November Commonplace
Book Report
AUDIOBOOK: A Bookshop in Berlin: The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman’s Harrowing Escape from the Nazis on Spotify My sweet niece sent me this recommendation because she knows my obsession with this subject matter. It was different from any other book I’d read or listened to, as it told the story of a woman who owned a bookstore in Berlin when the war began and ended up a French refugee. The author describes the incredible stress she lived under as she tried to escape occupied France.
BOOK/PODCAST: Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis (w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz) I would listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz read the phonebook, so it wasn’t even a question when this program became available. A new podcast episode was released every day for 30 days. Fr. Mike reads a section and then offers his commentary. It’s a great way to get through difficult content. I have to admit I struggled with the book’s text, but Fr. Mike and I got through it together.
AUDIOBOOK: The Queen’s Governess by Karen Harper on Audible I’m beginning to realize that I not only love books about World War II, but I will also read just about anything about Henry VIII and the Tudor court. (And there is no shortage of content.) This book tells the story of a young woman plucked from a peasant life by Thomas Cromwell to serve at the Tudor court, who became the governess to Queen Elizabeth.
Each time I read these stories, I am reminded of how simple my life is, born in the United States in the 20th Century. I get stressed out just reading about the dangers of living near Henry VIII.
BOOK: Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program That Brought Nazi Scientists to America Although I knew about the program’s premise (and the justified reason), it wasn’t easy to read the details. The German scientists who worked under the Nazi regime were the best in the world. The US needed to acquire them for their knowledge and not let them fall into the hands of the Soviet Union. These men were offered clemency in trade for their intelligence, and at the beginning of the Cold War, there was nothing more important to the US Government.
AUDIOBOOK: Notes On Being a Man by Scott Galloway I heard Galloway describe his book on the Today Show and was instantly intrigued. He said that young men in the US are in a crisis, partially stemming from the lack of male role models as well as the extremist, feminist movement that has emasculated men. More young men are lonely, disconnected, and lacking purpose at an alarming rate, and our society is paying the price. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a young man. Watch Galloway’s Today Show interview by clicking here.
Commonplace
“Take care of the minutes; the hours will take care of themselves.” — Philip Dormer Stanhope, The 4th Earl of Chesterfield, 1747
"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." — Simone Weil, Philosopher
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." — Cicero
“There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing.” - Fulton Sheen
