One thing that I have done regularly with this blog is to record my reading list from the preceding year. I didn't have any specific goals this year, such as reading (almost exclusively) C.S. Lewis or Francis Schaeffer. So here is the list from 2010.
Epic poetry
The Aeneid by Virgil (trans. by Robert Fagles)
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Inferno by Dante (trans. by Dorothy Sayers), not finished
Biography
Marshall McLuhan by Douglas Coupland
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Christian Lover by Michael Haykin
The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by Alan Jacobs
Angels and Ages: A Short Book About Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Life by Adam Gopnik
Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life by James McPhersonShakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson (not finished)
Nonfiction
The Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye
The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni7 Habits of a Highly Effective Person by Covey
Art for God's Sake by Philip Ryken
A Brief History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton (not finished... yet!)
Fiction
All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Remarque
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
A Christmas Carol by Dickens (not finished)
Children's Literature
Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Crispin: The Lead Cross by Avi (a wonderfully written novel set in Medieval England)
The Sword in the Tree by Bulla
Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien... I am still reading with the boys (but clearly not often enough!)
I have some ideas for this coming year; besides finishing Chesterton's masterpiece The Everlasting Man, I would like to read a little more C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. I will continue my odyssey through "epic poetry" with Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Dorothy Sayers. I am hoping to get to John Milton's Paradise Lost right after Dante. I could also do for a little more theology reading. As I typed up this list just now, I became painfully aware of the lack of good old theology. It has been a few years since I dabbled in the Puritans. I wouldn't mind reading some J.I. Packer, John Piper or more R.C. Sproul. I would also like to read Augustine and Bunyan again. So many books, so little time! In terms of fiction, I feel that I might now be old enough to read Russian literature... I have a brilliant former student who keeps recommending authors like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn (Although young in years, he is an old soul). 2011 might be the year... might be.
Carpe MMXI. Tolle Lege.
6 comments:
You've got a great list of books. Although lit is my favorite, I hope to read lots more theology this year too.
Even though I reside and share my life with you I had no idea you had read (and accumulated) the knowledge from so many books. Kudos to you! I hope you have time for many more readings of great literature.But most of all times to be with me, moi ha ha! L.
We will need to start a reading circle or something.
;) JJ
Why the Gladwell books? Would love to hear your thoughts/review of them.
Gladwell’s books are an interesting hodgepodge of sociological, anthropological, psychological, economic, and historical phenomena, all organized under a central thesis in each book. Why are certain people successful? (Outliers) Why do certain “trends” become pandemic? (Tipping Point) How does the way we think impact our choices? (Blink) I read Outliers first, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed Blink the least, but all three books are quick, easy, and engaging reads.
Gladwell is also an ex-patriot Canuck, which gives his writing an objectivity feel. Canadians have a front row seat to the main act on planet earth. Gladwell is a keen observer, who is able to see the forest in spite of living among the trees.
I lent Outliers to Meliss as well, and she really enjoyed it. If you were to read one Gladwell book, I recommend Outliers. You may have heard about the 10,000 hour theory---that is, 10,000 hours is needed to be successful at something. He explains that here in this book.
Jer
why have you stopped posting? I always found your blog to be interesting and enlightening!
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