Customer Reviews

The Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living: A Loving Look at the Lighter Side of Catholic Faith, with Recipes for Feasts and Fun (Bad Catholic's Guides)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was hooked on this book by page three, and by page seven had decided that it was going to be my Christmas gift to my pastor, priest friends, fellow deacons, and more than a few others!

It starts out with an introduction by Pope Alexender VI, one of the better Borgia popes, who died in 1503 and, according to the introduction, currently resides in the Seventh Terrace of Purgatory. That gives the reader a clue as to the sense of humor John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak will inflict upon the reader!

The book is organized chronologically, and includes feast days both great and obscure. Just about every one includes suggestions for a celebratory meal or other, occasionally twisted, but always fun, way to observe the day. Sprinkled throughout are informative pieces on the sacraments, and any mention of Catholic practices and beliefs is, if humorous, always accurate.

It's not often you'll find yourself laughing outloud at a "cookbook", as I did at the Dallas airport, but if you love the Church, and you love to laugh, and you love to eat, this book is definitely for you!!!

What if George Burns and George Carlin and St. George of England had collaborated on a book about Catholicism? If they had, it might have come out something like this. This quirky compendium fills a niche that until now was absolutely empty. I don't think a book like this has ever been written, nor will one likely appear again. It makes a supposedly staid institution like Catholicism infinitely
interesting, opening up oddities and profundities galore with an offbeat mirth and zest to inform--however arcane or germane the information. For his bawdy humor, alloyed with surprising insights, John Zmirak deserves to be named honorary "Court Jester of the Catholic Church." Besides being a romp, this book is also remarkably educational. I can picture it becoming a kind of reference guide to be found in every Catholic household, combining strands from "The Joy of Cooking," the "Lives of the Saints," and "Jokes for Every Occasion." And make no mistake: the recipes it contains are quite usable, and were supplied by a gourmet chef. (For Pentecost, e.g., we have two choices, both seeming delicious: a flaming salad and a flaming cheese). Definitely not a book to read cover-to-cover, but one to consult or browse through. Best of all, the authors do genuinely love their title subject, the Church, and despite all the snickering, stand up for her when they feel the occasion warrants. The discussion entitled "Contraception,
Bulimia, and Frankenfoods" (p.27) was the most illuminating statement I've ever seen on the Church's most controversial teaching, i.e. Humanae Vitae (about contraception).

Zmirak and Matychowiak have found -- and tickled -- the funny bone in the Body of Christ. Thanks be to GOD. Their wickedly smart book about sacraments, saints, and holy days is grounded in rigorous research, solid scholarship, and clearly a love for Catholicism, oddities and all. Every page includes laugh out loud funny observations about Catholic belief and practice. Church doctrine is poked at with wise irreverence. The illustrations are brilliant. What kind of [adjective] would choose a poodle to illustrate the Hound of Heaven? Too too funny. I love this book as much as my own! Actually, I'm jealous. John? Denise? Is that a sin??

You will not find a book on the Saints or Church history like this, anywhere! As a traditionaly minded Catholic, I have wanted fellowship with other like minded Catholics. All too often the Catholics I met were not people I wanted to "hang out" with, they could not laugh at themselves.
Zmirak & Matychowiak show Catholics that The Faith can be fun and interesting. The authors are real poeple, that are not afraid to wrestle with their Faith, but remain orthodox.
In the book you will learn little known facts about the Church, her Saints and her history. They also provide fun and clever ideas and recipes, to celebrate the Feasts of the Church.
You will laugh out loud and grow in virtue. What a great and welcomed combination.

Traditional, as well as Christmas and Easter Catholics, will enjoy this book. You will use it throughout the year and many years to come.

I really enjoyed the story of St. Agatha found on February 5th. I can't wait to put into practice the author's recommended recipes and action for that day.

Enjoy the book!

This book is great fun! It's also a surprisingly interesting read for a protestant who didn't previously know that much about Catholic saints. The book moves through the year featuring different saints and other holy people, the stories behind them and occasional recipes and other suggestions for celebrating these feast days. The saints' histories are written in a very lighthearted way although the underlying theme of this book is strong - the authors stick firmly to traditional catholic doctrine including some of the more controversial areas such as contraception which sometimes sits a little oddly with the modern up-to-the-minute feeling of the book. It's written for an American audience and this comes through with the recipe ingredients, measurements and some rather American-centric comments (I'm British). Anglicans and Episcopalians also have rather a hard time in this book. However, I found this a fun and interesting book and the authors were able to very effectively and convincingly explain some more tricky and controversial catholic doctrine.

This is a lovely book of Catholic Factoids - a perfect bathroom reader filled with stories of Saints and Catholic tradition.
It is comical, respectful and yet unoffensive guide for anyone interested in the traditions of the Catholic Religion.
The only thing missing in this book is the Catholic Guilt...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's slightly irreverent but entirely hilarious. Readers will learn a lot about the saints and their feastdays with the added bonus of tidbits that most people have not heard about. It also has summaries of the seven sacraments. I recommend this book to Catholics as light reading. I suggest other faiths should read something else like "Why do Catholics do That?" before picking up this one, so they don't get the impression that Catholics are nuts. Well, some of us are, but we won't admit it!

When I first saw mention of the book "Bad Catholic's Guide to Good Living" I wasn't much attracted to it. The title kind of put me off. But after one of the authors John Zmirak wrote me publicizing the book I took a look at the website. and was impressed by some of the reviews from people such as Fr. Rutler. So I ordered it from Amazon and gave it a shot.

I am certainly glad I did since it was an extremely fun read. Imagine the Marx Brothers mixed up with Butler's Lives of Saints and a Betty Crocker cook book combined together and then add a dab of apologetics. They go through the liturgical year picking out some of the regular feasts and those of some of the saints with some of the more whacky pious stories attached to them. Added at the end of most of these stories are recommended ways to celebrate the feast a long with appropriate recipes to go along with them. The writing is not for the overly pious and faint-of-heart. It is purposely over-the-top to good effect, though not in any way sacrilegious. There are also short essays on the sacraments that take a more serious tone for the most part and are actually pretty informative. Throughout the book there are interesting pieces of information along with hysterical takes on things.

So while at times I learned some interesting facts about the lives of the saints mostly I laughed out loud while reading it. For example "Some skeptics have asked 'If Jesus was Jewish, how comes he has a Puerto Rican name?' " So if you enjoy my sense of humor I can pretty much guarantee you will like this book. In fact I an rather annoyed that I didn't write it instead.

This is a wonderful book! A funny and thoughtful look at a bit of our Catholic history, saints, catechism, & traditions. You will find yourself laughing one moment & solemnly thoughtful the next. The recipes are great too! I liked this book so much I bought a copy for the priests at my parish & they like it too!

Suffice to say, this was the 5th (fifth) copy I bought. It is super-funny, but with that "loving look". Excellent mood-lifter, and always popular with teens. Our original copy followed our son to college, so we needed a replacement...Makes a great gift, just don't give it to people recovering after surgery. The second book by the same authors is equally good, just a tad more serious.