Archives for December 2019

In 2019, I planned to try to reduce the number of unread books in my collection by 75, by participating in the Unread Shelf Project. But I had also just come off of several years doing reading challenges that by the end made me feel really restricted, and wanted freedom. So I didn’t make a plan as to how to accomplish that goal reading of books that I already owned. And in the end, I ended up with many more unread books in my collection than when I started, and was way off my goal of reading 75 already owned books.

In 2020, I want to continue participating in the Unread Shelf Project. But I recognize the need for structure in my reading life. At least since I started reading, I’ve done my best to read at least one devotional/spiritual book, one nonfiction book, and one fiction book each month. This has worked well, but has sometimes lead to me skipping legal/business/political books, as well as skipping classic literature. So this year, I’m drawing on things that have worked well for me in the past, as well as those things that I’d like to change about my reading life.

Each quarter I will read at least one classic. And each month, I’ll read one book from each of four categories: legal/business/political, nonfiction/memoir, fiction, devotional/spiritual. And the books that I’m putting into the stacks for each quarter and month are all drawn from physical books or Kindle e-books that I already own but have not yet read. I’ve put together books that I think will work well together, but am reserving the right to substitute other books or to abandon books that just aren’t working for me. And in addition to these books, I’ll continue reading a few books for fun that just strike me, and listening to audiobooks while driving. This should reduce my number of unread already owned books by at least 52 this year, which is much better than last year!

So without further ado, here is my 2020 Unread Shelf Project Reading Plan. Feel free to join in on any that are of interest to you, and tell me what you think of them!

Quarterly Classics

Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott (Already owned physical book.)

A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (Already owned physical book.)

Villette by Charlotte Bronte (Already owned physical book.)

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (Already owned physical book.)

January

Legal/Business/Politics: The Making of a Country Lawyer by Gerry Spence (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Tipperary by Frank Delaney (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: John’s Story: The Last Eyewitness by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (Already owned physical book.)

February

Legal/Business/Politics: The Power of a Positive No by William Ury (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: John by R.C. Sproul (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

March

Legal/Business/Politics: The Last Trials of Clarence Darrow by Donald McRae (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Orphan #8 by Kim van Alkenmade (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: I Survived!: 5 Bible Characters Who Survived Disasters by Deb Brammer and Art Brammer (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

April

Legal/Business/Politics: Gosnell by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Driving to Mars by William L. Fox (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Panther in the Basement by Amos Oz (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: A Heart Like His by Beth Moore (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

May

Legal/Business/Politics: Mother and Son The Respect Effect by Emerson Eggerichs (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Follow: A Simple and Profound Call to Live Like Jesus by Floyd McClung (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

June

Legal/Business/Politics: Thank You for Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Son of a Gun by Justin St. Germain (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis (Already owned physical book.)

July

Legal/Business/Politics: The Prince of the City by Fred Siegel (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Frogmen by Richard E. Hyman (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: To Siberia by Per Petterson (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Taming the Tongue by Alex Uwajeh (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

August

Legal/Business/Politics: Miracles Happen by Mary Kay Ash (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: We Seven by The Astronauts Themselves (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Come Thirsty by Max Lucado (Already owned physical book.)

September

Legal/Business/Politics: Please…Don’t Kill Me by William C. Dear and Carlton Stowers (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Daughter of Destiny by Benazir Bhutto (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: A Map of Heaven by Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

October

Legal/Business/Politics: And the Good News Is…Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side by Dana Perino (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: The Sweet Hell Inside by Edward Ball (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd (Already owned physical book.)

November

Legal/Business/Politics: Duty by Robert M. Gates (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: Lucky by Alice Sebold (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: The Ambassador’s Daughter by Pam Jenoff (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Out of Commission by Paul Chappell (Already owned Kindle e-book.)

December

Legal/Business/Politics: That Used to Be Us by Thomas L. Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum (Already owned physical book.)

Nonfiction/Memoir: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (Already owned physical book.)

Fiction: The Mermaid’s Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (Already owned physical book.)

Devotional/Spiritual: Unshakeable by Christine Caine (Already owned physical book.)