The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien
Today I completed The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (407 pages). Unlike The Silmarillion, which unfolds as a record of origins and long decline, this book begins in a settled land whose boundaries …
The Brothers Karamazov
Having completed The Brothers Karamazov cover to cover, I find it hard to overstate its density and its power. Dostoevsky did not write a mere novel but constructed a comprehensive moral and theological drama, clothed …
The Didache
The Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, is one of the earliest extant documents outside the New Testament canon that offers a structured outline of Christian moral teaching, liturgical practice, and ecclesial order …
On the Incarnation
Today, I completed reading St. Athanasius’s On the Incarnation to understand the meaning of Theosis, or Union with Christ. This writing from St. Athanasius of Alexandria is a masterpiece of early Christian theology, offering a …
Biography: Elon Musk
Today I completed Walter Isaacson’s book on Elon Musk, a monolithic 671-page biography that charts the ascent of one of the most dynamic minds of the modern era. More than a chronicle of innovation, the …
The Silmarillion by Tolkien
Today I completed The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (358 pages, ISBN: 978-0008433949). When I first began reading, I quickly realized that it was not a conventional story, but a vast record of origins and destinies …
Dune by Herbert
Frank Herbert’s Dune first impressed me with the sheer depth of its world. Arrakis is not just a desert planet but a complete ecosystem that controls every choice people make. Its sandstorms, water scarcity, and …
The Magician’s Nephew
Today I completed The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, though it was the sixth to be published. As a foundational work, it serves not merely as …
Don Quixote by Cervantes
Today I completed the book Don Quixote, having followed its long, wayward path across more than a thousand pages. The book—written in two parts, in 1605 and 1615 by Miguel de Cervantes—is often claimed to …
The Hobbit by Tolkien
“The Hobbit,” or “There and Back Again,” written by J.R.R. Tolkien and first published in 1937, is a timeless work in the fantasy genre, offering a richly imagined world filled with memorable characters, profound themes, …
Paradiso by Dante Alighieri
In Dante’s Paradiso, the journey of the protagonist reaches its culmination in the celestial realms, where he experiences the ultimate redemption by divine grace. As Dante ascends through the various spheres of Heaven, each representing …
Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri’s “Purgatorio,” the second cantica of his monumental epic poem “The Divine Comedy,” continues the journey of the poem’s protagonist—Dante himself—through the afterlife. Having traversed the depths of Hell in “Inferno,” Dante and his …
