#9, Praying the Liturgy of the Hours, by Fr. Timothy Gallagher

This is not a beginner's guide to the nuts and bolts of praying the the Liturgy of the Hours. Rather, it would be most useful to those who have been praying the LOTH for some time and may have find the practice growing stale. Fr. Gallagher uses his own experience to demonstrate ways to pray the Hours more deeply. There were some useful ideas in the book, but it was not as good as I hoped it would be after reading his book on discernment of spirits, which I would recommend to everyone trying to grow in their spiritual life.

#8, The Dry, by Jane Harper

This book is well-plotted with a nice twist at the end. Set in rural Australia, the characters are reasonably well-drawn, the protagonist, Aaron Falk, is likeable, and the supporting cast of friends and enemies give depth to the story. The parallel mysteries, one from the present, and one twenty years old, work nicely to complicate Aaron Falk's search for the truth, both today's and yesterday's.