January Reading Challenge

Last year I so loved the Brighter Winter Reading Challenge. Not only was it ia fun way to add more reading to my life in mid-winter, but it encouraged me to spend less time on a screen. 

I like that the Brighter Winter program doesn't not choose specific books, but has a wide variety of challenges that can fit the books I wanted to read. Here is a list of the books I read for the challenges in January. One book could be used for two challenges.

Disclaimers: This post contains affiliate links. And please don't compare your amount of reading to mine. I'm a fast reader, and I probably don't do something that you do so I have more time to read. My reading has increased since I don't have Ed to talk to.

Read a book based on its cover: I never choose a book by the cover; almost all the books I read were receomended to me by friends. But I went to a used bookstore and picked up Between You and Me: Coffesions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris, a book I knew nothing about. Since the cover said it was a memior by a long-time editor, I thought it might be interested to a grammar nerd like me. It was. Except for a chapter on profanity and a few pages about her transgender brother, I throughly enjoyed this glimpse into a magazine editor's world.

Read a book with nonhuman characters/ Read a book set in winter: I chose to listen to the audio of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. The reader did such an excellent job that though I've read this book more than once, he made me want to listen to the entire series.

Read a poetry book for at least 20 minutes: I chose a book of poetry by Annie Johnson Flint. I struggle to enjoy poetry but knowing about the suffering in Flint's life made these poems meaningful.

Read a book with a three-word title: In A Different Beautiful by Courtney Westlake, she tells about her daughter's severe skin condition. Her example of surrender and acceptance in the face of grief was inspiring.

Read a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit/ Read by a fire: Elizabeth Goudge's novels so beautifully describe England and the old homes of the Elliot family that I always long to walk into her stories. I read The Heart of the Family which was the third in the Elliot series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two books, but it is always fun to revisit characters that you have fallen in love with.

Read a book published in 2020/Read a memoir: The Boy in the Window by Bobby D. Eaton is a sobering yet ultimately victorious story of a young boy growing up in a sharecropping home amidst poverty, abuse, and neglect. The love of neighbors changed the entire family and the forgiveness and healing that the author found in Christ is soul-strengthening.

Read a book inspired by a true story/Read whilte waiting for an appointment: Some of the ladies at our church are getting together to discuss The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield so I knew I needed to read this book this month. Rosaria is a former lesbian who found Christ because a pastor invited her to dinner, and she is now passionant about opening her home up to others. This book stepped all over my toes.

Read a classic: Authors like Tolkein and Lewis gave George MacDonald the credit for showing them how fantasy can describe truth. I read The Wise Woman which is a collection of short stories. The long sentences and fluffy descriptions are examples of the Victorian writing style, but some of his word pictures will stay with me.

Read a collection of short stories: I inhaled The Living of These Day over a weekend. I'll share more about this book in a future post.

Read a book with a blue cover/ Read a new-to-you middle grade book: Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose is a verse novel about the Lost Colony in Roanoke, North Carolina. It didn't feel realistic to me for the events playing out as the author imagined them, but it was a fun way to learn some history.

Read a book outside your genre comfort zone: Since I don't like to give negative reviews, I won't mention the title of the book I read for this challenge as it wasn't worth reading in my opinion.

If you did the Brighter Winter Challenge in January, I'd love to hear about your favorite book.