VT Christian Reading Challenge discussion

February was a good month for me! I made it through five books.

Light of the Last - book published in 2016

Piety: The Heartbeat of Reformed Theology - a book with 100 pages or less

Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health - a self-improvement book. This book was so good! I'm pretty sure it will make my top ten list of 2016.

Paleo for Beginners: Essentials to Get Started - a book about food

Trapped in Hitler's Hell: A Young Jewish Girl Discovers the Messiah's Faithfulness in the Midst of the Holocaust - a book about the Second World War

I didn't get much reading done this month compared to Jan (15 books)

I started A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorhead
And I couldn't finish it I found it so difficult to follow.

But I enjoyed 5 things every Christian needs to grow by rc sproul

Sutton was a mediocre book :)

I didn't get much reading done this month compared to Jan (15 books)

I started A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorhead
And I couldn't finish it I found it so difficult to follow.

But I enjoyed 5 things every Christian needs to grow by rc sproul

Sutton was a mediocre book :)

I didn't get much reading done this month compared to Jan (15 books)

I started A Train in Winter - Caroline Moorhead
And I couldn't finish it I found it so difficult to follow.

But I enjoyed 5 things every Christian needs to grow by rc sproul

Sutton was a mediocre book :)

Four books ccompleted:
√ When Breath Becomes Air published 2016 ~ Highly recommend this current bestseller (would also qualify as NYTimes list) Not a big fan of audiobooks - but in this case, hearing a voice added to the "enfleshment" of Paul and his story.
√ Clinging: The Experience Of Prayer a book on prayer ( I have read this 3 x -at least! Still mining the riches of this slim volume... Classic wisdom from a humble contemporary writer.)
√ Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World cited it as book targeted for opposite gender. C.C. James sheds a different light on familiar biblical characters and events, revealing the broad impact of patriarchy on men and all aspects of culture. I "gulp" her books, but need time to digest....
√ Fly While You Still Have Wings: And Other Lessons My Resilient Mother Taught Me book by woman conference speaker. Joyce Rupp is a speaker, writer and retreat leader ~ better known in Catholic circles. I chose this book to companion me as I reflected on the anniversary of my parents death.
March goal: Lighten up! Try a little 'diiversionary fiction

I read nine books in February for this challenge. My favorites were:

#30 worldview: Think Biblically!: Recovering a Christian Worldview by John F. MacArthur Jr.
#85 ugly cover: A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by W. Phillip Keller
#83 city: Cows on the Campus: Williamsburg in Bygone Days by Parke Rouse Jr.
#55 first-time author: Unintended Target by D.L. Wood


My least favorite was for #39 country not your own: The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith. It was boring, and I didn't like the narrator.

My plans for March are to continue to knock off as many for this challenge as I can, while also reading books for other challenges I'm participating in through another group (most of the books I read can be used for several challenges). I'm currently reading nine books for this challenge. I started two more at the beginning of January but haven't read any from them since January; I don't know when I'll get in the mood to get back to those.

I made it through 14

Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates 03. A classic novel (audio)
Hidden Faces: Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels 07. A book with the word "gospel" in the title or subtitle
The Eternal Feminine 09. A book more than 100 years old
Night Flight 10. A book for children
The Pilgrim's Progress 18. A book written by an Anglican (audio)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 20. A book by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien (read with audio)
He Is There and He Is Not Silent 36. A book with 100 pages or less
Taken 37. A book with a one-word title
The Atonement Child 49. A book about abortion
The Fruitful Wife 66. A book about marriage
Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness 77. A book about psychology
Why Trust the Bible? 82. A book about the Bible
He Is There and He Is Not Silent 93. A book by Francis Schaeffer (read with audio)
Who Moved My Cheese? 106. A book about business (read with audio)

I currently have 8 active toward this. (2 are audio)

Favorite: Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness
Least Fav: He Is There and He Is Not Silent or Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates

https://joyfilledbloggers.wordpress.c...

I'm doing well... got through 3, but am currently reading 2, so I'm still on track.

I really liked The Parable Of Joy - Reflections On The Wisdom Of The Book Of John, by Michael Card, and I'm now reading Luke: The Gospel of Amazement, also by him.

I was planning on going straight through the categories, as kind of an extra challenge, but at this point I've acquired so many books from other categories that I've decided it doesn't make sense to put them off anymore. It's still a good challenge!

I read 7 books last month. Two of the books were audio books.

I started a new job in February, so the pace of my reading slowed down a bit. Fortunately I had read enough in January that I'm still on track for making my goal for the year. I only finished three books in Feb (though I just finished another one yesterday - so that was mostly a February book...) I rated them all close to the same, so it's hard to pick a favorite and least favorite, but here goes!

February Favorite: The Girl on the Train (#11 mystery or detective novel) - I think one of the reasons this was my favorite is because it was fiction. With everything going on this month I found fiction to be a good escape. This book was a pleasant, easy read - I read the whole thing on a snowy long weekend.

February Least Favorite: Why Not Me? (#52 Book written by someone of a different ethnicity than you) - I think I was a bit let down by this because I wanted more. I like Mindy as an actress so much that I had really high hopes for this book. I did enjoy listening it to on audio, and there were chapters that I enjoyed, but overall I was underwhelmed. I want to go back to read her first book to see how it compares. (I also wondered if I were a bit weary of non-fiction books, particularly to listening to them on audio. But since then I started another non-fiction on audio and I'm engrossed, so it's not just the medium informing my review.)

My goals for March - stay on track on a book a week to keep up with my 52 book goal for 2016. Also, choose fiction this month. I've read a lot of non-fiction recently, but fiction tends to be my favorite. I don't want this reading challenge to feel like a chore, so I need to pick a couple books from the list I know I will love. (I say this as another non-fiction sits on my nightstand. Once finished, it will be all fiction, all the time!)

I have to add I'm loving this group. I've never spent this much time in my adult (non academic) life reading mindfully and reflecting on what I've read. I find I'm really enjoying it!

I'm on book 4 so I'm on track for my goal! I really loved Edward Welch's book When People are Big and God is Small. Currently reading The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson.

February wasn't a great month for me. I finished three books and started two more, which I am now almost finished. I listened to The Knowledge of the Holy on audio book and I don't recommend that. I didn't have time to read it slower and digest it when listening to it. I would have read this book in tiny portions if I would have been reading it in print. Some parts of it were not new to me, but other parts deserved a lot more digestion which I could not give it.

I also read two fiction books, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and The Bands of Mourning, both of which were good. I am enjoying my re-reading of Harry Potter. The series by Brandon Sanderson is not my favorite one by him. I have liked his other series a lot better but I will still go ahead and finish this series by him when the last book comes out. Categories were: a book on theology, a novel set in another country, and a book published in 2016.

I am currently listening to Follow Me: A Call to Die. A Call to Live. on audio and that is going well. I am about 5/7 of the way through. Category is: Title from a Bible Verse.

I am also reading All the Light We Cannot See for my Pulitzer prize winner. I am enjoying it at almost half way, although it can be a bit slow moving.