What I'm Reading - January Edition

One of my goals I noted in my beginning of the year daybooks for the past few years was to keep a record of what I read. So, here is a start~

January:

I finished The Brothers Karamazov (this remarkable translation)!! This was a re-read for me, although I only vaguely remember the ending from when I read it last. Such an incredible book. No character in here is a caricature. I do not doubt it will continue to be amongst just about every list of the greatest novels ever written. My dad gave this version to me last year for my birthday.

I devoured Among Others by Jo Walton, a Christmas gift from my lovely sister-in-law.  It was delightful, refreshing, had a lovely depth while still being an easy book to read. I couldn't put it down.

Started The Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides. I am enjoying this more and more as I get deeper into it. I wish I'd been better at keeping a pencil handy to notate in this one.  About half-way through now.

For a break from the more intense reading, I picked up some Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad, passed on to me by another sister-in-law, which was great fun. In each pregnancy I've found I get to a point where I need more of the fun and lightweight reading, and this fit the bill nicely, not intense at all, not dumb, not annoying. After finishing this one, I decided I needed more of this fare for the next few months, so will be picking up more Pratchett, some Douglas Adams, and a few others along that line.

Also on the to-read list right now: I would really love to finally read For the Life of the World, by Fr. Alexander Schmemann.  I have heard many wonderful things about this book, and recently saw an incredible CBS documentary on Fr. Alexander's life and impact, which made me cry. In the spiritual reading category as well, I've been dying to get my hands on a copy of Everyday Saints.

In the literature/novels category, I just ordered Hannah Coulter, for my next installment of Wendell Berry reading, and Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, to get a little deeper into the world of Douglas Adams.  I guess I have a taste for fantasy/sci fi these days!  I think reading Among Others may have something to do with it.

And last but not least, I am curious to read Brideshead Revisited, it's popped up in several reading lists of interest to me lately. There wasn't a copy at my favorite used bookstore I visited this weekend, but hopefully I can get to the library sometime soon.

So that's the January update... let's see how far I get this year, with baby number four arriving soon, and homeschooling, and working and trying to fit in a little crocheting and all.