My Mom gave me some money for my birthday last month and I bought these books with it. They are in my To Be Read Soon stack! I’m very excited to start them! Have you read these books? What did you think of them?
Birthday Books
May Book Stack
April Reads
Books I Have Finished:
Discover Reading by Amy Tuttle
Started – February 10, 2021
Finished – April , 2021
Health for All of Life by Jason M. Garwood
Started – February 6, 2021
Finished – April 24, 2021
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
Started – April 14, 2021
Finished – April 28, 2021
Books I’m currently reading:
The Lost History of Christianity by Philip Jenkins
Started – April 24, 2021
Urchin of the Riding Stars by M.I. McAllistar
Started – March 8, 2021
The Cure of Souls: Recovering the Biblical Doctrine of Confession by R.J. Rushdoony
Started – March 24, 2021
The Classic Hundred Poems: All-Time Favorites by William Harmon (Editor)
Started – March 27, 2021
Books Finished in 2021: 10
The Pulley
The Pulley by George Herbert
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
“Let us,” said He, “pour on him all we can:
Let the world’s riches, which dispersed lie,
Contract into a span.”
So strength first made a way;
Then Beauty flowed, then Wisdom, Honor, Pleasure:
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that alone of all His treasure
Rest in the bottom lay.
“For if I should,” said He,
“Bestow this jewel also on My creature,
He would adore My gifts instead of Me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature:
So both should losers be.
“Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness:
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to My breast.”
I read this poem today and just had to share it! Poetry was never something I thought I would enjoy or be able to understand. One of the categories in The Literary Life’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge is “A Poetry Anthology”. I finally settled on reading through The Classic Hundred Poems edited by William Harmon. I’m really enjoying it and have already found several favorites!
George Herbert was born in 1593 and died in 1633. The Pulley was composed around 1630 and published in 1633.
March Reads
Books I Have Finished:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Started – January 17, 2021
Finished – March 2, 2021
My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Started – March 3, 2021
Finished – March 26, 2021
Books I’m currently reading:
Urchin of the Riding Stars by M.I. McAllistar
Started – March 8, 2021
The Cure of Souls: Recovering the Biblical Doctrine of Confession by R.J. Rushdoony
Started – March 24, 2021
The Classic Hundred Poems: All-Time Favorites by William Harmon (Editor)
Started – March 27, 2021
The Iliad for Boys and Girls by Alfred J. Church
Started – March 27, 2021
Books Finished in 2021: 7
February Reads
Books I Have Finished:
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Started – January 22, 2021
Finished – February 7, 2021
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Started – November 1, 2020
Finished – February 24, 2021
Books I’m currently reading:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Started – January 17, 2021
A Word in Season, Volume 1 by R.J. Rushdoony
Started – January 26, 2021
Health for All of Life by Jason M. Garwood
Started – February 6, 2021
A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
Started – February 10, 2021
Books Finished in 2021: 5
January Reads
Books I Finished:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
Started – July 19, 2020
Finished – January 5, 2021
Lessons at Blackberry Inn: Adventures with the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola
Started – August 8, 2015 (I restarted this book in 2020 but I’m not sure of the exact date.)
Finished – January 16, 2021
The Pothunters by P.G. Wodehouse
Started – January 1, 2021
Finished – January 17, 2021
Books I’m Currently Reading:
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Started – January 22, 2021
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Started – November 1, 2020
Books Finished in 2021: 3
2020 Reading Plans
One of my goals for 2020 is to read more books! Once upon a time, when I had fewer responsibilities and fewer children, I was an avid reader. Unfortunately, I never strayed from what was easy and familiar. I’m determined this year to stretch myself, both in the number of books I read as well as in the content.
Here are my tentative plans for the year, using two reading challenges as guides to broader reading. As you can see, there is some overlap between the challenges. I’m quote determined but also want to be realistic. I’m still thinking about what book to read for a few of the prompts. If you have any suggestions I’d love to hear them!
The Literary Life 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge
A Shakespeare Play ~ The Winter’s Tale
A Classic Detective Novel ~ Whose Body?
A Classic Children’s Book ~ Father and I Were Ranchers
A Contemporary Novel ~ The Snow Child
A Historical Fiction Novel ~
An Ancient Greek Play ~ The Trojan Women
A Collection of Short Stories ~ The Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor
A Biography or Memoir ~ Hillbilly Elegy
A Devotional Work ~ A Word in Season, Volume 1
A Book about Books ~ Invitation to the Classics
A Foreign (Non-Westerm) Book ~
A “Guilty Pleasure” Book ~ Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
An Intimidating Book You Have Avoided ~ Anna Karenina
A Satire ~ The Importance of Being Earnest
A Book of Essays ~ The Art of the Commonplace
A Book by a Minor Author ~ Above Suspicion
A Classic Book by a Female Author ~ Silas Marner
A Complete Volume of Poetry by a Single Author ~
An “Out of Your Comfort Zone” Book ~ The High Crusade
Reread a Book You Read in High School ~ The Scarlet Letter
Back to the Classics Challenge 2020
1. 19th century classic ~ Jane Eyre
2. 20th century classic ~ Whose Body?
3. Classic by a woman author ~ The Snow Child
4. Classic in translation ~ Kristin Lavransdatter (I’ll be reading the first book in this trilogy for this challenge.)
5. Classic by a person of color ~ The Three Musketeers
6. A genre classic ~ The Mysterious Affair at Styles
7. Classic with a person’s name in the title ~ Crispin
8. Classic with a place in the title ~ Lark Rise to Candleford (I’ll be reading the first book in this trilogy for this challenge.)
9. Classic with nature in the title ~ The Winter’s Tale
10. Classic about a family ~ Father and I Were Ranchers
11. Abandoned classic ~ The Hobbit
12. Classic adaptation ~ Silas Marner
January
I’m not even sure where to begin. So much has happened since I last posted an update here. There isn’t really a short version either. There was sickness, joy, sadness, loss, hope, and so much more. With time, maybe I’ll be able to write about it all here but for now it’s just too fresh and painful.
God has been gracious through this difficult time to bless us with a very mild winter. We’ve had some snow and ice here and there but nothing that has stayed. I took the sunrise picture above on January 14th. As you can see there was no snow on the ground! The temps this month have been above freezing almost as often as they’ve been below. Usually we have at least a few days of -30F but not this year. The milkman said that people are already seeing robins and a man from church said people are tapping trees for maple syrup! Scott and the boys have seen several flocks of geese headed north, too. If God blesses us further with an early spring we’d be so very grateful. But if not we’ve made it almost all the way through January, spring is around corner.
Through the hardships of the last few months I’ve kept myself busy with crafting. I hadn’t really done any since Luke was born and I really missed it! I started on December 2nd by casting on a secret something for someone special. It’s almost finished and once it has been received I’ll share some pictures. This month I decided I wanted to learn to crochet. I had been taught how to chain as a child but never learned anything more. Then a year or two ago, my mom helped me make a dishcloth but again I didn’t pursue it. Late last year I found out about this Crochet School on Craftyminx.com. Earlier this month I finally got started learning some basic stitches and have a made a few small projects. The hot pad/pot holder has two layers and was a lot of fun to make. The crocheted edging on the knitted dishcloth was easy and quick to do. The basket is my favorite and is now home to one of my many spinning projects (which have also been sorely neglected over the last year and a half).
After going back and forth in my own mind about whether or not to read the Harry Potter series, I finally decided to take the plunge. I’ve been reading them while nursing Luke to sleep each evening. I have finished the first book and started the second. I’m enjoying them quite a bit. I actually cried on several occasions while reading the first book. I’m planning to watch each movie after reading the corresponding book. It will be interesting to see how alike/different the movies are from the books.
Crafting and reading – two of my favorite things to do! Now to make sure I keep making time for both before the wonderful craziness of spring and summer are upon us.
Spring Has Sprung!
It was a long winter. The weather was mild enough but we had our fair share of sickness, including a trip to the walk-in for Luke and one to the ER for me. We’re both doing well now, praise the Lord! From the middle of January through the whole month of February we didn’t get to church at all. Thankfully, we have made it the last 5 weeks in a row. It’s been such a blessing to get out of the house to worship and fellowship with our church family.
March was very mild in our part of the world. It was so refreshing to get outside to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. I even spent some time working in the garden with a few of the children! We got all the raised beds cleaned out and some cardboard laid down in one bed to try and kill some grass that is coming up. We bought seeds early in the month. It’s been hard holding off on getting them in some soil but I did finally get some planted last night. I planted peppers, tomatoes, some herbs, and some flowers. I’ll be planting lots more as the weeks go by.
Our garden area is fairly new. It took us several years to realize we needed to create raised beds if we were ever going to get much of a harvest. Clay soil that is often saturated all spring made it impossible to get a garden planted in a timely fashion. The garden is a work in progress. We’ll be adding two new beds where the red arrows are pointing. It’s a far cry from gardens we’ve had in the past but I’m thankful for what we do have.
I’m so excited about gardening, permaculture, and expanding our homestead that all my reading has been on these subjects. Five Acres & A Dream The Book by Leigh Tate has been very interesting. Leigh and her husband are on a small acreage in Virginia where they are creating a self-sufficient homestead. You can read more about Leigh’s adventures here, 5 Acres & A Dream The Blog. I also got a new to me copy of The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery. I bought a copy of this book nearly 20 years ago when I was still living with my parents and unmarried. I had a desire even then to live the homesteading life and be married to a farmer. That copy finally bit the dust so I picked up a used copy. I recently found Carla’s daughter, Esther and her family, on YouTube! They are creating an off-grid, permaculture homestead in Idaho. I’ve been really encouraged and motivated by what they’ve shared. The most recent book I pulled out is Integrated Forest Gardening. Scott and I plan to use permaculture methods on our 6 acres in the southern part of the state. We’ve been researching and reading up on this subject for over a year now. This year we were actually able to start putting our plan into action! I’ll share more about what we’re doing in another post.
Spring is here and I’m so ready!
Reformed Farmer's Wife 