Sabbaticals are time to renew. Of course, I have time out of the classroom to pursue scholarship, but I also have time to slow down and pursue other interests. Last semester as I was approaching my sabbatical I kept wishing for more time to read, and from this my “unofficial sabbatical project” was born. I am going to try to read 100 books selected by my friends and people I respect. The project officially started on “Reading Day” of Fall Semester (12/15/15). I thought that was appropriate! I will end on 8/23/16 (the day before the Fall 2016 semester begins). I’ve been compiling my list, and I am really excited about reading through all of the recommendations. This blog is a place to reflect on what I am reading and share my list with those who are interested. Because most people suggested more than one book, my list is much longer than 100 books. Each month, in a short post, I will provide a list of the books that I have read. Here are the books I read in the first month of my project (12/15/15- 1/17/16):
Mere Christianity *** C.S. Lewis
Selected Poems *** EE Cummings
Bright Evening Star *** Madeline L’Engle
So Long a Letter **** Mariama Ba
The Nightingale **** Kristin Hannah
The Wolves are Back *** Jean Craighead George
Till We Have Faces *** C.S. Lewis
The Program * Suzanne Young
Every Soul a Star **** Wendy Maas
The Gospel of Ruth *** Carolyn Custis James
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla
*** K.A. Applegate
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
**** Shirley Jackson
Eleanor and Park **** Rainbow Rowell
Telling Secrets *** Frederick Buechner
What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
*** Randall Munroe
Tattoos on the Heart ***** Gregory Boyle
Landmarks **** Robert MacFarlane
The Garbage Eaters *** Brett Foster
The Book of Strange New Things *** Michael Faber
Silence **** Shusaku Endo
Brooklyn on Fire *** Lawrence Levy
My rating System:
* Please don’t read this
** At least I’m not embarrassed that I read it
*** I learned something or I enjoyed reading or both
**** I really enjoyed reading it and continued to think about it long after finishing
***** I couldn’t put it down, and I’m telling everyone I see to read it
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