Saturday, August 25, 2012

Today with G. K. Chesterton - The Reading Plan

I was poking around this morning looking for my copy of Chesterton's Orthodoxy and as luck would have it, it was hiding.  But as it turns out, this wasn't such a bad thing.  If I'm going to tackle a study of Chesterton, I might as well take advantage of an organized reading program. And lo and behold, the Chesterton website has exactly that.

Of course, my copy of "Orthodoxy" will surface eventually.  Books always do in this house.  Books get scattered and left here and there.  They get lost in stacks and re-emerge like a new book.  If I could, I would organize it all like some grand library but it's just not in me.

So - while "Orthodoxy" slowly finds it's way back to me, I am going to find my way over to the Chesterton shop and pick up my copies of "The Apostle of Common Sense" and "Common Sense 101: Lessons from Chesterton".
*********************************************************


Wondering where to get started with G.K. Chesterton? Before reading any books by Chesterton, it is very helpful to start with Dale Ahlquist’s introductory books, G.K. Chesterton – The Apostle of Common Sense and Common Sense 101: Lessons from Chesterton. These books are designed to introduce new readers to Chesterton’s thought and writing.
After the introductory texts, continue with the Reading Plan, which is to read at least four books from the following list: either all four books from one category, or one book from each of the four categories.

The Introduction
Apostle of Common Sense
Common Sense 101

1. Elementary Chesterton
What’s Wrong with the World
Father Brown and the Church of Rome
Charles Dickens (Vol. 15 of Collected Works)
Heretics

2. Indispensable Chesterton
Orthodoxy
The Everlasting Man
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Thomas Aquinas

3. Fundamental Chesterton
The Man Who was Thursday
The Ball and the Cross
In Defense of Sanity
The Illustrated London News Essays (Vol. 27-36 of Collected Works)

4. Necessary Chesterton
The Outline of Sanity
Tremendous Trifles
The Ballad of the White Horse

All of the books are available from the American Chesterton Society and can be ordered online from our store.

4 comments:

Dawn Elliott said...

My husband has been at a music fesival in Santa Fe for the past 4 days and I've been home...reading! Such a treat, no?

Annie Jeffries said...

Yes indeed, Dawn. Don was out of town for two weeks in July. I read and read and read. All that free time went to reading. I didn't accomplish about 90% of what I had planned to accomplish. Oh, the power of books.

sandy said...

Sounds like quite a plateful - I hope you enjoy your reading.

I have a Diane Keaton book my sis left for me - I'm going to read that soon.

I can't wait for snow to fall outside the windows - while I'm inside warm, reading.

I know it's a few months out though.

Jeanie said...

When I think of Chesterton, I think of Father Brown. I had NO idea!