I am asking my children, even the older ones, to read at least ten of the books on their individualized list before August 18, 2008. I also want each of them to memorize two poems this summer and present them for the family. I will take each child who does so out to eat to the restaurant of his choice, and I will also buy a book for each child who finishes the challenge. This list is for Dancer Daughter, age 18, who graduated from high school last year and will be starting college this fall (2008).

The Bible. Romans.

The Bible. I Samuel.

Budziszewski, J. Ask Me Anything: Provocative Answers for College Students. Professor Theophilus gives provocative answers to college students’ questions. The book is written by a professor of government and philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin.

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow. Bring Me a Unicorn: Diaries and Letters of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1922-1928. Before she was married to famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow, daughter of the American ambassador to Mexico, kept a journal and wrote a plethora of letters. This book is the first of five volumes of collected letters and journal entries of Anne Morrow soon-to-be Lindbergh. The others are called: Hour of Gold Hour of Lead, Locked Rooms Open Doors, The Flower and the Nettle, and War Within and Without.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver.

McCaughrean, Geraldine. The White Darkness. May selection for Biblically Literate Book Club.

MacInnes, Helen. The Hidden Target. MacInnes gives the flavor of the Cold War era in a story of terrorism, counter-terrorism, hippies, drug culture, and communist threats. Nina O’Connell, a college student in Europe, agrees to join a caravan across the continent to “find herself” and assert her independence. However, the driver and leader of the free-spirited group may have ulterior motives.

Malley, Gemma. The Declaration. Semicolon review here.

Marshall, Catherine. Christy. Romance and Christian service clash with culture shock in the mountains of North Carolina. Christy is an eighteen year old innocent idealist when she goes to the mountains of Appalachia to teach school in a one-room schoolhouse. By the end of the story she’s a grown-up woman who’s experienced friendship, grief, and love.

Ramsey, Dave. Financial Peace Revisited. I don’t follow the entire Dave Ramsey plan, but he has a good basic handle on money management and financial responsibility.

Rose, Darlene Deibler. Evidence Not Seen: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II. This autobiography of a missionary who survived, by faith, four years in a japanese prison camp in the jungle of New Guinea was a graduation gift from a dear friend. I think DD and I will both gain from reading it.

Schaeffer, Edith. The Hidden Art of Homemaking.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice.

Veith, Gene Edward, Jr. State of the Arts: From Bezalel to Mapplethorpe.

Four issues of WORLD magazine. The purpose of this particular ‘assignment’ is to help prepare Dancer Daughter to vote in her first presidential election. Does anyone else have any other reading suggestions for me and my three eligible young adult voters?