My initial Summer Reading list was twenty titles long, most of which were classics.
Then I had the corn-planting epiphany and realized I was ridiculous.
But this is a battle for me because I just love to read so much. I could easily take to the lounger with my lemonade in the sunshine and ignore my family for hours on end. No bueno. So, I needed a way to focus and trim down my list. Plus, I needed a way to ensure these books were worth my time. So I researched–top novels of all time. Best reads of the 20th century. You name it, I read up on it. But unfortunately this just made my list longer and longer. I began creating my “holds” list at the library. But even as I began reading the first two “classics,” I didn’t feel they were worth my time. So, the question of focus surfaces again:
How do I focus on what’s really worth reading??
Insert my brilliant husband with one brilliant book recommendation …
Besides the Bible
That’s the name of the book: Besides the Bible. It’s a great compilation of 100 books (fiction and non-fiction) that have, should, or will influence Christian culture. Now, of course this is written by mere mortals, and you may be surprised by what made the list and what didn’t (CS Lewis, AW Tozer, Andrew Murray, and Henry Nouwen are all absent. What?!). But the key is, whether or not I agree with every inclusion or exclusion, these books have shaped Christian culture and I want to peruse their pages and figure out why. Plus, it’s kind of fun to go through the list and check which ones you’ve read. (I was surprised by how few I had read, so I’m starting with some must-reads I somehow missed growing up.)
So, if you’re looking for a fabulous resource to help guide your summer reading list (for many many summers!), this is a great place to start. My list is short but the books aren’t–two of them are over 600 pages each. This should get me through many tall glasses of strawberry lemonade:
The Brothers K by David James Duncan
Pursuing Justice by Ken Wytsma
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton (the kindle edition is free!)
There are a few others I’ve been slowly traveling through for awhile: Love-Powered Parenting, The Mind of Christ, Bringing Up Girls, the 1,000 Gifts Devotional, and re-reading Screwtape Letters.
Your turn: What’s on your Summer Reading List? Please share! And, with all the thousands of books you could be reading right now, thanks for being here and reading this. With love, Kari
4 thoughts on “Summer Reading List (Plus a great go-to resource for recommendations)”
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“Spiritual Secret of Hudson Taylor” Dr. Taylor (read this almost every year)
“Unfinished” R Stearns
“Intercessor” N Grubb (read this almost every year)
“Truth and Grace Memory Book” T Ascol
“The Autobiography of George Muller”
Thanks (to you and your husband) for the recommendations. 🙂
AND “The Core” L Bortins
A much smaller, much more manageable and significantly less overwhelming resource comparable to the S W Bauer book on your list. Someday I will have the attention span for Bauer’s, but for now, “The Core” suits our family well for long-term vision and day-to-day logistics.
I read the Poisonwood Bible many years ago, and remember being disappointed that it had a very anti-Christian message. I don’t remember the specifcs but was surprised to see it on your list.
See, I loved The Poisonwood Bible. I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to read it. In fact, I’ve read 4 of the books on this list. It looks as if you’ll have a well read summer!