Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.

Positive reading. Here are a pair of noteworthy books that have been sent to me recently which I think you may actually enjoy.

The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom That Tolkien Got, and the West Forgot by Jonathan Witt and Jay W. Richards (Ignatius Press)

Fans of  J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and of freedom in general will probably enjoy this reflection on the Catholic author’s epic work.  Co-authors Dr. Jay Richards, a Catholic, and Dr. Jonathan Witt, an Evangelical Christian, show how Tolkien’s Middle-Earth novels championed liberty, trade and limited government, issues that, following the recent midterm elections, are obviously still relevant today.

  What Flowers Remember by Shannon Wiersbitzky (Namelos)
This novel is particularly timely since November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month. What Flowers Remember tells the story of  a young girl who, upon realizing that an elderly neighbor she loves has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s,  involves her entire town in collecting his memories.  As Wiersbitzky says “It is a story of love and loss, of a young girl coming to understand that even when people die, they live on in our minds, our hearts and our stories.” The book is targeted for kids between the ages of 10 and 14 but, actually, older teens and adults will enjoy it too.  BTW, I interviewed Shannon Wiersbitzky’s a couple of years ago about her previous book The Summer of Hammers and Angels. You can read that interview here.