Dr. Lisa Theus

Historical Fiction Editor

Lisa Theus thinks one of the best ways to get to know somebody is their favorite books, and she credits Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi with helping her fall in love with her now husband. Her favorite works include (listed chronologically!): The Epic of Gilgamesh, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Thomas à Kempis’ Imitation of Mary, the poetry of John Donne, J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword, and Pope Benedict XVI’s Jesus of Nazareth.

She has spent most of her life training herself how to think like an ancient Roman (she earned a PhD in Classics at Rutgers University and taught college courses for several years). Eventually, she left academia for something more stable–working first as a church secretary for her local Catholic parish and now as an assistant for a financial advisor. She can’t keep her head out of history or rich worlds, however, and she loves reading about noble heroes and the difficult pursuit of virtue–however that may manifest. Bonus points for an engaging cast of characters and strong worldbuilding.
When she isn’t working for her paycheck, she’s pursuing the life of a freelance writer and editor; building her own worlds; volunteering in her community; or playing video games with her husband.

Corinna Turner

Fantasy Editor

Carnegie Medal Award nominated author Corinna Turner has been writing since she was fourteen and likes strong protagonists with plenty of integrity. She has an MA in English from Oxford University, but has foolishly gone on to work with both children and animals! Juggling work with the disabled and being a midwife to sheep, she spends as much time as she can in a little hut at the bottom of the garden, writing.

She is a Catholic Christian with roots in the Methodist and Anglican churches. A keen cinema-goer, she lives in the UK. She used to have a Giant African Land Snail, Peter, with a six inch long shell and an even larger foot, but now makes do with a cactus and a campervan! 

Three Reformers: Luther, Descartes, Rousseau by Jacques Maritain

Reaching back to a forgotten era of integrated Christian philosophy, Maritain retrieves concepts that could solve the dissolution of postmodern society.

Saving the Statue of Liberty By Andrea Jo Rodgers

Can John save the Statue of Liberty and keep from getting kicked off the team and out of the Academy?

Honor at Stake by Declan Finn

If you’re looking for a vampire-romance with a truly unique twist look no further.

Desert Fire, Mountain Rain by Amy Schisler

When ex-Navy Intelligence Officer Andi returns to her quiet Ozarks town she finds a criminal conspiracy & possible romance awaiting her.

Lessons In Leadership from the Saints by BJ Gonzalvo, Ph.D.

A book about different Saints to help inspire you to become both a leader and a saint.

Beneath Wandering Stars by Ashlee Cowles

A young girl goes pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago on behalf of her brother and finds her place in the world.

God Made the Moonlight by Erin Broestl, Illustrated by Jean Schoonover-Egolf

A beautifully illustrated bedtime story that helps your child see the beauty of nature as God’s personal love letter to humanity

Hologram by Walker Larson

Aaron is the only one who can see through the holograms.

The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell

This is NOT another DaVinci Code, but it is so cleverly disguised as one it makes the perfect gift for your anti-Catholic friends and family.

Molly McBride and the Party Invitation by Jean Schoonover-Egolf 

This children’s book teaches compassion for bullies and the courage to act rightly regardless of others.

My Name is Saul by Lin Wilder

How does a man become a monster? How does a monster become a saint?

For the Pastoral Care of the Sick: July Books to Pray with Reading List

Use your recreational reading to foster an empathetic and Catholic imagination. A reading list to reflect on the sacrament of anointing of the sick, for them and their caregivers.

Death in Black & White by Fr. Michael Brisson, L.C.

Can an ordinary American guy make it as a priest in a world where everything is against him?

Where to begin with J. R. R. Tolkien?

Beyond the adventure, the way to read The Lord of the Rings is not as an allegory but as a meditation on the human Story we are each caught up in, and in which we each have our part to play, our temptations to resist, and our task to accomplish.

Triumph of the Heart By Sherwood Fellows

Locked up to die, this film begins where most would end.

When We Were Eve: Uncovering the Woman God Created You to be By Colleen C. Mitchell

Remember Eve before the fall, remember the good inside you. A book for those who have forgotten, or are tempted to forget.

Old Man & The Void by Karina Fabian

When Dex decides to catch the treasure of a century, he is pulled into a black hole and must fight the robotic ghosts of an alien war.

The 1st Catholic Reads Readers Choice Award

The list of books that won by popular vote for 2024, with a Honorary Mention section for notable past year’s books.

Elfling by Corinna Turner

Serapia Ravena is on a mission to find and keep her father, but he has transgressed a boundary that no creature has the right to cross. Only the mercy of God can resolve this tension.

I am Margaret by Corinna Turner

A dystopian nightmare that asks what you really believe and how far will you go to defend it.