Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Fall Reading List

Anyone remember this post from way back in ...October? I thought I'd finally get around to a little update. Finally.
1.. Seeking Him: Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival
Our ladies group is still going to read this one but probably not until February. We started a new study at church that has a pretty good amount of daily reading and so the pastor suggested putting this study off to give our full attention to the one the whole church is doing. I'm just not a read one book at a time kind of girl, though, so I'm still glancing ahead in this one. It just looks too good to keep putting off:)
2. Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling
I had this one read already when I posted last time, but I'm still going to talk about it a little bit. I think it's the best commentary on the public school system that I've ever read. It really addresses the basics that we're teaching our kids in school - not neccessarily the planned curriculumm, but what they're really learning. It really is well worth the time to read.
3. Teaching the trivium: Christian homeschooling in a classical style
I've got to admit that I wasn't so crazy about this book for me right now. It was just a little too much. It's laid out like a here's how (and why) to homeschool your kids for at least the next twelve years. And while that might be really helpful for some people, it's just not me to let someone else make all the plans:) Now I would like to have it on the shelf as a reference I think. And the author's probably didn't intend for it to be followed to the letter, but my brain just wasn't able to wrap around all that information right now - and yes that does say more about me than the book:)
4. Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
I still haven't gotten to read this one, even though it's probably the one I was most looking forward to. This is one of my main areas of concern right now so I really have to get this ordered. My three actually get along pretty well except for Brenna squealing every. single. time Jack crawls over to her dollhouse, but since we aren't shipping anyone off for a couple of hours a day it is pretty important to me that everyone plays nice.
5. Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers,
I mentioned before that I really liked this one. I've found myself thinking and talking a lot about this book since I read it. I really feel like God's changing my view point about a lot of things that I never would've thought about before. Especially things like what we spend money on and the way I tend to hoard things. "Well, we might need it one day" is turning into "God blessed us with this, let's see who He'd like us to bless" and " He provided this one, if we need another, He'll provide it too." A very good book.
6. How to Be a Budget Fashionista: The Ultimate Guide to Looking Fabulous for Less
I got this one for Christmas and still haven't had time to crack it open:) But I do want to look fabulous, so it's going next to my reading chair.
7. The Fat Flush Plan
I really liked this book. The diet deals with a lot of the specific problems I have losing weight and I definitly think I could stick with it, but for now I'm just going to be incorporating a lot of very healthy eating into my life. I am keeping up with a few of the suggestions like adding flax oil, lemon juice in water, etc Those were things I had already started that seem to be making a big difference.
8. Small Beginnings
I love this book! I love Barbara Curtis! This book is chock-full of great ideas for toddlers and preschoolers. And she really has a very unique (in this day and age, anyway) view of kids, encouraging moms not to get frustrated with their littles but see things from their point of view instead. She also talks about taking advantage of "sensitive periods" in a little child's life to teach them things (or set them up for things) like independance, order, kindness. It's a great book.
9.Girl Talk Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood
I'm just about half way through this one and so far it's really good. More on it when I'm finished, but it looks like a great book for a mother-daughter Bible study.
Well, that's the fall books...now that it's January. I really enjoyed making a goal instead of just randomly picking books off the shelf, so I think I'll do this again for winter or spring. I'd love to hear what y'all are reading - I'm always up for suggestions!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Read books? I know I should remember what this is, but for some reason it has slipped my mind..... ;) :D

Anonymous said...

Hey Shannon. I want to read Crunchy Cons. How's about you loan it to me.... :)

That Jack is ONE CUTE KID! :) Happy, Happy Belated Birthday.

Shannon said...

Thanks, Holly! I'd gladly loan it to you, but mine was an inter-library loan. I had to wait weeks! It was worth it though. I liked it a pretty good bit:)