2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

In 2021 I thought I would keep it around a book a week but I wound up reading much more than that. I'm keeping it at 60 for 2022 just in case things get busy. That's 5 books a month. I would love to get to 72. There's so much to read and being semi-retired I might as well go for it!

1) 1/3/2022 The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd The story of Jesus told as a version of Romeo and Juliet. Not kidding. Still it was pretty respectful and the writing was beautiful. No mention of the resurrection but it wasn't really denied either. Lesson: Longings need to be realistic.

Anne, You are off to a good start. I hope you make it all the way to 72. I will check back in a month to see how you are doing.

2) 1/8/2022 The High 5 Habit: Take Control of Your Life with One Simple Habit by Mel Robbins I think I am too old for self-help books anymore. Nothing in this I didn't know already. It would have probably helped me at 30 years old. Now I need guidance based on faith and inspiration. Lesson: Be careful about what you want.

Blagica wrote: "Anne, You are off to a good start. I hope you make it all the way to 72. I will check back in a month to see how you are doing."

Thank you!

3) 1/12/2022 Dark Tides by Philippa Gregory The second book in a series about England in the time of King Charles I and II, but about some commoners. I liked this one better than the first. Lesson: Trust your gut.

4) 1/17/2022 The Orphan's Tale by Pam Jenoff World War II novel about two women and a child in the circus travelling in Germany and France. Some of the story was pretty far fetched. Lesson: Be helpful and loyal.

5) 1/20/2022 Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life by Sutton Foster Great book about crafting while being a broadway star. It reminded me a lot of Mary Martin's book on needlepoint that I read 40 years ago. Lesson: It helps you when you keep your hands and mind busy by creating beautiful things. It helps in so many ways. As a big time crocheter I have learned this lesson myself.

6) 1/27/2022 The Rose Code by Kate Quinn Really enjoyed this book about women working to crack codes in Britain during WWII. The characters of the women were so unique and developed and were mostly likable. The men not so much which is a fault in many books today. But I liked it anyway. Lesson - Be useful and do something that will make a difference even if no one else knows about it.

7) 2/4/2022 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles It took a while to get into this book. The plot was almost frivolous at first. But it got better. The main character is a child of Russian imigrants and a wonderful character trying to make it in New York City. Lesson: Stuff happens, but live life fully anyway.

8) 2/7/2022 The Action Bible: God's Redemptive Story by David C. Cook Graphic art book of many of the stories in the bible. I've given this book to young men before, but never read it through myself. It's really good. The art is amazing and the stories are classic, of course. Lesson - keep reading the good book - especially when there is art involved.

9) 2/14/2022 Bear Town by Fredrik Backman Excellent. This is the second book I've read by this author and I really enjoy his writing. He showcases the good and evil in everyone and how difficult it sometimes is to do the right thing. Lesson: Don't get so caught up in the world that you forget what's right.

Anne wrote: "9) Bear Town by Fredrik Backman Excellent. This is the second book I've read by this author and I really enjoy his writing. He showcases the good and evil in everyo..."
I really like a Man called Ove and My Grandmother wanted me to tell you she's sorry. Backman does have a unique style. That I really enjoy.

10) 2/23/2022 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness Definitely not my style of book. It was silly and even ridiculous at times. I liked the scenery and descriptions here and there, but I'm not reading any more of these. Lesson - almost everyone in history of importance was a witch, a vampire or a daemon. Seriously.

11) 3/2/2022 The Search for God by C.S. Lewis Listened to this while doing some stuff around the house. I'm always astounded at Lewis' insights. Lesson - Be ready.

12) 3/6/2022 The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers I really didn't like the first half of this book. But it got better, everyone learned their lesson. Probably would have been 4 stars but the first half wasn't very believable. Lesson: Put Christ at the center of your life and your marriage.

13) 3/8/2022 West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge A coming of age journey with a young man who has had more of his share of bad luck, several other memorable characters, and two giraffes. The adventures just kept on coming, but it was all about something bigger than himself. It was those giraffes. Lesson - Redemption can come from unusual places.

14) 3/14/2022 Billy Summers by Stephen King Read this while on a trip. A thriller with all kinds of twists and turns. Enjoyed it and finished it 30 minutes before we landed. Lesson: Two wrongs don't always make a right. But sometimes they do.

3-20-22 Decided not to finish Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty. Just too gossipy for my tastes. I had wanted to learn more about the opioid epidemic and I got affairs and ostentatious art collecting.... Good writing but just not what I wanted.

15) 3/25/2022 January 6: How Democrats Used the Capitol Protest to Launch a War on Terror Against the Political Right by Julie Kelly Horrifying. Hard to read. Prayers for our country. Lesson - a house divided against itself cannot stand.

16) 3/26/2022 The Civil War, Vol. 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote Listened to this on audio. Very long book. Took me forever! Still very good, especially when talking about parts of the civil war that I was familiar with, like Bull Run and Antietam. Lesson: listen for 30 minutes a day at least for these long books...

17) 3/27/2022 AA-1025: The Memoirs of an Anti-Apostle by Marie Carré A book that describes how the church has been infiltrated ove the last 100 years and who is behind it. I read about some of this in Witness and in some of Paul Kengor's books. Scary stuff. Lesson - I think I should become a catechist.

18) 3/29/2022 The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern Interesting fantasy story about stories - almost a video game where everything is possible and there are a million different things that could happen. The writing is beautiful. But it was weird. Lesson - You don't know what is going to happen next, but maybe the ending will be happy.

19) 4/3/2022 Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner Enjoyed this book by a young woman who lost her mother young to cancer. Korean food culture plays a major part. Well written, sad, universal. Lesson: Enjoy family and close relationships.

20) 4/9/2022 The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles Wow. Really good, character driven novel with lots of stories. Philosophy, Shakespeare, classic mythology all mixed in. Sad, too. Lesson: Life is a journey, an adventure. It's a good thing to know right from wrong.

21) 4/17/2022 13 Powerful Ways to Pray by Eamon Tobin I want to learn more about pray. This book had some good ideas and some strange ideas. Lesson - try a bunch of different ways to pray and do what works for you.

22) 4/24/2022 Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson Fictional story of the Devil's Half Acre in Richmond before the Civil War. It really was hell. And the Jailer was the Devil. Making my way through the Goodread's Choice nominees for 2021 for historical fiction. This one was hard to read. Lesson - Faith and family are worth self sacrifice.

23) 4/30/2022 The Third Reich at War by Richard J. Evans Another long audio book, I've finally finished listening to this series of three books. This one was really depressing. What a waste of energy and life. This is what happens when an entire culture is focused on hate. Lesson: Constantly pray for peace. Always.

24) 5/1/2022 The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation by Rod Dreher What to do when christians become the outcasts. How to live, how to worship. How to educate your children. Scary stuff. Lesson: God comes first.

25) Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway Well researched story of the 2020 campaign and election by a conservative. When it's all laid out like this it is pretty bad. Lesson: Read both sides. Don't believe anything. Do your own research.

26) The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive by Lucy Adlington Sewing saved them. Not too many survived Auschwitz, but these women could sew, and the commandant's wife needed dresses. So they survived. Lesson - it never hurts to have some useful skills.

27) Coolidge by Amity Shlaes I didn't know alot about Coolidge. Probably our last President who reduced the size of government. I loved reading about his education, how he learned to be a moral leader through philosophy and studying the classics. I don't think that happens anymore. Lesson: Be of service.

28) 5/30/2022 Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly It turns out I had read this before in 2019. Definitely worth reading again. So many ideas and lessons in this book. My personal lesson is to make a list of things to remember from this book.

29) 6/1/2022 The Quest by Nelson DeMille Not his best even though it had all the elements of a great story. Heroes, knights, romance, the holy grail, saints, evil villians. But it seemed to have a lot of filler.... Lesson: Sometimes something is just meant to be.

30) 6/15/2022 David: A Man of Passion and Destiny by Charles R. Swindoll I'm doing the bible in a year podcast and wanted to learn more about David. How little I know about the old testament and the people in it! I liked the lessons and applications this author added to the text. Lesson: God first.

31) 6/17/2022 The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles Historical fiction novel about the American Library in Paris during World War 2. A little too pat.
Lesson: Don't be jealous.

32) 6/21/2022 Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid 1983, Malibu. A group of siblings with serious family issues. A party on the beach. American fairy tale. Enjoyable read. Lesson: Sometimes you don't have to clean up after the party.

33) 6/25/2022 The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff Excellent primary source history of 9/11. Lesson: Never forget.

34) 6/29/2022 Eternal by Lisa Scottoline This book started slowly for me. I thought it was going to be an unserious romance treatment of world war 2 in Rome. But the second half of the book became very serious and really pulled me in. Plus there's the fact that we stayed in the same area in Rome in 2019 where most of the book takes place. Lesson: Everyone suffers in war, some grow up and some don't make it.

35) 7/1/2022 The War on the West by Douglas Murray Listened to this on audio. Some of the stuff he described was hardly believable but it is happening. The killing of our history. Lesson: Teach your children well.

36) 7/10/2022 Last Stands: Why Men Fight When All Is Lost by Michael Walsh Another audio book. This was about men fighting for their families, their countries, and civilization. Lesson: Often a battle where everyone dies becomes a rallying event. Remember the Alamo!

37) 7/11/2022 Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Was a little slow at the start but I grew very interested in all the characters and the plot. I don't really like how all these recent novels have all these woke checkboxes they have to check off. But I guess that's what sells books these days. It doesn't always work for me. Lesson: Trust your gut. But don't go crazy.

38) 7/17/2022 Praying With a Pen: The Girlfriends' Guide to Stress-Free Prayer Journaling by Mary Beth Weisenburger Has some good ideas about using a journal to talk to God. I journal already, why not try some of these ideas. My goal is to get closer to God, this might be a good way. Lesson: Use the journal to have a two-way dialog.

39) 7/19/2022 The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan Middle grade adventure fantasy about teenagers who are descended from Pharoahs and have a run in with Egyption Gods. Entertaining quick read as always from Mr. Riordan. Lesson: Fight Chaos.

40) 7/25/2022 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak A re-read. I've decided I'm going to do more re-reads of 4 star or above books. There were several things I didn't remember from the last time. Still excellent. Poor Rudy. Lesson: Love and words. The most important parts of being.

41) 7/29/2022 Héroes by Stephen Fry Excellent, entertaining audio book. He even made the names easy (sometimes) to remember. Parts were gruesome. Lots of moral lessons. My lesson: We need stories. Where are our modern day stories and heroes?

42) 7/31/2022 The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave Entertaining mystery thriller. Lesson; People will make all kinds of sacrifices for their children.

43) 8/8/2022 The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism by Paul Kengor Describes the history of Reagan and his fight against communism. Turns out that he just held it off a little while longer. Lesson: the fight is never over.

44) 8/9/2022 The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict J P Morgan's personal librarian was a woman who "passed" white. Very good book. Loved the main character Belle. She and her family did what they could to have a good life and do meaningful work. Lesson - Find a way to be useful and productive even when the world is flawed.

45) 8/15/2022 Moving Mountains: How You, God, and Prayer Can Change Things for Good by John Eldredge Excellent book on prayer. Lesson: Evil spirits are out there. Pray for protection from them.