I’m taking up the Headmistresses excellent Worthwhile Reading Challenge to read 12 quality books in 2009. That 888 challenge flopped. I read some, maybe half, of those on the list, but not all. And the Presidential Project is stalled. It’s all Van Buren’s fault. I don’t know if he was painfully dull in real life, but the bio I started was. My local library has a pretty skimpy bio of Van Buren’s presidential term only, so I’ll have to do an inter-library loan to get a better one. I’m really bad about recording my books, so I have no idea how many I read last year, and only a vague recollection of what I read. I need to be more like Anne and her book organized self. I think I can probably manage to remember 12. I mainly went browsing on my bookshelves.
Anyway, from my bookshelf, my mom’s bookshelf and a couple from the library, in no particular order. What are the causes of erectile dysfunction? Men who super cialis professional have been suffering inappropriate erections since a long time. These herbal supplements can rejuvenate the health which has damaged enough due to excessive self-stimulation. cialis online mastercard This medication has been prepared with a significant ingredient sildenafil citrate, which rapidly lessens the side effects of viagra sales in canada kamagra are diarrhea, mild head ache, facial flushing, etc. There are many pills on the market for erectile dysfunction but the one which we must use and get viagra online which is put everything back on track for you. I’ll just read as the Spirit moves:
- How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler–I’ll probably read this first. Obviously.
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville–A book that I’ve always wanted to read, but never got around to it.
- The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan– I’ve started this a couple of times, never got more than 1/3 of the way through.
- The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome by Susan Bauer–from my mom’s bookshelf.
- The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor— this was a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. I’ve picked at it, but haven’t made a real dent. It may end up being my car book. Short stories are good for those vehicular delays.
- The Education of Henry Adams— from the for sale shelves of my local library.
- Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards– I’ve had since I stumbled upon the 300th Birthday conference put on by Desiring God in Minnesota. I was there for a MOPS convention. The MOPS convention was fun, but the Desiring God book sale was the best part of the trip.
- Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney– I got this with a gift card a friend gave me for my birthday last year. It’s bilingual, in case I want to be authentic (and confused.) Poetry ought to be read aloud, I think. My kid’s have read the Mary Pope Osbourne version of Beowulf, I wonder what they’ll think of the “original.”
- The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton– I inherited this from one of my dearest friends who entered a convent 3 days before my wedding.
- The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis–also a gift my Sister Mary Sarah.
- Some non-fiction science or mathmatic book– taking a tip from the Headmistress’s December offering.
- Martin Van Buren: The Romantic Age of American Politics by John Niven. I really should have finished our 8th president in 08. Sigh.
6 responses to “Quality over Quantity”
We are a not-for-profit educational organization, founded by Mortimer Adler.
We have recently made an exciting discovery–three years after writing the wonderfully expanded third edition of How to Read a Book, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren made a series of thirteen 14-minute videos on the art of reading. The videos were produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica. For reasons unknown, sometime after their original publication, these videos were lost and are now available.
For those of you who teach, this is great for the classroom.
I cannot over exaggerate how instructive these programs are–we are so sure that you will agree, if you are not completely satisfied, we will refund your donation.
Please go here to see a clip and learn more:
http://www.thegreatideas.org/HowToReadABook.htm
And for help on Moby-Dick, check out powermobydick.com, a free, full-text annotation of the book.
Good luck with your reading project and Happy New Year!
good luck with your reading quest!
i’m always sorry at the end of a year that i didn’t read more.
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Meg, thanks for the link. I need a physical book that I can dog-ear and mark up with a pencil and shove in my bag. Can you do that with Kindle?
Brooke, I’m always sorry I didn’t read better at the end of the year. That’s what appeals to me about this particular challenge. I read a lot of spy novels this year, which were tons of fun and probably not all that beneficial. If I can get a better balance this year, I’ll be happy.
Hello, I love your list. I read á Kempis and Adler last year. Adler is pretty hard going, but I’m glad I made it through. When I reviewed him on my blog I started getting mail from the Max Weisman guy (first post) and had to go in and change my controls on the comments so I wouldn’t receive anymore annoying ads.
I’m hoping to do Beowulf this year!
I started Adler today, just the first chapter. It seems a cross between a text book and a self-help book. Should be interesting.
If you do Beowulf, be sure to read it aloud. I’m convinced all epic poetry should be read aloud. Also, be sure to read it in public places, it makes it that much more fun.