It’s been a good reading year, with books ranging from very short (The Gifts of Reading and Make Your Bed) to intimidatingly long (The Betrothed and The Count of Monte Cristo). Here’s my list with the star ratings I gave them on Goodreads:
- The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Tim Keller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Mother Culture by Karen Andreola ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Leper of Saint Giles by Ellis Peters (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Chestry Oak by Kate Seredy (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (read and listened to this audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- You Who? by Rachel Jankovic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Madam, Will You Talk by Mary Stewart (audiobook)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Little Duke by Charlotte M. Yonge (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Story of the Greeks by H. A. Guerber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (read-aloud – we actually have the one illustrated by Ernest Shephard) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- John Amos Comenius: A Visionary Reformer of Schools by David I. Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Areopagitica by John Milton ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Plan Your Year by Pam Barnhill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- 1493 for Young People by Charles C. Mann ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages by Hodges ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Story of the Romans by H. A. Guerber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Wildflowers and Stories Behind Their Names by Phyllis S. Busch ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Elfin Knight (Book 2 of The Faerie Queene) by Edmund Spenser ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- GraceLaced by Ruth Chou Simons ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- An Experiment in Criticism by C. S. Lewis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Emma by Jane Austen (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Anne of Windy Poplars by L. M. Montgomery (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Tempest by William Shakespeare (read along with this audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Phantastes by George MacDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney (audiobook and illustrated edition) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by R. C. Sproul (Morning Time read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Forty Autumns by Nina Willner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Volume 1: Matthew by J. C. Ryle (we have this lovely set) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Adventures of Marco Polo by Russell Freedman (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- In Memoriam: A Tribute to Charlotte Mason by members of the Parents’ National Education Union ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Learning Contentment by Nancy Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington by Robert Bookhiser ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Virgin in the Ice by Ellis Peters (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The History of Christmas by Heather Lefebvre (Morning Time read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenney Overton (read-aloud) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Wild Bells: A Literary Advent by Missy Andrews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Make Your Bed by Admiral William H. McRaven (audiobook) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Gifts of Reading by Robert Macfarlane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highlighting some favorites…
Best Novel: Cry, the Beloved Country – from my Goodreads review: Beautifully and poetically written, with perhaps the most realistic, most truly human characters I have ever encountered in a novel, in all their struggles, sorrows, hopes, and fears.
Best History: I have to mention three books in this category because they were all so good.
- The Boys in the Boat – from Goodreads: I have over nine pages of quotes in my commonplace from The Boys in the Boat, which is surprising for a book which I’d heard of but likely wouldn’t have read if it hadn’t been for my book club. Humility, teamwork, perseverance – so many analogies to draw between the lessons those boys learned and my own life. I listened to this on Overdrive through my library, and Edward Herrmann’s narration was excellent and really helped me get into the story. I’m glad to have the hard copy for quotes and photos, though.
- 1493 for Young People – my review is here.
- Forty Autumns – my Goodreads review: I started this last year and got waylaid, but it seemed like an especially timely read now with the recent anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I really appreciated how the author wove historical events and her family’s story together, showing both a big picture and a personal side. It was a good history refresher for me, as I recognized many names and events from news reports, but was too young at the time to understand the significance of them. And I thought of our quiet, kind neighbor when I was a girl who had escaped from East Germany, and realized what courage that must have taken.
Read-Alouds: Once again, I can’t narrow it down to one, as I’ve really enjoyed reading the Anne books to my kids this year. It’s been good to see how much my boys have enjoyed them. We are now over halfway through Anne’s House of Dreams. ♥
Education: I didn’t read – or at least finish – a lot in the way of educational philosophy this year, but I did finally finish In Memoriam which lends itself well to reading a bit here and there. I hope to read more in 2020 – it’s one of my 5×5 categories for the Schole Sisters’ reading challenge.
Christian: Gay Girl, Good God is not only a powerful testimony of God’s grace, but gives wise advice about interacting with those in the LGBTQ community. It is also one of the most God-glorifying books I’ve ever read. Hearing Jackie Hill Perry reading it made it even more meaningful.
Mystery/Thriller: I enjoyed several of Mary Stewart’s books and a couple of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, but the best one was Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers (I found the audiobook on audiobooks.com). The discussions on the Literary Life Podcast really helped me understand and get more out of it. They’ve got a great line-up of books to discuss in 2020 – I highly recommend listening in if you are a book-lover, even if you don’t normally do podcasts. 🙂
