I have made quite a reading list for myself this year! In order to keep accountable to my reading schedule on this page, I will be posting regularly a summary or a short response to each book I read. I welcome any comments you may have as it will only make my reading experience more rich!
So I feel a bit of accountability, below is my reading list for the year:
(My goal is to try my best to read all of these, but I am open to flexibility, as things often don't end up as one has planned!)
1.The Apostolic Fathers The Didache Letter to the Corinthians, ca 96 Clement Various letters, ca. 107 Ignatius Justin Martyr (100-165) The Shepherd of Hermas (ca. 130) Irenaeus (d. 202) Tertullian (ca. 160-220)
2. Athanasius(ca. 296-373) On the Incarnation
Life of St. Antony
3.& 4.The Desert Fathers Wisdom of the Desert – Thomas Merton
The Way of the Heart – Henri Nouwen
5. Augustine (345-430) Confessions
6. John Chrisostom (ca. 347 – 407) Sermons
7. Benedict (ca. 480-543) The Rule of St. Benedict
8. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) On the Love of God
9. Peter Abelard (1079-1142) Letters of Abelard and Heloise
10. & 11. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Little Flowers of St. Francis
The Life of St. Francis - Bonaventure
12. Dante Aligheri (1265-1321) The Divine Comedy
13. Author Unknown The Cloud of Unknowing
14. Richard Rolle (ca. 1300-1349) The Fire of Love
15. Juliana of Norwich (1343-1413) Revelations of Divine Love
16. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) The Spiritual Dialogue
17. Thomas A Kempis (ca. 1380-1471) The Imitation of Christ
18. Martin Luther (1483-1546) The Freedom of the Christian
19. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) Spiritual Exercises
20. John Calvin (1509-1564) Institues of the Christians Religion
21. & 22. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) Interior Castle
The Way of Perfection
23. Francesco de Osuna Third Spiritual Alphabet ( published 1527)
24. John of the Cross (1542-1591) The Dark Night of the Soul
25. John Donne (1575-1631) Poems
George Herbert (1593-1633) Poems
26. Brother Lawrence (1611-1691) The Practice of the Presence of God
27. Richard Baxter (1615-1691) The Saint’s Everlasting Rest (recommended by my dad)
28. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) Pensees
29. Thomas Traherne (1637-1674) Centuries of Meditations
30. Madam (Jeanne) Guyon (1648-1717) Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
31. Francis Fenelon (1651-1715) Christian Perfection
32. Jean Paul de Caussade (ca. 1675-1751) Abandonment to Divine Providence
33. David Brainerd (1718-1747) The Life and Diary of David Brainerd (diary of a missionary to Native Americans)
34. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) Apologia Pro Vita Sua (story of Newman’s conversion)
35. Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) Short Stories (fiction) Dead Souls (fiction)
36. & 37. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) Fear and Trembling
A Short Life of Kierkegaard by Walter Lowrie
38. Anonymous Russian Monk The Way of a Pilgrim (a spiritual jounal)
39. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) The Story of a Soul
40. &; 41. G. K. Chesterton Orthodoxy (nonfiction)
The Man Who Was Thursday (fiction)
42. Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) Mysticism (a study of mysticism and its manifestations)
43. Charles Williams (1886-1945) Descent into Hell (novel)
44. Georges Bernano (1888-1948) Diary of a Country Priest (novel)
45. Ignazio Silone (1900-1978) Bread and Wine (novel)
46. Graham Greene (1904-1991) The Power and the Glory (novel)
47. &; 48. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) The Cost of Discipleship (a study of the meaning of true grace and reflection on the Sermon on the Mount)
Life Together (a rich study of the spiritual life and community)
49. Simone Weil (1909-1984) Waiting for God (spiritual reflections)
50. Thomas Merton (1915-1968) The Seven Storey Mountain
And here are a few others I just am adding but am not quite sure where they fit in chronologically:
51. William Blake Songs of Innocence and of Experience
52. Balthasar Heart of the World
53. John Cassian
As I am reading these books, if you have any comments you'd like to make from your own readings, don't be shy! All thoughts / insights are welcome and appreciated!
