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Reading Report, Vol. 24: January Progress and February Goals

It has been an unseasonably warm few days here in our little part of Colorado, sunny and balmy and quite spring-like! The kids and I have been taking our school books outside by mid-morning so that we can enjoy the fresh air and sunshine before more snow and cold returns.

This mid-winter thaw finds me in a transition not just between months, but also between books. I finished up a couple of things at the end of January and have yet to fill their places in my reading rotation. Perhaps as I write this post, it will help me decide just what to plug into the gaps! This post will focus in on my short-term reads, rather than the slow reads that I have going with my kids for school or a couple of book clubs that read only a chapter or two a month…so this is not a comprehensive list. But these are the books at the top of the pile, so to speak!

January Finished Books

I was highly motivated to finish a book a week in January, and I met that goal! Of course, a couple of these I had started in December, so it isn’t as if I actually read one book a week! That’s not a pace that is easy for me to keep up in any season. But it always feels like a good start to the year to have a nice little handful of finished titles!

Battles at Thrush Green by Miss Read: I mentioned this one in my first reading report of the year, so I don’t think I need to review it again.

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller: I read this play for the Tea and Ink Society Classics Challenge title for January’s prompt of “a classic you discover in a used bookstore.” I actually can’t remember exactly where I picked this one up, but I do know it was either at a “friends of the library” book sale or my local library’s used book store. Either way, those are the main places I buy used books locally, so they count! This was very depressing and unsettling story. I didn’t like any of the characters in this play, which didn’t help. Still, I know it is considered a modern classic play, and maybe it would help if I had read some outside resources to understand it a little better…not that I am planning on putting that work into a book I didn’t care for at this point. I read it. There. Meh.

The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge: This story by Goudge, on the other hand, won a spot on my favorite type of book to read list. I cannot quite put into words why this book moved me so much or pin down just what it is about this sort of story that makes it my favorite. One word I saw somewhere describing Goudge’ fiction was “atmospheric”, and that does resonate with me. This story had a touch of the magical without actually being fantasy or even magical realism. It wasn’t that there were literal mystical events occurring…more that there was a sense in which everything in the story was connected and moved by unseen hands, which makes sense because this was a very Christian story. Goudge’s prose is also poetic without feeling over the top, another characteristic I appreciate in both fiction and nonfiction. I could go on…but I will stop there with the simple recommendation to read this book.

Beyond Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins: I mentioned this book last month, and I will just say I am glad I finally took the time to read it clear through. Cindy’s perspective is always down to earth, honest and encouraging. The book recommendations at the end of each chapter alone make it worth owning for reference! I trust Cindy’s book reviews pretty implicitly. If she says she loved a book, I will read it. Full stop.

Reclaiming Quiet by Sarah Clarkson: This was a book well worth the time reading (listening) and one I would consider returning to again whenever I am feeling like the noise and hurry of life are getting to be too much. I appreciated the prayers and calls to stillness at the close of each chapter, and those did make me wish I had had the print book to hand so I could take more time to consider them. For anyone thinking about the need to slow down and re-center on what really matters, this is a good book for you!

February Reading Goals

I hesitate to put very many titles here as I still have to decide on a couple of books to begin this month. But here are the ones I know I need to finish because I’ve already started them!

The Daughter of the Commandant by Alexander Pushkin: February’s prompt for the Tea and Ink Society challenge is to read a Russian novel or short story collection. Knowing that novels by Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky are rather long, but also not wanting to read short stories just now, I went looking back in Russian literary history a bit farther and was reminded of Pushkin. Some would say he was the greatest Russian poet as well as the father of modern Russian literature. As such, I thought that perhaps reading Pushkin would give me a foundation for better understanding later Russian authors. The Daughter of the Commandant seemed like a slightly shorter novel that is available on Librivox and Kindle… so doable in a short month. I am only a few chapters in, and of course, there is already snow and cold and a young man making questionable decisions. It’s already checking all the boxes!

The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong: The kids and I are about to finish this one up, so it will probably be first my finished book for February! It was slow starting again, but I am so glad we have stuck with it because the story of the community coming together has been well worth the wait. I will save my other thoughts for next month’s round-up.

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles: I’ve had this book as well as Gentleman in Moscow on my TBR list for a while now after hearing many people praise them both. However, I am still on the fence about Rules of Civility. I am listening to it on audio, and because of the content I don’t feel comfortable listening to it with kids around. At only about 25% of the way through the book, I know the plot is going to take more twists and turns, and the characters will continue to develop. I am invested and will certainly keep on until I finish…unless something catastrophic happens in the story that makes it impossible for me to finish, which has happened before with very popular, highly acclaimed books! There are just a few things I can’t deal with content-wise in stories…but that is a topic for another day. I will report back when I have either finished or ditched this title and let you know the verdict!

My contenders to fill in the gaps in my current reads right now are as follows:

Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris: This book is going to be a very personal read for me, and I need to choose the right time to dive in.

World Enough and Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down by Christian McEwan: I have been dying to start this book ever since it came in the mail after Christmas, but I had to finish some other nonfiction titles first. It is probably going to get started this week. (This was a Cindy recommendation…are we surprised?)

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope: Charlotte Mason loved reading both Trollope and Sir Walter Scott. I have read a couple of Scott’s Waverly novels but have yet to crack open anything by Trollope. Because I have been reading a good deal of newer fiction, I think it is about time to rectify that situation.

The House of Seven Gables by Nathanial Hawthorne: It has been a good long time since I read any Gothic novels, and winter is a good time for reading ghost stories. I have had a lovely Readers Digest hardcover collectible edition sitting on my shelf for years, and I have no excuse not to cozy up on some snowy day soon and get lost in the story.

How about you? What are you reading this month? What books did you finish in January? Do any of the titles on my list spark your curiousity? I’d love to read about it in the comments! Until next week, happy reading!

Kiel

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