WWRW: September 2nd

Between Heaven and Mirth by Fr. James Martin SJ is an interesting look at how joy, humor and laughter intersects between everyday life and our prayer life. I found the beginning dry and slow-going though in fairness Martin does a good job defining terms and explaining the role humor has played in various religious traditions. Once the focus shifted onto how to better incorporate joy and happiness into our lives today I enjoyed it much more. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on Thessalonians.  While I thought not good as his earlier My Life with the Saints; I am glad I read it and may from time to time re-read portions.



The Grand Tour by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevemer is the sequel to Sorcery and Cecilia and picks up where the first left off with our two heroines leaving with their new husbands on a grand tour/honeymoon. While this book isn't quite as memorable as Sorcery and Cecelia, I still really enjoyed it. The characters are still charming and the dialogue funny.  The way the plot moves is different than its predecessor, and not as suspenseful at least to me.  Cecy's entries are part of an official document she must write, while Kate's entries are from her personal journal; these two styles tie together very well but I missed Cecy's reflections on marriage and her improving magic skills.  There is apparently a third book to the series which I will likely hunt up at some point.

The Fallen Man by Tony Hillerman was my selection of a book from a genre I don't usually read for the MMD book challenge.  Contemporary mysteries are still not my 'thing' but I will admit that my husband choose a good one for me and I may even ask him for another recommendation from the series.  The series in general follows the police work of Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Police Force; in this book he is recently retired but teams up with the newly promoted Lt. Jim Chee when the skeleton of a decade old missing person is found.  The pace of the plotting was good and I enjoyed the many references to the different Native American cultures found in the Four Corners region of Arizona and Colorado.





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