John Bunyan was a nonconformist preacher during a time when it was difficult to be one. He spent many years in prison and under threat of government action for living and preaching what he believed. He wrote a Christian allegory Pilgrim's Progress that represented his beliefs.
If you are Christian, it contains some beautiful truths in a fun and eventful way. If you aren't, then it can still help you understand a time in history a little bit better. Now Bunyan was a preacher, and I do not believe his interpretation of the gospel is exactly accurate all of the time, but it is still a great piece of literature that can be quite informative.
Our kids loved the story and used to love playing a game based on the book. We would load up backpacks and each child would use them as burdens. Them they would go through the same steps as Christians, lose their burdens and journey to the celestial city. This game was inspired by Little Women, another great book to put on your books-to-read list. If you don't understand what I just wrote in this paragraph, read Pilgrim's Progess and then you probably will.
So my challenge is for all of us to read Pilgrim's Progress somewhere in the February. Then we can discuss it throughout the month. So let's see how this goes. Please comment and let me know if you're in.