Why you should take on a reading challenge in 2011

Do you have an embarrassingly long to-read list?
But you only slowly pick books off it?

Take on a reading challenge and change that.

It forces you be intentional about:
     what you need to read;
     what you want to read;
     what is reasonable to read in your time frame.

• If you want to read more widely,
  pick one book each from several genres.
• If you want to complete a series,
  choose to read those books exclusively in a row.
• If you want to focus on spiritual books (or whatever) for a season,
  make a list of the top 3 or 4 most beneficial books you can find on that subject.

Then commit to a goal on your own, or join an on-line challenge like this one that Katrina sets up each fall and spring, or a monthly one like What’s on Your Nightstand? by Jennifer.

We’re completing our Fall 2010 challenge today, but we’ll probably start our next challenge on March 20, 2011, and end on June 21.

Whether you want to read one book or a dozen, setting a goal is a more sure way of making it happen. And telling others adds an extra layer of accountability for you to follow through.

For Fall into Reading 2010, I actually enjoyed reading more fiction than normal. I read then listened to The Help, and found a new favorite author, my friend Melanie Dickerson, whose has just signed with Zondervan to publish her second medieval novel next winter based on Beauty and the Beast.

The sleeper book for reading and for action was Coffee Shop Conversations about making spiritual small talk. I got it free on my Kindle, knowing nothing about it, and it was fantastic. (Now I need to actually DO it better, not just READ about it. Look for my book review on Wednesday…)

I was comforted the most by A Shelter in the Time of Storm, and was slightly disappointed the most by The Grace of God (the book, not the actual grace!) because it was a tad redundant, although still good.

Humility and Story of a Soul helped me decide on humility (again) as one of my spiritual resolutions for 2011.

I’m still in the middle of my last two books but since I added at least two extra books to my original list as the season went on, I’m okay with that.

Here’s what I read:

Fiction

• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
       It’s good. It’s Lewis. Read it either before or after you see the movie. (And do see the movie!)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
       It lives up to its hype. Go ahead and read it yourself.
• Emma by Jane Austen
       If you love Jane Austen or think you’d like to, read Pride & Prejudice, then read Emma.
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
       A delightful little story (and much cleaner than the movie).
• The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
       A sweet medieval romance novel loosely based on Sleeping Beauty.

Spiritual living

• A Shelter in the Time of Storm by Paul David Tripp
       A whole book of meditations on Psalm 27. And by Paul David Tripp!
• Coffee Shop Conversations by Dale and Jonalyn Fincher
       Practical examples/reasons for making your small talk count. Excellent!
• The Grace of God by Andy Stanley
     I wanted more, but what was here was fine.
• Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson
       This will inspire you to be more daring. I always need a push.
• Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose
       An autobiography about her imprisonment during World War II. (Warning: It might make you feel like a wimp. Darlene was very courageous.)
• Won’t Let Go Unless You Bless Me by Andrée Seu
       Andrée is my favorite columnist at World magazine. She always makes me think. (Still reading this one.)

Parenting

• Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp
       This was a re-read of a re-read. Yeah, it’s that good. About parenting teens.
• Good and Angry by Scott Turansky
       Another re-read. (See? I have to re-read my parenting books over and over.)

Classics

• The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul
       Maybe not officially a classic yet, but it will be. It’s worth your time. I’m finishing it this week with the Reading Classics Together group and Tim Challies. 
• Humility by Andrew Murray
       Yes, it’s humbling. Murray makes such a strong argument about our underestimation of the importance of humility that I’m lingering here.
• Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux 
       An inspirational autobiography by a young nun in the 1800’s.

Business/Economics

• Rework by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson
       I actually read this in less than an hour. Short chapters with drawings. A business Proverbs, of sorts.

* * *

I still have an embarrassingly long to-read list, but it’s shorter than it used to be. (Thanks to Jenna for the picture of my books! Isn’t she creative?)

What’s a favorite book you read this fall?

Related:

• Top 10 Life-Changing Books
• Spring Reading Thing 2010
• Top 9 Books of 2009
• Fall into Reading 2009
• Top 8 (or so) Books of 2008