Reading List

I've been having fun keeping a running log of the books I've been reading as well as books read aloud to the kids and most of the books the kids have been reading independently. I don't know if I've noted every single one of that last category.

We've just finished up all our American literature assigned reading. I thought that, like last year, the teens would take a break from reading. I felt guilty that I'd assigned stuff and thought I'd turned them off. But no! Hannah wants to start reading the Iliad with me as soon as she gets through the last portion of high school and graduates on May 29th. And Will has started reading from cover to cover an unabridged collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. In fact he has been staying up late reading them, so I can't get him out of bed in the morning.

I'm in the middle of reading several books at once, which unfortunately for me, means that most of them won't get finished. I tend to spread myself too thin. I have to prioritize them if I want to finish them!

No. 1 current read is a fascinating book called The Heroes of the City of Man by Peter Leithart. I really like his books. I've read his on Austen and on Shakepeare and this one is really good too. He is a Reformed Presbyterian minister and professor, I think at the University of Idaho or someplace! Anyway, this book is a Christian take on Hesiod's Greek Mythology, the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid as well as Greek Tragedy and comedy. I am thoroughly enjoying his easy writing style, his clarity and his reasonable and deep Christian perspective. A really good book so far (I'm only half way through the part on the Iliad).

No. 2 current read is Karen Edmisten's book on the rosary. Can't think of the title right off and it is in the car. I'm too lazy to run and get it. But it is my current car read, so I read it whenever I have a few minutes waiting for kids at various lessons/appts. It is a lovely, inspirational and practical approach to making the Rosary part of one's prayer life.

No. 3 current read is Heroes by Charles Kingsley. Kingsley is a Victorian Anglican cleric who also wrote the Water Babies. I really enjoyed that book. So I'm reading Heroes, which is his retelling of Greek myths when I am sleepy and don't feel up for Leithart's book. Kingsley is a lovely story teller, so gentle. Like a kind grandfather.

No. 4 current read - Prince Caspian. I started this and then put it down when I got Leithart's book in the mail. This one is kind of on the back burner for now. We don't meet for the Narnia book club until the second week of June, so I can get back to this when the other books get cleared away.

I've also been making tentative lists of read alouds for the summer in both American history and World history. The American history list is:

1. Finish the Waterways book (May)
2. Erie Canal by Harness (May)
3. Hitty (June)
4. Indian Captive (July)
5. The Light Princess by George MacDonald (cds in the car for when we drive to beach and back in July)
6. Johnny Tremain (to correspond to our trip to Boston in August)
7 Old Yeller (September. I wanted to read stuff about Texas since Hannah will be living there)
8. Books about the Old West ?????
9. Across Five Aprils (Civil War)

Becky is still really into all the American Girl books and we've been reading through those at a steady rate. She inherited them all from Hannah. She also wants to read books about 'farms.' So far we read Strawberry Girl (we are supposed to go strawberry picking this weekend!), The Wonderful Farm and now I'm reading her The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz.

Rick is reading The Hobbit to Sean. Josh - well, I can't keep up with him. But he is reading a new version of Beowulf for an online class he's going to take.

World history list:
1. Bible History (ongoing)
2. Egyptian Tales by Roger L. Green (start this month)
3. Heroes by Kingsley (end of May/June)
4. Archimedes and the Door to Science (July)
5. The Librarian Who Measured the Earth (picture book, August)
6. Cleopatra (picture book, August)
7. The Aeneid for Boys and Girls (September)
8. Famous Men of Rome (Oct. Nov)
9. Galen (can't remember the full title) (Nov)
10. Marigold Hunts book on Jesus' Life (corresponding to Advent)
11. Hunt's book on the Acts of the Apostles (January)
12. The Bronze Bow (Lent/Easter)
13. Young Folks Josephus (audo cd from Paidea Press)

So that's the plan. It has been fun coming up with it. I have no idea if we'll really stick to it!