One of the things I love about my job is the number of things I have to read in order to (try to!) stay ahead of the students. It means blowing through a silly number of books in the course of a year (this year it was 39 texts in Omnibus plus some fun essays). But when the summer comes and some the external accountability goes away, not surprisingly, the pace slackens profoundly, and the focus shifts to one of personal leisure and enjoyment.
C.S. Lewis taught, in essence, that a liberal arts education trains students in how to spend their discretionary time well; it trains you for what to do with your day off. This is on full display in the summer. In addition to a mountain of logistical planning for school next year, I plan to clean my house, pull a lot of weeds, and do a lot of reading…of my own choosing (but with some admitted help from others). So while it may not be impressive, I thought I’d share with you my summer reading list. (Subject to expansion, but not shrinkage). Enjoy.
Bible
This year, I’ve decided to read through the New Testament four times. That’s once a quarter. This morning I read Ephesians, and I’m on track to finish my second round this month. So this summer, I’ll read through the New Testament again, finishing by September 30. It works out to about three chapters a day, in case you’re wondering.
Fiction
Some of these books I’ve read, others are firsts for me. But good fiction is always in order.
First, your illustrious school board (of which I’m a part) has decided – for a host of reasons – that we’d do well to read The Chronicles of Narnia. Since we meet monthly, we plan to tick off one book a month and then talk about it at our meetings. So for the next three months, we’ll be reading…
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The Magician’s Nephew
- The Horse and His Boy
Additionally, I’ve just started The Door Before, which is the prequel to the 100 Cupboards series, also by N.D. Wilson. So I’ll finish that sooner than later, God willing.
Beyond this, I aim to read the third book in the Outlaws of Time Series, by N.D. Wilson. It’s entitled The Last of the Lost Boys.
You may have noticed how these are all modern youth fiction. There are a few reasons for this, but chief among them is that I’m a dad, and I want to cultivate the right sorts of loves in my children. I love the imagination and lessons that all these books promote, and I want to talk about them with my kids. If they see me reading them, hear me talking about them, and discuss them with me, I’m hoping it’ll whet their appetites to spend their days off craving good books.
If I finish these, any other fiction reading is just icing.
Nonfiction
With the elders of Trinity Evangel Church, we continue to plod through Antifragile, which is a very thought-provoking book. It’s not a Christian book per se, though a number of the principles promoted in the book are fitting for those who want to raise sturdy children or shepherd sturdy sheep. And it’s about the right sort of rough handling that builds character-muscle.
I simply love John Piper’s The Swans Are Not Silent series. It currently has seven volumes. I read the first five within weeks of receiving them. I haven’t been able to get to volumes six and seven as yet, but I aim to do so this summer. They are…
- Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis
- A Camaraderie of Confidence: The Fruit of Unfailing Faith in the Lives of Charles Spurgeon, George Müller, and Hudson Taylor
In each of the books, Piper follows a consistent layout: he takes three historical figures and connects them with the thread of some spiritual lesson. That overview is the first chapter. What follows is a biographical snippet of each of the three saints, with particular attention on the theme-thread he’s tugging through each life. I enjoy the style, Piper’s heart, and the accessible introduction to a variety of figures from Church history. So check them out!
That’s it. But subject to change, as I said. Once more…
- The New Testament
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The Magician’s Nephew
- The Horse and His Boy
- The Door Before
- The Last of the Lost Boys
- Antifragile
- Swans Series Book 6
- Swans Series Book 7
I hope that offers you some encouragement too plan your own reading, rather than winging it.
And do have an excellent summer, everyone.
Risus est bellum!
Jonathan