Confession: I am currently recovering from a MAJOR reading rut.
Fortunately, the New Year is a great time to come out of a reading rut - there are so many fun reading challenges that start in January, and I am refocusing what I want out of my reading life and setting some reading goals for the New Year. Let's forget about what's behind and press on, yes?
My Reading Goals
In 2022 I would like to have more discipline in my reading, particularly in practicing self-control and not starting so many books at once. I am not going to make myself start and finish one book at a time, because I have found that is a good way to get myself into a reading rut (because if I'm not enjoying the book, I won't read at all), but I also get myself into ruts when I start too many books at once (decision fatigue). I think that generally, having around 3-4 books going at once would be a good balance - a nonfiction and fiction on audio, and a nonfiction and fiction in physical format.
My other goals involve diving deeper into history topics I am interested in, reading books that will be edifying in serving my family, and not wasting my time on books that are not working for me. I would also like to start to whittle down my unread bookshelf by reading more of the books that I already own.
With those goals in mind, I chose one primary reading challenge, and a possibly secondary challenge to attempt in 2022!
5x5 Reading Challenge
I am part of the Schole Sisters group on Mighty Networks, and I occasionally listen to the podcast. Last January I heard about the 5x5 challenge, so this will be my second attempt at completing it. The idea is to pick five categories for your reading, and then read five books within each of those categories over the course of the year, for a total of 25 books.
I love the idea of this because I have set my own personal study projects in the past anyway, and it's amazing how much you learn when you decide to intentionally read several books on the same topic. However, this challenge was also intimidating for me last year, because I filled in my categories with meatier books - and then when my brain was just tired, or I was having an emotional week (as happened often last year), I just couldn't handle heavy, serious reading. I am going to attempt to keep some of my book picks easier this year, so I don't lose steam.
Here are my categories and tentative picks so far - I will fill in the rest of my books as I go.
World War One - Yes, I am still reading about World War One! I read hardly any WW1 books last year, so I wanted to continue this category and get to some of the books I never finished.
-Dead Wake by Erik Larson - A story about the sinking of the Lusitania, a tragedy which contributed to American interest in possible involvement in WW1.
-The Myth Of The Great War by John Mosier - This one looks interesting because of his semi-controversial idea that the war was mismanaged, and it was a good thing the Americans came in and ended it. I'm curious to see how he supports his arguments.
-The Guns Of August by Barbara Tuchman - Everyone says this one is a must read.
-A World Undone by G. J. Meyer - A WW1 book that I never finished because it's such a heavy read, but it's also the best play-by-play of WW1 I've found.
-The Unknowns by Patrick K. O'Donnel - A book about the men that were pallbearers for the "Unknown Soldier".
Winston Churchill - I think Churchill is a really fascinating character, and I've become particularly interested in leaders who were under-appreciated in their time, but whose contributions to history are seen more clearly in retrospect. Churchill is one of those.
-Darkest Hour by Anthony McCarton - The movie was so good, why not try the book?
-The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson - Larson writes such great nonfiction, I knew I had to read this one.
-The Great Republic by Winston Churchill - This is a history of America written by Churchill himself, which I thought would be an interesting angle on this category.
-Never Give In! The Best Of Winston Churchill's Speeches - This is a book which will probably be read in snatches throughout the course of the year.
-Churchill and Orwell by Thomas E. Ricks - A side-by-side biography of these two contemporaries.
Homemaking - I'm excited about this category for encouragement to make our home a happy and peaceful place.
-The Life-Giving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson - Confession: I tried to read this book years ago, and I couldn't get through it. I know everyone loves it so much, but I have a very hard time getting through Sarah Clarkson's writing! Sally is okay, but Sarah...it's hard to explain. I am going to attempt it again though.
-For The Family's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay - I've heard good things.
-
-
-
Other picks to be determined.
Classics - I have an ongoing quest to read classics that I've never read. There are just so many classic books, aren't there?
-The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I loved East Of Eden, I'm curious if I'll like The Grapes Of Wrath (I feel like alot of people don't).
-
-
-
-
I have no other solid picks for this category, I'll just fill them in as the mood strikes me.
Biographies - I've toyed with whether to keep this category to biographies in general, or missionary biographies in particular - I think I'll just see how my reading year shapes up. For now, it's a general category.
- A Chance To Die by Elisabeth Elliot - A biography of Amy Carmichael. I already started this one, and it's so well done. I can't wait to finish it!
-Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - This one has been on my list for a while.
-The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt - Very curious to read this one - Teddy Roosevelt was such an interesting president.
-As Always, Julia by Joan Reardon - This is somewhat biographical - it's about the letters Julia Child wrote to her lifelong penpal, Avis.
-
Other book possibilities to be determined.
I'm really hoping I can finish the challenge this year! Typically I read 45-60 books each year, so including these 25 books shouldn't be a problem, but I have always had troubles with "to-be-read" lists. I'm a chronic mood reader, but the idea is to develop some discipline and be intentional with my reading. I will try to post occasional updates on how my challenge is going!
My Secondary Challenge, And A Fiction TBR
The other reading challenge I am toying with attempting is the G3 reading challenge. I just came across this one last week, and I liked the categories, some of which would overlap with my 5x5 challenge anyway. So while I'm not picking specific books for this challenge, it's in the back of my mind.
Of course I have a ton of Christian Living/devotional books on my TBR shelf, and I expect to read several in 2022, but I won't list those here since I am not picking those based on any sort of category.
And just for fun, these are some of the fiction books I hope to get to this year! Most of these are books that have been on my shelf for a while, and they need to get read!
Finish the Wingfeather Saga.
Finish the Penderwick Series.
Have you read any of these books? Are you doing any reading challenges in 2022?
This is the first reading challenge I’ve seen that looks feasible. I read The Grapes of Wrath years ago and LOVED it. It was a hard book to read, but it deeply affected me. I need to read East of Eden. Also, I feel the same way about Sarah Clarkson’s writing! I read one of her books and eye rolled a lot.
First off, Erik Larsen is amazing and I love his work! Those are great choices! Second, if you are looking for a way to track your reading in a real and interesting way, I am in LOVE with Modern Mrs. Darcy's book Journal, its helpful to keep track of everything from you TBR to seasonal books worth reading, and sooooo much more! Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/My-Reading-Life-Book-Journal/dp/0736983023/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2MAUYBXTIHSU4&keywords=modern+mrs+darcy+book+journal&qid=1641953839&sprefix=modern+mrs+%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-2
I loved Unbroken - it was a hard read but the ending was so beautiful I almost cried. The audiobook is wonderful too, if you want to give that a try. I got halfway through Dear Julia, and while I was enjoying it I just had to give up because it really was just every single letter, and it felt a little creepy to be reading their entire correspondence lol. I think I would have liked it better if it had been more curated.
The 5x5 challenge sounds interesting! I’m a big Erik Larson fan. I’ve read them all. The Lusitania one was the hardest for me to get into. It took a while for me to read it. Loved The Penderwicks, The Eyre Affair, Secrets of a Charmed Life, Unbroken, and For the Family’s Sake. I have some of your other choices on my bookshelf to read too!
Post a Comment