Dead Man's Fancy by Keith McCafferty

Next in the Sean Stranahan mystery series. A solid entry.

To Change the Church by Ross Douthat

Subtitled "Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism."

This is Douthat's take on the Francis Pontificate and, in particular, how Francis has revealed himself to be essentially a 1970's style Catholic liberal. Douthat is not particularly sanguine about the immediate future of the Church - neither am I - but holds out hope in the long run. And if the Church is what she claims to be, that hope will be vindicated.

Voltaire and the Triumph of the Enlightenment

Audible.com download of a Great Courses lecture series by Prof. Alan Charles Kors. It is Kors interpretation of the Enlightenment as told through the history of Voltaire. Kors is a very engaging, even gripping, lecturer. Recommended.

Plato, Socrates and the Dialogues by Michael Sugrue

This was an audible.com download of a Great Courses lecture series. It is an excellent intro to Plato and Socrates. Prof. Sugrue clearly loves his subject.

Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver

A classic on philosophy and culture that I have been meaning to read for a long time. It lives up to the hype. Written in 1948, Weaver diagnoses the sickness in our culture, tracing it to the triumph of nominalism over realism way back in the late middle ages. The best aspect of the book, and vindicating its analysis, is its prophetic nature.

The Gray Ghost Murders by Keith McCafferty

Second in the Sean Stranahan series. A solid entry, I'll continue with the series.

The Big Picture by Sean Carroll

A defense of the materialist/atheist worldview. Carroll is an engaging writer, but his effort fails due to the usual problems with materialism.