Friday, July 2, 2010

A Month of Humor--LOL!

Now that I'm a couple of months into this Catholic Post Book Group blog,  I see that each month not only has a book, but really a theme that the book highlights and invites discussion.

April's book was Treasure in Clay, the autobiography of Fulton Sheen, and the discussion centered on two things: the priesthood, and media.  Fulton Sheen lived out his priesthood in such a vibrant way, and did so through his media apostolate, that the discussion centered on those two topics.

May was The Handbook for Catholic Moms by Lisa Hendey, and that book is so well-ordered that our discussion of mom-hood and its challenges was a breeze.  Thanks, Lisa, for writing such a great book that fostered a month-long online discussion.

June was "summer fiction" month.  Once the schedule with specific topics for days, such as "Family-Friendly Friday," was up and running, June became a great month to discuss and learn from each other on Catholic and catholic fiction.  I plan to do summer fiction each June, and I've already got a great list of classic books for next year.  Suggestions are always welcome!

July's book is Mary Eberstadt's The Loser Letters, fictional letters of an atheist "convert" written in the style of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters.  Initially, I thought I would spend the month inviting discussion of this mini-genre created by Lewis.  But as I wrote my review (that will appear in next week's print Catholic Post and here online, I realized that its just-right humor is what makes the book so enjoyable to me.

For July, humor it is.  I am a big fan of Catholic humor blogs and humor in general, and I will love to share them and find out your favorites.   I also plan to share some thoughts from the saints and others--about about what makes humor not just good but ennobling, something to lift up our human spirit, not demean us.

When it comes to humor, the expression "de gustibus non disputandum est," (there's no accounting for taste) will definitely apply.  Everyone will have a different view on what he or she thinks is funny.  Let's plan to agree to disagree when we have different humor types.

Those who know me know how much I enjoy using the internet expression LOL in e-mail, texting, and even occasionally real life.  So let's plan on some LOL this month.

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