What’s in a Name? “I am weird” vs. “Defining Issues”
By Dr. Jeff Mirus (bio - articles - send a comment) | November 12, 2012 2:10 PM
At the end of last week we tried an experiment. In early October we had released a collection of essays by Peter Mirus in an eBook entitled “You are weird. God is odd”, featuring the CatholicCulture.org pencil drawing of Peter on the cover. The title for the collection was taken from an essay Peter had written back in July of 2005, which had elicited an enthusiastic response.
But almost nobody purchased this ebook during its first month on sale and we wondered whether that was because of its unusual title and cover. Perhaps potential readers never got past this unusual bit of quirkiness to read the description, which emphasizes the wide range of topics covered in the collection. Hence the experiment.
We have now repackaged this book as Defining Issues: Social, Familial and Personal Perspectives on a Catholic Life, complete with cover art drawn from Murillo’s wonderful 17th century portrayal of the Holy Family on the flight into Egypt. We’ll see if this marketing shift makes a difference.
Here, in order of appearance, is a list of the essays included in this collection:
- Pornography and the Internet: Are Your Children Safe?
- Manifestations of Modernism
- Valentine’s Day: Love It or Hate It?
- We Are All Liars
- Catholic Superheroes
- Half Measures in a Crazy World
- Liberal Diplomacy and the Church
- Building a Catholic Action Plan for Reform
- No, He’s MY Personal Jesus
- Catholicism and Buddhism: Compatible Beliefs?
- I Just…Can’t…Take it Anymore!
- Catholic Environmentalism
- I Just Don’t See It
- Spam, Pornography, Fertility and the American Way
- Was Pope JPII an Effective Governor?
- You are Weird; God is Odd
- Behold the Great Outdoors
- Dual Parenting Action
- Federal Social Programs and Catholic Principles
- The Truth About Catholic Social Teachings
- Principled Catholic Social Action
- Hope and Serenity Among the Thorns
- Do You Love To Argue?
- The Worst We've Ever Had It. Apocalypse Now?
- The Chastisement, Revisited
- Inspirational Saints of the Liturgy
- Tolkien and His Trees
- Prayer: When Asking is . . . Not Asking?
- The Clergy and the Laity: Who's Responsible for Whom?
- Hear No Evil: My Perspective on Rock Music
In editing the collection, I was reminded of how good and helpful these essays are—solid content with a personal touch. Of course, it is true that Peter is my second-oldest son, but he has been involved with CatholicCulture.org from the first, and is responsible for much of the programming, design and marketing strategy. Educated at Christendom College and by nature an entrepreneur, Peter is a member of our Board of Directors, but makes his living from his own technology marketing consulting firm, STA Tech Marketing.
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