Jan 1

Jan 1 Reading Goals: 2016

So it’s been awhile since my last post and I thought that I would post a little something here at the beginning of 2016.

Most of y’all should know that I started a new job last August which really kept me busy over the last five months. Things will continue to be busy this Spring so I still won’t be posting too much here but I hope to write a little more regularly than I did this past fall.

All that being said, I wanted to write a post about my reading goals for 2016. The new teaching gig slowed down my normal reading pace in 2015 and will most likely do so again in 2016 up until May when school gets out. Knowing this, I have created some reading goals that I think are attainable in 2016 even though it’ll be a little less than years past.

Bible Reading

I plan to follow a reading plan through the Bible in 2016. The reading plan was shared by a friend on Facebook a couple days ago and it is organized a little differently than others that I have seen in the past. There are readings each day from “The Law,” “The Prophets,” “The Writings,” & “The New Testament.” It’s also a Monday through Friday reading plan which works a little better for me because weekends aren’t always a known commodity.

Non-Fiction Reading

The New Testament and the People of God by: N.T. Wright

I’ve been working my way (off and on) slowly through this work since early last year. I’m about halfway through it at this point and I’m going to try and finish it up in the next couple months. It’s fascinating thus far.

Economics in One Lesson by: Henry Hazlitt

I’m also about halfway through this book. I started it a few months ago and plan to finish in the next couple weeks. It is a great introduction to basic economics and I have been gleaning a lot from it to use as material with my economics students.

Heroes of the City of Man by: Peter Leithart

I teach a lot of ancient literature to my students and Leithart is a wonderful literary critic. I plan to read through this book over the next several months in conjunction with the works of literature it covers (see “Literature Reading”)

Solomon Among the Postmoderns by: Peter Leithart

This isn’t the first Leithart book on this list and it won’t be the last. I really enjoy Leithart’s philosophical musings as well as his literary criticism ( see my review of Traces of the Trinity). I’m really looking forward to digging into this one!

The Discarded Image by: C.S. Lewis

I’ve mentioned before how C.S. Lewis’ day job was that of a medieval scholar. This book is Lewis’ introduction to medieval life and thought. Seeing as I teach medieval history and literature now, I thought it would serve me well to be steeped in Lewis’ thoughts on the matter!

Choice: Cooperation, Enterprise, and Human Action by: Robert Murphy

I’ve really enjoyed studying and teaching economics over the past year and one of my goals is to further my knowledge in this area. Robert Murphy is a renowned economist and Choice is a book that he has written to introduce readers to Ludwig von Mises’ seminal work Human Action.

How to Read a Book by: Mortimer Adler

This is a book that I’ve started a few times but never quite finished. It is a classic work on how readers should approach literature. This is on my summer reading list.

A History of Western Philosophy and Theology by: John Frame

A couple of months ago I got an email from my elder at church asking if I was interested in going through this book together. WTSbooks had 50% off sale at the time which served as the impetus for the idea. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity to grab the book!

Ascent to Love by: Peter Leithart

A book that has been on my bucket list for several years now has been Dante’s Divine Comedy. I’ve never read it and I really want to. That said, it’s not the most accessible work to the modern mind. Thankfully, Leithart has written a commentary on it that I plan to read in conjunction with the Divine Comedy.

Resurrection and Moral Order by: Oliver O’DonovanTheogony

I’ve wanted to read O’Donovan for about a year now but haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve decided that this is the year. From what I understand, this book is about how the realm of ethics is influenced by the reality of the resurrection.

Between Babel and Beast by: Peter Leithart

This book is supposed to be a sort of companion volume to Defending Constantine, which I read last year. This volume explores some concepts that I am interested in. Specifically, it is a Biblical criticism of the American empire.