Summer Reading Challenge

Even though I'm pretty sure summer is never really going to arrive here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, it's time for the Summer Reading Challenge. As always, the challenges don't correspond precisely with the seasons, but don't you all sort of think of summer as being the months of June, July, and August? I know I do.

I'll briefly post the reasoning and "rules" behind the challenge. The purpose is to encourage "intentional" reading--that is, to have a plan and stick to it, more or less (admittedly, my effort is usually in the less category, by which I mean the sticking-to, not the amount of reading). I have found since I began doing these seasonal challenges that I read a lot more than I used to, which is good, because I have a lot of catching up to do. The rules, such as they are, are simple: Copy the picture above, find some books you want to read over the next three months, post the picture and the list at your blog, and link to this post so others can join the fun. Then, read away! Oh, and post a link to your own entry in the comments section of this post. That way I can compile a list of participants. Last time we had 21 or 22 people, with only one guy (my son), but I think we might actually have two individuals of the male persuasion this time around (at least).

You don't have to do this, but it's always nice to see an update around the middle of the challenge, and then a recap at the end.

So, without further ado, here's my Summer Challenge list--note that I have many fewer books listed than usual. This is because I always end up changing so many that I decided to just list the ones I know I want (or have) to read this season, and then add others as they...shall we say...arrive mysteriously from the UPS man :-).

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose.

10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help by Benjamin Wiker.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman

A Conservative History of the American Left by Daniel J. Flynn

A Lifting Up for the Downcast by William Bridge (one of the Puritan Reading Challenge books for the summer)

Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks (also Puritan Reading Challenge material)

Mortification Of Sin by John Owen (Puritan Reading Challenge)

The Yanks are Coming: The United States in the First World War by Albert Marrin--I'm about halfway through this book from one of my favorite historical authors.

Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucaultby Stephen Hicks

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

I also plan to read a book by Willa Cather--either Death Comes for the Archbishop, My Antonia, or Oh! Pioneers. Any suggestions? It would be for the 20th C literature class next year, so mostly 12th graders will be reading it.

Happy Reading!