In November I began my year-end push to whittle down my Currently Reading list on Goodreads prior to the New Year. I finished several books I had started during the summer but hadn’t touched for a while. I also finished some slow reads I’d been doing for school. I even found time to slip in a couple quick reads for book clubs just for fun. At the end of the month my total stood at 170 for the year. I likely will not hit 200 this year, but if the finishing trend continues, I should get close.
Book Groups & Other Read Alongs
Homer, The Iliad. CiRCE Apprenticeship. Read four books at a time, beginning in July, ending in December. Normally I read it right before we discuss it the third week of the month, but after November’s discussion, I just had to finish. This book is a classic for a reason: you know what happens, but you can read it over and over again, and each time, it only gets better.
Charles Portis, True Grit. Local book group. We saw the movie in the theatre several years ago, and it was excellent. Then I read it slowly along with Close Reads in 2018, and it was excellent. Then a new-to-me local bookgroup discussed it in November, and I read it quickly a few days before we discussed it; once again, it was excellent. Fresh, invigorating, lively—great book if you are looking for diversion during times of COVID.
Paul Tough, Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why. NYT/Now Read This book club October 2020. A summary of current thinking on what education must do to help children succeed. Very interesting read alongside Norms and Nobility by David Hicks which I am reading for the CiRCE Apprenticeship.
Daniel Nieh, Beijing Payback. NYT/Now Read This book club August 2020. The audio version of this is excellent. It would have gotten half as many stars had I just read it myself. Great choice for a road trip, albeit not appropriate for children.
Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go. Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club October 2020. This has been on my to-be-read list forever. Now I can say I’ve read it. It was…strange. I did watch the movie trailer and am intrigued. Usually I am not one to watch movies based on books, but this movie might put a bit more life into the book.
Tayari Jones, Silver Sparrow. Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club November 2020. Two girls share the same father who is leading dual lives. One girl knows about the other, the other does not. At some point, their paths are inevitably going to cross. One of my favorite books of the year. Tayari Jones came to the book club discussion. It’s totally worth the book club monthly fee just to hear that discussion—one of the best author interviews ever.
Brit Bennet, The Vanishing Half. Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club flight pick November 2020. Twin girls grow up in a black community where everyone has light skin. When the girls go to the big city to find jobs, one of them discovers she can pass as white and takes on a new identity, writing off her family and her past. The book follows the two women and their daughters. One of my favorite books of the year.
Personal Selections
Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge. I love Elizabeth Strout’s work. I read this—no, savored it—over several months. Each chapter was a separate short story loosely connected to the whole, well suited to a leisurely read. I am looking forward to reading the sequel, Olive, Again.
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind. Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club October 2019. I didn’t start this until last June. I had so looked forward to reading it. You know, one of those books you hoard because you’re sure it’s going to be so good. It wasn’t. The book was well-written, but the plot never grabbed me, and after a while, it got repetitious. Mysterious meetings, illicit love affairs, black eyes, murders. Enough.
With the Kids
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Morning Time read-aloud. I had never read Sherlock Holmes before. Fun book. Very plot driven. But not as good as Agatha Christie.
David V. Hicks and C. Scot Hicks, The Lawgivers: The Parallel Lives of Numa Pompilius and Lycurgus of Sparta. Morning Time read-aloud. I’ve read a lot of Plutarch with the kids over the years. Generally it’s dry, and even I sometimes struggle to figure out what is going on. [And yes, we’ve used Anne White’s study guides.] This translation was a breath of fresh air. We had many discussions about things these men did and whether or not that would work in our society (or whether we would like living under such laws). Plutarch’s compare/contrast at the end between the two lives was particularly interesting. With Ambleside Online, they study the lives individually, never in pairs. Going forward, we’ll be reading the next two lives—Solon and Poplicola—directly from the Dryden translation.
Augustine of Hippo, Confessions of St. Augustine. Read along with Ben for a local homeschool class he took titled “Roman and Early Medieval History and Literature.” Great book for teens seeing Augustine struggle with sin and wrestle with ideas of religion prior to his conversion. Likewise, great book for parents seeing his mother pray for her wayward son with faith that he would someday return.
Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson. With Ben for Ambleside Online Year 11. A clear explanation of economics from a perspective that endorses and embraces capitalism. If you want to understand why many think capitalism is good for society, this would be a good place to start.
Lynda Mullaly Hunt, Fish in a Tree. BraveWriter Arrow October 2020. Middle school novel about a girl who has dyslexia and the teacher who is able to help her.
Joseph Bruchac, Children of the Longhouse. BraveWriter Arrow November 2020. Historical fiction about Native Americans prior to the arrival of Europeans.