Sunday, November 15, 2009

Book Review: Doers of the Word

I just finished reading Archbishop Dolan's Doers Of The Word: Putting Your Faith Into Practice. I'll be the first to admit that I was uncertain about whether or not I'd enjoy this book. You never can tell with books. Sometimes you get one that you are pretty sure you're going to love and you wind up bored to tears, and other times you get a book that you're slightly apprehensive will be a bust and you find yourself delighted with what you find between the covers. I'm really happy to report that Doers Of the Word was a really good book. Really.

I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that this book is not what I was concerned it might be: a how-to book on how to put your faith into practice. I'm not much a of fan of preachy material, and prior to delving into this book, I worried that it could be just that. So I procrastinated for a day or two before I decided to give it a go. This book was not at all what I expected. It was just so much better than what I was expecting. Now some of my zeal for this book probably has to do with the fact that as I read this book, points from books I've read prior to this suddenly made sense with incredible clarity. So my amazement at how well he explained topics that others had explained in a somewhat cloudy manner really endeared this book to me.

Much of the book is comprised of Archbishop Dolan's personal stores, insights on a variety of subjects. His approach is very simple and straight forward. Each chapter is broken up into short essays [which frequently are infused with humor] that are followed by quotes, historical information, or brief explanations of a point mentioned in the essay. It's an easily digestible book. Have a few minutes? You can easily take in a short sub-section of a chapter. Have an hour? You can breeze through a nice chunk of the book. The book is written in a very engaging manner.

If you're looking for a source of inspiration, I'd highly recommend this book.

This review was written as part of the Catholic Book Reviewer Program for The Catholic Company. For more information on Doers of the Word: Putting Your Faith Into Practice, visit The Catholic Company.

As a reviewer for The Catholic Company, I was supplied with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review of this book.

2 comments:

  1. sounds like an interesting book; I like that you found it easily digestible; some books you need to sit there and think what was written and is often hard to do admist the business of life

    thanks for the review

    betty

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  2. I love books with anecdotes. Really makes you feel like you are a part of the book.

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