An Open Book: August 2025 Reads

August flew by, and it was a really fun reading month. I'm linking up with An Open Book to share what I read. There were some children's books, a historical fiction novel for adults, and I also finished a couple of nonfiction books that I had been working on for a while. Let's dive in!  

Perpetual Rainbows, by Jessika Caruso

In this novel, Elara, a young woman living in New Jersey, is thrust into a series of wild events during the time that George Washington's army was stationed in Morristown. I really enjoyed seeing Elara grapple with her view on the war and how she navigated different relationships with people on different sides of the conflict, especially as she tried to conceal her Catholic faith from her fellow townspeople. I also was fascinated to see her moral conflict as she ventured into midwifery and later began work as a spy. I loved seeing the everyday aspects of wartime life explored, and Caruso's novel brings the setting to life. (including the smallpox inoculations-I'm so grateful I don't live back then!) I am excited (and nervous) to see where Elara's journey takes her in the next book! I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. 

Anastasis: The Harrowing of Hades, by Michael Elgamal

This was a comic book/short graphic novel about Christ's descent into Sheol after he was crucified. Despite the fact that Scripture talks about this, as does the Creed, I hadn't seen much discussion on this topic until a year or two ago. This comic book draws from Scripture, Church fathers, and some apocryphal writings to explore what this profound event was like. I thought it was beautiful and I definitely teared up when Christ came for Adam and Eve. At the end of the book, the author includes various icons that inspired the story and its panels; I loved looking at those and was fascinated to see how this event has been depicted in art over the centuries. My only content caution with this book is that towards the beginning, one of the souls in Sheol says "I'll be d----d" and I think the author was trying to include this phrase as a comic moment, since the souls were damned/condemned to wait there, but I also don't want my kids walking around saying that phrase. So, when I buy this book for my kids, I'll probably white that part out. Otherwise, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it!

A Forest in the Desert: The Life of St. John the Short, by Michael Elgamal

This was another great find from the company Creative Orthodox! This book is definitely more of a graphic novel than Anastasis and it covers the life and wisdom of St. John the Short. I'd heard about him before and read about him in some of my more dense/academic books about the desert fathers, so I really loved reading this book. Seeing his story illustrated in such an engaging way was a lot of fun and made his sayings much more approachable for me. I loved this book and highly recommend it-this is another book I am very excited to share with my kids sometime.  

Mary, Mother of God: In Search of the Woman Who Changed History, by Grzegorz Gorny (Author), Janusz Rosikon (Photographer)

I slowly read through this book over several months and I finally finished it. Wow! Tons of photographs and pieces of sacred artwork accompany a text that dives deeply into the life of Mary, Mother of God. The author draws from Scripture as well as other texts like the Protoevangelium of James to discuss the events of Mary's life. The author (and photographer) also explore different archeological sites that concern the Holy Family and Mary's life once Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. I really appreciate that the author honestly pointed out different traditions surrounding Mary's life, and that some traditions may or may not have factually happened, while we know and believe that other aspects of Mary's life did occur. I also really loved the entire chapter on the Flight into Egypt--the author and photographer went into all the different Coptic traditions and holy sites associated with the Holy Family, as well as the apparition of Our Lady of Zeitoun. At the end of the book, the author touches on different teachings about Mary and what various popes have said about her, as well as her role in our lives as Christians. This was a fantastic book and one I'll be going back to again and again, especially with my kids. 

REREAD: The Seven Storey Mountain, by Thomas Merton

This autobiography of a monk is a bit of a modern spiritual classic, and I'm grateful that I revisited it several years after my first read-through. Merton talks about his childhood, adulthood, conversion, and discernment of priesthood and monastic life. For the past several months, this book sat next to my bed so I could read a few pages at night-nothing against Thomas Merton, but the first chunk of the book, while being interesting, also moves rather slowly and helped me fall asleep ;) The story definitely picks up quite a bit towards the middle or final third of the book, though. I really enjoyed reading Merton's insights on monasticism, and it was also cool to see him reflect on the ways in which God worked in his life. 

Sands of Salvation: The Strength of Abba Moses, by Gabriel Wilson 

I was super excited when our public library purchased this graphic novel about St. Moses the Black (aka St. Moses the Ethiopian), because I had been curious about it for a while after seeing it online. This book was SO GOOD. It shares the story of St. Moses life, from his days as a murderous, thieving thug all the way to his monastic life and his death at the hands of another man. The artwork was fantastic, and I thought the author did a fabulous job conveying the spiritual struggles that St. Moses faced throughout his life. I also was grateful that the author did not shy away from the harsh aspects of the story, while not being gratuitous in the text or artwork. While there are scenes that depict Moses's life of violence, drugs, and debauchery, there wasn't a ton of blood, and in the scenes with him and a woman, the panels don't include anything graphic. I loved this book and my nine-year-old did, too. I highly recommend it! 

Thanks so much for joining me this month! If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments!