I’m back for media Monday, and on time for once! I was back at work starting today, so I guess it’s time to start getting back into a routine. Not that I haven’t been trying, but life is more structured when there’s somewhere I have to be. Anyway, there’s always time for reading! (And watching TV! And sometimes even listening!)
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What I Read
I’m shaking things up a little this week and starting with spiritual reads, because I finished God is in the Manger and the CSB Ancient Faith Study Bible right on schedule on January 31! I really enjoyed the short Advent and Christmas devotionals taken from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s writings. He was such a profound thinker, and his life was cut way too short. I also enjoyed wrapping up another Bible year. For this year, I decided to read from the NIV Life Application Study Bible, which I happened to purchase on sale near the end of the year. I’ve read the NIV before, but I’m excited to come back to it again. Then, I think I alluded to this a few weeks ago, but for 2026 I decided that I’m going to use a kind of spiritual curriculum that Richard Foster had added to the edition of Celebration of Discipline that I read recently. He talked about twelve classic Christian books as a kind of “starter kit” for growing spiritually, with the number in mind so that they could be read over the course of a year. I already own many of them on Kindle, and believe I can obtain the rest, so that’s my current plan for spiritual reads this year. I started with Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank C. Laubach, an early twentieth century missionary to the Philippines. Foster encouraged reading through these slowly, so I’m purposefully only reading one letter per day, and using any additional time I have to try to develop my prayer life.
In other reads (even though this first one is on the spiritual spectrum), I finished Is Your Daughter Ready? by Kari Kampakis. I only gave this one two stars. It was fine, but I just felt it was kind of shallow, maybe because I’m anticipating going deeper into some classics this year. Anyway, two stars for me is “ok.” It did have some good ideas and reminders for parents of teen girls. I’m still working on Ha’penny by Jo Walton, but expecting to finish it soon, so stay tuned for my thoughts next week! I realized that I did enjoy having a non-fiction book going as well as fiction, so I started The Stressed Years of Their Lives by Anthony L. Rostain today, but I haven’t gotten past the introduction yet. I also discovered today that the 2026 Read More list is out at my local library. The first category is called “Back With a Vengeance” and is supposed to be a book you swore you would never reread! I already checked out The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger for this category. I didn’t care for it at all when I read it in high school, so I’m curious what my reaction will be to it as an adult.
What I Watched
You probably guessed that I watched the finale of Stranger Things on New Year’s Eve! I was kind of surprised by the long denouement, but I’m not mad about it. I was just kind of taken by surprise when the battle was over because there was so much time left.
I also finished my rewatch of Lost. It’s been several years since I revisited this show, so I really enjoyed picking up some of the pieces that I had forgotten, and even got taken by surprise a few times.
In non-TV watching, I registered to attend a series of workshops called “Building Better Creative Habits.” These are available through a membership website called Foxsy that I’m a member of, so I don’t think they are publicly available. I was not able to listen to the first one live, but I’m about halfway through the replay. In sticking with my idea of creating kind of a curriculum for myself, I’m hoping to make time for a little more of this kind of thing this year, while doing a little less TV show binging.
What I Listened To
Same as last week, I didn’t have as much time as usual for listening. I did get through all my regular podcasts, though, and even an episode or two of the Crafty Ass Female podcast. I didn’t listen to any of Voyager by Diana Gabaldon over the break, but I was able to listen to quite a bit today at work.
So that was my week! Work is work, but it does feel kind of good to get back into some kind of routine. I’m excited about the things I have going, and hoping to continue to be more intentional about my media consumption this year. How about you? Do you have any new resolutions or goals about media, whether that’s consuming more or less? Any big plans for the year? Let’s chat about it in the comments!