The Reading Report, Vol. 27: Spring Reading Progress

Happy May Day, reading friends! I am happy to be back with a new reading update today. I really wasn’t sure what I was going to write about this week when I realized that it was almost a new month, so I just waited until today so I could justify writing about books. These monthly round-ups are not only my favorite posts to write, but they also keep me accountable to stick with my goals!

Looking back at last month’s “reading refresh” post, I am pleased to report that I did, in fact, get back on track with better reading habits and finished several books in April. I did not finish three of the four books I had on my current reads list last month, but I made great progress in other respects. Let’s dig in to the details…

Finished Books:

Rembrandt is in the Wind by Russ Ramsey: After many months of slow reading along with one of my Charlotte Mason moms’ book clubs, I finally got to finish this one in April. Part art history and biography, part Christian living and faith, this is one of those books that never would have been on my radar if this group of friends had not mentioned it. I really enjoyed both learning about the artists Ramsey highlight and reading his thoughts on the connections of art and the Christian life. My favorite chapters were probably those on Van Gogh, Caravaggio, and Vermeer. I was a little disappointed in the final couple of chapters, particularly the one on Lilias Trotter. I guess I was hoping he would treat her story a little more thoroughly, but I supposed if I wanted to study her more deeply, there are full biographies of her life and work available from other authors. Overall, this book was excellent, and I would also like to read Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart in the near future.

Saint Peter’s Fair by Ellis Peters: This was just a fun murder mystery read, as I knew it would be. Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael series is one I keep coming back to over and over again because I know I will get a puzzle to solve without a lot of unnecessarily grizzly details or horror or overly “spicy” romance along the way. Plus, there are often thoughts on faith and life that make these books a little deeper than your typical modern cozy mystery. Win-win!

The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly: As a read-aloud with my kids, this book took a little longer to read than it would have if I’d been reading it on my own. But it was a great, well-written story from a time and place we don’t generally learn much about: medieval Poland. We were delighted to learn that the church in the story and the tradition of the trumpeter are actually real and remaining to this day!

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope: I finished this title a little ahead of schedule, but once I got close to the end of the audio book, I just had to know how everything worked out! I will admit that this book took some time for me to get into and to keep the huge cast of characters straight. However, the farther I read, the more I enjoyed it and was able to pick up the pace. I was a little uncertain if I would get Trollope’s satire and humor when I started, but it turns out it was pretty obvious much of the time. And I truly got a kick out of the names of so many of the side characters! Now that I have gotten over the hurdle of reading my first Trollope novel, I am definitely planning to read more in future!

A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird: This book of letters was my choice for April’s prompt in the Tea and Ink Society 2025 Classics Challenge: “a classic set on your own turf.” Isabella Bird was an English traveller who visited the Colorado Rocky Mountain region in the late 1800s, riding horseback alone through the mountains in the winter and staying with various settlers and mountaineers along the journey. She wrote an unvarnished account both of the breathtaking beauty of the rugged mountains and the manners and way of life of the people she encountered. Reading this book shortly after finishing Eleanor Stewart’s Letters of a Woman Homesteader, I am struck by the fortitude, pluck, and endurance of these two women. I certainly don’t possess these qualities in any quantity to match theirs!

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges: This was one of my son’s school books that we chose to read aloud together this year. I truly wish this book would have come across my path when I was younger, but I still found it encouraging and helpful now and plan to reread it again later on alongside my personal devotions. It is actually somewhat surprising to me that I wasn’t assigned it in one of my early spiritual discipline classes in college. I think my son found it challenging, but I do believe he took away some ideas from it that will help him in his Christian walk. It will be a book worth getting him a personal copy of to take away from home with him when he graduates.

Currently Reading:

Since I complete 6 books in April, I am a little short on current reads. I need to look at my “back-burner” bookstack and decide which of those I want to pick back up to focus on finishing in May. The two books I am actively reading going into this month are A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot and Night by Elie Wiesel. You may remember that A Chance to Die was on my “refresh” list last month, and I am currently about 50% of the way through it (on audio) now.

Night will be my book for the Classics Challenge for May, since the prompt is to read a book you were supposed to read in school. I don’t actually recall being assigned any WWII biographies or novels in high school, but this one is frequently on such lists. I have already read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, but Night has been sitting unopened on my shelf for years. As it is a pretty short book, it should be a good fit for the busy month ahead!

So, that’s a wrap for this month’s Reading Report! What about you? Are you making good progress on your reading goals this season? What are you reading right now? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

Until next month, happy reading!

Kiel