2023: Bucket List of Books and Reading Plan

 I spent a long time working on the 2022 book stats posts. 

Over the course of several days, I had time to sit, crunch numbers, and switch between different tabs on the web browser and two different Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. At the end of the sitting and thinking and comparing, I realized something.

When I read books, I don't really make a plan. Sometimes, upon finishing a book, I'll just look at what is sitting on my shelf. If I don't see anything that sounds interesting in the moment, I might browse my little notepad full of handwritten notes on book titles that have caught my interest through the years.

I'll find some likely titles (probably from under the "Children's Books" heading) and then hit the local public library website to see if any are readily available.

More often than not, though, in 2022, I pulled up the Librivox or Libby or Formed apps when I was tired of podcasts and searched for something that I could listen to while I worked on other projects. That sort of search was even more sporadic and hit-or-miss than looking for physical books.

Every once in a while, someone would mention a book and I'd decide it had to be mine. Purchase, and then read immediately, or set it on the shelf for later.

The Result...

This system resulted in a rather eclectic collection of works that I read or listened to over the year. The variety of works doesn't bother me; I like to see some (limited) diversity in my reading choices. However, as I was working on the book stats posts, I was troubled at the number of months during which I thought I hadn't read anything really great - May, September, October (excepting the oft-read "Searching for and Maintaining Peace"). I also didn't love how many books I listened to that were alright because they were available and entertaining, but were still mostly "fluff" reads. I also noticed that many of the books I listened to were not books that had made it to my notepad; they were just what happened to be free at the time I needed them.

I want more months like April. That month, I read or listened to four really great books, any of which could have taken the winner's line on the bracket. I know that not every book I read is going to be stellar. Not every book is going to wow me. Not every book is going to be my new favorite. But there are many books out there that can teach me, push me, make me think, make me feel something. Lots of books can entertain in shallow way or alleviate boredom to a certain extent. But I want to read books that I can look back on this year and say to myself, "I'm really glad I read that book."

The Plan

So, I'm going to mix things up a little bit this year. I'm going to make something of a reading plan. I don't want the whole year planned out. I just need some specific titles to focus on and a general direction to go in. I'm looking in my notepad, and anything I've already finished or am currently reading, I'm crossing out. Anything I've written down multiple times, I'm going to make a point of reading if I can. My total book number that I want to read is 50 books by the end of 2023, and I want a good number of these books to have some substance to them or to come from my "to-read" list.

Multiples in the List

- Something by St. Alphonsus de Liguori

- Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg Address

- Pope JPII's "Letter to Women"

- "Shadows and Images" by Meriol Trevor

- "The King of Ireland's Son" by Padraic Collum

- "Egg and Spoon" by G. Maguire

- "Made for Love" by Fr. Michael Schmitz

- "The Message Behind the Movie - Reboot" - D. Beaumont

- "My Sisters the Saints" by Colleen Carroll Campbell

- "Treasure in Clay" by Fulton Sheen

- "The Spear" by Louis de Wohl

- "Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power" by Josef Pieper

- "The Sound of Beauty" by Michael Kurek

- "The Relevance of the Stars" by Lorenzo Albacete

There were more multiples than I expected. Oh well!

Targeted Reads

There are some specific books I'd like to read this year.

- "The Betrothed" by Alessandro Manzoni

- "Three to Get Married" by Fulton Sheen

- "Love and Responsibility" by Karol Wojtyla

- "Planet Narnia" by Michael Ward

And some books that are already on my shelf and/or being read now:

- "Theology of Home" (I and II) by Noelle Mering

- "The Maid of Orleans" by Sven Stolpe

- "The Good, the Messy, and the Beautiful" by Edward and Beth Sri

- "Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton" by Joseph Pearce

- "Louis and Zelie: The Holy Parents of Saint Therese" by GinaMarie Tennant

- "The Prayers of Jane Austen" by Jane Austen

- "With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life" edited by Rachel Bulman

- "Tales of Faith: A Guide to Sharing the Gospel through Literature" by Holly Ordway

- "Signs of Life" by Scott Hahn

- "The Heart of Perfection" by Colleen Carroll Campbell

If I try to tackle the list as it is here, I have over half my books picked out for the rest of the year. There's no guarantee I'll get to them all (highly unlikely, in fact), and doubtful that I'll seriously consider all of them...but I feel excited to have a plan written out. God is good! And now I should probably go and get some reading in!