In 2015, I made a grand total of 3 blog posts. All I did with the blog at all was post a few book reviews and sort of keep my reading list updated. I was more active on Goodreads than I was here. I don't have plans to emphasize my blog in 2016, either. There are just too many higher priorities for me in this season for me to feel I'll be able to consistently devote the time to writing here. I do still harbor some hopes that I'll perhaps be able to post now and then, and about something in addition to books. We'll see. But I want to post my reading goals here at least, and continue to update my reading list.
Reading Goals 2016:
Complete at least
30 40 Books. (DONE! YAY! 46!) This goal is purposefully low
in order to encourage me to go for quality rather than quantity, and even more
importantly, to allow me to freely focus on other priorities.
I still want and need to read several books, and think I'll probably read more
than 30, but I anticipate enough challenge in this year in other areas that I
don't think I need a higher goal right now. [Note Feb 2016: I have upped my goal to 40 books, as I've already read more than half of 30 and we're not even halfway through February. This is still purposefully low and I might find that I want to raise it again. Since I am counting children's picture books that I read for the first time, and I've read aloud quite a few new-to-me from the library with my younger ones lately, the titles accumulate faster.
I would like to read these 5 specific books this year (Update 12/31/16: Done!):
1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (completed 12/1/16)
2. That You May Know Him! by Clifford Deister (completed December 2016)
3. Walden by Henry David Thoreau (completed December 2016)
4. Young Man Luther by Erik Erikson (completed 12/31/16)
5. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (completed 6/2016)
1. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (completed 12/1/16)
2. That You May Know Him! by Clifford Deister (completed December 2016)
3. Walden by Henry David Thoreau (completed December 2016)
4. Young Man Luther by Erik Erikson (completed 12/31/16)
5. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (completed 6/2016)
I would also like to read something that fits each of the following
categories (Update 12/31/16: All done except one author under #1, which I plan to complete in 2017). Some books
can fit more than one, so the number of books it will take to fill these will
depend on the specific selections:
1. One from at least 5 of these authors:
i. Jane Austen (Completed Jan 2016 -- Persuasion)
ii. Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, completed December)
iii. Shakespeare (Macbeth, completed May 2016)
iv. C.S. Lewis (The Great Divorce, completed November 2016)
v.G. A. Henty
vi.Sir Walter Scott (if I choose this I'll probably try either Rob Roy or The Talisman)
vii. Alexandre Dumas (The 3 Musketeers in progress from late Nov)
2. Book by Agatha Christie (completed Jan 2016 -- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)(+ And Then There Were None)
3. Other major Classic not by one of the authors on this goal list already (1984 by George Orwell in progress 4/4/16 -- completed 6/2/16)
4. A Re-read from when I was 17 or younger (Bridge to Terabithia, Feb 2016) (also Island of the Blue Dolphins, Feb 2016, and Little Women also in progress)
5. Picture Book not previously read (ideally find one or more I really like to get new for the children)(I've read several as of mid-Feb 2016, my favorite might be How To Be a Nature Detective by Millicent Selsam, I also kinda liked Babar and His Children)
6. Classic Chapter Book suitable for elementary reading, not previously read (Old Bones the Wonder Horse, completed 9/7/16)(Oliver Twist could also count, as some would consider it appropriate for elementary reading, but I'm not sure I do... some is gruesome and much is dark in it -- maybe age 12-13 and up? Does have some valuable lessons.)
7. Book repeatedly recommended to me personally, still not read (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread that Runs So True by Jesse Stuart)
8. Book by David McCullough (The Wright Brothers, completed 4/13/16)
9. Education (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart, also Robert Frost, Teacher by Nancy Vogel) (Underground History of American Education fits this also, completed Feb 2016)
10. Parenting (completed Jan 2016 - Full Time Parenting by Israel Wayne)(Say Goodbye to Whining... begun Mar 2016) (also What He Must Be...)
11. Philosophy or Psychology (Young Man Luther Dec 2016) (Feb 2016 -- Underground History of American Education)
12. Spiritually Related (aside from the Bible itself) (completed Nov 2016 - The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis) (also completed Dec 2016 - That You May Know Him by Clifford Deister)
13. History, Geography, or Biography (the latter is preferred) (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart) (also The Wright Brothers April 2016)
14. Science or Math (The Wright Brothers, completed 4/13/16) (A Beautiful Mind in progress) (If I have time I would benefit from a greater challenge that delves into something besides the history/bio of one of these areas -- alternatively I've considered just asking my son to teach me some higher level math :) )
15. Politically Relevant (b/c it’s a presidential election year) (Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused? completed May 2016) (1984 could count also -- completed June 2016)
I will update this as I complete books that meet the goals.
What are you hoping to read this year?
1. One from at least 5 of these authors:
i. Jane Austen (Completed Jan 2016 -- Persuasion)
ii. Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, completed December)
iii. Shakespeare (Macbeth, completed May 2016)
iv. C.S. Lewis (The Great Divorce, completed November 2016)
v.
vi.
vii. Alexandre Dumas (The 3 Musketeers in progress from late Nov)
2. Book by Agatha Christie (completed Jan 2016 -- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd)(+ And Then There Were None)
3. Other major Classic not by one of the authors on this goal list already (1984 by George Orwell in progress 4/4/16 -- completed 6/2/16)
4. A Re-read from when I was 17 or younger (Bridge to Terabithia, Feb 2016) (also Island of the Blue Dolphins, Feb 2016, and Little Women also in progress)
5. Picture Book not previously read (ideally find one or more I really like to get new for the children)(I've read several as of mid-Feb 2016, my favorite might be How To Be a Nature Detective by Millicent Selsam, I also kinda liked Babar and His Children)
6. Classic Chapter Book suitable for elementary reading, not previously read (Old Bones the Wonder Horse, completed 9/7/16)(Oliver Twist could also count, as some would consider it appropriate for elementary reading, but I'm not sure I do... some is gruesome and much is dark in it -- maybe age 12-13 and up? Does have some valuable lessons.)
7. Book repeatedly recommended to me personally, still not read (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread that Runs So True by Jesse Stuart)
8. Book by David McCullough (The Wright Brothers, completed 4/13/16)
9. Education (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart, also Robert Frost, Teacher by Nancy Vogel) (Underground History of American Education fits this also, completed Feb 2016)
10. Parenting (completed Jan 2016 - Full Time Parenting by Israel Wayne)(Say Goodbye to Whining... begun Mar 2016) (also What He Must Be...)
11. Philosophy or Psychology (Young Man Luther Dec 2016) (Feb 2016 -- Underground History of American Education)
12. Spiritually Related (aside from the Bible itself) (completed Nov 2016 - The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis) (also completed Dec 2016 - That You May Know Him by Clifford Deister)
13. History, Geography, or Biography (the latter is preferred) (completed Jan 2016 - The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart) (also The Wright Brothers April 2016)
14. Science or Math (The Wright Brothers, completed 4/13/16) (A Beautiful Mind in progress) (If I have time I would benefit from a greater challenge that delves into something besides the history/bio of one of these areas -- alternatively I've considered just asking my son to teach me some higher level math :) )
15. Politically Relevant (b/c it’s a presidential election year) (Are You Liberal, Conservative, or Confused? completed May 2016) (1984 could count also -- completed June 2016)
I will update this as I complete books that meet the goals.
 |
| Some of the books I hope to read this year. |
What are you hoping to read this year?
I like your reading challenge better! :) But I agree, it IS funny how some of our categories overlap.
ReplyDelete(and how fun to see posts on your blog! ha)
Mine is better for me, but yours is far more challenging and has a lot of things that sound interesting.
DeleteI was only going to post the list, but then when I did my last Goodreads review I noticed it said I could share it to my blog. I guess I finally noticed b/c I'd been in blog mode recently, funny how that works. So I thought I may as well, and it was pretty easy.