2008 Hope-To-Read List

I love to read. But I've found that over the past several years of first small children, then diminished attention span, then being in school. . . I've skimmed tons of books and read very little.

Last year I posted a book list, inspired by Kristen's encouragement to PLAN our reading and SHARE the good and not-so-good books. I really like reading book summaries from others, and Kristen's and Meagan's are among my favorites. True confession: I didn't read a SINGLE one of these books cover to cover (though I skimmed most--and did read and skim others not listed there.)

Then, there is always my Amazon list--which is more of a "books and stuff that caught my eye" than it is an actual WISH list. Still, it keeps track of the books I'd like to check out from the library or read or skim. Many of the ones I've recently added are from my friends sharing what they are planning on reading this year.

Most of all, this year I'd like to spend more time reading from paper pages and less time reading from screens, as diber says.

2008 Hope-To-Read List

1. Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology & Theology

2. Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers
by Gordon Neufeld

3. Rediscovering Catechism: The Art of Equipping Covenant Children
by Donald Van Dyken

4. When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage
by Dave Harvey

5. Nurturing children in the Lord: A study guide for teachers on developing a Biblical approach to discipline
by Jack Fennema

6. Blankets
by Craig Thompson

7. Gilead: A Novel
by Marilynne Robinson

8. Foucault's Pendulum
by Umberto Eco

9. The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Robert Farrar Capon

10. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
by Michael Pollan

11. The Child in Christian Thought (Religion, Marriage, and Family)

12. Dealing With Disappointment: Helping Kids Cope When Things Don't Go Their Way
by Elizabeth Crary

13. Romancing the Difference: Kenneth Burke, Bob Jones University, and the Rhetoric of Religious Fundamentalism (Studies in Rhetoric and Religion)
by Camille Kaminski Lewis

14. Marks of His Wounds: Gender Politics and Bodily Resurrection
by Beth Felker Jones

What are you planning/hoping to read this year?

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Comments

I have read parts of this one (so far) - 2. Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers by Gordon Neufeld - can I just say this is an EXCELLENT read!!!!
Posted by: Mama Grizzly at January 5, 2008 09:51 PM

I know it is good. . . My good friend and gentle-mommy encourager, Carol, sent it to me! I've read parts of it, but this year I want to read it all the way through. (Actually, that's the case with several of the books--I've read bits, but not all. . .)

Are you going to list the books you want to read this year?
Posted by: TulipGirl at January 5, 2008 10:21 PM

Oh please tell me what you thought of Hold on to Your Kids! I heard the author on an LLLI podcast a couple of years ago and he inspired and encouraged me.

You know The Supper of the Lamb is one of my all-time favorite books. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Parts of it could only have been written in the 60's when it was written...foodie-ism was not so rampant then as now. But he is a wonderful and humorous writer and good medicine if you've been influenced by an ascetic strain of fundamentalism, as our family has been.

Your list sounds great--thanks for sharing it! I am hoping to discipline myself to do more reading this year too.

Our oldest son is on a Russian lit craze right now and told us we had to read The Brothers Karamazov, so that's what I'm reading now. Scott just finished it.

Posted by: Kathy at January 5, 2008 11:50 PM

Supper of the Lamb is on my list because of you!

And, oh. . . Russian Lit. . . I haven't read nearly as much of it as I want(ed) to. But to really understand the Russian mind and soul, you need to read their literature. In a way that is not true of the US, my experience is that in Ukraine (and Russia, I assume) the great literature in their language really still has a strong cultural impact and captures much of the way life is viewed.

For several years my attention span was such that I could only look at the pretty pictures in RealSimple. . . maybe read the bulleted lists. Most of my reading was online, because it was in bite-sized pieces. It has only been in the last several years that I've been able to read BOOKS again. Even still, I'm having trouble reading anything all the way through.

I'd like to also make a list of books to read aloud to the boys. We've lost our habit of reading aloud, and even though they are all readers now it is still precious to me to read aloud to them. Maybe we'll start with Little Britches.
Posted by: TG at January 5, 2008 11:57 PM

But to really understand the Russian mind and soul, you need to read their literature. In a way that is not true of the US, my experience is that in Ukraine (and Russia, I assume) the great literature in their language really still has a strong cultural impact and captures much of the way life is viewed.

That is very interesting, indeed. I am only 220 pages into the Brothers Karamazov, but I am taking a break for the moment because I'm worn out by the grand scale of the emotion and drama of every encounter described in the last 100 pages. Is that grand-scale drama by any chance a Russian characteristic? Or just a characteristic of this particular book?

For several years my attention span was such that I could only look at the pretty pictures in RealSimple. . . maybe read the bulleted lists.

LOL! I know my reading habits have changed in response to the amount of reading I do on the web. But I am ready to fight my internet-ADD and read more books.

Oh yes! In all your spare time... definitely you should continue to read aloud to the boys. Some of our best family memories, looking back, are the shared books.

OK...back to the Brothers...

Posted by: Kathy at January 6, 2008 11:25 PM

The only book on your list that I have read is "When Sinners Say 'I Do'" and I highly recommend it. We have given the book to several young couples...

I hope to put together a list of books to read this year, but so far I haven't even started THAT list. Working instead on details to pull off a wedding in Ukraine this Saturday! In the process of reading Mahaney's "Humility: True Greatness"

Definitely get back in the habit of reading with your boys -- those will be precious memories. Not to mention that once the kids got older, we moved on from novels (though still read from time to time) to the likes of Sproul and others, with time to discuss.
Posted by: ukrainiac at January 7, 2008 03:34 AM

oh, i can't tell you how much i enjoyed "the omnivore's dilemma." it really influenced how our family eats today. i'd also recommend nina planck's "real food: what to eat and why." if pollan's book is the philosophy behind why/what we eat, planck's is a good "what next" book and gives specifics on what to eat and where to find it.

great list!
kate
Posted by: kate at January 7, 2008 09:20 PM

I've read so few books since having children...it took me a year and a half to get through Love in the Time of Cholera!
Posted by: sarah mosley at January 14, 2008 10:39 AM

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