Author: George Weigel

2015 in Review (& End of Year and Statistics Surveys)

Posted December 31, 2015 in Life, Reading / 10 Comments

Big Things That Happened in 2015

  • I mentioned the school talent show in which the teachers sang Yellow Submarine.
  • I worked at a Catholic summer camp for the summer and had a blast. I wrote about it and shared some pictures.
  • I survived over a week of blinding smoke due to forest fires. It was insane. I talked about that here.
  • I had my very first ever Blogversary which was exciting.

Analysis of Books I Read in 2015

This was the very first year that I ever kept track of the books that I read. My stats have amazed me.

  • I read 141 books.
  • Almost all of the books I read this year were 4 or 5 stars. I must be pretty good at choosing books I know I’ll enjoy.
  • Over two-thirds of the books I read this year were from the library or books I own.
  • Over half of the books I read this year were hard copied (Paperback or Hardcover) while over a quarter were ebooks. Audiobooks made up the rest.
  • About a quarter of the books I read this year were debuts.

I made some pretty nifty looking pie charts in Excel (you can just pretend they are totally awesome).

2015 formats2015 covers2015 star ratings2015 debuts2015 source

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December 2015 in Review

Posted December 30, 2015 in Faith, Life, Reading / 4 Comments

It has been a crazy month and so I don’t have a whole lot for you other than the books I read and reviewed this month. My 2015 in Review post will be coming up tomorrow and this is a lot more interesting than this one. This post is, I know, rather pathetic but here it is anyway.

Things that Happened in December

  • Christmas!
  • I am (still) kitty-sitting for my sister’s two kitties while she and the rest of my family are visiting family in another state.
  • Somehow I managed to read only 5-star books this month; I’m not sure how that happened.

Books I Read in December

These Vicious MasksCity of SaintsLord of the WorldOne Ordinary Sunday
Crown of MidnightThe Sword of SummerIce Like Fire
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{Review} City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s Kraków

Posted December 23, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments

{Review} City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s KrakówCity of Saints by George Weigel
Publisher: Image (2015)
Paperback (336 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books
Rating:

Synopsis

“Karol Wojtyła, Pope John Paul II, was a man whose life was the expression of a richly textured and multidimensional soul. The many layers of that soul took on their first, mature form in Kraków.” – George Weigel
In this beautifully illustrated spiritual travelogue,
New York Times bestselling author George Weigel leads readers through the historic streets of Kraków, Poland, introducing one of the world’s great cities through the life of one of the most influential Catholic leaders of all time.
“To follow Karol Wojtyła through Kraków is to follow an itinerary of sanctity while learning the story of a city.” Weigel writes. “Thus, in what follows, the story of Karol Wojtyła, St. John Paul II, and the story of Kraków are interwoven in a chronological pilgrimage through the life of a saint that reveals, at the same time, the dramatic history and majestic culture of a city where a boy grew into a man, priest, a bishop—and an apostle to the world.”
With stunning photographs by Stephen Weigel and notes on the city’s remarkable fabric by Carrie Gress, City of Saints offers an in-depth look at a man and a city that made an indelible impression on the life and thought of the Catholic Church and the 21st century world.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon

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{F56} City of Saints

Posted December 18, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 16 Comments

City of Saints

I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time. When I saw that it was available for request on Blogging for Books, I jumped at it. As you may have recalled me mentioning, I will be going to Poland in July for World Youth Day 2016 Kraków so this book is perfect timing. Through the book, I am learning the history of Poland and Kraków through the biography of Pope Saint John Paul II.

From City of Saints: A Pilgrimage to John Paul II’s Kraków by George Weigel:

Discerning a vocation is a matter of learning the truth about oneself, accepting that truth, and living that truth. That takes courage – and courage was another of the cardinal virtues that Karol Wojtyła began to display in his Dębniki years.

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