(And All My) Work Be Praise

Inspired by a friend who is posting her monthly reading log, I'm going to try posting my book lists a few times a year instead of all at once in December. I hope this will give me more opportunity to give feedback on what I'm reading, as well as make some goals for myself in terms of genres I'm overlooking. Adult Nonfiction The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh (fascinating!) Boys in the Boat (so captivating, and I am NOT interested in water sports) George VI and Elizabeth Jumping Through Fires (Iranian refugee who comes to Christ, might have my teen read it) Adult Fiction The Alice Network (WW1-2 historical fiction, 4 stars) Did You Hear about Kitty Carr? A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock #2; I enjoy these immensely) The Women (to read alongside our studies of Vietnam) A Separate Peace (WWII classic, not my favorite) Teen Nonfiction The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel (rated "teen" for a few mature images) Games of Deception (1936 Berlin Olympic...

I keep thinking about reworking this list -- maybe even changing it to an academic year instead of calendar to more accurately reflect the topics of books I read -- but this is not the time for change. This is the time for taking an hour to do something that amuses me in between all of the other things of life. So be it. As usual, I gave brief explanations when possible. I  highlighted in green  books that I especially loved,  highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and  highlighted in red  books I do not recommend. Books we (or I) read as part of our history studies have one asterisk (*); books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**). Feel free to ask if you want more nuanced opinions on anything! The Bible : the whole thing, using the M'Cheyne plan as found in the  Be Thou My Vision  liturgy Christian Non-Fiction Sacred Influence Even Better Than Eden **Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad Bumps, Babies, and th...

Here it is! So many books this year. I attribute this partially to the fact that I got used to listening to audiobooks at 1.75x speed (or sometimes even double speed). The focus is still primarily on middle grade novels, prereading for my precocious fourth grader, but I'm trying to keep up with my 9th grader's American literature list and continue expanding what I know about the world, too. This year for the first time I have a "middle grade nonfiction" section! Toby blazing through Paradise Lost in an afternoon.  As usual, I gave brief explanations when possible. I  highlighted in green  books that I especially loved,  highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and  highlighted in red  books I do not recommend. Books we (or I) read as part of our history studies have one asterisk (*); books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**). Feel free to ask if you want more nuanced opinions on anything! The Bible : the whole t...

People tell me every year that they love to see my list, so I shall continue the tradition! Here's last year's , which also has links to previous years. A note: I gave brief explanations when possible. I  highlighted in green  books that I especially loved,  highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and  highlighted in red  books I do not recommend. Books I listened to as audio are marked with two asterisks (**).  The Bible : the whole thing, twice for the New Testament (still following  this reading plan ) Christian Non-Fiction **On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books **M is for Mama: A Rebellion against Mediocre Motherhood The Secular Creed More than a Carpenter The Meaning of Marriage Partners in the Gospel (devotional for pastors' and elders' wives) Habits of the Household Parenting Teens with Love and Logic Philippians commentary by Ralph Martin Teaching Psalms, Volume 1 by Christopher Ash **The Astronaut...

Friends, the truth: I read like a maniac this year. Some things I read because I enjoyed them. Some things I read because I felt obligated to finish them. Most things I read to determine suitability for my children, who are also voracious readers. (Toby comes to me at least once a week, book in hand, asking, "is this appropriate for me?") If my Goodreads account is accurate (sometimes I forget to mark things down), I've read 170 books this year. A note: I gave brief explanations when possible. I highlighted in green books that I especially loved, highlighted in blue  books that my kids especially enjoyed, and highlighted in red books I do not recommend. The Bible : the whole thing, twice for the New Testament (still following this reading plan ) Christian Non-Fiction Parenting (Tripp) Does God Care How We Worship? (Duncan) Chosen by God (Sproul) CASKET EMPTY (commentary/Bible study guide) Keep a Quiet Heart (Elisabeth Elliot) The Hiding Place (ten Boom) Becoming Elisab...

  Read last year's list here. This year was definitely divided into segments: the first half of the year, when I read a ton of chick lit while nursing Tessa, and the last half of the year, when I tried to keep ahead of middle grade literature. I'll note my thoughts on appropriateness here and there, in case it would be helpful! I have four strong readers, ages 6-11, so I'm not just pre-reading for the oldest, but for whether we can all pass it around. Age ranges are for our family (I consider Levi to be 12, in terms of his reading maturity) -- you might be okay reading things earlier or later. Feel free to ask for more specific thoughts! The Bible The whole thing, twice for the NT You can read about the Bible reading plan I follow here: https://biblereading.christkirk.com/ Christian Non-Fiction *Eve in Exile *Worship by Ligon Duncan (started but not finished) Adult Fiction *Weird Sisters *Tombland (the last in the Shardlake series I read last year) *The Interestings (not ...

I love to read as much as the next person. Maybe more, even—after all, I was a literature major in college. (Not because I ever expected to DO anything with that degree—or my music degree, for that matter—but because I loved to read and write and it seemed worthwhile to pay gobs of tuition money to have the opportunity to do both. Or something.) The last decade, however, has not precisely been full of good books. I read a good bit of Christian romantic drivel while nursing Levi, and I have multiple Sandra Boynton board books memorized, and we’ve ventured into some classic literature read-alouds along the way. But reading for my own pleasure? A luxury at best. When I hopped on the bullet journal train at the end of 2018, I decided that this would be the year I started reading again, mostly so I could make a cute “books to read” page. I honestly didn’t expect to stick with it. At the time, I didn’t even know I was pregnant and would have time nursing a baby before 2019 was out! But...

Silas (4) asked to learn how to read back in March. The same week, I received an e-mail about a free trial of Reading Eggs , so I went ahead and signed up. I'd never pay for it (because I simply don't pay for things like that), but it was a fun and easy introduction to phonics and sounding out words. By the time our four-week trial was up, he was ready to jump into BOB book s.  A week or two ago, I remembered a long-time friend of mine having used a learn-to-read Bible with some of her kiddos. I didn't find what I was looking for on Amazon (since I can't remember exactly what it was called), but I did stumble upon this Early Reader's Bible . The reviews were excellent and the price couldn't be beat ($0.01 used, plus $3.99 shipping), so I bought it on a whim. It's perfect  for him. On any given page, I estimate he can read about 60-70% of the words, so it's enough for him to feel confident, but it's not going to be too easy any time soon. Alr...

Drummer Hoff  is as much of a favorite with my sons as it was with my brothers when we were children, which gives it a special place in my heart! It's a simple little book, with classic Ed Emberley illustrations, that shows the progression of loading a cannon to be fired, but there's something magical about shouting "kah-bah-bloom!" and watching the whole illustration turn red on the last page. Each page builds upon the actions of the previous page, so that by the end, you have this: General Border gave the order, Major Scott brought the shot, Captain Bammer brought the rammer, Sergeant Chowder brought the powder, Corporal Farrel brought the barrel, Private Parriage brought the carriage, but Drummer Hoff fired it off. (Yep, I did that from memory.) Silas pointing to Major Scott's shot, back in March. I mentioned  about a month ago that Owen had no concept of rhyming words, so last time we read Drummer Hoff (maybe two weeks ago), I made a huge de...

Last year for Silas's first birthday we bought him a book called Plip-Plop Pond from this Indestructibles series. (Whoa -- just checking that link for the first time since last year; there are SO many more available now!) They're books made for babies: bright pictures, no words, and totally chewable pages.  Won't rip, nontoxic, and can be washed. I'm not even sure what the material is: thin like paper, but thick like waxed paper, but not really coated like waxed paper . . . no idea. Anyway, at one year old, Silas was already a little past the chewing-on-everything stage. He liked the pictures, but it didn't hold his attention. At five months old, though, Toby  loves  this book. His face lights up when I hand it to him, more so than some of his other toys. Maybe it's the way it crinkles in his hand? The way the corners smoosh between his gums? Again, no idea. I can't really say why you'd choose a chew-book over a chew-toy, except that I happen to h...

We have fallen head-over-heels in love with the 2014 Caldecott Medal winner, Locomotive by Brian Floca. Isaac picked it up spontaneously at the library a few weeks ago, thinking that the boys would enjoy it, but I don't think even he anticipated how much every one of us would love this book. In short, it tells the story of a family traveling on the brand-new railroad from Omaha to San Francisco. But that doesn't begin to cover it: the history, the geography, the engineering, the literature. Isaac loves the detailed map inside the front cover, the equally detailed diagram of a steam locomotive inside the back cover, the informative and yet beautiful artwork throughout the book. Levi loves the onomatopoeia, the excitement of hearing the train move. Owen and Silas love to shout "alllllllllll a-BOARD!" and "tick-ETS!" as we read. I love the adventure, the history of invention and innovation, the wide-eyed wonder of it all.  Mommy truth: it's also...