The Memory of Pain Book Review by Jude Joseph Lovell If there is anything that unites us all, no matter who we are or where we come from, it is that we cannot pass through this life without pain, sacrifice, even suffering. This is one of our few guarantees. The question becomes: What do you do Read more
A House with Many Rooms Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell Throughout his distinguished career, much has been made of the novelist Kazuo Ishiguro’s “mixed” heritage—the fact that he was raised in England by his Japanese parents. Since his novels tend to raise questions that strike to the core of humanity—who we really are, and Read more
Once Upon A Time in the West Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell Here we are in the U.S.A. in “the evil of its winter,” to lift a phrase from the celebrated Irish fiction writer Kevin Barry’s brand-new book of stories, That Old Country Music (Doubleday). “But then,” he notes, “I suppose January is a tough Read more
My Two Favorite Books of 2020 by Jude Joseph Lovell Proving the old adage about time, flight, and having fun, I return again for the third year in a row to share my two favorite books of the year. While neither of these titles were published recently, both are well worth the investment of time Read more
Up from the Ashes Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell “Armageddon ain’t supposed to be fun,” an elderly man reminds a small-town politician (and the reader) in Burn Scar, a new novel from T. J. Tao. I have to wonder, What about extremely tragic natural disasters? Because there were times as I read this fiction Read more
Plagues and Problems: Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Years by Stu O’Connor Memento Mori (“Remember, you must die”). The awareness of inevitable death has been a concern of philosophers since at least Socrates. And not just death’s inevitability but its potential suddenness. As Marcus Aurelius wrote in his Meditations: “You could leave life right now.” Read more
Eye In the Sky Book Review by Jude Joseph Lovell I’ve been running into the English crime novelist Kate Atkinson’s books for years. More than one reader has recommended her work to me, and I’ve seen her titles appear many times on various “Best of the Year” lists for fiction. While this would normally pique my Read more
Fantasy: The Epic Genius of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire Series by Jude Joseph Lovell The writer George R.R. Martin has managed to pull off a true miracle. If you think he’s finished the last two, long-awaited novels in his magisterial A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series and delivered Read more
Move Toward the Light Book review by Jude Joseph Lovell My late father held four advanced degrees. Although he had great interest in the arts, philosophy, and theology, his ultimate profession was neurochemistry—brain science. I knew that from early on, of course. But not until I was an adult did I learn that around the Read more
Reading Aloud to Seniors: Top 10 Tips by Lucy E.M. Black Several years ago, when a family member was hospitalized and in a great deal of pain, I was striving to find something that would comfort her. In desperation, I picked up a Gideon Bible and began to read aloud from the Psalms. Occasionally she Read more
