I’m back home again and settling in after a splendid time in Los Angeles. It was the first time I’ve been to the city itself–I’ve been to Anaheim and northern California but never LA proper–and I loved it! Well, except for traffic because that is forty varieties of nuts, but I will also tell you…

The days I do book recs are always fun for me, and I thought I’d give this one a twist by adding a theme: PAPAL THINGS. I have long been fascinated by papal history; the intricate plots of Vatican politics are far beyond even the abilities of the most diabolical thriller writer to conjure. So…