Book List

by Matthew Chominski, editor

In a certain imitation of this wonderful blog, I thought I’d mention some of the best books I read over this past year. These are not necessarily published in 2009, but simply some of those I read during the year now past.

I’ll stick to five and invite you to mention your best reads in the comments section.

1. Shop Class as Soul Craft, by Matthew Crawford

An analysis of the value of work. True work, the type that engages the entire person, or at least engages that person to a great degree. In the case of the author he is a motorcycle mechanic who also happens to hold a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in political philosophy, rather impressive really.

Informative, challenging, and well-thought out. It also a nice combination of theoretical movements with history and personal stories.

2. Crunchy Cons, by Rod Dreher

A title I have wanted to read for a couple of years now, ever since it was published really. I finally got to it recently by way of it being lent to me by Publican contributor Brian Lester. Dreher lays out a conservative vision that one may not often encounter. It doesn’t so much lay out a system with certain proposed policies and such, but more so conveys a sensibility, providing a certain type of window to look out upon the world, a window not so concerned with finances but family.

Dreher certainly offers comfort to those of a conservative persuasion that don’t seem find a home in the mainstream of the Republican party, and also a challenge to those who do.

3. The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, by Joseph Pearce

Pearce has contributed a small corpus of wonderful biographies of literary English and Irishmen. One of the more enjoyable and beneficial is this one about Oscar Wilde. In a way, Wilde was seemingly haunted by Catholicism, right up to and including the end of his catastrophic life, which happened to end in eucatastrophic fashion.

4. Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc, by Joseph Pearce

Entirely worthwhile, another one of the wonderful aforementioned biographies by Pearce. I particularly enjoyed the relating of Belloc’s efforts to be elected to parliament; it includes this snippet:

…(H)e rose to address the packed audience as follows: ‘Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This [taking his beads out of his pocket] is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell these beads every day. If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God that He has spared me the indignity of being your representative.’ For a few seemingly endless moments there was a hush of utter astonishment – followed by a thunderclap of applause (Pearce, 104).

5. The Man Who was Thursday, by G.K. Chesterton

I feel any attempt of mine to comment on this work here would do more harm than good, so I recommend reading, or re-reading it on your own. The edition I happened to read was from this publishing outfit, Idylls Press.

What were your best reads?