K's Books

I first read this book in either 2016 or 2017, and I bought my copy in 2017 specifically for seminary (I very rarely had he opportunity to use it in seminary as the studies weren't advanced enough for this book to be applicable). It blew my mind when I first read it; most of the theological ideas weren't new to me as I'd been Wiccan for years, what was more shocking was that these advanced feminist Catholic materials had been around for so long and I'd had no idea of their existence!  This was my first time rereading it in years, probably my third time reading it altogether. It's a very academic book, which used to be very appealing to me but not as much anymore. The references to St. Hildegard of Bingen were more inspiring to me this time since I know who she is now; Johnson, like many others, wrote about her as though the reader already knew who she was which left me lost the first few times I read She Who Is .  What I appreciate the most about this book this time...

How I came by this book is so funny. Sophomore year of high school, I was reading any Wiccan/Pagan book I could get my hands on and one of them mentioned The Woman with the Alabaster Jar. My Jesuit high school library, which was very small and dark and nearly nobody used it, had a copy! I read it and when my speech class teacher assigned us to prepare an informative speech on a nonfiction book this is the one I chose! My class, including the teacher, reacted to the information of Mary Magdalene being Jesus' wife and fleeing to France to deliver his daughter by saying "wow, why don't they teach this in church?!" BAHAHAHA!!! And then The DaVinci Code  came out about 6 years later and stole all my glory! I owned a copy of this book for a few years and either lost it or lent it to someone who never gave it back. My current copy I've owned for just a few years; this was probably the 4th time I've read The Woman with the Alabaster Jar . The parts about Bible passage...

My half-sister sent me this book after it came out, along with my two other Wisniewski books. The first book of his that I own, Rain Player (book 48), has always been my favorite. While Sundiata  is a beautifully illustrated book, the story seems to skip over some important parts. I still appreciate it, I just wish Wisniewski had added two more pages to bolster the plot!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/469897.Sundiata

I was given this copy sometime within the past 5 years, I think that might have been the first time I read it. Craighead's books are so rare that sometimes purchasing a copy is the only way to access one. This was probably my 4th or 5th time rereading it. Her verbal and artistic connections between Catholic traditions and New Mexico wildlife are so rich. She articulates in the introduction what litanies are for those who are unfamiliar. I've wondered for decades why churches don't do the same, especially along the Mississippi River. Craighead and I seem to be on a similar wavelength.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/853399.The_Litany_of_the_Great_River

THE MOST METAL BOOK I OWN!!!!! When I was a kid, my mother occasionally went to a large recycling center, I think in Oak Park or Niles, and dragged me along. Eventually I was old enough to venture into the trailer there full of old free books, and this novel was one of the few there that looked any fun. I was probably 15 or 16 when I took it, my mother complaining that it "made us look poor" 🙄. I reread it a few times in high school and college; this was probably my 5th time rereading it, but the first in a decade at least. I have very few novels because I find romance to be very boring, and many novels have at least some element of romance. There's a little bit of romance at the beginning this Black Sun Rising  but it ends quickly. It's a dark fantasy/sci-fi story involving demons, aliens, vampires, the fae, swords, and magic crossbow bolts. And it would be totally different if it was written today rather than 1991 it would have a lot more romance...but not in the w...