Autumn Reading Challenge

I've wandered far afield in recent months from my pledge to keep track of what I'm reading via this blog. Some of it is due to lack of discipline, but more of it is due to the fact that life's been so busy that this has become, in the main, more of a general journal than I ever expected it to. As much as I love books, life is full of other experiences too, many of which I enjoy "reading" (or letting read me!) and reflecting on!

I do plan to do some sort of a round-up to reflect a bit on what I've been reading in recent months. Until then, however, I thought I would challenge myself with the "Autumn Reading Challenge" found at a blog called "Seasonal Soundings."

I'm sure I'll tweak this list a bit -- because I tend to follow fairytale breadcrumb trails from book to book, I often end up reading lots of things I didn't plan to read. But here's at least some of what I'm challenging myself with in the coming autumn months (and perhaps a bit of the winter too).

The Irrestible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (I'm part-way through this and want to finish it)

I just started Jim Wight’s biography of his dad The Real James Herriot and also James Herriot’s Yorkshire.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Because I've never read it, and I promised myself after reading A Tale of Two Cities (last summer) that I would read more Dickens!

Miniatures and Morals – The Christian Novels of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart (this has been on my wishlist forever; haven't been able to get it via library and can't afford to buy it...but if I can find a copy, by golly, I plan to read it!)

Essays from Love’s Redeeming Work: The Anglican Quest for Holiness compiled by Rowell, Stevenson and Williams; and Glorious Companions: Five Centuries of Anglican Spirituality bu Richard Schmidt. These are both on the reading list for a course called Anglican Way of Theology, which I'm being allowed to sit in on as an online guest. I consider this enrichment reading which will help me in the course I'm teaching online (Episcopal Ethos).

I've decided to revisit Robert Frost this fall; my favorite edition of the poems has Louis Untermeyer's intro. and notes. I have favorites in that collection that I've read over and over, but I'm not sure I've ever attempted a read-through of all the poems in it from start to finish. I started last night right before bed.

I'm also adding the following to my list: The Sense of the Call - A Sabbath Way of Life for those who serve God, the Church, and the World, by Marva Dawn. I really like her work and I think this book might be very appropriate for this season of our family's life. I'm hoping the seminary library has a copy or I can get it via loan!