Hello. I have some things to let you know, so I decided to put out an off-schedule post. (Normal posting is on Tuesday morning, with longer-content posts every other Friday.) So, in no particular order:
Thank you to all “my” readers. It is gratifying to see some growth.
I am now putting out some of my thoughts on Substack Notes. It gives me a chance to float some ideas, express my humor, and share thoughts and recommendations.
I have had a great deal of success finding old books at Cornerstone Books in Plattsburgh (website). The venerable store (almost fifty years running) is a Plattsburgh institution. Indeed I first shopped there over forty years ago during my first stint at college. Below is a picture of books, many of which I recently bought there. I will be featuring them in posts to come.
Oct. 4 sees the next book sale at Malone’s Wead Library.
Someone recently asked what is on my nightstand. Well, I have several locations for ongoing books, but here is a list: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles; Nearer, My God by Wm. F. Buckley; The Third Spiritual Alphabet by Fray Osuna; The Gospel of Life by Pope JPII; A History of Philosophy by Copleston, alternating with chapters from Glacken’s Traces On the Rhodian Shore; A Saint in the Slave Trade by Arnold Lunn—about St. Peter Claver, whose feast day it is today in the U.S.; and, read aloud to my wife: Bp. Schneider’s Credo and Bp. Erik Varden’s The Shattering of Loneliness. Oh, and Caryll Houselander’s Stations of the Cross illustrated in lovely fashion by the author.
From early on I have thought about the vexed question of subscriptions. After much internal debate, I think I will continue keeping this Substack free and without paid subscriptions. However, it appears I can provide an option for voluntary one-time giving (a virtual tip jar). If I can work out the technical aspects, I may incorporate that option for your consideration. This is a hobby, but if someone wants to contribute a bit, I am not opposed to that.
Finally, I recommend the book Domestic Extremist: A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War by “Peachy Keenan” (a pseudonym). A well-written, sometimes gut-wrenching, often LOL funny call for taking back our culture through the subversive means of traditional Catholicism, including having lots of babies while married. I AM OFFERING A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO E-MAILS ME AT THE FOLLOWING: garlendc@proton.me. Restrictions: You must live in the continental U.S. (shipping costs, you know) and provide a mailing address. Yes, I hope you will read it, but, even more, I hope you can put it in the hands of someone—especially a young woman—who may be deciding her future course and is especially tempted by the career trap of working but putting kids in daycare.
Okay. All for now.
GC
Forgot one: Reading Patrick Deneen's "Regime Change" on Kindle. (I use a Kindle reader app on my laptop.)