Completed:
The Discarded Image, C.S. Lewis
Civilization of the Middle Ages, Norman Cantor
An Anthology of Old English Poetry, trans. Charles W. Kennedy
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, trans J.R.R. Tolkien
Sword and the Circle, Rosemary Sutcliff
Light Beyond the Forest, Rosemary Sutcliff
Road to Camlann, Rosemary Sutcliff
The Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris
Life is So Good, George Dawson and Richard Glaubman
The Famous Five, Five Get Into a Fix, Enid Blyton
Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
Too Small to Ignore, Dr. Wess Stafford with Dean Merrill
An Irish Country Doctor, Patrick Taylor
Getting Serious About Getting Married, Debbie Maken
Kristin Lavransdatter, The Bridal Wreath, Sigrid Undset
Mornings on Horseback, David McCullough
That Distant Land, Wendell Berry
Halfway There:
Divine Comedy, Dante
Scarlet Music, Hildegard of Bingen, Joan Ohanneson
The Autumn of the Middle Ages, Johan Huizinga
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
Ascent to Love, Peter Leithart
Leepike Ridge, N.D. Wilson
Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott
On the Headphones, with thanks to The Teaching Company and my brother David:
How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, Prof Robert Greenberg
King Arthur and Chivalry, Professor Bonnie Wheeler
Augustine, Philosopher and Saint, Professor Phillip Cary
Medieval Europe: Crisis and Renewal, Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz
The High Middle Ages, Professor Philip Daileader
Medieval Heroines in History and Legend, Professor Bonnie Wheeler
Great Masters: Brahms – His Life & Music, Prof. Robert Greenberg
Great Masters: Robert & Clara Schumann – Their Lives and Music, Prof. Robert Greenberg
Great Masters: Liszt – His Life & Music, Prof. Robert Greenberg
Great Masters: Tchaikovsky – His Life & Music, Prof. Robert Greenberg
Great Masters: Stravinsky – His Life & Music, Prof. Robert Greenberg
My oldest son was at our house for dinner last night and with quiet excitement he told us that he had hit a personal best in bench pressing: 335! He has been lifting and working out diligently and is now seeing results. My bench pressing is pathetic (I was thrilled when I got five notches down) but I feel the same quiet thrill that I’m gettting stronger intellectually.
A sea change has occurred through a series of barely perceptible increments. My taste, my preference, my enthusiasm in books has swung from Janette Oke romances (yes, I read them in the 80’s) to college history texts and classic literature. This has taken place over decades and was greatly enhanced by the challenge of educating my children. What has been encouraging has been that upon completion of a challenging book, I am motivated and excited to read and learn more. Yesterday I just ordered Barbara Tuchman’s A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century and I hope I can find time to read it.
There are Wendell Berrys, David McCulloughs, Anthony Trollopes, Jeff Shaaras and Frances Mayes books beckoning to me from my shelves. I used to view them as a Frango mint waiting in the freezer as a reward for loosing five pounds. But now they are more like certificates of deposit gaining in value and waiting for their maturity date. Oh I feel like an heiress with riches beyond comprehension. I have books of excellence, books of renown, books full of delights hanging there, ripening, waiting for the first delicious juicy bite.
One last thing: I have experienced a bit of loneliness in that much of what I’m reading is of no interest to the general public. I sent my Latin teacher (a great medievalist) and his wife an SOS email yesterday. They have moved across the country and are settling into their new home and environment. But we. need. to. talk. I miss our weekly dinners where we had the leisure to talk and visit and I could glean from their knowledge and wisdom.
My husband is in his own orbit of study and preparation. I’m certain he would appreciate someone with whom to process and bounce and talk over stuff. So I am going to ask him which book he’d like me to read so our pursuits can intersect.
A Living Pencil 
What an impressive list!! I comfort myself by remembering that you HAVE to read all this for *school*.
And, I hope you can coordinate with your husband. I daydream about reading aloud a book together with mine. Not sure what topic we could agree on though 🙂
Dana
Oh how I feel it too…”a bit of loneliness in that much of what I’m reading is of no interest to the general public.” That’s why I think the connection and fellowship we have through each other via blogs is so special. I would never know what I know now if it weren’t for those like you.Janie
Dear Carol,Well, we could find the exotic halfway point and meet quarterly in a coffee shop and talk about the good stuff. Wouldn’t that be fun? Hey, I can dream!I agree with Janie — the loneliness has been somewhat eased by cyber-friends who will dig into books and ideas and mysteries with me. It’s not quite as good as a real life, but it’s a gift nonetheless. I made the pilgrimage from Bodie Thoene to whatever books it is that I am reading now over the last twenty years. I still dabble in mystery brain candy, but the real satisfaction has come from the books that make my brain stretch and strengthen.Happy reading, my friend, and here’s to the halfway point cafe…someday.DI
Thank you Carol for expanding my world. Thank you for introducing new authors to me. (I am on my third Trollope) After reading everything ever written by my old favorites it is soooo much fun to find recommendations. I am delighted with this new list. It shall be printed. I hope that even a fraction will be read. The first part of the list made me drool. Finding the time and the pennies to find the books is my major challenge. You always inspire me. Love you! M in sC
Whew, Carol! That’s some serious reading under your belt! What did you think of The Irish Country Doctor?
I finished That Distant Land last week, and have added it to the list of required reading for my boys when they enter their teen years.
By the way, my blog is back up – finally!
Carrie
Oh, Carol, surely you know how much you have enlightened my life! Not to mention that half.com has gotten a LOT more business from me every time you mention a new book that interests me 🙂 And my friend, Vicki, who is a librarian, has me forward about every 5th one of your emails because she loves your intelligence and way of writing, not to mention the books you recommend. And, actually, Labor Day is right around the corner!!!
You have done some serious feasting these past weeks! I have not read most of the books on your list, except for Canterbury Tales and McCullough’s Mornings on Horseback, which I just finished.
What a wonderful collection of musical courses from the Teaching Co.! Our library has only 3 of them; I am thinking about reserving some others via interlibrary loan. They are so rich.
I laughed when I read the part about Jeannette Oke, because I, too, was reading her books in my pre-homeschooling era. I gave the whole bunch to a lady in our church congregation (back in the 80’s) who was trying to kick her addiction to pain killers. She said the books kept her so occupied that it helped her thru that ordeal. So I guess they had a useful purpose even tho they didn’t expand my own mind the way great literature does.
Thanks for your great example of life long learning.
I want to grow up to read like you.
I have met many well-read homeschool moms over the years, but you are the most-est! When I grow up I want to be like you…
As for intersecting with you dh’s interests…noting like long car rides to keep you up on his concerns, at least for me, that is…When I pick him up afterI’m done at school, he asks me how my day went. I give him the basics, and then he unloads. I probably know more about road safety, road construction, crew management, the ridiculousness of some state policies concerning days off and sick leave, how to choose road graders, and which areas of the state have the most loss-time accidents/fatalities/loss of equipment… than I will ever need to use.
I love, understand and respect him more and more because of his sharing these seemingly trivial things. I would *love* to talk school/theology/reading topics with him, but I have other outlets (or used to…) for that…folks at school, a few friends, daughters-in-law (who know more stuff and have more varied abilities than I ever will know or attain). I am flattered that Kent finds a good sounding board in me.
I would love to have a reading circle/book club to belong to up here, but folks have lives…
P.S. I love the new look of your xanga site!