This is more of a list of what I finished reading in May than one of what I read in May. A lot of these were read over the term or the entire school year along with my kids. Here they are in the order I finished them.
Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Read-along with Joe this school year. I’ve never read it as I am not a fan of science fiction but rather enjoyed this little work.
John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men The Bookening podcast discussed this and I did not agree with their conclusions.
Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach Never read it before – loved it!
J.R.R. Tolkien tr, Beowulf I saw so many seeds of what became The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings in this reading (not my first).
C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy Have been working through this series since the beginning of the year.
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry Read-along with Joe for science. This got great reviews, but it turned out to be not as impressive as it sounded.
John Muir, A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf Muir’s journal of a walk taken from Kentucky south through Florida shortly after the Civil War. Fascinating as I am familiar with much of that terrain.
Roald Dahl, The BFG Never read it before – adored it! Read-aloud with the kids.
Margaret Atwood, Cat’s Eye Guardian selection for April. I’ve loved Atwood’s stories but hadn’t read any of her books other than The Handmaid’s Tale. I need to read more of her books.
Ralph Moody, Father and I Were Ranchers An old favorite I’ve listened to many times in the car but never actually read. Featured on the Close Reads podcast. I have plans to continue slowly (re-)reading the series in the coming months.
C. Silvester Horne, David Livingstone, Man of Prayer and Action Another read-along for school – geography selection with Joe.
Rachel Held Evans, Faith Unraveled: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Answer Questions Decided to read this after her untimely death in order to learn what all the fuss was about. Helped me better understand the anti-Evangelical perspective so often referenced in political discussions on Facebook.
C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew Another book in the series finished.
Shakespeare, Macbeth Studied this with the boys for school. Also featured on The Play’s the Thing podcast from the Circe Institute.
Gordon Korman, Restart Waverly library book club selection for June.
Pam Barnhill, Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace The beginning of this had some great points, but I had already figured out much of what was covered in the rest of the book. Great resource for homeschooling moms, though – something I wish I’d had when I started out.
Gretchen Rubin, Outer Order, Inner Peace: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness I’ve loved Rubin’s other books, but this (beyond the nine promises offered in the introduction) had very little new to say. If clutter is an issue and you haven’t a clue, it might be helpful. But she didn’t have much of a solution for most of my clutter issues (the stacks of things I use every day and thus need to have readily available but are still stacks of things I have to perpetually look at).
John S.C. Abbott, David Crockett: His Life and Adventures Another read-along for school – a biography for Ambleside Year 10 with Ben.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Read-along for school – literature for Ambleside Year 10 with Ben.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter Read-along for school – literature for Ambleside Year 10 with Ben.
Frederick Marryat, The Children of the New Forest A read-aloud with Caroline for school – literature for Ambleside Year 3. One of my very favorite literature selections in the early years. If you haven’t read this, you should.
Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Read-along for school – literature with Joe. It was a slog, but we made it!
Richard Halliburton, The Complete Book of Marvels Read-along for school – geography with Joe. Second time through this book and it has not lost any of its charm. Looking forward to revisiting it in a couple years with Caroline. Highly recommended if you can get your hands on a copy.
Earl Swift, The Big Roads: the Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighway Great read about the history of interstate highways in the United States going back to what roads were like when cars first came along. Especially fun if you’re a fan of road trips, as I am.
Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life Read-along for school – geography for Ambleside Year 10 with Ben.
John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra Muir spent a summer in the Sierra’s helping herd sheep as an excuse to do nature observation. What it would have been like to roam the Sierra’s before civilization came along!
C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle Read-along with the Read Aloud Revival. Read the series aloud to Ben when he started school and have listened to the audio version in the car with the kids in times past. Really enjoyed this simple, quiet re-reading of the series over several months.
Charles Bernard Nordhoff, Falcons of France Great novel recounting the adventures of a US World War I fighter pilot serving in the French forces prior to America entering the war. Read aloud to the kids.
Jonathan Rogers, The World According to Narnia I love the Chronicles of Narnia, but Roger’s book made me love it on a completely different level. Highly recommended if you’re a fan or have always wondered what the fuss was all about.
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea Discussed on The Bookening podcast. I have yet to listen to those episodes but greatly enjoyed this little book.
David Mendelsohn, An Odyssey: A Father, a Son and an Epic Part literary criticism, part family memoir. Even if you’ve never read Homer’s Odyssey, there is lots to be gleaned from this treasure.