January was a record-breaking reading month for me.
I finished 13 books admittedly a couple of them were very small but then again a couple of them were very large.
7 were Non-Fiction.
2 were from Morning Time.
3 were Audiobooks.
But the best thing is that ALL of them were very good books.
In order of reading:
1. Telling Secrets by Frederich Buechner
Short but honest autobiographical book about some of Buechner's life secrets such as his father's suicide and his daughter's anorexia. I bought the Kindle version of this book and read it all on January 1st.
2. The Hobbit
Finally finished this during our 1st MT of 2013. January 2nd. Loved this narrator: Rob Inglis.
3. Harding's Luck by E. Nesbit Finished this on our 2nd MT of the year. January 3rd. Kindle Edition. Excellent Read-Aloud if you read The House of Arden first.
4. Over Hill and Dale by Gervase Phinn. Cosy British book about the author's job as a school inspector in the Dales of England. If you like to escape to England sometimes this author will take you there. January 4th. I am on an unprecedented roll.
5. The Sacred Journey by Frederick Buechner The author begins at the beginning in this book which is more chronologically biographical than Telling Secrets. I do not know a lot about Buechner's theology so I am not endorsing him on that level and I see he has teamed up with Brian McLaren which is a concern but his autobiography is well-written and helpful.
I got my copy of this from Paperback Swap, I think. January 5th.
6. The Four Loves C.S. Lewis
Since I read Surprised by Joy in December I decided to keep the book handy to finish up the volume. I had read this book before but it must have been over 20 years ago. As with all Lewis highly readable. I tried to finish this on January 6th but had stayed up too late watching a movie with Emily and so didn't finish it until the wee hours of January 7th breaking my streak.
7. Watches of the Night by Sally Wright. Dawn was reviewing Sally Wright books and it reminded me that I had not looked to see if she had written any more for years. Happy surprise, Wright had written two more which turned out to be just as enjoyable as her earlier books. What a wonderful contemporary writer. January 9th. I bought the Kindle Version.
8. A-Z With C.S. Lewis by Louis A. Markos This was a very short collection offered as an Amazon deal but I found it excellent and I hope Markos with keep compiling his thoughts on Lewis in this way to beef up the this volume or add another. January 14th. Kindle.
9. Talking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James I have mentioned this book before but I am constantly amazed at the depth of James's writing even as she gets quite elderly. If you like murder mysteries you will love this book. I was happy to see James agreeing with me in accusing Dorothy Sayers of being in love with Lord Peter. January 19th. This is a case where the Kindle version is completely over-priced but the hardcover used version is very reasonable.
10. Code of Silence by Sally Wright. Bringing me up-to-date on the Ben Reese mysteries. January 21. Kindle.
11. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. As longtime readers may remember I have spent years reading my way through WWI. This book was a nice complement to that reading. It is a massive undertaking by Follett and he is a great storyteller if only a good writer. I am not recommending this book though because Follet sprinkles his books with the most embarrassingly ridiculous sex scenes. These are not so much provocative as insipid. I know Brandy mentioned that she could not in good conscience read Pillars of the Earth and I completely understand that. This book is no different. I listened to it on Audio as I did Pillars and I just tune out during the scenes because really they are just so silly. January 22. Audible version narrated by John Lee.
12. The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. Perhaps this is another controversial book. For me it was the best book on marriage that I have ever read and I plan on buying copies for all of my married children. I really should just dedicate a whole post to this book and I will if I have a chance. I have friends who adore Keller and I have friends who think he is the devil. I do not know about any of that. I just know that this book helped me grasp a few ideas about marriage that encouraged me in my own marriage. I bought this last year when it was a Kindle deal and avoided reading it because it had been years since I read a book about marriage because they always seemed to make me angry with Tim or myself. This book really helped me come to terms with the fact that it is OK that we change over the years. We do not have to always be who we were. Marriage is growth not stagnation. Highly recommended. January 24th. Kindle. Looks like it is very expensive right now although the Audible edition is cheaper. Still if you are wobbly in your marriage I think it would be worth the price.
13. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. What can I say? A not-to-be-missed family read-aoud. I think we have read it aloud at least 3 times. This time I let the narrator do the reading. When the book ended Alex said, "Wow! that was good." January 30. Audible edition narrated by Fredrick Davison (less than $5.00 on Audible.)
Two things : First, are you a speed reader? If not, please let me know how you do this!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I heartily agree about The Meaning of Marriage. My husband and I are using the book now to write pre-marital counseling curriculum for our church (we're pastors). Best book ever on marriage.
As always, thank you for sharing titles like these with us. I work in a library and it always helps me to be able to recommend what we should order and what I suggest to patrons (and homeschooling parents!).
Cindy,
ReplyDeleteI so enjoy reading about what you've read and adding books to my own list. I've already purchased one of these as a birthday gift, based on your recommendation. And I refuse to be discouraged by the fact I only finished 2 books in January. :)
Anne, This was an unusual month for me and as I said several were very short and several I had started in December or earlier.
ReplyDeleteTrisha.....you have something very wonderful that I don't have: A beautiful baby. Makes a big difference when your youngest is almost 12 and your husband works nights for a month. Do not despise the day of small things, 2 is great. I always say there were I about 10 years when I am not sure I read anything except to the kids which is why I think we did read aloud so much.
Thank you, Cindy, for that sweet encouragement. You are such a huge blessing to me!
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to pick a fight with you--you, my favourite blogger. I am taking issue however with "don't know his theology" because if something is worth reading, it's worth reading even if we don't have a full notion of an author's theology. We don't need to be fearful of reading author's who may diverge from our theology (as theology is evolving for all of us since we're all growing in knowledge and grace)For example there is a change in CS Lewis' theology in the course of his writing. And of course we read authors who are agnostics, atheists, etc. and we don't read in fear. Brian McLaren and I disagree on much and so I don't read what he writes for the most part but that's not saying there's never the possibility that he's written something worthwhile to be read by me or others. I guess I'm writing all this because I happen to appreciate Buechner's writing immensely but think our theology might differ quite a bit?? I'm happy I didn't discount him based on that.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I absolutely agree with you but I also feel sometimes when blogging that I need to offer caveats to different people whom I know read this blog and may be confused by my choices or endorsements, hence the caveats about sexual content and sometimes even theology. I feel a bit of a responsibility to say that even though I enjoy an author I am not endorsing everything he says. Perhaps this is unnecessary for the most part but I have learned over the course of time that people often misunderstand things when reading a blog.
DeleteCindy, I hear you. I always feel like I'm apologizing for loving Madeleine L'Engle's writing. But I love it ... universalism or no.
DeleteWonderful list! I've just started counting my read alouds as books I've read this past year. I don't know why I didn't before.
ReplyDeleteI finished listening to "The Help". I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is the first audiobook I have really loved. Since I knew it was going to be a hard act to follow, I chose a very different audiobook next--"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. One of the things I am learning to appreciate about audiobooks is that I can't skim through them and thereby miss the beautiful language and turns of phrase. Kenneth Branaugh reads so well and Conrad's prose is excellent. A good choice although not a light-hearted one.
I have read a couple of non-fiction books, am still struggling through "Wolf Hall", raced through a Cadfael book, and am completely immersed in "Stone's Fall" by Iain Pears. Wow, oh, wow, is that book a good story! I think "Wolf Hall" is difficult because I find that I need a chunk of time to read it and not in the late evening so it is hard to fit in. I am still limping woefully behind in "Mind of the Maker" but am determined to finish it sometime this year. :)
I agree about Keller's book on marriage. It is the best one I have ever read. Our pastor gave us Piper's "Momentary Marriage" and I am looking forward to comparing and contrasting. AS you know, I am also a World War I book reader so it won't be a surprise to you that "Fall of Giants" is on my list to read. Must finish "Wolf Hall" first.
I have "Sacred Journey" by Buechner on my shelf but I've never read it. I'll have to move that onto my "read sooner than later" list. :)
Thanks for the encouragement, enlightenment, and book ideas, Cindy.
Joy
I struggled through reading The Heart of Darkness with the boys but I am thinking about listening to Branagh reading it again. It was so beautifully and appropriately read.
DeleteI liked Wolf Hall but I think it helped that I listened to it and just kept going. By the time I got to the next volume though I was entranced. And now the C.J. Sansom books are covering the same period.
It looks like the Pears book is also a WWI timeframe. Intriguing. DRAT!!
You can read Sacred Journey very quickly.
I finished the Pears book and the end has a twist which has an ick factor to it. It was a fabulous book though and I didn't see that final twist coming at all. I'm not dis-recommending (not a real word; is there a word for that?) it but I did want to give you a head's up. I'm planning on reading another by Pears (AFTER I finish "Wolf Hall") because it was really a good read. Lots to think about re: capitalism, politics, espionage, etc.
DeleteOh yes, the C.J. Sansom books. I read the first and plan on eventually reading the rest.
Good to hear about Sacred Journey.
Cindy, Tom and I are in process (though very close to the beginning) of the Keller book. Joy, I really liked Piper's book, This Momentary Marriage, and consider it the best I've read, but perhaps that is because it is what the Lord had for me to hear at a certain time. I was deeply convicted, but that is 27 years into my marriage! I sort of look forward to comparing it to The Meaning of Marriage.
ReplyDeleteI've also begun the Markos book on Kindle. Cindy, you might like Markos' most recent book, On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue. I read that one in December/January. Kristen and Andrew liked it too.