Happy New Year! 2025 is here! And January is a great month to stay inside, stay warm, and read books.
Patience
Bible Verses of the Month
I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.” – (Psalm 40:1 NKJV)
This month’s reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
⇗ – Still reading at the end of the month.
⇓ – I did not like it or finish it.
∅ – Stalled – I started but didn’t finish.
Challenges
1. Epistolary January – I’m taking part in an event for reading epistolary books.
2. Becoming vegan – I’m transitioning to the Forks Over Knives diet – with books!
3. The 2025 Biblical Studies Challenge – this challenge asks us to read one book monthly on a set topic one would study if lucky enough to attend a Bible college. The January topic is hermaneutics. Book posted below: Knowing Scripture.
4. The David McCullough Readalong continues throughout 2025.
5. Read What You Own – I’ll be reading books I’ve already bought during 2025… hopefully, for the most part.
6. The Virtual Theology Christian Reading Challenge (goal: 73 books)
This video tells about my reading and booktube goals and intentions for 2025.
Finished Reading This Month

✓ Survival Literature: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Journey, by Alfred Lansing
Finished 1/23/25 – An amazing story of survival on the ice just north of Antarctica. Shackleton’s story is inspirational. Review

✓ Epistolary Fiction: Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke
This is Epistolary January and I have six books planned for reading. This is one of them.
Update: Finished 1/13/25 – I gave it a one-star review mainly because of excessive cussing plus weak plotting. Review

★ Christian Nonfiction: Knowing Scripture, by R.C. Sproul
I’m reading this as my January book for the Biblical Studies Challenge. This month the topic is hermaneutics.
Update: I finished reading this on January 12. Very helpful, for learning about hermaneutics! Review

✓ History: Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition, by Buddy Levy
I’m continuing on with my readings in the Survival Literature genre. This one hit me hard. The Greely Expedition was a US Army Signal Corps effort to establish a scientific data collection site on Ellesmere Island, Canada, north of Greenland… in a very cold place! The first year went fine, and then the tragedies started. 25 men were involved. I gave it five stars. Review

✓ Picture Book: His First Bible, by Melody Carlson, il: Tish Tenud
I’ve signed onto the VT Christian Reading Challenge again. (VT = Visual Theology) … this year they’re asking people to read some books for children so I read this one I just happened to have on hand. Cute. I liked it. Review

✓ Epistolary Fiction: Address Unknown, by Katherine Kressman Taylor
A friend said this was her favorite book, so I need to read it.
Update, 1/1/25 – This is a short book; it was originally published as a short story. However it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies as a book and has been translated into many languages. It is well worth my time spent reading it today. Five stars. Review
What I’m Reading Now

★ Ergodic Fiction: Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov
Ergodic fiction – a man obsesses over a poet, who has died. The foreword, poem, and commentary are all parts of this novel. There’s also an index. Definition of ergodic: “Relating to or denoting systems or processes with the property that, given sufficient time, they include or impinge on all points in a given space and can be represented statistically by a reasonably large selection of points.” (per Oxford Languages Dictionary)

★ Classic Fiction: Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo
I’m not giving up on this one.

★ Art: The World of Urban Sketching, by Stephanie Bower
Because… ART. I love urban sketching!

★ Health: Forks Over Knives Plan, by Pulde & Lederman
A great health book. I’m going to try to transition to this diet over the next few months. I’ve been a vegetarian most of my adult life but I’d like to be vegan.

★ Ergodic Fiction: Cain’s Jawbone, by Edward Powys Mathers
I am buddy-reading this with a friend. This book: Is it a puzzle? Is it a hobby? I’ll find out. I read the first ten pages and so far didn’t understand a thing. Each page must be carefully researched using outside sources.

★ Christian Nonfiction: The Story of Christianity, by Justo L. Gonzalez
My sister bought this for me on my birthday, along with another book on Christian history. The month for history during my Biblical Studies Challenge will be November, but this is a big thick book and I have no hope for finishing it in November unless I start early. So far I’ve read only the introduction.

★ Memoir: The Long Haul: A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road, by Finn Murphy
This looks like something fun to read and it reminds me of my son who used to be a long-haul trucker. I started the book and am nearly done with the introduction. He’s a different type of trucker as he works as a mover for rich people moving across the country.

★ Epistolary Mystery: The Examiner, by Janice Hallett
An epistolary novel.
More Books Planned for January

☆ Epistolary Fiction: Up the Down Staircase, by Bel Kaufman
This is Epistolary January and I have six books planned for reading. This is one of them. This will be a reread of the first epistolary novel I ever read, more than 50 years ago.

☆ Epistolary Fiction: Dear Mr. Knightley, by Kathrine Reay
I hope I like this book that I’ve decided to read during Epistolary January.

☆ Epistolary Nonfiction: Diary of a Forty-Niner, by Chauncey Canfield
This diary is epistolary, but it isn’t fiction.
My January 2025 Reading Diary
January 1 – Here’s that day again. It brings my dear father to mind because it was his birthday.
This is a painting I did of him in 2024.
Here’s what I plan to read for the Epistolary January event.
January 2 – It was a Bible study kind of day.
January 3 – I was tagged for a “Poetry Pop-Up” video. I decided to write my own poetry. The topic prompt was “snow.”
January 4 – I reviewed a Bible book for babies.
January 16 – Making good progress with Les Miserables. Now in section 4 of the book.
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