You’ll learn everything from A (All Saint’s Day) to Y (Yahweh, you) about canonization. With self-proclaimed irreverence, Sidley walks the reader through each step and some history around the process. While pointing out some of the nonsense (nepotism—declared a saint because his dad was a pope (celibacy?) and a saint—the author also describes the traditions and practices.. You’ll learn about saints, both real and fictional, but because there are thousands of proclaimed saints, not all are covered here. You’ll get a glimpse into many saints’ lives, their triumphs and tribulations. Written with warmth, the facts are laid out while a little fun is poked. The book is illustrated with many paintings of saints and the captions may be the funniest part of the book.

If you’re very serious about your religion, this book isn’t for you. If you want to learn about the history and traditions while having some fun, you’re in the right place.

This was a lot of fun! Kate Sidley takes a hilarious approach to how someone becomes a Saint. This was filled with great one-liners, tongue-in-cheek humor, and with actual facts mixed in. How to Become a Saint is a quick read that is hard to put down, and even harder to keep yourself. I read several passages out loud to my roommate while we were curled up reading one night in the living room. It's filled with photos with hilarious captions, and amazing footnotes. This one was I'll definitely be adding to my physical library. While the advanced Kindle version had some problems, they were all formatting problems that made the book a little hard to read until I figured out the spacing problem. But, that was my only issue with this book. I cannot wait to see it print, and be able to highlight some of my favorite parts!

I really enjoyed this book. It explains the process of achieving sainthood in a lighthearted manner. The author's manner could offend some purists but the way it is written makes it eminentlly more readable. It would not have held my attention if it was less than what it is. Anyone who attended a Catholic grade school will find it educational and entertaining.

As a Catholic, I went I to this book thinking I would learn something.new, which I definitely did. You need to have a sense of humor when reading this book. It goes through the history of the church and many obscure saints. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who doesn’t have a sense of humor.
Many thanks to the author, Sourcebooks and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Recommended for Catholics with a sense of humor. Or atheists for that matter. A humorous introduction to the many ways a person can become a saint. From martyr to miracle worker. And the sometimes gross Catholic attachment to the corpses of saints.

This was a fascinating concept and enjoyed learning about this type of book. It uses the Catholic history perfectly and was engaged with what was happening. Kate Sidley has a strong writing style and enjoyed the overall concept.

This was very interesting and I found it extremely funny while also very insightfuk. I’m not Catholic so I wasn’t faniliar with much of how sainthood works and how people become saints, but I loved the humorous way that Sidley told because it made me actually want to learn.

This was a super funny book that has a lot of good information within! A history lesson with a side of comedy! This book will have you giggling as well as consuming new information on sainthood!

Catholacism through a new lense that we do not often see! See the weird, the odd, and the dead! You will learn of the lives that have been lead, the quirks, and shockingly true facts!

Who I would recommend this to: Catholics who can take a joke at the religions' expense. It really is a solid explanation of how someone becomes a saint. Most interest tidbits to me are how the process has been solidified and formed over time. One limitation of the book is breath vs depth; maybe less saints used as examples, but a better explanation about the saint.

Genuinely so funny. As someone married to a Catholic, but raised Protestant, I have some background knowledge but am also in the dark about a lot of things. I felt like I learned a lot while laughing, and kept poking my husband to tell him fun facts. I laughed out loud at multiple points, which I rarely do in real life. I highly recommend this book as the perfect blend of history and comedy.