Random Thoughts and Miscellany

I finished Paul Elie's book, and I think my rating of 4 stars was a good prediction, because I wouldn't change it. Surprisingly, Elie didn't wash over the oddities of Thomas Merton like many who write about the man tend to do. It sounds odd, but the best section of the book took place after Flannery O'Connor died. The others followed in quick succession, and Elie's quick, matter-of-fact descriptions seemed to demystify all of what he had written earlier. But then he framed it nicely with an epilogue. I recommend the book highly to anyone interest in American literary Catholicity or in any of the lives of either Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Walker Percy or Flannery O'Connor.

I've given up on Salt of the Earth for a while. I can't seem to focus my mind on the subject matter. Maybe dealing so directly with such things for 9 months out of the year necessitates a break. Anyhow, I've updated my reading list to reflect the changes.

Something I meant to blog about over the past week, for which I never found the time, was this story about a Russian woman who is suing NASA for messing up her horoscope with its recent Deep Impact probe landing. What a psycho...

Also, if anyone has any information on good, scholarly books trying to make the case that William Shakespeare was a Catholic, please let me know.