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| Source: roofbeamreader.com |
It's December, which on most book blogs means setting up reading challenges and goals for the new year. Last week I set up the one reading challenge I will continue from 2015, Reading My Own Damn Books (#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks). An attack on the TBR books I own, which I am looking forward to. However, another reading activity caught my eye and I am posting to join. Adam at Roof Beam Reader is hosting a year long read-a-long of the Bible as Literature.
I've read the Bible beginning to end three times, only once was within a one year period. Having grown up in church, I've also read the Bible in part multiple times. My reading has followed different reasons and met different needs over the years, but in the past decade as a teacher, reading the Bible as literature has become important. Fiction alludes to biblical stories and teachings more than any other work besides Shakespeare. Understanding the Bible's stories and characters on a literary level leads to deeper understanding of literary works, allusion or not. Thus my interest in Roof Beam Reader's read-a-long.
You can read here for details on his postings and some regulations he has in place for discussion, but below I've included his reading schedule to give you an idea of what it takes to read the Bible in a year. It's the hardest thing I've ever done reading-wise. I'm not promising I'll keep up the whole time or post consistently, but even when I fall behind I will be reading Adam's posts, gleaning readers' observations, and joining in when I have my own.
The Reading Plan
• January: Genesis 1 through Exodus 40
• February: Leviticus 1 through Deuteronomy 4
• March: Deuteronomy 5 through 1 Samuel 17
• April: 1 Samuel 18 through 1 Chronicles 2
• May: 1 Chronicles 3 through Esther 10
• June: Job 1 through Psalms 89
• July: Psalms 90 through Isaiah 17
• August: Isaiah 18 through Ezekiel 8
• September: Ezekiel 9 through Zechariah 14
• October: Malachi 1 through Luke 18
• November: Luke 19 through 1 Corinthians 8
• December: 1 Corinthians 9 through Revelations 22
If you care to join us, or even just peek at what everyone has to say here and there, sign up on the linky at the end of his post or subscribe to Adam's blog. Also, he is hosting a similar Shakespeare reading event for 2016, as important to understanding literature as the Bible, the link of which is at the end of his post as well.
This is so interesting to me. I gave it a go when I was in middle school but I don't remember exactly how far I got. I hope you guys have a good time with it!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking it will be cool to refresh my memory on the details and see them in allusions in literature I read with my AP Lit class. We already Hamlet this year and I had to Google a Bible reference to explain the story to them so they could see the connection to Hamlet.
DeleteStronggggly considering it. STRONGLY.
ReplyDeleteI figure if I can't keep up with the reading and posting always, I can at least see the conversation going on. That will be useful all in its own.
DeleteThis is a neat project! I am not a church-going person, but I did a Bible study with some girlfriends last year and thought it was really interesting. Just seeing some familiar passages, stories that I knew but didn't know, that sort of thing. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteFor me it will be a different approach. You usually read the Bible for insight, but there are different kinds of insight, you know? I don't think I've ever analyzed the Bible stories for purely literary purposes.
DeleteSo glad you're joining! It's definitely a challenge, and it takes a different kind of preparation (because it's not the "typical" way one might read the Bible). I hope to eventually tackle other religious texts in the same way; but this one is most pressing for me as a literature scholar and English instructor. As you say, and as I mention in the post, western literature is just rife with biblical allusion and reference, so being able to follow the threads, especially in classic literature, makes those reading experiences so much richer and more complex.
ReplyDeleteYes! It's right up my alley! Thanks for hosting it.
Deletei can't find the masterpost and linky. I'm joining anyway.
ReplyDeleteSo strange, I can't find it either...not even looking through posts. I'll find out what's up.
DeleteIt seems the event was cancelled :(
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