The Saturday Morning Blogger – Nandy Ekle’s reading challenge

James Barrington

Nandy Ekle’s “Reading Challenge” caught my attention this week. You can scroll down to find it if you missed it before. Having had limited time to write this week, it seemed like a good time to make some observations about reading.

We started reading to our daughters and grandchildren as soon as they came home from the hospital. Some of our earliest photos of our children and grandchildren are of them sitting in our laps looking at books as we read to them.

For a few years, my 15-year-old granddaughter and I greeted each other with the words, “What are you reading now? Usually a conversation would ensue about what we were reading. Often, we would exchange books when we finished and read what the other had been reading. I was introduced to Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson books. My younger granddaughter is into those now. I am really glad that they have both discovered the great wealth within the pages of books.

Nandy’s reading list is not specific books, but books that fill specific categories. I’m sharing the list with my grandchildren, so they can delve into a variety of authors, styles, and genres. Some of the suggestions will be easy; others may be more difficult, especially with my grandchildren’s modern given names.

I have recently been reading some biblical apologetics by Hank Hanegraaff. I am finding them informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining.

One of my personal favorite fictional novels is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I had named Slaughterhouse Five by Curt Vonnegut as my favorite before discovering Owen Meany. Both of those authors are graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA) in Exeter, NH. Having lived almost a decade in Hampton, a town neighboring Exeter, I came to appreciate the area and the Academy. I’m told that the Academy has a library in the reception area of their application office that is filled with books written by PEA graduates.

The Bible has to be my all-time favorite. To pick a single book within the Bible would be impossible. There is so much to choose from as well as so many genres. There is something new to be learned with each reading.

Thanks for looking in on wordsmithsix.com. If you don’t have time to write, by all means, read.