2015 Book List

So a while back I started following a blog called Carrots for Michaelmas after reading a post about how to marry your Gilbert Blythe.  (Hey, Haley!)  It is now one of those blogs I obsessively follow, and I just know that the blog author and I will instantly be kindred spirits in real life if we ever meet because of our shared love over all things Anne Shirley.  *sigh*  If you ever read this, Haley, let's be BFFs.  

Anyway, what's the point of this riveting story, you ask?  Let me tell you.  On her blog, Haley posts her reading goals at the beginning of the year, and then at the end of the year, she posts a list of the books she actually read. This is something I've always thought about doing, but I've never actually taken the time to do.  And each year, I read a lot, but I don't necessarily do it with purpose.  And I don't necessarily pick up any of those books that are on my mental LIFE LIST OF BOOKS I WANT TO READ BEFORE I DIE.  (Yes, it's a real thing that deserves to be all-capped and in bold, okay?)  

Now, even though I am a firm proponent of re-reading books that I love until they are literally falling apart in my hands, I also want to actually read the books that are on that bold, all-capped list before I do, in fact, die.  So I decided this would be the year.  I went into our little home library, surveyed our collection, sat down and made my list.  I got out my super-cute, brand new journal that my sister-in-love gave me for Christmas (thanks, Lynds!), and actually wrote it down.  I tried to keep my expectations realistic and also create a diverse, well-rounded selection.  I included several books that I'd like to re-read this year, instead of trying to read ALL THE THINGS at once.  After all, Oscar Wilde said, "If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all." And another very wise man advised, "It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between."  (C.S. Lewis)

So without further ado, here is my 2015 Book List:

Power Through Prayer : E.M. Bounds

Passion & Purity : Elisabeth Elliot

A Woman After God's Own Heart : Elizabeth George

The Weight of Glory : C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity : C.S. Lewis

When God Writes Your Life Story : Eric & Leslie Ludy

Just Let Me Preach : Nathan O. Osborne III  (holla'!  y'all.  you need to read this book.  yesterday.)*

This Momentary Marriage : John Piper

Secrets of the Blessed Man : Paul Tassell**

Great Expectations : Charles Dickens

Sense & Sensibility : Jane Austen

Much Ado About Nothing : William Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew : William Shakespeare

Macbeth : William Shakespeare

The Pilgrim's Progress : John Bunyan

Little Women : Louisa May Alcott

Little Men : Louisa May Alcott

The Quiet Little Woman : Louisa May Alcott

Vanity Fair : William Makepeace Thackeray

The Scarlet Letter : Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn : Mark Twain

Of Mice and Men : John Steinbeck

The Red Badge of Courage : Stephen Crane

In Their Own Voices: Simon & Roorda

The Primal Wound : Nancy Verrier

Adopted for Life : Russell Moore

Stepping Heavenward : Elizabeth Prentiss

The Scribe: Francine Rivers

Theodore Roosevelt : H.W. Brands

Andrew Jackson : H.W. Brands

There you have it.  When I finish a book, I write the date I completed it next to it on the list.  If I read something that's not even on the list, I add it and date it.  (And *gasp* the first book I ended up reading this year WASN'T. ON. THE. LIST.  I'm off to a great start.  You'll hear more about that later.)  The goal for this blog is to reflect on and open a discussion about what I'm currently reading.  I hope you'll join in, especially if you have read the book or want to read it along with me.  Happy trails, y'all!

*Just Let Me Preach is a biography of the life of Paul Tassell, my grandfather, written by my own father.  I'm not biased about it at all.

**Secrets of the Blessed Man was one of the many great books written by my grandfather.  Seriously, no partiality here.