Reviews, short and sweet

I am a bit sad to be back from vacation.  Luckily, Christmas is only a few weeks away.  Besides still being tired from traveling, I’m moving next week, so every free minute needs to be spent on packing! So, today’s reviews are short and sweet.   I read three books on my trip:

Crossing the Threshold of Hope, by Pope John Paul II

In this book, a journalist/author asks the Pope some questions, and the book is set up so that typically, each chapter is the Pope’s answer to one of the questions.  I enjoyed this book very much, and I definitely learned a lot.  There were several quotes I liked, but will only include two in this post:

“It is also necessary that the young know the Church, that they perceive Christ in the Church, Christ who walks through the centuries alongside each generation, alongside every person.  He walks alongside each person as a friend.  An important day in a young person’s life is the day on which he becomes convinced that this is the only Friend who will not disappoint him, on whom he can always count.” (p.126)

“In the very search for faith an implicit faith is already present, and therefore the necessary condition for salvation is already satisfied.” (p.193)

Every Living Thing, by James Herriot

The last of the Herriot books!  Great, as always.  The stories are always either funny or heartwarming, always enjoyable.  The animals and people we read about are such that I wish I could actually meet them! 

A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

This is the first Sherlock Holmes I have read, and I liked it.  The first and third portions of the book are narrated by Dr. Watson, and the middle portion is an omniscient narrator.  I found the mystery to be entertaining, and I was definitely curious to find out both who the murderer was and how Sherlock Holmes solved the mystery.  Overall, I thought it was a nice read.  It’s also a very quick read, it didn’t take me long to finish it.  I think I will definitely try some other Sherlock Holmes novels.