I've given in and started the new year with something that approaches a resolution: it's a challenge. As a side bar, I feel like putting a sign on my back when I go running which says, "not a new runner!" Oh the shameful pride.
Any who, the challenge I have set myself was inspired by someone I know who read about 45 books in 2013 (he blogs here): my challenge is one to get me reading. I have two very bad reading habits: buying books and then not reading them, and starting books and then not finishing them. The first applies more to Christian books and the second more to novels, but I have my moments.
I'm poor at reading Christian books because, well, I've never been any good at reading things that are there for my benefit: text books, improving Christian works, the Bible... But I buy them because I know I should read them. It can be an expensive habit.
Starting novels and then not finishing them comes mostly out of not being grabbed by a book. If I get into a book I can barely be separated from it until it's done. I think many of the works I've abandoned had nothing wrong with them, I just never finished them. I could say something about not being a completer-finisher at this point, but I don't want to depress myself.
So I've chosen two books for each month of 2014: one Christian, and one not, so that my bookshelves can be a little less guilt-inducing towards the end of the year. It should also do marvels for that post-book anxiety that kicks in when you have to work out what you want to read next (am I the only one who suffers with that?)
So here, in all its glory, is the plan:
January
Grimm Tales by Philip Pullman
An easy start: I was ambushed by this in Waterstones in the run up to Christmas and am half way through it. I love fairy tales for all sorts of reasons, and this is proving a real pleasure. It's a bit of a cheaty way to begin (i.e. half way though!), but it would be a shame to start the year by abandoning yet another book.
Guidance and the Voice of God by Jensen and Payne
I have no idea how long this has sat on my shelves, but my rather aimless approach to life might have something to do with the fact it remains unread.
February
The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke
Lent to me by a friend last year, this is a collection of short stories that are midway between fairy tales and Jane Austen. Confession time: it's only collected dust since it made it into my house.
Joined Up by Danny Brierley
I don't have high hopes for this book, but youth work theory is often interesting. It's been on my shelf glaring at me for a good ten years now. I'm anticipating being a bit frustrated by some of the ideas, but 1. I could be wrong and 2. even if I'm not, I'm sure I'll learn something if only in opposite terms.
March
Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes
The fact I have books I've owned for 10 years and not read tells you all you need to know about why I need this book. I'm expecting Americanisms ahoy, but usefulness in bucket loads. Given everything that I have to squeeze into April, this book can't come too soon.
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
Ghosh's The Glass Palace was one of my favourite reads of a year or two ago, and was a story that stayed with me. I bought this and keep putting off reading it for reasons I can't fathom. I might be worried it can't live up to its predecessor. There are boats and opium, that's all I know.
April
April is a very busy month in 2014 with Passion for life, Easter, Word Alive and my 5th wedding anniversary (already!), so I've gone for some shorter ones.
True Worship by Vaughan Roberts
It's Vaughan Roberts, what more could I want? Rightly connecting Sunday mornings to the rest of the week is no easier when you work in a church, so I look forward to this.
The Invisible Man by HG Wells
I love a bit of sci-fi, and this is a classic. I got a few chapters in before being distracted by sparkly lights or something.
May
Selected Writings of John Calvin
I know quite a lot about Calvin, but have read very little directly from the man himself. I remember reading bits of this book, but certainly not all of it.
Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
The BBC's 2000 version of the first two books from the Gormenghast Trilogy was my introduction to Mervyn Peake. I bought this trilogy, read the first two but stumbled over the third: the change of location was troublesome to me (I had the same difficulty with the closing pages of Tess of the D'Urbervilles). I'm hoping to get on better with it this time.
June
The Cross from a Distance by Peter G Bolt
I think I've flicked through this, but never really even tried to read it properly. I love a good Bible overview type book, and I'm hoping to find this in-depth and challenging.
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
I bought a penguin classics compendium for Hubby, and after a while I started on this. It has ingredients I like in a book: multiple plot lines and a reasonably long time frame. I think it's time to give her another go.
July
The Enemy Within by Kris Lundgaard
All about holiness and fighting the battle with sin, I bought this book which draws on works by John Owen, a couple of years ago (come to think of it, make it at least 5 years ago...) I think it's time that the battle with sin got serious. Definitely going to be a highlighter pens job.
The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum
Love the film, love other books he's written, gave up on this. I think now I better know what to expect (the 1970s, for instance), I'll get on with it a bit better.
August
Think by John Piper
I've often struggled to work out how being brainy goes with Christian faith: not the old science vs God thing, but more the struggle to not over-intellectualise everything, and make sure I'm loving God with my mind, not just examining him. This book is, like so many I own, over-due a read. Hopefully I won't struggle too much with Piper's style.
A Passage to India by EM Forster
Bought and half-read on honeymoon, it's time to finish this classic off.
September
Generous Justice by Tim Keller
I love Keller's writing style, I really would like to be very clear in my mind about how we serve and love the poor and demonstrate God's justice in the world, I have just never got around to picking this up.
Stuart, a Life Backwards by Alexander Masters
The one biography in the list: I'm not a fan of biography in any form, but I bought this after hearing the author interviewed on Radio 4 not long after it was published (2005. Ahem.) As the title suggests, it's a story told backwards, from adult criminal to happy-go-lucky 12 year old. I enjoyed the bit I read all those years ago, and I'm starting to really find these types of lives interesting.
October
Emotions by Graham Beynon
A companion piece to the Piper book above. I've read a lot of this book, but not all of it, and I think reminding myself of the importance and god-given nature of emotions will be a good idea after reading the Piper book over the summer.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I read a good deal of this many years ago, and judging by the Clive the Cat bookmark emerging from the top, so has Hubby. I love a good classic, especially a Russian one, and once I've prepared myself for the mass of confusion that is the Russian naming system, it'll be all go.
November
Christian Youth Work by Mark Ashton
By the time November comes around, it'll be over ten years since I started in full time youth work. This is the book everyone says you should read. I've dipped into chapters here and there. Come on, Noodles, stop faffing about and read the thing.
Lustrum by Robert Harris
I know - wrong picture. I read all of Imperium, then half of Lustrum. The problem with Lustrum was that it seemed to come to a conclusion half way through. I put it down at that point and then had no motivation to pick it up again, so November is its day.
December
Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
As I've said earlier, I find Keller very easy to read. I'm hoping to get this read in an afternoon or two, perhaps as a tonic against the on-slaught of Christmas shopping.
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
I remember reading the children's version when I was young, and I started this when we lived in Camborne, but - big surprise - didn't finish it. Now is the time. I'm classing this as a novel rather than a Christian book because it's so allegorical.
If this goes well, there are other books I can challenge myself with in 2015. Still, one step at a time, eh?
No comments:
Post a Comment