What I read in March, 2009

Not that I am really wierd, but I rate my books 1-5. There won't be many 1s, because if it is that bad I usually don't finish it!

16. The Succesful Homeschool Family Handbook – 3.5 - Raymond and Dorothy Moore – very encouraging, one I had never read before. Parts of it were pretty dated, though. I think it is from the early-mid 80s.

17. William Penn: With Liberty and Justice for All – 3 - Janet and Geoff Benges – Heroes of History series, read aloud. I like the missionary stories better, but overall this was pretty good. Bogged down a lot with the politics of England in the 1670s, but that was what shaped the times.

18. Christy – 5- Catherine Marshall – read for my church book group – I had read it 5 or so years ago and got a lot more out of it this time.

19. Laughing in the Dark – 4 – Chonda Pierce – the story of her walk through depression.

20. Book of Time II: Gate of Days – 3 – bedtime read aloud. I think if I was 12 it would be really, really good. The characters take the Lord’s name in vain (OMG) which I changed to “gosh” as I read (that bothers me more than just regular profanity). The character is traveling through time, trying to save his father, who is trapped in another time period. This is book 2 in the trilogy.

21. How Starbucks Saved My Life – 4.5 – Michael Gates Gill – story of a well-off, privileged, middle-aged white guy who loses his cushy job. Then with too much spare time on his hands…..he loses his marriage. He ends up getting a job at Starbucks, and working for a young African-American woman. It is a really neat story of how his life changes, his perceptions change, and the person he becomes.

22. Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday – 3.5 – Nancy Atherton – at least this time Lori didn’t get overly attracted to the handsome man. Another enjoyable Aunt Dimity story, though I don’t like Lori.

23. The Seat Beside Me – 4 - Nancy Moser – very good book. All these people sitting for hours on a plane, waiting to take off. And then the plane crashes and the five survivors deal with how their lives were changed by the chance encounter with the people they met in the seat next to them. Some parts were emotionally hard to get through, but overall, a very good story. This would be a good one to recommend to my book discussion group at church.

24. Heart and Soul – 4 – Maeve Binchy – more Irish soap operas. This was better than some, not as good as others. It is really sad how many people just don’t have any connection with God. The charactersd talk about being Catholic, but they never go to church – it’s just an Irish/cultural thing to them. There is always a priest or two, but that is it. And the people who are religious are shown as superstitious. Really a shame, since the book is full of unhappy people, and everyone accepts s*x outside of marriage as a given.

25. Jumping Ship – 4 – Michael and Debi Pearl – in 2006 NGJ magazine ran a series of articles about homeschool families whose grown children were rebelling and “jumping ship” – basically turning their backs. This book is the articles, re-edited with some new info added. I always find the Pearls to be very encouraging.