Book Review: Praying in Rome by Timothy M. Dolan

ISBN: 0804139288
Published: July 9th, 2013
Publisher: Image
Read from August 26th to September 2nd, 2013
Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Archbishop of New York offers his insight on his time in Rome, the Conclave and the election of a new Holy Father, Pope Francis.
Since February 2013, many have asked Cardinal Timothy Dolan to comment about Pope Benedict XVI's resignation, his final days in the Vatican, the Conclave, and the excitement and joy of the election of Pope Francis. Those two months--between the time Pope Benedict announced his retirement up until the election of Pope Francis--were a deeply spiritual and important period for the Cardinal. In this eBook original, he reflects on that most exciting of times. By turns, witty, provocative, and inspiring Cardinal Dolan gives a first hand account of what happened during those days and what it means for the future of the Church.

Review:

I thought this book was excellent. First of all, it's relatively short. As I read it on my Kindle, I can't give you an exact page number, but I feel as if it couldn't be more than two hundred pages at the absolute most. It's entirely possible that it's less than a hundred. Either way, it's definitely a quick read. I would have been finished with it much faster if I hadn't been so busy while reading. If you want something short to read in one sitting, I would definitely recommend this book for that.

In addition to being on the shorter side, I loved the writing style. It's written in a very conversational style that I loved. It's not formal at all. It's also very honest. It's intriguing to read about the conclave from the point of view of one of the cardinals, and since it was Dolan's first conclave, his views on it is even funner to read. He is fascinated by everything happening, and that helps make the reader just as fascinated. His writing style makes me want to check out his other books as well. I'm a big fan of it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about the conclave from the point of view of someone who was there. I think it's a fascinating look at an event that few actually get to witness, and the writing style in this book is great. I just all around loved this book, and I would recommend it to just about anyone who has any interest at all in the conclave. As I said, it's a quick read, so it can't hurt to check it out and see if you like it.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.