First of all, welcome back, brother. I am especially touched that your fiancée would even suggest to find a Catholic Church. (As an aside, you're not a convert; you're a revert since you're already baptized into the Church. I thought maybe you'd appreciate that factoid.)

​

>I am looking for information about your Church, whatever you think is important to know.

There is a lot to know and many here would recommend a million and one things to study, especially since it sounds like you enjoy a good intellectual pursuit. I'm not going to discount others' recommendations, but I do want to highlight one thing: learn more about Jesus first. Find out what He taught, who He is, what His disciples and closest friends said about Him, what the Old Testament said about Him, etc. To that end...

​

>I am looking for recommendations for a Catholic-approved version of the Bible, geared towards someone who appreciates philosophy and prefers something close to the original translations, or the most accepted by the Church.

First thing to note, all Catholic Bibles have 72 books. Protestants have 66. If you can't get a hold of a Catholic Bible, a Protestant one will do for now until you do get around to buying a Catholic one. Now, as for Catholic Bibles, if you speak/read Latin you can't go wrong with the Vulgate Bible. It's a Bible that was translated by St. Jerome who was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; he had the original manuscripts -- some of which are lost to us today -- so his translations are widely accepted as authentic and faithful.

There's also the English version of the Vulgate Bible known as the Douay-Rheims. It's an almost word-for-word translation of the Latin so the English will sound archaic to our modern ears. It's not as frustrating as, say, reading Shakespeare but it's pretty close. I personally prefer (and currently use) a Douay-Rheims Bible that has the Clementina Vulgata beside it. It's essentially Latin and English side by side. You can find one here.

If want one with plain English, the New American Bible Revised Edition would suffice. (If you use this website, let me know. I have a discount code from my last purchase.)

​

>I know nothing of the culture or norms of the Church, or what to expect as a new member.

One major rule to remember is that you can't receive Holy Communion until after you've gone to Confession. Given your situation, I would recommend setting up an appointment with a parish priest so he can give his full attention to you and your needs.

​

>I do not know how to introduce myself to the congregation

There's usually no need to introduce yourself to the congregation since parishes tend to be big. If you would like to formally introduce yourself, however, give the parish priest a call and set up a meeting with him. It would also be a great chance to speak with him about your situation and get some pastoral guidance.

​

>or tell a good Catholic church from a lesser one

Many here would recommend a more traditional parish. If that's not available, I'd say any Catholic church would do. If you're unsure about a particular church's standing, just give us the details on this sub. I'm sure someone here would be able to double check for you.

​

>I know nothing of the Saints or the miracles, or what has been confirmed by the Church and what hasn't.

These are things you can learn later on. Focus on Jesus first. Rebuild your relationship with Him. Start with the basics; if you don't, you might burn yourself out. There is A LOT to learn about the Faith. Some say it's a lifelong endeavour. :P

​

>I am also looking for a reading list to explore Catholic philosophy beyond those you typically encounter in standard philosophical reading, such as Aquinas or Pascal.

Hmmm... this depends on what sorts of things interest you. A good one that lightly touches on philosophy is Socrates Meets Jesus by Peter Kreeft (anything by this guy is pretty good, by the way).

A book that may be more pressing to your current situation is Why Be Catholic? by Patrick Madrid and Abraham Skorka, Why We're Catholic by Trent Horn, as well as Why I am a Catholic by Brandon Vogt. (They might need to work on a more original title, though :P) Since you have an Evangelical background, Crossing the Tiber by Steve Ray might be helpful (although it can be a bit dry; also, it mostly deals with the Church's teaching on Baptism and the Eucharist) as well as Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberly Hahn.

You can never go wrong with classics such as a collection of C. S. Lewis' works, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, The Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton, and Confessions by St. Augustine.

If you want a historical examination of Jesus and the Early Church, a good place to start is The Case for Christ by Brant Pitre, The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine by St. Eusebius, and The Fathers Know Best by Jimmy Akin. I'd like to thrown in Jesus, Peter, and the Keys by Scott Butler, Norman Dahlgren, and David J. Hess. This last one pertains to the Catholic claim regarding the papacy (and which I think is one of the strongest arguments in favour of the Catholic Church being the original one that the Lord founded).

Finally, there are YouTube channels you can follow/binge watch such as Bishop Robert Barron and Ascension Presents. Also, an amazing video about the Catholic Faith is a series made by Bishop Barron when he was "just" a priest called Catholicism.

I'm sorry if that's overwhelming but you raised some good questions. :P Anyway, I imagine it may be a lot right now so take it slowly, don't dive in through all of it at once. Find a local Catholic church, call up the priest, set up a meeting, then take it from there. And remember, you can always pray; God's always willing to talk with you.

As you get more into audiobooks, you may start to find that you seek out works by particular narrators. David Case (RIP) is one of my favorites. He does a lot of classics. I've listened to him do David Copperfield, Moby Dick and some P.G. Wodehouse works. All of them were great. His ability to do multiple voices really draw me into his reading.

Audiofile magazine is a great place to look at reviews of different audiobooks. You can get quite a bit of web content from them for free without being a subscriber.

If you think you might like to try some radio dramas, I'd recommend checking out some of the works by the ZBS Foundation. They've done some amazing work dating back to the 1970's. Their Jack Flanders works are some of my favorite, though I also love Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe. (Their online catalog seems to be a little borked at the moment, but I'm sure they'll get it straightened out.)

Other great radio dramas:

• Lord of the Rings (be sure to get the BBC version, and not the NPR version which is not nearly as good.)
  
• Star Wars - these were produced for NPR and they're awesome. They include voices of some of the actors from the original films. Unforturnately they get progressively worse (Star Wars >> Empire >> Return of the Jedi) but they are all very listenable.
  
• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - These are musts. Even if you've already read the books. Especially if you've already read the books.
  
• The Chronicles of Narnia - Much as I hate to admit it, this is a great audio production. It's made by Focus on the Family so you may want to think twice before paying for it first hand. But it's actually quite good and worth listening to.
  
  Also, check out some of the Old Time Radio shows at the Internet Archive. They are free for download and some of them are really great. Suspense and X Minus One are great ones to start with.

The versions I got, this publisher for all three, had a couple good things in it. One, the italian was on the left hand pages, the english on the right, so you could still see the poetry. Two, all of the three were about 300 pages of text, and then about a hundred pages of finer print notes. I didn't read all the notes, but I used a good bit of them. They definitely helped me understand a good part of the history I definitely was lost on.

Should you go back? Yes. That's my opinion. The translation I had, even if you didn't read the notes, was simply a beautiful sounding translation. The beginning of purgatory is the most boring part, which I didn't even think bad, but it definitely gets better and more interesting when he goes through the seven deadly sins. Paradise is simply awe inspiring. You need to get through Purgatory just to get to Paradise. Purgatory was the worst of the three if I had to rank.

I don't know about adding stuff like the tale of beryn or finishing off the cook's tale, but the Nevill Coghill version is the adaptation most accepted by critics today.

Peter Ackroyd did a prose translation of it in modern English that's meant to be very good as well.

Either one retains the subversive humour of the original. I wouldn't worry about a feeling of cohesion - all Chaucer intended is a collection of tales. These two are very 'complete' as far as I can tell, and any incompleteness is only really frustrating to Chaucer scholars.

My personal take on them is that they are a fascinating way of getting into a medieval mind, so I read the original text, with help from notes of course. They are funny, rude, exciting ... this is high-quality entertainment. There's a reason they've survived 700 years.

I'd probably start here in order to get an idea of Britain on the macro scale.
While bountyonme mentions Saxons ruling from 410AD to 1066, the term "rule" is rather loose, as they were constantly being attacked and invaded by Nordic peoples, even having one as their king for a period of time.
And before even that, there was the Roman rule of England, which shouldn't be overlooked, as the Romans had a major impact on the entirety of Europe, and with England so far away from Roman Empire's Mediterranean hub, there was a different flavor of Roman imperialism there than in Italy or France, which left its mark on Britain even after the fall of Rome
Finally, when you're looking at British history, if you're curious about the various cultural elements of the Isles, and how the Brits perceived themselves and others, I would suggest reading Beowulf, with Tolkien's essay on it which examines how the tale provides a peek into the cultural mindset of the period. Also, if you want a somewhat amusing read, check out Gerald of Wales' Topography of Ireland, the section on Irish miracles is especially interesting.
Also, returning to bountyonme, definitely definitely definitely read The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's poetry is equal parts beautiful and humorous. I would suggest reading it in its original Middle English, if you can get a handle on it. Many of the translations remove much of the beauty and humor of the work, leaving a dry, lifeless piece of shit and besmirching the genius's name. I would suggest this edition if you can handle the price or get it through interlibrary loan, it's well-footnoted, provides a primer on how to read/understand Middle English, and uses the most complete edition of the texts.
Welcome to the confusing/frustrating/entertaining/well-worthwhile arena of Medieval history.

Hey Lena :) Thanks for saying that, Costa didn't understand when I told him, but i'll thnak you on his behalf hehe.

Book wise, that would have to be Mortal Engines - the concept of cities moving over the ground and 'eating' other smaller cities is a fantastic concept, and really lets you think about what an alternative universe could be like! Whilst it might be a kids book, I loved it.

How about yourself, what was your last great book?

Godric by Frederick Buechner. I'm basically a stone-cold atheist and this book is about a Saint written by an ordained Presbyterian minister. It's probably one of the best books I've ever read.

It's not necessarily about religion. It's about atonement. And it's based on a true story. What really sets it apart is the prose; it takes several pages to get used to Buechner's style -- he said he tried to mimic 12th century writing -- and it's gorgeous.

From Amazon:
"Frederick Buechner's Godric "retells the life of Godric of Finchale, a twelfth-century English holy man whose projects late in life included that of purifying his moral ambition of pride...Sin, spiritual yearning, rebirth, fierce asceticism--these hagiographic staples aren't easy to revitalize but Frederick Buechner goes at the task with intelligent intensity and a fine readiness to invent what history doesn't supply."

If you liked the Ender universe, try the offshoot series for Ender and Bean. Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and Children of the Mind are more philosophical and deal with Ender coming to terms with killing all the Formics. Everything after Ender's Shadow follows Bean and the other Battle School kids as the world superpowers try to achieve global domination after the Formic War, it's more about military and political strategy. They're both great, but very different.

For something new, check out Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow and its sequel, Children of God. Here's the Publishers Weekly description of The Sparrow:

An enigma wrapped inside a mystery sets up expectations that prove difficult to fulfill in Russell's first novel, which is about first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. The enigma is Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist whose messianic virtues hide his occasional doubt about his calling. The mystery is the climactic turn of events that has left him the sole survivor of a secret Jesuit expedition to the planet Rakhat and, upon his return, made him a disgrace to his faith. Suspense escalates as the narrative ping-pongs between the years 2016, when Sandoz begins assembling the team that first detects signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, and 2060, when a Vatican inquest is convened to coax an explanation from the physically mutilated and emotionally devastated priest. A vibrant cast of characters who come to life through their intense scientific and philosophical debates help distract attention from the space-opera elements necessary to get them off the Earth.

Oh, and I almost forget, the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin is so freaking amazing. If you want a new fictional universe to explore, this is it. Well written, ridiculous plot twists, tons of interesting and unique characters that you hate with a passion until you read the chapter written from their point of view, then you fall in love with them. I watched the first two episodes of Game of Thrones before deciding I wanted to read the books first. I stayed up way later than I planned to because I just had to read the next chapter, then the next, then the next book, until I'd read all five in no time and might read them again because I'm addicted to the characters and universe. It's just such rich content that you'll find yourself flipping back and forth to re-read different parts. You won't regret it.

That Day, Great and Terrible
on Amazon - $2.95 for the Kindle. $9.95 for the paperback.

Angela is on a never-ending road trip she can’t escape. Kat is the mother of a son whose bizarre behavior fills her with horror. Milton is a teen with nothing to say. And Gabe is a college student searching for glory.
These four lives twist together in a small Minnesota town. As the world begins to fall apart, they must face their darkest sins and brace themselves for the coming of that great and terrible day.

One reviewer said, “I truly loved it. It had a bit of Stephen King (sans gore) and even a bit of Hitchcock. I didn't want to go to bed last night because I was so close to finishing it but couldn't keep my eyes open. It was such a good read and had a great ending.”

You might consider getting her this book then. It's hilarious as are his other works. I'm partial to A Dirty Job, but The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove is really good as is Practical Demonkeeping. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story is really good too.

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

For a more 'Medieval Literature' folklore focus:

• Broadview Anthology of Medieval Literature
  
• Beowulf, translation by Seamus Heaney
  
• L'Morte De Arthur, Sir Thomas Mallory
  
• Idylls of the King, Alfred Lord Tennyson
  
• The Gawain Poet (including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight)
  
• Edmund Spenser's Poetry, including The Faerie Queen
  
• Marie De France's Poetry
  
• The Canterbury Tales
  
  If you'd like actual fiction/novel recommendations, I'm happy to give those as well! Just say the word.
  

This is by far my personal favorite translation of Inferno. I've tried a couple of other translations, they just weren't as poetic. I also like that this has the original Italian side-by-side with the English, and the illustrations are interesting.

I agree. The audio version by Gollum (Andy Serkis) is awesome. I'm currently listening to it in my car on the way to work, for the second time. Much better than radio commercials in the morning.

Here are a few book resources and a web source:

Oxford Guide to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales, edited by Helen Cooper: Descriptions of each tale, along with discussion of sources, critical context, structure, and themes. Indispensable if you're just getting started with Chaucer.

The Wife of Bath, edited by Peter Beidler: Part of the series Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism, this book only includes the portions of CT that deal with the Wife of Bath, but it also includes descriptions of how the major theoretical schools deal with this tale, including an essay for each. So you'll get the perspectives of a deconstructionist, a new historicist, a feminist, a marxist, and a psychoanalitic critic on this one tale. Really useful if you're looking to get a wide range of critical perspectives.

And, of course, see if you can find the Norton Critical Edition of the Canterbury Tales, edited by Kolve and Olson. These always include a number of contextual readings, sources and analogues, and critical articles.

Hopefully, your library will have at least one of these books. Any of them would be useful. I've linked the Amazon pages of each for more details.

For a web source, check out the Harvard Chaucer page. Interlinear translations, critical introductions, bibliographies, and sources and analogues for each tale. A really complete site.

Good luck!

I really liked Patriots by Rawles.
It kind of reads like a field manual at times, but the story was good. I'm NOT a fan of the follow ups, or his other writings, but that was a good book.

It depends on what you want to read in Middle English. My medieval lit class last semester (full disclosure--I'm a classics major, not English) got me reading Chaucer's Middle English pretty easily. It really isn't so bad after the initial learning curve. I recommend getting this edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales--there seem to be some cheaper used copies--and just reading it. It's pretty well glossed, and although Chaucer's ME can be deceptively easy (a good number of false friends), it's more accessible than, say, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I'm no expert, but if Chaucer is your goal, read Chaucer. If he's not, I can't really help you, unfortunately--hopefully someone more knowledgeable will comment.

Yep. That's what it is. The book from Amazon;

======

23 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#23 in Books &amp;gt; Christian Books &amp;amp; Bibles &amp;gt; Literature &amp;amp; Fiction &amp;gt; Fantasy<br />
#24 in Books &amp;gt; Literature &amp;amp; Fiction &amp;gt; Genre Fiction &amp;gt; Religious &amp;amp; Inspirational &amp;gt; Science Fiction &amp;amp; Fantasy<br />

======

Netflix has a wide variety of titles, including many that I'd like to filter out just because I have no interest in them. If anyone knows how to do that, I'm all ears.

> This explains a lot. What you fail to mention is how in the world his book predicting a dollar collapse become so popular with great reviews? 400+ reviews for a book on Amazon is above decent.

Shucks, I guess that means that Noah's Ark really happened and the entire universe was created in only 6 days.

http://www.amazon.com/Left-Behind-Novel-Earths-Last/dp/1414334907/ref=sr_1_federatedaps0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410683312&sr=8-1&keywords=left+behind

Hey look, that's even more reviews than the book that you chose. I guess that means that everything that book predicted is going to come true.

http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Rich-Lessons-Cofounder-Memoir/dp/1476751773/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410683403&sr=1-3&keywords=amway

Pretty solid reviews, I guess this means that Amway is a credible company.

Well said. A lot of religions have sound philosophical backgrounds IMHO. I think that it is the transition to religion that things go sour. Have you ever read Joshua
, by Joseph Girzone? It is a rather interesting story of a modern-day Jesus' reaction to the current state of Judeo-Christian religions. As an Atheist raised in a Christian family, this story gave me a newfound respect for some of the underlying philosophy, as opposed to the current dogma, of Christianity.

In addition to these five, he wrote a number of other short pieces set in the holiday season. These were mostly published in the periodicals of the day. Amazon has a collection for free, here.

Not my own work, but if you like this prompt then you'll like this book

And the sequel

I liked California: https://www.amazon.com/California-Novel-Edan-Lepucki-ebook/dp/B00GG0GJ2Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1506023269&sr=8-3&keywords=california

And Sleepless: https://www.amazon.com/Sleepless-Novel-Charlie-Huston-ebook/dp/B002XHNONI/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1506023332&sr=1-1&keywords=sleepless

And a friend wrote this strange indie book: https://www.amazon.com/That-Great-Terrible-Brian-Scott/dp/0996843205/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&dpID=41g6nFlhgNL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

I loved [Redwall] (http://amzn.to/2EL9BYT) , Brian Jacques was my jam growing up! I think you would really love the [Paradise War Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead] (http://amzn.to/2GxG9C8) .

Pilgrim's Progress in modern English has a free Kindle version, even for non-prime users: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00Q8NFZY4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UPl6Cb7PPW90G

For Christian fiction, I've enjoyed a lot of Stephen Lawhead's stuff - Byzantium is probably my favorite of his, but it's more historical fiction. On the fantasy side there's The Song of Albion series and for Sci-Fi Empyrion (2 books series). But he's got a ton of different stuff that would be worth checking out.

The audio version has Andy Serkis (Gollum) doing the voice of Uncle Screwtape, and he’s SO awesome in it.

I recommend the Allen Mandelbaum translation. It's very faithful to the text, but also readable, and is printed alongside the original poem.

Doubt anyone here has read this, but my favorite is Godric by Frederick Buechner.

And HELLO, anyone read a little book named WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS????

That sounds lovely! this is my version

I just bought a nicely bound Longfellow version with these illustrations at Costco. As well as a pork roast and dog food.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607109913/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

have fun!

My two most recent reads that were of this genre:

Patriots

One Second After

Of course, go for it. It was really fun to listen to it in audio form.

this is the edition I'm using with my students right now and they seem to be pretty into it.

Good read. Addresses this question. Recommended.

http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Parable-Joseph-F-Girzone/dp/0684813467

Mortal Engines :P - Thanks OP

Funny.
Check out his book by Christopher Moore.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

The first two (2) ebooks in the trilogy are currently available from Amazon for no cost. The third is 5.99$USD.
The Green Ember (The Green Ember #1)
Ember Falls (The Green Ember #2)

not free Ember Rising (The Green Ember #3)

You should probably not read this book, then. It's a pretty awesome book, and actually made my faith a little bit stronger, but it would probably piss you off.

Sounds like Joshua: A Parable for Today by
Joseph F. Girzone. It is a series of books.

It's number one in British and Irish Poetry!

LAMB by Christopher Moore

http://www.amazon.com/Lamb-Special-Gift-According-Childhood/dp/0061438596/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0

http://www.amazon.com/Classics-Christian-Faith-Max-McLean/dp/1931047596/


http://www.amazon.com/Screwtape-Letters-Full-cast-Dramatization-Diabolical/dp/1589973240/

http://www.amazon.com/He-Touched-Me-Gospel-Presley/dp/5559166928/

http://www.amazon.com/Mothers-Hymn-Book-Johnny-Cash/dp/B0001NBMTE/

http://www.amazon.com/Can-Circle-Be-Unbroken-Country/dp/B003O5MO02/

Demon hunting has never quite looked like this before. But then again, Baal isn't your typical demon.

"Kingdom Come" will have you riveted as you journey alongside rookie demon hunter Jason Collins and his rise to a battle he never asked for.

https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Come-Justin-Coogle-ebook/dp/B077XM5JMK/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520825241&sr=8-1&dpID=51zy%252Ba%252B-g8L&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=detail

When demons are brought up, I always highly suggest the Screwtape Letters which is fictional, but offers deep insight into man's spiritual struggles.

For the record, the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a "story that takes the form of a series of letters from a senior Demon Screwtape to his nephew Wormwood, a Junior Tempter. The uncle's mentorship pertains to the nephew's responsibility in securing the damnation of a British man known only as 'the Patient.'"

If you'd like to hear part of the audiobook for yourself, consider watching these four semi-animated videos.

The non-animated, full version of the audiobook can be found here, although it is an unauthorized upload to Youtube, but the official CD's can be bought here.

The parts that really slapped me in the face at how accurate it is for myself, is Part 3.

Alternatively it's possible to read the actual book, linked HERE which is legally public domain under Canada's copyright laws.

> Because court chose to put them there

Yes, as punishment.

I do not agree that hell is some sort of "cosmic prison" precisely because its purpose is not punitive. Punishment in the Christian system exists so that one can be reformed, so that one might have the impetus to change one's ways and become a better person (in that sense Purgatory is far more analogous to a prison: it is punishment for sins with the purpose of being corrective—we do call prisons "correctional facilities," after all).

Yet hell does not exist to reform the sinner. Reform in hell is impossible, because one's renunciation of love is absolute. Rather, hell is the unfortunate logical necessity of the Christian soteriological framework. If we are free beings then we must be able to make the free choice not to love. Given that human beings are immortal, there must be a post-earthly place for those who choose not to love; hence, hell.

Another work to recommend would be Dante's Inferno, in which that greatest of Italian poets imagines that those in hell are so attached to their sins that they would choose the sin over anything else, even over the possibility of love.