In 2017, my resolutions included reading through the entire Bible as well as reading a Shakespeare play every month. The first goal of those two was met. Claire and I worked together on that project, greatly stimulated both by a Facebook group committed to the same activity and by Alexander Scourby’s monumental narration of the Bible.
But I fell a bit short of the mark in the Shakespeare resolution. Indeed, instead of 12, I only read 8 of the Bard’s plays. However, I’m fine with that for I appreciate this simple fact. Even when I don’t make it all the way to a certain goal, making the resolution (combined, of course, with subsequent effort and the occasional evaluation of my progress) gets me much further than if I had never set the goal in the first place.
So, what about 2018? Well, I am again getting very specific this time around. For instance, I have compiled a list of books that I have read before but which I know would be of immense profit to read again. I’m calling it the “Return to the Heights” Booklist. It contains some pretty daunting challenges (Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky, Shelby Foote’s 3-volume history of the Civil War) but also a lot of exciting and pleasurable stuff like Seabiscuit: An American Legend, The Hunt for Red October, Prisoner of Zenda, and Tarka the Otter).
Also, for most people, reading success is profoundly helped when they can find extra motivation, accountability, and assistance. It's certainly true for Claire and I. Examples? A) Our participation in the Notting Hill Napoleons has tremendously boosted our reading of classic novels (for the last 26 years!). B) The Book It! program of Vital Signs Ministries has spurred the reading of important non-fiction titles for all those involved. C) Last year’s reading though the Bible was marvelously aided by Claire, the Facebook group, and those wonderful Scourby CDs. D) In the last few years, we have twice created reading groups through our church to tackle the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series. All of these things have impressed us with how much more faithful people are to the task -- and how much more they enjoy the ripple effects of reading the literature -- when there is accountability and shared insight, a sense of purpose and achievement, encouragement and conviviality.
And so, Claire and I are going to continue developing programs and parties to get people into reading!
What does mean for 2018? Well, of course, the Notting Hill Napoleons will continue. And Vital Signs Ministries will be reviving the Book It! program and looking at ways we can extend it to those outside our physical area — Skype participation, live chat connections, etc. We are also considering the creation of a closed Facebook group to aid in stimulation, accountability, direction, and the sheer fun that can come through reading things in common. And finally, we are launching the Wild Knight Literary Society, another book club focusing on classic novels but one which will only meet every quarter. (For information on that club, please note this post.)
If you are interested in joining a closed Facebook group designed to promote reading, and/or if you would like announcements of the titles coming up in the Book It! discussion series, and/or if you think the Wild Knight group might be something you’d like to pursue, please let us know.
