I'm still holding out for the 7-7-07 release date even though muggle.net says it'd be too hard for WB to promote the movie AND the book

See, you have to imagine that promoting the last Harry Potter book is approximately the easiest job in the universe. I mean, it would go:

10am: PR folk write Deathly Hallows release date on the wall of a cabbage shop in Preoria

6pm: Everyone in the world knows.

And who wouldn't want to do that for a living?

So as an argument not to put the book out this year it's pretty questionable. But I suppose if you're WB and you're paying your PR dept some obscene sum to promote it you want to pretend they're doing something in return.

Basically, if we accept that my theory is true (and I think we should) corporate denial is all that's keeping us from a 7-7-07 release date.*

(*And possibly that the book isn't finished yet. Details, details.)

Anybody know any good books, readable for someone who doesn't know all that much about Christianity, about the early Christian/Catholic church? When I was in Rome, I started reading the Gideon New Testament in the hotel room to figure out some of the references in the paintings I was seeing, and then I went to see St. Peter's Basilica, and then wanted to know how it got from Jesus and the rock and Peter to the whole organization of cardinals and nuns and everything.

I'm not too sure about readable books, but there is an excellent Frontline 4-hour documentary called "From Jesus to Christ," which covers exactly what you're looking for (Hour 1: life of Jesus, Hour 2: Paul and the "Jesus movement," covering death of Jesus to fall of Jerusalem, Hour 3: writing of the Gospels, Hour 4: development of the church from about 100 AD to Constantine's conversion in 330 AD). It's probably available for rent from the library, (goes to check Netflix) but not at Netflix.

The talking heads they use in that doc are very informative and engaging, but I don't know how readable a book by them might be. There is a companion book to the doc that might work, and might be more readily available from the library than the doc itself.

Keep in mind, Hil, that understanding Christian iconography is an involved subject. If you're wondering why someone is standing in a picture holding a wagon wheel or gazing up beatifically while having tons of arrows in him, then you're getting into the various saints and martyrs and how they're portrayed over about 1500 years. If you do get interested in saints and their symbols, there's a good Oxford Guide to Saints out there, plus oodles of websites on "Who is that woman and why is she carrying two bells on a plate?" and such.

"Who is that woman and why is she carrying two bells on a plate?"

Those aren't bells...

Those aren't bells...

I know.

Margaret, I think you're dead right on the HP thing.

I'm a Cahill fan, so Desire of the Everlasting Hills is not a bad book for early Christianity, Hil

Thanks, guys. That documentary looks pretty interesting -- I'll check the library.

While in Italy, I tried buying a book about the saints, but it was a cheap one and mostly gave "Born in Russia in 1642, martyred in 1682, preserved her virginity through many trials, performed many miracles" or similar for most of them, which didn't really answer many of my "Why is she always wearing a necklace and holding a spoon?" or whatever questions. (The only two saints I was consistently able to identify in pictures were St. Christopher and St. Nicholas, but then I realized that St. Zachary was always wearing a pointing hat and holding a twisty cane, which was what I'd been using to identify St. Nicholas, so then I got confused.)

The Cahill book looks pretty good. Thanks. I've read a few of his others before and liked them.

Oxford Guide to Saints (not sure if that's the real title) should tell you what their various symbols are.

edit: [link] is a big website at catholic.org that will overwhelm you with stuff. Go to the Patron Saint section, and you'll find a spreadsheet with various causes and their saints. Somewhere in there you should be able to find their symbols.

ION, saints are cool.

Reposted here - where I meant to:

Somebody just asked on WX if The Song of Fire and Ice is appropriate for a 16 year old.

What do you guys think?