One year. Fifty books. That’s the absolute bare bones of my
reading plan for 2014.
In the past, my reading has been purely seat-of-the-pants.
Cover, title, recommendation… whatever catches my eye I jump right in to. But
I’ve been inspired by other writers and readers who actually formulate a plan
for their reading for the year. I’ve embraced this idea for two reasons.
- A plan of attack means it could actually happen in an orderly fashion. Reading time is precious. I don’t want to waste it. J
- The plan gives me permission to read books other than writing craft books and books in my genre. Intellectually, I know it’s good to read history and psychology and missionary books, but I’ve been so intent on studying my genre that I couldn’t convince myself to read anything else.
For me, the Bible is a given, so I’ve not included it on my
list.
So, here goes. My already-been-tweaked-several-times-and-that’s-why-it’s-just-now-coming-out-in-the-middle-of-January
reading list for 2014 ~
·
2 R.M. Ballantyne books
o
The Dog
Crusoe
o
The Lonely Island
·
2 Jane Austen novels (possibly all six) to
discuss from the perspective of motherhood
o
Pride and
Prejudice
o
Sense and
Sensibility
·
6 contemporary romance, including Love Inspired
{absolute minimum!}
o
Millie’s
Treasure, Kathleen Y’Barbo
o
Smitten,
Colleen Coble, et.al. {Just need to finish it.}
o
Nicholas Sparks?
·
2 historical romance {absolute minimum!}
o
Rebellious
Heart, Jody Hedlund
o
Love’s
Awakening, Laura Frantz
·
1 legal suspense – Dead Lawyers Tell No Tales, Randy Singer
·
5 favorite fiction authors
o
Cynthia Ruchti’s new book coming in May
o
Lady in
Waiting, Susan Meissner
o
Not in the
Heart, Chris Fabry
·
3 new fiction authors {absolute minimum!}
o
The Bone
Box by Bob Hostetler
o
Blackberry
Winter by Sarah Jio
o
Richard Mabry
·
8 young adult
o
Gunner’s
Run and Kiriath’s Quest by Rick
Barry
o
The Legend
of Annie Murphy by Frank Peretti
o
The Caroline books from American Girl {It’s
always good to keep up with what your young adults are reading. J}
·
4 writing craft books {absolute minimum!}
o
Stein on
Writing, Sol Stein
o
The Moral
Premise, Stanley Williams
o
Self-Editing
for Fiction Writers, Renni Browne & Dave King {just need to finish this
one}
o
Revision
& Self-Editing, James Scott Bell {need to finish this one as well}
·
3 assigned missionary books from our church
conference
·
2 creative non-fiction history
o
“They Have
Killed Papa Dead!” The Road to Ford’s Theatre, Abraham Lincoln’s Murder, and
the Rage for Vengeance, Anthony S. Pitch
o
Rush
Revere and the Brave Pilgrims, Rush Limbaugh
·
1 creative non-fiction/memoir
o
Gifted
Hands, Dr. Ben Carson
·
5 non-fiction {absolute minimum!}
o
Ragged Hope,
Cynthia Ruchti
o
You’re
Made for a God-sized Dream, Holley Gerth
o
When Godly
People Do Ungodly Things, Beth Moore
o
Large
Family Logistics, Kim Brenneman
·
1 marketing book – Rob Eager?
·
1 uncategorized – The Book of Useless
Information – Doesn’t that just sound intriguing? J
·
2-3 Christmas books
o
The
Christmas Candle, Max Lucado
o
The Best
Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson
·
1 daily devotional – Praying God’s Word Day by Day, Beth Moore
·
An untold number of children’s picture books. J
I’ve allowed myself some wiggle room in the numbers to allow
for decisions along the way, although I would love to read far more than fifty.
If a fantastic book comes available in May, I don’t want to have to put it off
until the New Year.
I’m also allowing that I may have to extend myself some
grace. I have six children, I homeschool, we’re building our own home, and my
husband is contemplating a Ph.D. program. Whew!
It’s not too late to make your own reading plan. Keep track
of what you read through the year, and let’s meet back here in December.
Meghan Carver is a 2013 ACFW Genesis semi-finalist and the author of several articles and short stories. After achieving a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University and Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Millikin University and completing a brief stint in immigration law, Meghan heard God calling her to be at home. Now homeschooling her six children with her college professor husband, Meghan has returned to her first love of writing. She blogs about homeschooling and homemaking at www.MeghanCarver.blogspot.com.
This author is humbled (and grateful) to be among your choices. Twice! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I'll use your list as checkpoint as there were a few on it that I really want to read. The number you planned to read was quite daunting. I do track my reading so I went back and counted and came up with 54 and that doesn't count the few titles I reread simply because I love them so much. So it made your plan seem quite doable. I have a general to read list, but not a reading plan. Thanks for presenting this idea to me.
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