Let it snow!

This week Claret Farm turned into a sugar-dusted winter wonderland. 

Good weather for good books (in our new heated store)!

The view from our store:

 

Through the window:

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Week 2 on the Farm

  A beautiful morning at Claret Farm.

And the store is coming together!

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A Snowy Start at Claret Farm

It snowed the first day our doors were open at Claret Farm-- but it is warm inside!

 

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Moving

At Loome Theological Booksellers, we have been packing books...

 

 

Moving shelves...

 And getting the new place ready for your arrival.

 The majority of our books are now at Claret Farm, so the new location will be open for browsing the day after Thanksgiving, Friday, November 23. Please telephone our store to see if your favorite sections are there. More moving updates on our website. Our new store is still very much 'under construction', so we thank you for your patience as we continue to make it our new bookstore home. See you on the farm!

Claret Farm

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A Good Look Around

 We are very impressed by Rack Photography's 360-degree photo tour of the old church store. Check it out!

http://rackphoto.com/pp/2012/10/31/loome-theological-booksellers/

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A Bookish Moment

We hope you enjoy this very bookish short film, as well as Msgr. Charles Pope's commentary on it, "In Praise of Books".




"Where did we ever think to denote our sounds with the lines and angles and curves we call letters. And where did we think to combine them endlessly into words, phrases a sentences, paragraphs, chapters, books, and libraries. Yet here you and I are now, mysteriously connected through this medium called language and the written word. Somehow these shapes on the screen symbolize reality and light up our mind." excerpted from  "In Praise of Books – A Commentary on a Recent Award-winning Video" by Msgr. Charles Pope.


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Misfits: Taking Us Into the New Year

Dear Misfits,

Our meeting last Wednesday was a good one...and very topical given the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.  We met to discuss The Monks of Tibhirine: Faith, Love and Terror in Algeria, by John W. Kiser. The Monks of Tibhirine is the true story of seven French Trappist monks who were willing to die serving a Muslim flock during the political nightmare that unfolds in Algeria during the 1990’s. The the monks were decapitated after being kidnapped from their monastery in the village of Tibhirine.  It is truly a story of sacrificial love.  The Christian Monks willingly gave their lives for their Muslim friends and for their faith.  The story of the Monks will bring great sadness to some, deep admiration for others, and perhaps, anger at the seemingly senseless violence now being committed in the name of Islam.  Thee book offered no clear cut solutions to the violence and challenges posed by radical/political Islam.  We also were unable to offer solutions to the violence beyond putting this in the hands of our Lord through prayer and petition.

Our November book is Fabiola or The Church of the Catacombs by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman. The story is set in Rome in the early 4th century AD, during the time of the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The heroine of the book is Fabiola, a young beauty from a noble Roman family who becomes a convert to the Faith. I think the Misfits are going to really enjoy this story of conversion. The novel is no longer in print but you can find it on-line as a used book at Amazon.com. Better still you can read it on-line at:

The Internet Archive: 

 http://archive.org/details/fabiola00wise  

or you can go to Google Books: 

http://books.google.com/books/about/Fabiola_or_The_church_of_the_catacombs.html?id=f6B53lLcQuYC

For December and January we have decided to read a book we have long considered reading: Confessions, the autobiographical work of St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. The work consists of 13 books which outline Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1000 years of the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40's, and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work (City of God); it does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of the development of his thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries.

We still haven't decided on a translation of Confessions nor have we decided how we will divide the book for December/January? Recommendations?

For February we will read another book that we have long been planning to read: Marilynne Robinson's highly acclaimed novel, Gilead which won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a 2004 National Book Critics Circle Winner. Gilead is the fictional autobiography of the Reverend John Ames, an elderly Congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded town of Gilead, Iowa who knows that he is dying of a heart condition. The novel begins in 1957 as the Reverend Ames explains that he is writing an account of his life for his seven-year-old son so his son will have memories of him after he is gone.

The story spans three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century. It is a profound examination of the relationship of fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. “Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate)”. The luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life. The novel is available at Amazon.com.

Misfit Buzz

______________________________________

"There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read. ~G.K. Chesterton

  

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Newmania

Preface

One of the mysteries of Loome Theological Booksellers is that from time to time old things of unknown origin come to light for no apparent reason-- yet with great significance. 

Today is the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman, which is currently a private feast to be celebrated only in Newman's diocese (Birmingham, England) and by those particular communities with special association to him. Loome Theological Booksellers is (unfortunately) not officially one of these particular communities, but we are Newman fans. It should also be said that since Newman was beatified (and assigned a feast day) only two years ago in 2010, Newman's feast day itself is still somewhat of a novelty. Newman died in 1890. 

The Discovery

Earlier today, we were discussing how we could commemorate Blessed Newman's day with proper festivity, when shortly after one of our staff opened a box of unidentified papers that turned out to be twenty-four years of Newman newsletters from the International Centre of Newman Friends and The Friends of Cardinal Newman. The coincidences of this discovery go far beyond what we can describe here, but the papers are evidence of an enduring world-wide enthusiasm for John Henry Newman and the decades of dedicated effort that made Newman's beatification possible.   

Here are some of our findings:

A letter from the Friends of Cardinal Newman (signed L. Govaert) from February 21, 1978:

"The meeting was a heartening one for all attending it. There were no great events to report, there were no startling advances with regard to the Cause, but everybody felt that we are now really and truly established, and able to see clearly what should be our immediate objectives...."

An encouragement to pray for Newman's beatification as part of an international nine-day prayer in 1987.

An advertisement for the first publication of Fr. Ker's definitive biography of John HenryNewman, 1988.

Records of the 1990 centenary celebrations of Newman's death (August 11, 1890):

Some photographs from an academic symposium in Rome in 1990-- with some familiar faces:

Don't forget the booksellers:

More on Newman Friends:
International Centre of Newman Friends
The Friends of Cardinal Newman (Birmingham Oratory)

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How do you move a book store?



The move is well underway! We have cleared some shelves and brought them to the farm, so now there is a place to put books when they arrive. We're still selling exclusively out of the old church-- and it's not too late to take advantage of the moving sale prices!

 

(Moving volunteers are welcome. Please e-mail books@loomebooks.com for more info.)

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Quayment Continued

Peter Floriani's De Bellis Stellarum series continues! Four volumes of the saga plus a Short Stories volume are available now.

The author called Loome Theological Booksellers "one of the major fountains of my inspiration" and it seems that the family name Weaver in the town of Quayment (from the Latin Aquae manent: 'waters remain') is more than mere coincidence.

Learn about the books or purchase them at the following links:

The Wreck of the Phosploion

The Black Hole in the Basement



The Creatures That Live in the Walls

The Horrors in the Attic

Quayment Short Stories

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Misfits: An Evening With Lucy Beckett

Dear Misfits,

 

Recently the Misfits met to discuss Lucy Beckett's remarkable novel of the Reformation, The Time Before You Die.  What a wonderful way to spend an evening!  Lucy Beckett must certainly be ranked in the top 25 (if not the top 10) Catholic novelists of all time.  We, to a man, immensely enjoyed the novel finding it to be an informative, very sensitive portrayal of the struggle Catholics faced during the traumatic years of the 16th Century.  Medieval Christendom was sundered and the Catholic faith in Tudor England was shattered.  Beckett tells the story of this tragic period in Church history through the life of Robert Fletcher, a Carthusian Monk who was driven from his monastery when the altars of the Catholic churches and monasteries in England were largely destroyed.  The story of Fletcher's life is told in counterpoint to that of Reginald Pole, one of the most interesting men in all of English history.  Pole became a Cardinal of the Church, a papal legate at the Council of Trent, and Archbishop of Canterbury during the tragic reign of his cousin, Queen Mary Tudor.  Beckett uses Cardinal Pole to relate a wonderful and thoroughly convincing conversion dialog that brings Fletcher back to the Faith as the novel concludes.  Or did he bring Fletcher back?    We believe that he did bring Fletcher back to the true Faith but you can decide that for yourself by reading this highly recommend novel.

Now to the future.

 

For October we will read number 27 on The Catholic Truth Societies list of “100 Books You Really Should Read"-- The Monks of Tibhirine:  Faith, Love and Terror in Algeria, by John W. Kiser.  The Monks of Tibhirine is the true story of seven French Trappist monks who were willing to die serving a Muslim flock during the political nightmare that unfolds in Algeria during the 1990’s. The the monks were decapitated after being kidnapped from their monastery in the village of Tibhirine.   The story portrays the sacrificial love shown by these Christian Monks  who willingly put their lives at risk for their Muslim friends.  It also shows the Muslims who risked their lives for the Christians.  The book is extremely topical given the present day turmoil in the Middle East as radical Islam seeks to consolidate it's power within the bloody borders of modern Islam.  You may also wish to view the excellent film Of Gods and Men from Sony Classics which is based on the story of The Monks of Tibhirine.  The book, The Monks of Tibhirine is widely available on-line. 

 

 

For November we will read number 33 on The Catholic Truth Societies list of "100 Books You Really Should Read"--Fabiola or The Church of the Catacombs by Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman.  The story is set in Rome in the early 4th century AD, during the time of the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Diocletian.  The heroine of the book is Fabiola, a young beauty from a noble Roman family who becomes a convert to the Faith.  I think the Misfits are going to really enjoy this story of conversion.  The novel is no longer in print but you can find it on-line as a used book at Amazon.com.  Better still you can read it on-line at:

The Internet Archive:  http://archive.org/details/fabiola00wise

Or Google Books:   http://books.google.com/books/about/Fabiola_or_The_church_of_the_catacombs.html?id=f6B53lLcQuYC     

                        

(Is this a wonderful world or what?)

 

 

For December and January we will read a book we have long considered reading:  Confessions, the autobiographical work of St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398.   The work consists of 13 books which outline Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1000 years of the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40's, and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work (City of God); it does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of the development of his thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries.

But, ahh, here's the rub--what translation of Confessions should we read and how should we divide the book for December/January? 

 

For February we will read another book that we have long been planning to read:  Marilynne Robinson's highly acclaimed novel, Gilead which won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was a 2004 National Book Critics Circle Winner.  Gilead is the fictional autobiography of the Reverend John Ames, an elderly Congregationalist pastor in the small, secluded town of Gilead, Iowa who knows that he is dying of a heart condition. The novel begins in 1957 as the Reverend Ames explains that he is writing an account of his life for his seven-year-old son so his son will have memories of him after he is gone.

The story spans three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century.  It is a profound examination of the relationship of fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. “Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate)”.  The luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.  The novel is available at Amazon.

That should keep us busy reading into the New Year!  Please feel free to send me your comments on our book selections for the coming months and please send me your recommendation for a good translation of St. Augustine's Confessions.

 

Yours in Christ,

Misfit Buzz

 

 

“I was born with a reading list I will never finish.”

- Maud Casey

 

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Shelves & Shelves

As mentioned earlier in the post "...Measuring the Mileage of Loome Books", we recenlty measured the occupied shelf-space at Loome Theological Booksellers.

For those who are wondering:

 

We have 7,806 linear feet of books,

i.e. approximately 1.478 miles and

an estimated 84,000 volumes of books.

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More for Less

At Loome Theological Booksellers, we have a section called "Christian Art & Architecture".

 

 Art & Architecture books are often very beautiful. They also tend to have large pages and thick paper on which they so beautifully represent great works, which tends to make them rather heavy. With these tendencies in mind, all books in Loomes' Art & Architecture section are currently 50% off as part of our Moving Sale. Great books at a great price, available only for purchases made in person at the store.

 

 

  

 

 Here are a few examples of Art & Architecture books on sale:

 

Sistine Chapel
D. REDIG DE CAMPOS
New York: Reynal and Company - 1963

Folio, xliv pages of illustrations in black/white and color. Some are fold-out. Good plus cloth; some edge wear to boards. With like d/j. Ex-library mark to spine and pocket to rear pastedown. Binding is weak. Text is clean.

Normally: $25.00 In-store sale: $12.50 + tax.

 

The Louvre: European Paintings
Michel Laclotte, Jean-Pierre Cuzin
Scala Books - November 1990

4to, hardcover with d-j in very good condition. Illustrations, color.

Normally: $9.99  In-store sale: $4.99 + tax.

 

Rubens' Life of Marie De Medici
Jacques Thuillier, Paul Rubens
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. - 1970

Folio, 158pp. Monochrome and color illustrations. Hardcover with dj and slipcase. Volume in excellent condition. Near new with crisp and clean pages. Text is printed on thick, texturized paper with tipped in illustrations. Plates printed on glossy pages. Slipcase has light wear to corners and a little fading to the top edge. Overall a beautiful book in fine condition.

Normally: $250.00  In-store sale: $125.00 + tax.

 

 

IN STORE ONLY!

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A Quiz!: Measuring the Mileage of Loome Books

How many miles of books are there at Loome Theological Booksellers? You tell us!

We have recently completed the gargantuan task of measuring the world's largest theological bookstore, measuring each shelf throughout the store, and calculating the footage--as well as the mileage--of our inventory.

How many miles of books (shelf-by-shelf) do you think are here?

E-mail your guess, in miles, to books@loomebooks.com by Friday, August 31, 2012. The person with the closest guess to the actual mileage will receive $10 in store credit.

*******

...And that $10 credit will go further than usual with our 25% off Moving Sale, which begins the same day (Aug. 31, 2012).

Loome Theolgical Booksellers will be moving to Claret Farm in Stillwater this fall (Read more about it here). Our moving sale is applicable to purchases made in person at the store beginning Friday, August 31. All books (except Antiquarian & Rare) will be 25% off. Sets of 4-volumes or more will be 50% off the original price. The sale will continue until everything is moved to our great new location. Hope to see you there!

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The Misfits' Reading List, 2002-2012: A reading history

These are the books the Misfits have read over the past decade:

 September, 2002

            Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather

October, 2002

            Silence by Shusako Endo

November, 2002

            The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

December, 2002

            A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Conner

January, 2003

            The Ball and the Cross by G. K. Chesterton 

February, 2003

            Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

March, 2003

            Morte D’Urban by J.F. Powers

April, 2003

            The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton

May, 2003

            The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

June, 2003

            The Woman of the Pharisees by Francois Mauriac

July, 2003

            The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos

August, 2003

            Misfits Summer Recess:  No Book Meeting

September, 2003

            The Brother’s Karamazov (Part I) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

October, 2003

            The Brother’s Karamazov (Part II) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

November, 2003

            The Brother’s Karamazov (Part III) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

December, 2003

            The Brother’s Karamazov (Part IV) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

January, 2004

            Father Elijah by Michael D. O’Brien

February, 2004
            The Ballad of the White Horse and Lepanto by G. K. Chesterton

March, 2004

            Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

April, 2004

            Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh

May, 2004

            Unconditional Surrender by Evelyn Waugh

June-August 2004 

            Misfits Summer Recess:  No Book Meeting

September, 2004

            The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

October, 2004

            Joan of Arc by Mark Twain

November, 2004

            The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

December, 2004

            Lord of the World by Fr. Robert Hugh Benson

January, 2005

            Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor

February, 2005

            The Keys of the Kingdom by A. J. Cronin

March, 2005

            The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton

April, 2005

            Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

May, 2005

            Kristin Lavransdatter I:  The Wreath by Sigrid Undset

June- July, 2005 

            Misfits Summer Recess:  No Book Meeting

August, 2005

            Kristin Lavransdatter II:  The Wife by Sigrid Undset

September, 2005

            Kristin Lavransdatter III:  The Cross by Sigrid Undset

October, 2005

            Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly

November, 2005

            Helena by Evelyn Waugh

December, 2005

            In This House of Brede by Rumor Godden

January, 2006

            Viper’s Tangle by Francois Mauriac

February, 2006

            The Cypresses Believe in God (Part I) by Jose Maria Gironella

March, 2006

            The Cypresses Believe in God (Part II) by Jose Maria Gironella

April, 2006

            The Cypresses Believe in God (Part III) by Jose Maria Gironella

May, 2006

            The Cypresses Believe in God (Part IV) by Jose Maria Gironella

June, 2006

            The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

July, 2006

            One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich  by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

August, 2006

            Utopia by Sir Thomas More

September, 2006

            The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain

October, 2006

            The Silver Chalice by Thomas B. Costain  (Continued)

November, 2006

            The Spear by Louis de Wohl

December, 2006

            The Citadel by A. J. Cronin.

January, 2007

            Memento Mori by Murial Spark

February, 2007

            The Thanatose Syndrome by Walker Percy

March, 2007

            A Burnt-out Case by Graham Greene

April, 2007

            Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh

May, 2007

            Saint Thomas Aquinas by G.K. Chesterton

June/July, 2007

            Saint Francis of Assisi by G. K. Chesterton

August,/September, 2007

            The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie

October, 2007

            Mariette in Ecstasy  by Ron Hanson

November, 2007

            The Life of St. Thomas More by Peter Ackroyd

December, 2007

            Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Conner

January, 2008

            The Master of Hestviken:  The Axe (Volume One) by Sigred Undset

February, 2008

            The Master of Hestviken:  The Snake Pit (Volume Two) by Sigred Undset

March, 2008

            The Master of Hestviken:  In the Wilderness (Volume Three) by Sigred Undset

April, 2008

            The Master of Hestviken:  The Son Avenger (Volume Four) by Sigred Undset

May, 2008

            Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

June, 2008

            Annual Chesterton Conference (June 12-14, 2008)

July, 2008

            Lord of the Flies by William Golding

August, 2008

            Catholics by Brian Moore

September, 2008

            Exiles by Ron Hanson

October, 2008

            The Four Men: A Farrago by Hilaire Belloc

November, 2008

            The Issa Valley by Czeslaw Milosz

December, 2008

            A Commentary on the Sonnets of G. M. Hopkins by Father Peter Milward, S.J.

January, 2009

            The Viaduct Murders by Fr. Ronald A. Knox

February, 2009

            The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

March, 2009

            The Samurai by Shusako Endo

April, 2009

            The Way of A Pilgrim by Anonymous

May, 2009

            The Devil’s Advocate by Morris West

June, 2009

            Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

July, 2009

            The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

August, 2009

            The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green

September, 2009

The Death of a Pope by Piers Paul Read

October, 2009

            Manalive by G. K. Chesterton           

November, 2009

            The Stripping of the Altars (Part 1) by Eamon Duffy

December, 2009

            The Stripping of the Altars (Part 2) by Eamon Duffy

January, 2010

            The Stripping of the Altars (Part 3) by Eamon Duffy

February, 2010

            Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis

March, 2010

            Dear James by Jon Hassler
        
April, 2010
            Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot

May, 2010

            The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

June, 2010

            The Great Short Works of Leo Tolstoy by Leo Tolstoy

July, 2010

            The Great Short Works of Fyodor Dostoevsky by Fyodor Dostoevsky

August, 2010

            The Prudence of the Flesh by Ralph McInerny

September, 2010

            The Black Robes by Brian Moore

October, 2010

            Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

November, 2010

            Dimiter by William Blatty

December, 2010

            A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

January, 2011

            Loss and Gain by Blessed John Henry Newman

February, 2011

            Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers

March, 2011

            Dracula by Bram Stoker

April, 2011
            The Divine Comedy:  Hell by Dante Alighieri

May, 2011

            The Divine Comedy:  Hell (Cont.) by Dante Alighieri

June, 2011
            The Divine Comedy:  Purgatory by Dante Alighieri

July, 2011
            The Divine Comedy:  Purgatory (Cont.) by Dante Alighieri

August, 2011

            The Divine Comedy:  Paradise by Dante Alighieri

September, 2011

            The Divine Comedy:  Paradise (Cont.) by Dante Alighieri

October, 2011
            Poor Banished Children by Maria De Fiorella

November, 2011

           A World Lost by Wendell Berry

December, 2011

            My Antonia by Willa Cather

January, 2012

            A Canticle for Leibowitz by William M. Miller,  Jr.

February-March 2012
            A Postcard from the Volcano by Lucy Beckett

April, 2012

            He Leadeth Me by Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J.

May, 2012

            The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

June, 2012

            The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare


Next up:

September, 2012

            The Time Before You Die: A Novel of the Reformation by Lucy Beckett

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