Waaaaay back in December, I mentioned an upcoming book project and asked for recommendations. I meant (of course) to post the official book list at the beginning of January, but (as always) my plans went awry. I won’t bore you with the details of my slovenly self-discipline. Instead, we’ll get right to the meat of this post.
I’ve scoured book lists such as Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. I’ve read book list books such as Honey for a Woman's Heart and The Well-Educated Mind. I took stock of the year’s upcoming events such as CC Challenge B, Ancient history studies, CiRCE’s Pacific Northwest Regional Conference, book club meetings, and the CC Parent Practicum. I asked you for suggestions.
And this is what I came up with: a wildly ambitious reading list.
Reach for the stars, I say. [When I first typed that I accidentally typed “read” for the stars. Ha! That works, too.]
It always feels good to start a to-do list with items already crossed off, doesn’t it?
Wake up. Done.
Check Facebook. Done.
Drink an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. Shazam.
Now that it is already March [gulp!], I can post my to-read list with books already crossed off. Shall we take bets on how many more I’ll manage to read before the end of the year? 10? 20? 70? Or how many I add to the list (or read off-list) as the year goes by?
[Someday, I won’t promise when because I’ll be lying, I will post my much longer list of books I’ve already read and loved. And I’ll also post reviews of the books crossed off below.]
Without further ado…
The 2015 Book List Challenge
Novels
Classics
Gulliver's Travels (An abridged re-telling)
Paradise Lost (ChocLit Guild)
No Name (Or something else by Wilkie Collins. ChocLit Guild)
Hamlet (CC Moms Book Club)
Ancients
Children’s and YA Novels
The Door in the Wall (CC Challenge A)
A Gathering of Days (CC Challenge A)
Crispin: The Cross of Lead (CC Challenge A)
Where the Red Fern Grows (CC Challenge B)
Non-Fiction
Biography/History
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (ChocLit Guild)
The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (ChocLit Guild)
The Hiding Place (CC Challenge B)
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Faith, Culture, and Education
The Pursuit of God (ChocLit Guild)
Beauty Will Save the World: Recovering the Human in an Ideological Age (CiRCE Conference)
Norms and Nobility: A Treatise on Education (CiRCE Conference)
The Soul of Science (CC Parent Practicum)
Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art (CC Parent Practicum)
Invitation to the Classics: A Guide to Books You've Always Wanted to Read
That’s a good start, right? What is on your to-read list this year?
8 comments:
Wow! Very inspiring. I'm afraid I get stuck in a rut on book genres, so I really like your variety. As a mom of many I find I never read anymore and I miss it! I will have to give some of these a try.
Great list! May I suggest also looking into "The Invention of Wings" by, Sue Monk Kidd.
Let the delight begin. Wonderful list. And I'll take this one last chance to gently shout out "Godric". Pick it, choose it, read it before 2015 comes to a close. It is too easy to be bossy over the net...my apologies. Godric, Godric, godric, godric....
What a great list! I have to admit that I rarely make a list for my own reading but this has inspired me! My kiddos and I have made our own reading challenge and we began on World Read Aloud Day, March 4. We're calling it the Big Book Pile-Up. I share a little more about it here https://nurturedroots.wordpress.com/2015/03/01/the-big-book-pile-up-printables/
Thanks for your inspiring work over here at Mt. Hope Chronicles. It so encouraging to make connections with other book lovers:)
AMAZING list! There is no way I could read this many books in a year. How do you find the time? But it sounds LOVELY!!
Katie, I find I can get stuck in ruts as well if I'm not intentional about it! And I've gone through periods where I just don't read as much. There's no way I'll get *everything* on this list read, but I'll read more than I would if I didn't make a list. :)
Kim, I've added it to my Amazon wish list! :)
Windhover Farm, okay, okay! ;) I'm adding it to my list. :D
Angela, I love those reading list ideas! I think I have most of those categories on my list. :) Thanks for sharing!
Renee, I find the time by reading when I should be doing other stuff. ;) And I won't read that many, but I'll try!
I love your list, Heidi. It looks like you have made some headway with it already! I don't usually make a reading list as I find it too contrived for my free-wheeling ways but this year I am reading through all things C.S.Lewis. I am reading through as many of his books as I can chronologically. This has been a hugw blessing to me. I am currently reading Pilgrim's Regress and The Narnian by Alan Jacobs.
I love book lists. Funny, I've read The door in the Wall, this year too but not for CC but prereading, before my children have this as part of the Veritas history programme. I'm fairly sure that the town involved is Ludlow in Shropshire-it fits so well with the description.
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