July Pick (Book Drop Day 2025)
Contemporary Catholic Novel
Welcome to Reading Revisited, a place for friends to enjoy some good old-fashioned book chat while revisiting the truth, beauty, and goodness we’ve found in our favorite books.
As excited as we all are for the new book list, don’t forget that we also have in person and virtual book club options. Here’s what one of our virtual book club members has to say…
Reading Revisited combines the two things every book club must have: rock-solid book choices and a community of kindred spirits. In virtual book club, I’ve found fellow word nerds and lovers of literature, all of them committed to exploring stories with curiosity and purpose. The pleasure of reading along is surpassed only by the joy of discussion!
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Welcome to our July read-along pick! During the summer at Reading Revisited we often reach for more contemporary novels, and this next year we are commencing what we hope to be an ongoing tradition of reading a work by a contemporary Catholic novelist.
To that end, I am excited to introduce you to a fantastic 2023 novel: The Good Death of Kate Montclair by
.
Those of you who have been following the podcast this past year may have heard me (
, your guide for this book) sing the praises of this novel when I first read it last fall. I was immediately impressed by the way that Dr. McInerny is able to boldly explore themes and issues that are contentiously relevant to our present moment without sacrificing excellent storytelling.I am very thankful that Dr.
himself was willing to provide us with a brief synopsis of his novel to rouse our excitement for this wonderful book:From
of “The Comic Muse”
Kate Montclair is dying. She has arrived at her crisis in late middle age, loveless, childless, and not having achieved the career dreams of her youth. Now diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, she sees the next fourteen months of suffering as an intolerable prospect. Kate is desperate--not only for a miracle cure, but for some sense that her life, and life itself, amounts to something more than a catastrophe.
When she sees an advertisement for the Washington, DC Death Symposium, Kate investigates and learns that the monthly discussion group is led by none other than the idealistic and inimitable Adele Schraeder, an old friend from her teaching days in Rome and whom she hasn't seen in years. On Adele’s advice, Kate soon decides to break Virginia law with an assisted suicide.
But Adele Schraeder is not the only person Kate reconnects with at the Death Symposium. Also present is Benedict Aquila, another friend from the Rome days, who has been living in DC while nursing his mother through her final illness. And then there is the strange, mentally ill street woman sitting in the corner, drawing pad in hand. Who is she? She is the Ariadne’s thread that will eventually lead Kate on a journey back through the years to her youth, forcing her to come to grips with the love affair she had with a married man and the catastrophe that took his life.
Tentative Schedule:
Friday, June 12th: Introduction and Schedule
Monday, June 15th: ep. ##: Intro to The Good Death of Kate Montclair
Wednesday, June 17th: Read Along Guide 1
Wednesday, June 24th: Read Along Guide 2
Wednesday, July 1st: Read Along Guide 3
Wednesday, July 8th: Read Along Guide 4
Thursday, July 23rd: The Good Death of Kate Montclair Virtual Book Club
Monday, August 3rd: ep. ##: Revisiting The Good Death of Kate Montclair
Up next will be our very last book for the 2025-2026 reading year, and it’s an Austen!
Check out the previous Book Drop Day Posts:
Welcome to Book Drop Day
September (Book About Books)
October (American Classic)
November (Gothic Novel)
December Part 1 (Book About Poetry)
December Part 2 (Book of Poetry)
January (Shakespeare)
February-April (Long Book)
May (Detective Novel)
June (Play)
Until next time, keep revisiting the good books that enrich your life and nourish your soul.
In Case You Missed It:
On the Podcast:
ep. 55: Introduction to Trust and Contemporary Novels w/ Sean Johnson
ep. 57: Bookish Bio of Griffin Gooch (a Bookish PhD Student)
ep. 58: One Year Anniversary of the Reading Revisited Podcast
What We’re Reading Now/Next:
June
Trust by Hernan Diaz
July
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
August
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A Few Reminders:
If you are wanting to get in on the in person or virtual community please contact us!
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I’m very curious about this; and given that I live very close to NY, it feels very prescient/relevant given recent news.
This looks very interesting:)