Felow Blames 1970s Church Architecture for Life of Sin is the long-titled but very, very funny new book from The Ironic Catholic. Longtime Catholic Post Book Group readers may remember my interview with IC, as she is known, last year.
Felon Blames 1970s Church Architecture for Life of Sin (let's agree that I can shorten it to Felon from here on out) may be slightly awkwardly named, even off-putting to some, but trust me, it is hilarious, faithful Catholic humor. There's not a bit stuffy or mean about IC's humor, which I think is why I enjoy her work so much.
From the description of the book:
In the style of The Onion, Stephen Colbert, and occasionally Jonathan Swift, the writer of "The Ironic Catholic" website offers light satirical takes on the world of Catholic news. The fake news stories (Attendees of Flannery O'Connor Conference Meet Dire End, Tired Mother Announces 'Come and See' Weekend, Re-gifting Chia Pets Not Considered Lenten Sacrifice, etc.) both entertain and teach.
Okay, now for my take. Many "news" stories in Felon, but in particular"Attendees of Flannery O'Connor Conference Meet Dire End," had me literally in tears of laughter. This is because my secret shame, as a Catholic book lover, is how much I detest the writing of the esteeemed O'Connor. There, I've said it, once and for all, so I can be removed from the serious Catholic readers fraternity. I don't necessarily believe my distaste comes from O'Connor's writing--I'm sure it's wonderful--as much as my trouble with Southern fiction. As much as I try, and try again, to appreciate Souther fiction, I just keep thinking when I read any of them, okay, here comes the stifling heat, the weird violence and the big ol' cast of quirky Southern characters. I'm convinced that my purgatory will be a room full of Southern books--and nothing else--to read.
Every other story is also truly funny, so that you will be laughing out loud and the people around you will be asking, hey, what's so funny?
Felon is available as a Kindle e-book and a Barnes & Noble Nook book, making it effortless to download and read on a Kindle, Nook or other device. And the price is right--$2.99 on Amazon, $1.99 on B&N. I found it super easy to download and read, now that I have the hang of how Kindle works. The book is also available at Smashwords, and while I had no trouble downloading Dear Communion of Saints from Smashwords last year, when it was only available in that format, I couldn't easily figure out a way to get it off the computer. I'm sure it's quite easy, but now that IC's books are available as Kindle books, I'm all set.
Have you read any Catholic e-books lately? I've downloaded a few titles recently, as the prices can't be beat, and it's handy having them on multiple devices. In fact, I downloaded a copy of the book I'll be reviewing in August, since my review copy went missing for several weeks, and I've found it really convenient. I'd love to find out about new titles available for e-readers or your experiences with them.
Aw, thanks! I appreciate the kind words. And the title may be (actually is) wordy, but it is so much fun to say, "Want to buy a Felon? or a Saint?" ;)
ReplyDeleteSusan aka IC