s life. Little does Amara know that the wounded soldier she cares for harbors a secret that will not only jeopardize his life but hers as well. Follow Amara and Nathan’s story from the heart of war-torn Atlanta to the Northern Georgia battlefields to the plains of East Texas as their lives become intertwined in a way that shatters the separate worlds they once knew.