U.S. Catholic Book Club reviews

March 2024

Silencing White Noise

By Willie Dwayne Francois III

In Silencing White Noise, prominent faith leader Willie Dwayne Francois III explores the “white noise” that numbs us to injustice. Using insights from his antiracism curriculum, the Public Love Organizing and Training Project, Francois beckons us to confront silence and inaction with thoughtful solutions. With six powerful practices—what he calls the “rhythms of reparative intercession”—Francois offers practical and empowering steps toward lasting change. A captivating mix of theological discourse, personal narrative, and historical exploration, Silencing White Noise stands out as a crucial and compelling read for people of faith.

Sarah Butler Schueller, senior editor, U.S. Catholic

“In Silencing White Noise, Willie Dwayne Francois III calls people of all racial backgrounds to take up practices that overcome silence and inaction on race and to advance racial repair.” —Baker Book House

Paperback: $14.95

Available at bookstores or from Baker Book House at (800) 877-2665 or bakerbookhouse.com.

General Book Club Guidelines



February 2024

Pope Francis on Eucharist

By Pope Francis; Foreward by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich

For the church in the United States, Pope Francis on Eucharist comes at an opportune moments. As the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to organize its National Eucharistic Revival, which often seems to stand in direct competition with the ongoing global Synod on Synodality, this slim book of meditations on the Eucharist suggests a way to bridge the gap.

The short meditations in this book are drawn directly from the preaching and writings of Pope Francis and offer a truly multifaceted view of what Eucharist means. While there are plenty of explicitly theological passages here, Pope Francis on Eucharist is far from catechetical. This is not a book designed for close reading and rigorous study; it serves, rather, as an invitation to be open to the presence of Christ, both on the altar and in our daily lives.

Nathaniel Hunter, associate editor, U.S. Catholic

Pope Francis on Eucharist is a collection of writings, homilies, and talks from Pope Francis, sharing a eucharistic vision for the church where all are fed and sustained by the Body of Christ.” —Liturgical Press

Paperback: $14.95

Available at bookstores or from Liturgical Press at (800) 858-5450 or litpress.org.

General Book Club Guidelines


January 2024

C.S. Lewis in America

By Mark A. Noll

It’s difficult to imagine a Christian literary culture without C.S. Lewis, whose influence cuts across denominational lines. Once, however, Lewis was an exciting newcomer, praised by liberal Catholics and viewed with suspicion by some evangelicals. In C.S. Lewis in America, historian Mark A. Noll discusses early reactions to Lewis’ work from both secular and religious sources in the United States. Noll relates Lewis’ significance to larger cultural challenges, including the need for a robust morality to counter the monstrosity of the Nazis.

The U.S. literary world’s “response to Lewis’s imaginative works showed that gatekeepers for the nation’s public media could celebrate skillful creative writing, even if that writing was chock-full of traditional religious themes,” Noll writes. Lewis’ enduring popularity indicates that this is still true. But it’s refreshing to consider the author in his earlier years, before he’d acquired a fixed position in the canon, and Noll provides a rare opportunity to do so.

Rebecca Bratten Weiss, digital editor, U.S. Catholic

“Historian Mark A. Noll considers the surprising reception of C.S. Lewis among Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and evangelical readers to see how early readings of Lewis shaped his later influence.” —InterVarsity Press

Paperback: $20.00

Available at bookstores or from InterVarsity Press at (800) 848-6224 or ivpress.com.

General Book Club Guidelines

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The U.S. Catholic Book Club is a collaborative project of U.S. Catholic magazine and the Catholic Book Publishers Association. The titles featured in the U.S. Catholic Book Club are selected each month by the magazine’s editors from submissions by participating book publishers. The publisher provides a paid advertising in U.S. Catholic magazine for the featured book.