Spring Reading Thing Wrap-Up

Whew! It’s been a busy weekend, with out-of-town family activities both days. I wasn’t able to write my Spring Reading Thing Wrap Up until this evening, but (drum roll please) here it is, a day late.

I set modest goals. Here’s the report on what I set out to read:

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. I loved this “children’s book” with themes relevant to readers of all ages. Review here.
2. Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross. Technically this doesn’t fulfill my goal to read “one of the theological works suggested in Sacred Pathways.” It wasn’t suggested in that book. But it counts as a thought-provoking theological read. Review here. I also read some in John Wesley’s Renew My Heart and completed Roy Hession’s Calvary Road, both of which discuss holiness. Dark Night is my favorite of the three (what does that say about me?).
3. My third goal was “30 minutes of sustained reading aloud to my children each day.” We succeeded most, but not all, days. We’ve enjoyed several excellent chapter books, and numerous picture books, together.
4. Fourth goal was to finish Isaiah, which I did. Reflections here.
5. Children of Men. I liked this one, my first P.D. James read. Review here.

Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not?

Yes, I did.

Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?

I revised my theological reading goal to make it more general.

What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Least favorite? Why?

I read a number of other books in addition to those on this list. But of the ones listed here, my favorite would be a toss-up between Dark Night of the Soul and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Very different books, both very strong in their category. My least favorite was John Wesley’s Plain Account of Christian Perfection — not listed here, because I couldn’t get through it. I’m not sure why. It just wasn’t the season for it yet, I guess.

Did you discover a new author or genre this spring? Did you love them? Not love them?

Trenton Lee Stewart was new to me. I look forward to introducing my children to his books in a few years!

Did you learn something new because of Spring Reading Thing 2009 — something about reading, or yourself, or a topic you read about?

Sure. It would be too much to try and summarize here, though. I’ll leave my reviews to speak to that question.

What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

It was low pressure. Spring is a busy time; it takes a lot of energy to wind down the school year, but I was glad for an opportunity to focus and set some goals — then cross them off the list. It felt good.

That’s about the size of it. I’m linking to the round-up over at Callapidder Days and looking forward to seeing how others have done in their spring reading. Best wishes for summer full of superb books.