The 14 x 14 in 2014 Reading Challenge

I love challenges, but it's been awhile since I really took one on.  Then my mother and I were talking about our reading piles for next year, and the idea was born for a 14 x 14 in 2014 challenge.  This is wildly ambitious and might just be impossible (that is 196 books, or about 2 days to read each book, and in 2013 I only read about 85 books), but we are both motivated rather than discouraged by Big Goals.

So the challenge details:


  • Pick 14 categories for your reading
  • Try to read 14 books in each category
Simple!

The categories I've selected, and what I've read so far in each category this year:

  1. Religion, Ethics, Spirituality, and Philosophy
    1. What Money Can't Buy: the Moral Limits of Markets by Michael Sandel
    2. The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person by Harold Kushner
    3. Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis
    4. How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy by Hugh Prather *(double dipper)
    5. Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction by Thomas R. Flynn
    6. When Spiritual but Not Religious Is Not Enough by Lillian Daniel
    7. Plato at the Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won't Go Away by Rebecca Goldstein
    8. Serving With Grace: Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice by Erik Walker Wikstrom (double dipper)
    9. Growing Souls: experiments in contemplative youth ministry by Mark Yaconelli (double dipper)
    10. Liberating Hope: Daring to Renew the Mainline Church by Michael S. Piazza and Cameron B. Trimble (double dipper)
    11. Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square by Paul Rasor (double dipper)
    12. The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossman
    13. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas
  2. Work-Related
    1. Serving With Grace: Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice by Erik Walker Wikstrom (double dipper)
    2. Leadership in Congregations by Richard Bass (editor)
    3. Teaching From the Heart: Theology and Educational Method by Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore
    4. Growing Souls: experiments in contemplative youth ministry by Mark Yaconelli (double dipper)
    5. Liberating Hope: Daring to Renew the Mainline Church by Michael S. Piazza and Cameron B. Trimble (double dipper)
    6. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer (* double dipper)
    7. Hope on a Tightrope by Dr. Cornel West
    8. The Artist's Way for Parents by Julia Cameron
    9. Sticky Church by Larry Osborne
    10. Reclaiming Prophetic Witness: Liberal Religion in the Public Square by Paul Rasor (double dipper)
    11. Universalists and Unitarians in America: A People's History by John A. Buehrens (double dipper)
    12. The Lives of Margaret Fuller: A Biography by John Matteson (triple dipper)
    13. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown (double dipper)
    14. The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson (double dipper)
  3. Poetry
    1. Sands of the Well by Denise Levertov
    2. Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
    3. Rumi by Rumi
    4. The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath * (double dipper)
    5. The Collected Poems by May Sarton
    6. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
    7. Dancing with Joy: 99 Poems edited by Roger Housden
    8. The Crooked Inheritance by Marge Piercy (double dipper)
    9. Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden
    10. Risking Everything: 110 Poems of Love and Revelation edited by Roger Housden
    11. Ten Poems to Set You Free by Roger Housden
    12. A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (finished after 2014)
  4. Self-Improvement And Lifestyle
    1. The Superior Wife Syndrome: Why Women Do Everything So Well and Why -- For the Sake of Our Marriages -- We've Got to Stop by Carin Rubenstein
    2. Hands Free Mama: A Guide to Putting Down the Phone, Burning the To Do List, and Letting Go of Perfection to Grasp What Really Matters! by Rachel Macy Stafford
    3. How to Live in the World and Still Be Happy by Hugh Prather *(double dipper)
    4. Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider
    5. The Backyard Cow: An Introductory Guide to Keeping a Productive Family Cow by Sue Weaver
    6. Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming by Amy Seidl *(double dipper)
    7. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer (* double dipper)
    8. The Weekend Homesteader: A Twelve-Month Guide to Self-Sufficiency by Anna Ness
    9. Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has Time by Brigid Shulte (Tripple Dipper)
    10. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown (double dipper)
    11. The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson (double dipper)
    12. Backyard Bounty by Linda Gilkeson (Finished after 2014)
  5. Parenting
    1. How to Talk So Teens Will Listen, And Listen So Teens Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
    2. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein (double dipper)
    3. Mindful Parenting by Kirsten Race, PhD
    4. Before They're Gone: A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks by Michael Lanza *(double dipper)
    5. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenting by Jennifer Senior
    6. How We Love Our Kids: The Five Love Styles of Parenting by Milan and Kay Yerkovich
    7. Fed Up With Frenzy: Slow Parenting in a Fast Moving World by Susan Sachs Lipman
    8. How to Be the Parent You Always Wanted to Be by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
    9. Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink by Katrina Alcorn (double dipper)
    10. The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell
    11. Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has Time by Brigid Shulte (Tripple Dipper)
    12. Slow Family Living by Bernadette Noll
    13. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray (double dipper)
    14. The Sand Bucket List: 366 Things to Do With Your Kids Before They Grow Up by David Hoffman
  6. My Favorite Detectives
    1. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith *(double dipper)
    2. Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter
    3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle * (double dipper)
    4. The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire #1) by Craig Johnson
    5. The Maltese Falcon by Dasheill Hammett * (tripple dipper) 
    6. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
    7. Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie
    8. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
    9. The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley (double dipper)
    10. Grave Secrets by Kathy Reichs
  7. Science and Psychology
    1. Back to Normal by Enrico Gnaulati, PhD 
    2. Situations Matter by Sam Sommers
    3. Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas
    4. Before They're Gone: A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks by Michael Lanza *(double dipper)
    5. Ungifted: Intelligence Redifined: The Truth About Talent, Practice, Creativity, and the Many Paths to Greatness by Scott Barry Kaufman
    6. Finding Higher Ground: Adaptation in the Age of Warming by Amy Seidl *(double dipper)
    7. The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim (double dipper)
    8. Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has Time by Brigid Shulte (Tripple Dipper)
    9. Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (Double dipper)
    10. The Edge of the Sky: All You Need to Know About the All-There-Is by Roberto Trotta
    11. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray (double dipper)
  8. History
    1. American Nations by Colin Woodard
    2. Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition by Owen Beattie and John Geiger
    3. A History of US: Making Thirteen Colonies by Joy Hakim
    4. A History of US: From Colonies to Country by Joy Hakim
    5. A History of US: The New Nation by Joy Hakim
    6. Story of the World: Volume One: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer
    7. A History of Us: Liberty for All? by Joy Hakim
    8. The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way by Joy Hakim (double dipper)
    9. Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent: The Importance of Everything and Other Lessons from Darwin's Lost Notebooks by Lyanda Lynn Haupt (Double dipper)
    10. The Monuments Men by Robert M Edsel (Double dipper)
    11. An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
    12. Universalists and Unitarians in America: A People's History by John A. Buehrens (double dipper)
    13. The Lives of Margaret Fuller: A Biography by John Matteson (triple dipper)
    14. The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley (double dipper)
  9. Books to Read Before You Die/LifeTime Reading Plan
    1. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (*double dipper)
    2. Very Good, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse (it's not on other people's lists, but it's been on my TBR list since I was in college and I finally read it)
    3. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell *(double dipper)
    4. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton *(double dipper)
    5. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle * (double dipper)
    6. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (* Tripple! dipper)
    7. The Maltese Falcon by Dasheill Hammett * (tripple dipper) 
    8. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein (double dipper)
    9. The Years by Virginia Woolf (double dipper)
    10. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (double dipper)
    11. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Triple Dipper)
  1. Children's Lit
    1. Squire by Tamora Pierce
    2. Lady Knight by Tamora Pierce
    3. The Burning Bridge by John Flanagan
    4. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
    5. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
    6. A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean
    7. Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
    8. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
    9. Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
    10. Shadow of the Serpent by Rick Riordan
    11. Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker
    12. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
    13. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery by Maryrose Wood
    14. The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
  2. Books Made Into Movies
    1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    2. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
    3. Horns by Joe Hill
    4. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (*double dipper)
    5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
    6. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell *(double dipper)
    7. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
    8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
    9. The Maltese Falcon by Dasheill Hammett * (tripple dipper)
    10.   Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
    11. The Monuments Men by Robert M Edsel (Double dipper)
    12. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Triple Dipper)
    13. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
  3. Recreational Reading
    1. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
    2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
    3. Allegiant  by Veronica Roth
    4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
    5. The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan
    6. The Sorcerer of the North by John Flanagan
    7. The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
    8. Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan
    9. The Kings of Clonmel by John Flanagan
    10. Halt's Peril by John Flanagan
    11. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
  4.  Around the World/Book Lust to Go
    1. Book Lust To Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers by Nancy Pearl
    2. Three Apples Fell From Heaven by Micheline Aharonian Marcom (Armenia)
    3. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana) *(double dipper)
    4. Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw: Travels in Search of Canada by Will Ferguson (Canada)
    5. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Denmark)
    6. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (England) (* Tripple! dipper)
    7. Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto by Maile Chapman (Finland)
    8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Guernsey)
    9. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee (Hong Kong)
    10. Caspian Rain by Gina B. Nahai (Iran)
14.  Women's Studies
    1.  The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
    2. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton *(double dipper)
    3. Bossypants by Tina Fey
    4. The Collected Poems by Sylvia Plath * (double dipper)
    5. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (* Tripple! dipper)
    6. Three Lives by Gertrude Stein (double dipper)
    7. The Years by Virginia Woolf (double dipper)
    8. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein (double dipper)
    9. Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink by Katrina Alcorn (double dipper)
    10. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (double dipper)
    11. The Crooked Inheritance by Marge Piercy (double dipper)
    12. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Triple Dipper)
    13. The Lives of Margaret Fuller: A Biography by John Matteson (triple dipper)

2 comments: