People tell me every year that they love to see my list, so I shall continue the tradition! Here's last year's, which also has links to previous years.
A note: I gave brief explanations when possible. I highlighted in green books that I especially loved, highlighted in blue books that my kids especially enjoyed, and highlighted in red books I do not recommend. Books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**).
The Bible: the whole thing, twice for the New Testament (still following this reading plan)
Christian Non-Fiction
**On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books
**M is for Mama: A Rebellion against Mediocre Motherhood
The Secular Creed
More than a Carpenter
The Meaning of Marriage
Partners in the Gospel (devotional for pastors' and elders' wives)
Habits of the Household
Parenting Teens with Love and Logic
Philippians commentary by Ralph Martin
Teaching Psalms, Volume 1 by Christopher Ash
**The Astronaut's Wife (in progress)
Christian Fiction
Ben-Hur (recommended by Levi, and I loved it, too)
Revival Season
The Robe
Adult Nonfiction
A Needle in the Right Hand of God (about the Bayeux Tapestry)
**The Plantagenets by Dan Jones
Brain-Body Parenting
**Just Mercy
**Mrs. Sherlock Holmes (about a lady detective in the early 20th century)
**Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance
Woodsong (Gary Paulson on his participation in the Iditarod)
**Becoming (Michelle Obama)
The Whole-Brain Child (re-read)
Adult Fiction
The Book Woman and the Book Woman's Daughter (first is recommended, second is not)
**The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (Agatha Christie)
**Murder at the Vicarage (Agatha Christie)
Ready Player One
**Little Fires Everywhere
Rules of Civility
Hamnet
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
**Anxious People
The Fifth Mountain (about the prophet Elijah)
**Crocodile on the Sandbank
The Wisdom of Father Brown (Chesterton)
Books for Tweens/Teens (Levi's read most of these)
**Long Way Down (mature themes for older teens)
Ranger's Apprentice: Royal Ranger series (five books)
Brotherband Chronicles series (four books; Levi also recommends)
**A Wizard of Earthsea (Levi is into the third book of the series, but I don't think I'll catch up before the new year!)
Bamboo People
Pathfinder series (three books)
Mark of the Thief series (three books)
Beowulf
Mindwar series (three books, especially good for Christian teen boys)
Tommysaurus Rex and Cardboard (graphic novels)
Treasure Tracks
Freak the Mighty (would've been for younger grades in another time, but nowadays you'd need to be old enough to understand how treatment of mentally disabled children has changed)
Monster Blood Tattoo series (three books; good story, but so long)
Clues to the Universe
A Drop of Hope
Enola Holmes #1 (Levi did not like this, but I did. Probably better for girls.)
Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (seven books; some I loved, some I tolerated)
The Ramayana
Beyonders series (three books)
Skyward series (three books so far)
You Bring the Distant Near (more geared towards teen girls)
Peter and the Starcatchers series (I read the first one last year, the next two this year)
The Door Before and The Chestnut King (100 Cupboards series)
**The Song that Moves the Sun (slightly related to the medieval era)
*The Squire's Tale series (I've read the first two of four books; the first seems middle-grade appropriate, but the themes get more mature in the second book.)
*The Once and Future King (in progress)
The Shattered Castle (fifth book in the Ascendance series)
Middle Grade Novels (ages 9-12, depending on kid and book)
*starred books are historical fiction from the late ancient OR medieval periods
*Fire, Bed and Bone
*Crispin series by Avi (three books)
*The Knight's Tales series (four books)
The Misewa Saga (three books; the first is great, the second is okay, the third I didn't like at all)
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (deals heavily with disabilities of different sorts)
Brixton Brothers detective mysteries (we read four of them)
Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch (five books...not my cup of tea, but I persevered)
*Midnight Magic series by Avi
Tiger Boy
A Long Walk to Water
Wing and Claw series (three books)
Candymakers series (two books)
A Duet for Home
Pi in the Sky (recommended by Levi)
Much Ado about Baseball
The Magician's Elephant (recommended by Silas)
Mr. Lemoncello's Very First Game
Archer's Quest
A Little Taste of Poison (sequel to A Pocketful of Murder I read last year)
*Ides of April and Beyond the Desert Gate
*The Book of Boy
The Dragon and the Stone
*Detectives in Togas
Starfire (Guardian Herd series #1)
*The Thieves of Ostia
Inkling (recommended by Levi)
**Mockingbird
*To Ride the Gods' Own Stallion
Larklight (very, very quirky; think Victorian-era space travel, if there were such a thing)
The Secret Keepers
*Herodotus and the Road to History (recommended by Silas)
Tuesdays at the Castle series (good for the younger end of the age span)
The War I Finally Won (sequel to the War That Saved My Life I read last year)
The Guggenheim Mystery (sequel to the London Eye Mystery I read last year)
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians (finished the series I started last year; recommended by Levi -- very tween boy-friendly)
*The Legend of Hobart
The One Thing You'd Save
**The Lemonade War (recommended by Silas; I felt this needed discussion with my kids after reading.)
*The Inquisitor's Tale
*The King's Shadow
Elementary Chapter Books (for reading independently)
The Spiderwick Chronicles (language between siblings can be a bit harsh for young readers)
New Shoes (graphic novel)
White Fur Flying
Wolf Story (again, some light language, but it's so funny)
Franklin Endicott and the Third Key
Family Read-Alouds (not including what Isaac reads to them at bedtime)
*Black Ships Before Troy
*Theras and His Town
*The Prophet, the Seven, the Star and The Roman, the Twelve and the King
*Famous Men of Rome and Famous Men of Greece
*Raiders from the Sea (Viking Quest #1; Levi read the whole series a few years ago)
Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (we're reading the second one now; highly recommended)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (strongly recommended by Silas and Toby)
*King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake (in progress) (to Calvin and Tessa)
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