2018 Book Review and 2019 Plans

As is my habit, I pick out some books each year to read so I can keep whittling down my shelf of shame. It's fun to have a challenge and I try not to pick too many books or else I can't do any spontaneous reading. Here's the list of my planned books from last year, with some bolded notes for unfinished books:

Fiction

• The Christus Experiment by Rod Bennett--a time travel novel where the travelers plan to visit and possibly kidnap Jesus Christ! Reviewed here.
• The Bradbury Chronicles edited by William F. Nolan and Martin H. Greenberg--an anthology of stories written by sci fi and fantasy writers inspired by and in honor of Ray Bradbury. Reviewed here.
• After the King edited by Martin H. Greenberg--an anthology of stories written by sci fi and fantasy writers inspired by and in honor of J. R. R. Tolkien. Reviewed here.
• Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset--I found this classic at the church rummage sale for a dollar. I've been meaning to read it for a while, and at 1100+ pages I will be reading it for a while.  I only started this book in December, so no review but it will go on the new list!

Science

• Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe by Nathan Spielberg and Bryon D. Anderson--this has been sitting on the shelf for a while. Reviewed here.
• Christianity and Extraterrestrials? by Marie I. George--another long resident of the bookshelf that bridges nicely into the next category. Reviewed here.

Faith

• Spiritual Excellence: How to Make Progress in Prayer and Love by Alban Goodier, S.J.--it's got to be helpful, right? Reviewed here. 
• Essays of a Catholic by Hilaire Belloc--Belloc was back in the day with Chesterton, so this should be really good. Reviewed here.
• A History of the Church in 100 Objects by Mike Aquilina and Grace Aquilina--highly recommended by Happy Catholic.  Reviewed here.
• Crossing the Goal: A Saint Goes Marching On by Danny Amramowicz--football and faith? Reviewed here.
• Saint Joseph: Shadow of the Father by Andrew Doze--my patron saint, so this is obvious. Reviewed here.
• The Life and Times of Fray Junipero Serra by Msgr. Francis J. Weber--Reviewed here and tied to the next book...
• Saint Junipero Serra's Camino by Stephen J. Binz--also recommended by Happy Catholic! Reviewed here.

Board Games

• Dice Games Properly Explained by Reiner Knizia--Knizia has a doctorate in mathematics and has published over thirty board games. Reviewed here.
• GameTek by Geoff Englestein--From the Dice Tower podcast, a bunch of essays on gaming with a scientific bent. Reviewed here.

 Other Stuff

• Your Child's Writing Life: How to Inspire Confidence, Creativity, and Skill at Every Age by Pam Allyn--my kids are getting interested in writing, so this should be good. Reviewed here.
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. Reviewed here.
• News from Tartary by Peter Fleming--brother of Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond) who had a life just like his brother's superspy hero. Whoops, didn't get to this one. Maybe in a future year.
• Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions by Guillermo del Toro and Marc Scott Zicree--a lot of the chapters are based on movies, so I will probably read a chapter and watch a movie. Reviewed here.
• Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T. E. Lawrence--might as well get credit for it! Reviewed here.

Only two misses isn't too bad, especially considering a bunch of other books I read this year.

I also read graphic novels and manga (basically, graphic novels from Japan). Here's last year's graphic novel challenge list:

1. Fairy Tail Volume 17--reviewed here.
2. Superman: Brainiac--reviewed here.
3. Run for It--reviewed here. 
4. Fairy Tail Volume 18--reviewed here.
5. Asterix and the Golden Sickle--reviewed here.
6. The Walking Dead Vol. 28--reviewed here.
7. Asterix at the Olympic Games--reviewed here.
8. Fairy Tail Volume 19--reviewed here. 
9. Black Panther Prelude--reviewed here.
10. Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea--reviewed here.
11. Runaways Volume 2--reviewed here.
12. Fairy Tail Volume 20--reviewed here.
13. Castle in the Stars--reviewed here.
14. Black Panther: The Complete Collection Vol. 1--reviewed here.
15. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1954--reviewed here.
16. Captain America: Winter Soldier--reviewed here.
17. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield--reviewed here.
18. The Infinity Gauntlet--reviewed here.
19. She-Hulk Volume 1--reviewed here.
20. Attack on Titan Volume 1--reviewed here.
21. The Walking Dead Volume 29--reviewed here. 
22. Wires and Nerve Volume 2--reviewed here.
23. Black Hammer Volume 1--reviewed here.
24. Full Metal Alchemist Volume 1--reviewed here.
25. Batman: His Greatest Adventures--reviewed here.
26. Rise of the Black Flame--reviewed here.
27. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 2--reviewed here.
28. Monet: Itinerant of Light--reviewed here. 
29. Hellboy in Hell Volume 1--reviewed here.
30. Asterix the Gaul--reviewed here. 
31. Dept. H Volume 1--reviewed here. 
32. Hellboy in Hell Volume 2--reviewed here.
33. Doctor Radar--reviewed here.
34. Trinity--reviewed here.
35. Ant-Man: Astonishing Origins--reviewed here.
36. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 3--reviewed here.
37. Hellboy Omnibus Volume 1--reviewed here.
38. The Comic Book Story of Baseball--reviewed here.
39. Spill Zone Volume 2-reviewed here.
40. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 4--reviewed here.
41. Asterix and Obelix's Birthday--reviewed here.
42. Ant-Man/Giant Mant Growing Pains--reviewed here.
43. DC Comics Bombshells Volume 1--reviewed here.
44. Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules--reviewed here.
45. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 5--reviewed here.
46. Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. 1955--reviewed here.
47. The Mighty Captain Marvel Volume 3--reviewed here.
48. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant--reviewed here.
49. Castle in the Stars Book Two--reviewed here. 
50. Wolverine--reviewed here.
51. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 6--reviewed here.
52. Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling--reviewed here.
53. Amulet Book Eight--reviewed here.
54. Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Lafayette!--reviewed here.
55. My Hero Academia Volume 1--review here.
56. The Walking Dead Volume 30--review here.
57. Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 7--reviewed here.
58. Asterix and the Secret Weapon--reviewed here.
59. Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Raid of No Return--reviewed here.

Here's next year's plans:

Fiction

• Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset--Something to finish up from last year.
• The Fall of Gondolin by J. R. R. Tolkien--Another "edited together by his son" work, it should be interesting.
• The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia by Samuel Johnson--Sitting on the shelf of shame for too long.
• The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green--This is a leftover from our time in England.
• English Fairy Tales and Legends by Rosalind Kerven--More leftovers that should be fun.

History

• The Medieval Myths by Norma Lorre Goodrich--One of the included myths is Beowulf, which I am interested in revisiting.
• Visiting the Past by Gillian Hovell--A book for amateur archeologists!
• The Anglo-Saxon World by Kevin Crossley-Holland--Yes, yet more leftovers from England.
• Ellington at the White House 1969 by Edward Allan Faine--Jazz and politics, should they mix? In 1969 the occupant of the White House was...Richard Nixon! Nixon and Ellington sound like a weird combination. 

Theology

• Showings by Julian of Norwich--After reading Medieval Women Mystics, I added this to my wish list and got a copy!
• Humility Rules by J. Augustine Wetta--Bragging about humility has got to be interesting, right?
• Means to Message by Stanley Jaki--Scientist, priest, and theologian Jaki wrote a bunch of essays on truth.
• St. Thomas Aquinas by Ralph McInerny--Most famous for the Father Dowling Mysteries, McInerny was an astute medieval philosopher, so this is more theology than biography, I suspect.
• The Right to be Wrong by Kevin Hasson--Another paradoxical title!
• Psychology and Religion by Carl Jung--Maybe not theology, but I didn't want to leave Jung hanging all by himself.

Fun Stuff

• The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists by Ken Denmead
• The Bluffer's Guide to Beer by Jonathan Goodall

I am planning on the graphic novels challenge again. Attack on Titan is much better as a TV show than a manga, so I switched to My Hero Academia and Fullmetal Alchemist, both of which are extremely popular (and thus readily available from the local library!). I'll probably re-read some Hellboy in anticipation of the movie.