Sisters Spring Reading Challenge - With Duet Books!

Charity and I have enjoyed discussing various reading challenges that we'd like to do in 2024. We are both looking forward to reading some of the unread books on our TBR and have the goal of stretching ourselves. 

(Charity gave me Milton's Paradise Lost for Christmas, and we are going to attempt to read it together. Are we crazy? Talk about out of my comfort zone!) 

If you are new here, every season (spring, summer, fall), my sister Charity and I come up with several reading challenges. These are just-for-fun challenges that we plan to do ourselves, and we welcome you to join us. No prizes. No sign-up forms. No pressure. Just the fun of reading together. We don't require any specific titles and keep the categories vague so you can read the books you want to read, while hopefully challenging you (and us) in our reading life.

This year we plan to have several duet reading challenges each season.

For a duet challenge, we will read two books that harmonize with each other. This doesn't mean two books in the same series or sequels, but two books that are different in some way, yet harmonize. 

I have often have the happy coincidence that two books I'm reading harmonize. Maybe one book references a book I just read or lends insight into a topic that I was reading about in another book. I say my books start "talking to each other," and my reading pleasure is enhanced.

So this year, we are going to attempt to increase our reading pleasure by purposely choosing books that harmonize. You can even turn these book duets into trios by reading three books that harmonize. 

For this spring, we have two book duets, one other book challenge, a Bible reading challenge, and a book related activity.

Sisters' Spring Reading Challenge

1. Duet Challenge: Read two books that are by the same author but in a different genre. 

Some  talented authors wrote in various forms, such as fiction and nonfiction or prose and poetry. Reading more than one type of their writing can give insight into their writing skill and process. 

Some author examples are Katrina Hoover Lee, Andrew Peterson, Mark Twain, Dorothy Sayers, G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Wendell Berry, and E. B. White, but there are many more. Pick your favorite author and see if they have written books in more than one genre. You may find that your favorite novelist also wrote essays. Or that a poet you enjoy also wrote history. 

2. Duet Challenge: Read two books connected to the same author.

This could be done in various ways. You could choose a biography of the author, a book that was influenced by the author, or a book by an author that influenced him or her.

For example: Let's take Jane Austen. You could read a classic Austen novel and a biography of Austen.

Or you could read a book that was influenced by Jane Austen such as A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz. (Not from a Christian perspective.)

Or read a book by one of the authors that influenced Jane Austen, such as Frances Burney or Samuel Johnson.

Writers often write about the authors who have influenced them, so there are many directions that this challenge could go. If you read a book and the author references another book that you haven't read, find that book. 

I recently read A Chance in the World by Steve Pemberton, a true story about a boy who edured an abusive foster home. He told how books, especially Watership Down by Richard Adams, gave him the courage to hold onto hope. Now I want to read Watership Down and find out why the book was so meaningful to Pemberton. This is just one example of how one book author could connect to another book.

I can't wait to hear what you all read for this challenge.

3. Read a book that celebrates beauty.

You can take this challenge many different directions. It could be a book with a beautiful cover, a book of poetry, a book that encourages beauty in homemaking, nature, creativty, art, or words, or even a book that promotes inner beauty.

Some examples: 

A Home in Bloom by Christie Purifoy,

Adorned by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

A Garden to Keep by Jamie Langston Turner

Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

4. Take some notes every day (or most days, we aren’t legalistic here) about your Bible reading. 

This can be just sentence or two of your thoughts on the Bible passage or a verse that stood out. I know that I get much more out of my Bible reading when I read with a pen and journal, but I've fallen out of the habit. I'm excited to start again.

5. Place a book in a free library box. 

Many communities have little boxes in parks or other public places for books that you want to discard. I have a stack of books that I was going to take to the Goodwill, but instead, I'm looking forward to visiting some of the free library boxes several parks and stocking some good books.

 If your community doesn’t have one, then find another way to give away a book. Some libraries and coffee shops have free shelves.

I'm excited about these challenges, even if they are a bit stretching.

What are you looking forward to reading this spring?