The book I am just finishing is by Paul Newman and A.E.Hotchner called Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good. 
It is a wonderfully refreshing book about how they began “Newman’s Own” company.  It is an easy read about how one can run a business with non-management skills and about giving back to the world both monetarily and in person. It makes one see that there are some very good people with great intentions who have the gift to stay with their goal. It will make you laugh and feel good at the same time. One sample is their motto “There are three rules for running a business; fortunately we don’t know any of them.”
The other book I have recently enjoyed is The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, A Memoir by Bill Bryson. I enjoyed it so much because it recalls the time of being raised in the 1950s, which is when I grew up. He writes about the 50s as a happy time when the country was growing industrially. It is extremely funny and yet fraught with reality.

Marlene Stowe
Parishoner
St. Therese Church, Mooresville, N.C.

The book I am reading is The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm, by renowned Jewish Rabbi Harold S. Kushner. I found it at Barnes and Noble recently while having coffee with a friend and perusing through books, something I try to do most Fridays away from school work.
The Twenty-third Psalm is my favorite, and Rabbi Kushner is a writer whose works I find inspirational. Reading the book along with my counseling textbooks has been refreshing and nurturing for me. It has also deepened my love and theology about the Twenty-third Psalm.
As a priest I have a great respect and love for the sacrament of reconciliation.  I always would give the Twenty-third Psalm to my penitent as penance. I do this to remind them that in their brokenness and shame, God is still loving them and working to bind their wounds and heal them. Reading the book assured me that sharing the Twenty-third Psalm in this way is my way of offering them a masterful guide to living in the world with faith and courage before the God who shepherds and loves them unconditionally.

Samuel O. Okwuidegbe, SJ
Pastoral Counseling Student
Loyola College in Maryland

I am reading Lorenzo de’ Medici by Judith Hook. In October, I attended a lecture at the British Institute of Florence on the political climate of that city in the late 15th century. The historian focused on the political and spiritual clashes involving Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Dominican Savonarola who was invited by Lorenzo to become Prior of San Marco, and Popes Sixtus IV and Innocent VIII.
It is difficult to spend time in Florence and not be curious about Lorenzo who has been both demonized and admired. After attending the lecture and visiting Medici sights, my curiosity was piqued enough to borrow from the bookshelf of my Florentine friend a copy of this biography which places Lorenzo in the political, literary, familial and Catholic context from which I could more fully appreciate his concerns and conflicts. Each of the players in this drama was Catholic; each acted upon convictions he deemed pleasing to God. This portrait of Lorenzo makes me want to tackle a good biography of Savonarola. 

Helen Free
English Teacher
Gonzaga College High School