A.K. Frailey > Recent Status Updates

I just started this book, so I've hardly had time to really digest all that it's saying, but I can already see that it is a well-documented resource. I am very impressed by the footnotes!

I just finished Out of the Silent Planet, and though I wasn't attracted to the voyage, I enjoyed meeting the unique characters that C. S. Lewis created and getting a close-up picture of his invented world. I really needed a story to take me away and this story sure did the trick. Sometimes the best adventures are the ones preparing us to return to our own lives.

I am amazed by the insight in this book. Torkington's breadth of knowledge in relation to Catholic church history, and the clarity in which he sees through the confusion of humanism and the true theocentric purpose of our existence and how to "discern" is unmatched by any other book I have yet read. Food for thought as well as a wonderful resource for people looking to understand why we are in such a muddle today.

I am impressed beyond words. Torkington's breadth and width of knowledge involving church history, movements, scisms, and their influences are absolutely amazing. His insights into the mystical experiences of St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa of Avila have had a profound influence on the way I view meditation and contemplation. I told my pastor about this book, and it turns out that he's reading it too!

A Christmas present that I am looking forward to reading. I just finished rereading Mere Christianity, and I'm curious what C. S. Lewis' fiction will be like...

A Christmas gift I can't wait to dive into...

I've just started the story but am enjoying the writing as well as the characters. A great evening read.

I am really enjoying the insight and spiritual giftedness of David Torkington's work. He has a wide range of knowledge of church history as well as a deep clarity of early Christian spirituality. It's a treat to "retreat" into his work, discovering fresh spiritual guidance and hope.

I'm really pleased that The Adventures of Tally-Ho has recently taken off. It feels like a work of mercy just to reflect, in story form, the blessings of God in family and nature...

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I am rereading this book for the pure pleasure of reacquainting myself with the mind of C. S, Lewis as he explained the tenants of what is Christianity to a generation devastated by war and horror. A brilliant thinker with a clear but personable style, his humility and charm show through even while he engages in one of the most dangerous discussions ever—what makes us human and what is Christianity really.

A fascinating book, offering an inside look at how the brain works, insight into memory and mastery, and the influence of music on the mind and our mood. One thing that struck me recently was the science behind mastery—studies confirm that it takes 10,000 hours or approximately ten years to become a true "master" in a field—it takes that long for the synapsis to grow. Interesting insight!

Reading Leaves of Grass made me curious about the man behind the poems, so my kids got me this book. It explains a lot. The man is made not simply by his personal choices but also by the environment, society, and culture he inhabits. The nineteenth century was a period of wild optimism, a civil war, and the beginning of the industrial revolution. Whitman reflects all of that and is therefore fascinating.

Whitman is a brilliant writer with an incredible ability to convey the sights, sounds, and sensations of all that he experiences. But he also comes across as a huge egoist who thinks that simply because he can imagine being other people that he really "knows" what it is to be them. Hard as he might try, I find it distasteful that he he thinks he knows what it is to be a slave...or a woman... Big overreach, me thinks.

Enjoying the variety of works by different authors. It's a lot like snacking on various tidbits at a buffet. Never stuffed but sampling different flavors of human thought and expression.

Still plugging away. I like this book of Teilhard's the least in that it seems to make too many assumptions and leaps to conclusions that current society has proven wrong. So I find his overly optimistic views a bit depressing. It all comes down to free will in each human heart. And no one can accurately predict the future...

Rather depressing but incredibly well-written story. I feel like I am there with the characters...problem is that no one in their right mind wants to live in their head/heart space.

An interesting resource but it's slow going for someone like me who doesn't have much music theory. Still, the influence music has on the mind and moods is facinating.

A thoughtful and scientific view of what music is and how and why it affects us so much.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book! What a wide spectrum of people, places, histories, and cultural perspectives that Basbanes draws from. The historical resources pulled together for this biography are absolutely astounding. But I love most the interaction between the various people who became the bedrock of the best of early America.

A very hard-edged but sensitive look at life in a tough big city neighborhood from a young boy's perspective. Painful but insightful reading.

Reading a section of the Divine Comedy. I always wanted to read and understand this work better. Now is my chance.

I hope Teilhard saw something I'm not seeing. His hope is mighty daring.

Wonderful enthusiasm mixed with a lack of insight into the inherent evil possible in humanity. Surprising from someone who saw WWI and WWII first hand.

A lot of valuable insight here. Weddell has a very valid point to make; it is important to consider our personal relationship with God before trying to convince others...

I have gained a great deal of insight into what has gone wrong with well-meaning but incomplete catechism programs in recent history. Lots of insight here that I'll have to consider seriously when presenting my faith to others.

I am loving this volume and I'll be sad to see the end of it. I am definitely going to follow up on some of these authors and find out what else they wrote. They may have lived a long time ago, but their words tell me a lot about who we are today.

I am fascinated by Theilhard's hopes and dreams for the human race, even as I realize that he seems to have left out the whole problem of sin, spiritual death, and the possibility of hell.

Teilhard was a brilliant thinker and had great insight. He was also a very serious optimist. Says a lot about a man who experienced the trenches in WWI.

The history of discipleship and those who lived their roles faithfully resonates with our world's current need to respond spiritually and fruitfully to each other.