Friends and colleagues pick the list of this season’s must-reads
“Wounded,” by Adrian Miguel Nunez
“The Denial of Death,” by Ernest Becker
“The Mastery of Self,” by Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.
“Largo Pétalo de Mar,” by Isabel Allende
– NANCY AGOSTO
Reporter, Nuestra Voz
“The Race to Save the Romanovs,” by Helen Rappaport
“The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Account of the Conclave that Changed History,” by Gerard O’Connell
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” by Yuval Noah Harari
– MSGR. STEVEN AGUGGIA
Judicial Vicar, Diocese of Brooklyn
“Dagger John: Archbishop John Hughes and the Making of Irish America,” John Loughery
“The Long Loneliness,” Dorothy Day
“Meditations on the Christ: Model of All Holiness,” Romano Guardini
“Shadows on the Rock,” Willa Cather
– FATHER MICHAEL J.S. BRUNO, S.T.D.
Professor, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie
“Put It in the Book! A Half-Century of Mets Mania,” by Howie Rose with Phil Pepe
“The Essential Wit of the World’s Funniest People”, Edited by Daniel Bukszpan
“The Book of Totally Useless Information: Over Two Hundred Explanations for the Not-So-Important Questions In Life,” by Don Voorhees
– JOE BROSTEK
St. Kevin’s parish, Flushing
“The Catholic Priesthood,” by Fr. Thomas J. Lane
“Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy,” by Eric Metaxas
“Why Read the Classics?,” by Italo Calvino
“Becoming Ray Bradbury,” by Jonathan R. Eller
“Canterbury Cousins: The Eucharist in Contemporary Anglican Theology,” by Owen F. Cummings
“Lest Darkness Fall,” by L. Sprague de Camp
“Agent of Byzantium,” by Harry Turtledove
– FATHER JOHN P. CUSH
STD Academic Dean, Pontifical North American College, Vatican City-State
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” by Douglas Adams
“Good Omens,” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
“The Book Supremacy,” by Kate Carlisle
“The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society,” by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
– LAURA DEPALMA
Producer, DeSales Media Group
“The Day Is Now Far Spent,” by Cardinal Robert Sarah
– BILL DONOHUE
President, The Catholic League
“Becoming,” by Michelle Obama
“Mamba Mentality,” by Kobe Bryant
“Introduction to the Devout Life,” by St. Francis de Sales
“Chubby Memoirs: An intimate Photo Journal, Vol. 1,” by Bryan Nwami
– MELISSA ENAJE
Reporter, The Tablet
“Essay on Evil,” by Jean Nabert
“Philosophical Fragments,” by Soren Kierkegaard
“Abiding Grace,” by Mark C. Taylor
“Persons ,” by Robert Spaemann
– DANIEL ESPARZA
Managing Editor, Alateia
“Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward
“The Eyre Affair,” by Jasper Fforde
“Foreign Correspondence,” by Geraldine Brooks
“A Plague On Both Your Houses,” by Susanna Gregory
“Forever And Ever, Amen,” by Randy Travis
“The Soul Of An Octopus,” by Sy Montgomery
“Winesburg, Ohio,” by Sherwood Anderson
“A Year On The Wing,” by Tim Dee
– MSGR. STEVEN FERRARI
Pastor, St. Teresa’s parish, Woodside
“The Great Alone,” by Kristin Hannah
“Once More We Saw Stars,” by Jayson Greene
“Educated,” by Tara Westover
“The Map of Salt and Stars,” by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
– MIKE FLOOD
“Brave New Work,” by Aaron Dignan
“Seven Practices of a Mindful Leader,” by Marc Lesser
“Altruism,” by Matthieu Ricard
“Remembering Emmett Till,” by Dave Tell
“Bakhita: A Novel of the Saint of Sudan,” by Veronique Olmi
“The Life of Luigi Giussani,” by Alberto Savorana
“The Universal Christ,” by Richard Rohr
“Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,” by Thomas Merton
“Applied Christianity,” by John J. Hugo
“Bob Dylan’s Poetics,” by Timothy Hampton
– FATHER JOHN GRIBOWICH
DeSales Media Group
“How to Forget: A Daughter’s Memoir,” by Kate Mulgrew
“Normal People,” by Sally Rooney
“Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting,” by Anna Quindlen
“My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son’s Search for Home,” by Michael Brendan Dougherty
“Finite and Infinite Games,” by James P. Carse
– MSGR. MICHAEL J. HARDIMAN
Pastor, Queen of Peace, Kew Gardens
“Letter to a Suffering Church,” by Bishop Robert Barron
“The Grace to be a Priest,” by Romanus Cessario, O.P.
“The Imperial Cruise,” by James Bradley
– FATHER WILLIAM HOPPE
Pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Jackson Heights
“Rebuking the Devil,” by Pope Francis
“The Time is Now: A Call to Uncommon Courage,” by Sister Joan Chittister
“Running to the Edge,” by Matthew Futterman
“Lady in the Lake,” by Laura Lippmann
– FATHER BRIAN JORDAN, O.F.M.
Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Manhattan
“The Fisherman’s Tomb,” by John O’Neill
“Now I Know I Am Not Alone,” by Frank Danza
“John Quincy Adams: American Visionary,” by Fred Kaplan
“Star Trek – The Next Generation: Losing the Peace,” by William Leisner
– FATHER ED KACHURKA
Pastor, Mary’s Nativity-St. Ann’s, Flushing
“The Edge of Sadness,” by Edwin O’Connor
“Wrestling with God,” by Ronald Rolheiser
“The Passion and the Cross,” by Ronald Rolheiser
“North of Hope,” by Jon Hassler
– FATHER ROBERT LAUDER
“From Fire By Water: My Journey To The Catholic Faith,” by Sohrab Ahmari
“Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Catholic Faith in a Post-Christian World,” by Archbishop Charles Chaput
“Christus Vivit: To Young People and to the Entire People of God,” by Pope Francis
“The Inner Life of Priests,” by Gerard J. McGlone, S.J. and Len Sperry
“Gold Tested in Fire: A New Pentecost for the Catholic Priesthood,” by Ronald D. Witherup, S.S.
“Seminary Formation: Recent History-Current Circumstances-New Directions,” by Katarina Schuth, O.S.F.
– MSGR. THOMAS MACHALSKI
Pastor, Sacred Heart, Bayside
“108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game,” by Ron Darling, 1986 Mets World Series champion
– JIM MANCARI
Tablet Sports Columnist
“Paul: A Biography,” by N.T. Wright
“A Saint of Our Own: How the Quest for a Holy Hero Helped Catholics Become American,” by Kathleen Sprows Cummings
“The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West,” by David McCullough
– FATHER JAMES MARTIN, S.J.
Editor at Large, America Media
“The Christian and Anxiety,” by Hans Urs von Balthasar
“The Father’s Tale,” by Michael O’Brien
“After Virtue: a Study in Moral Theory,” by Alasdair MacIntyre
“The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise,” by Cardinal Robert Sarah
“501 Spanish Verbs,” by Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris
– BISHOP JAMES MASSA
Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn
“The Universal Christ,” by Richard Rohr
“Eternal Life,” by Dara Horn
“Delta-V,” by Daniel Suarez
“Circe,” by Madeline Miller
“Catch 22,” by Joseph Heller
– DEACON KEVIN J. MCCORMACK
Principal, Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge
“Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense” by Dan Abrams
“NYPD Red” series 1-4, by James Patterson
– MATTHEW MONAHAN
NYS Homes and Community Renewal
“Messengers of God: A Survey of Old Testament Prophets,” by Kieran Larkin
“The Evolution of the West,” by Nick Spencer
“Creation and the Cross,” by Sister Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J.
“Endurance,” by Scott Kelly
“A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: Old Testament,” by Brant Pitre and John Bergsma
– MSGR. SEAN G. OGLE,
Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria
“Dorothy Day: An Introduction to Her Life and Thought,” by Terrence C. Wright
“Paul: A Biography,” by N.T. Wright
“The Missing Corpse: A Brittany Mystery,” by Jean-Luc Bannalec
– FATHER MICHAEL PERRY
Pastor Emeritus, Our Lady of Refuge
“Civil War Tennessee: Battles and Leaders,” by Thomas L. Connelly
“The Battle of Franklin: When the Devil had Full Possession of the Earth,” by James Knight
“Five Tragic Hours: The Battle of Franklin,” by James Lee Mcdonough
– PETER PURPURA
Blessed Trinity parish, Breezy Point
“The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created,” by Jane Leavy
“The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West,” by David McCullough
“How Catholic Art Saved the Faith: The Triumph of Beauty and Truth in Counter-Reformation Art,” by Elizabeth Lev
“The Social Fact: News and Knowledge in a Networked World,” by John P. Wihbey
– MIKE RIZZO
Professor, School of Journalism
St. John’s University
“From Wild Man to Wise Man: Reflections on Male Spirituality,” by Richard Rohr
“Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style,” by Benjamin Dreyer
“Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law,” by Preet Bharara
“Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music That Made a Nation,” by Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw
“Ballpark: Baseball in the American City,” by Paul /Goldberger
– MATTHEW SCHILLER
Advertising and Business Manager
Catholic New York
“Crucible: A Sigma Force Novel,” by James Rollins
“King of Kings,” by Wilbur Smith.
– VERONICA SZCZYGIEL
English Teacher
Marymount School of New York
“Ethical Veganism, Virtue Ethics, and the Great Soul,” by Carlo Alvaro
“Abundant Earth: Toward an Ecological Civilization,” by Eileen Crist
“The Human Swarm: How Our Societies Arise, Thrive, and Fall,” by Mark W. Moffett
“Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow,” by Yuval Noah Harari
“Mama’s Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves,” by Frans de Waal
“How Emotions are Made,” by Lisa F. Barrett
“Can Animals Be Moral?” by Mark Rowlands
“Can Animals Be Persons?,” by Mark Rowlands
“The Return of the Soldier,” by Rebecca West
– GREGORY F. TAGUE, PH.D.
Professor of English/Interdisciplinary Studies – St. Francis College
“Every Man a Hero: A Memoir of D-Day, the First Wave at Omaha Beach, and a World at War,” by Ray Lambert
“The Catcher Was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg” by Nicholas Dawidoff
“All the Way: My Life in Four Quarters,” by Joe Namath
– ANTHONY TROIANO,
Sacred Hearts
“The Missionary of Wall Street,” by Stephen F. Auth
“Ballpark: Baseball in the American City,” by Paul Goldberger
“Benedict XVI: His Life and Thought,” by Elio Guerriero
“John Henry Newman: A Biography,” by Ian Ker
“Newman and His Contemporaries,” by Edward Short
“Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” by Max Tegmark
– MSGR. PETER VACCARI
Rector, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie
“Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush,” by
Jon Meacham
“Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II,” by George Weigel
“The Next Person You Meet in Heaven,” by Mitch Albom
– DEACON CHRISTOPHER WAGNER
St. Bernard of Clairvaux
“American Priest: Ted Hesburgh and a Post-Christian Nation,” by Father Wilson Miscamble, C.S.C.
“Freedomland U.S.A.: The Definitive History” by Michael R. Virgintino and Bob McLain
“The House Next Door,” by James Patterson
“Unfreedom of the Press,” by Mark Levin
– ED WILKINSON
Editor Emeritus, The Tablet
“The Big Fella: Babe Ruth and the World He Created,” by Jane Leavy
“A Sacred Look: Becoming Cultural Mystics,” by Sister Nancy Usselmann, F.S.P.
“Letters of St. Paul,” published by Pauline Books and Media
– JOHN WOODS
Editor in Chief Catholic New York
Editor’s Note: More results of the survey will be published in the July 14th edition of The Tablet. If you would like to have your reading list included, please email titles and authors to jdominguez@desalesmedia.org.