An Open Book: February 2025 Reads

It is finally March--and Lent! I'm linking up with An Open Book to chat about the books that took me through the wild month of February (what is it about that month???). I didn't read many books, but some of them were pretty big and I really enjoyed all of them. Let's dive in! 

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

This novel opens with Ryland Grace, a science teacher, waking up on a spaceship. The only other people in the cabin are dead, and he has no memory of why he's there, who they are, or what his mission is. Throughout the course of the novel, his memories gradually return and he pieces together his past as he fights for his future--and the future of mankind. This book got a bit dense scientifically at times, but it was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it!

Dark Calories: How vegetable oils destroy our health and how we can get it back, by Catherine Shanahan, MD

In this deeply researched book, Shanahan walks through the history of vegetable oils and how they are made, how the myth of high cholesterol took hold of the American public, and how we can improve our metabolic health through our diets and getting rid of seed oils. There was a lot of chemistry in here that I could not keep track of, but learning about seed oils and the history behind it all was fascinating. I hadn't thought much about those oils before, so I'm really glad that I am now aware. Although I've now realized that one of the #1 ways I'm regularly consuming these bad oils is through chocolate chips...I recommend this book (I think it's really important to be informed) and even though I'm not sure I can entirely rid my diet of seed oils at this point, it definitely encouraged me to look for ways to decrease them in my life and improve my diet. 

The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass, by Fr. Boniface Hicks

Somehow, even though I've never met the author, he managed to get in my head and write a book about one of my favorite topics while referencing some very specific things that I love (for example: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the writings of Romano Guardini, the Maronite rite liturgy). I really loved this book. Fr. Hicks presents different types of silence that we encounter throughout the Novus Order liturgy of the Roman/Latin rite. In each section, he draws from many resources to discuss how we can grow in vulnerability and holiness as we practice silence. He also reflects on ways that Mary, the Mother of God, exhibited silence in her life, and he shares tips for growing in this silence as we participate in the liturgy. This was a really fantastic, spiritually enriching-and-super-practical book and I loved it. I would have preferred it if the chapters were shorter; since my reading often comes in short spurts, it was tricky sometimes to put down the book and be able to easily jump back into it later. Still, I really loved this and highly recommend it. 

The Mythmakers, by John Hendrix

This book combines a prose narrative with some graphic novel panels to tell the story of the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Along the way, it also provides deep dives into their views of myth and storytelling. It was fascinating! I hadn't known much about C. S. Lewis's personal story, so it was neat to learn more about him. It was also sobering to read about the rift that sprung up between him and Tolkien; it seems like a lot of people (myself included) have immortalized the cheery image of the Inklings at a pub and don't know or don't think about the fact that some of those friendships faded. It was interesting to read this and realize that the author seemed to have a pretty strong bias in favor of Lewis, because initially, the author seemed to place quite a bit of blame and negativity on Tolkien (until he discussed Lewis's unusual relationship with the woman who would become his wife, which deepened the rift between Lewis and Tolkien). I really enjoyed this book. I have a hard time pinning down what ages it is geared for, though. I'm pretty sure this copy was marked for kids at the library, but the intense deep dives seemed more geared towards high schoolers. And while the Battle of the Somme spread wasn't as graphic as it could have been, it could still be a bit too much for some kids. I'm not sure when my kids will be ready for this, but eventually I'm excited to share it with them and discuss it! 

Thanks so much for joining me this month! If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments!