The Spring Reading Challenge

As I began compiling this season's reading list, I couldn't help but wonder what the next three months will hold. Will sickness come again, providing me with a little extra time for light reading? Will my mother be needing me more often, allowing me time to read as I wait for her in the parking lot or at the doctor's office? Or, will the sunshine come and the chirping birds call me to dig and plant and be outside? I have no idea. But, I am making my list and checking it twice; looking ahead makes me excited about people to meet, mysteries to unravel, authors to love (or not.)

Why this list? Well, there are practical reasons, such as I own them, or the library has them, or they are on CD and can be listened to as I attempt to have daily time on the treadmill. There is also this list that reminded me of missing pieces in my personal canon. School studies came to bear more than usual, but I decided not to carry over undone books from last season's challenge list. They might rear their little heads from the bedside bookshelf, but they are not becoming official members at this point.


Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce by John Piper



Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Fight to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas


Saw the movie. Twice. It inspired me to learn more about a man who was willing to work hard to fight for justice.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

I decided to join my son and daughter in their Great Books reading this spring. This is my choice for Great Books 3.



Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

We started this on CD on our trip to Seattle; I look forward to the story of Pip continuing on the treadmill in the mornings.

Henry IV, Part One, Shakespeare
Henry IV, Part Two, Shakespeare

My oldest and I have been curious about Falstaff in Henry V, so we are heading back to Henry IV to get acquainted, and to see Prince Hal in his rowdier days.

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton

I have decided to choose at least one Chesterton each season. I've been working through this movie, and they emphasize the importance of Orthodoxy in the Chesterton collection. It is a volume I have started before, but I am determined to read it all this time.

Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

I chose this simply because the titled intrigued me.

Republic by Plato

This is my choice from my son's Great Books 1 reading.

Whose Body? Dorothy Sayers
Clouds of Witness Dorothy Sayers
Crocodile on the Sandbank Elizabeth Peters

Every honest list of planned reading in my life must include some mysteries. I have read some of the Peter Wimsey mysteries, but not these. I have never read Elizabeth Peters, and she's been recommended by friends for years.


Continuing on a semi-daily basis:

The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class by David Kidder, Noah Oppenheim

The Oxford Book of English Verse Edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch


These final three have been recommended by Seasonal Soundings. I have enjoyed author Mindy Withrow's book review blog and look forward to reading these with thoughts of including them in my children's history studies:

Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church
Monks and Mystics: Chronicles of the Medieval Church
Courage and Conviction: Chronicles of the Reformation Church
(all by Brandon and Mindy Withrow)

So, what are you reading these days?
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