In less than a week, I have enjoyed (sort of!) two different encounters that re-established to me that I middle age is here. Generally speaking, I don't dwell much on my age - I like to think I am doing pretty good, considering what I've been through! And, I had my children "late in life" (love that - when I was in my 30s). This means that as I participate in their activities, or host their friends at our home, I am generally with women who are younger than me. I still think I am 28 most days, so this seems to work fine.
This past week, however.....
Last week we were at a fellowship and I was enjoying a conversation with a young man, fresh out of college. We discovered that we had attended the same church, and lived in the same area. He said, "You went to Fox? Maybe you knew my mom!"
Of course, Nevin is laughing as I say, "Your mom? Don't you mean your older sister?" I then asked his age. Twenty-four. Sigh. "Okay, what's your mom's name?"
Then yesterday, we attended a fellowship meal at church. We had gotten the food all ready, the children seated and their plates ready. Then, as the ladies were getting ready to eat (I love it that the ladies get to fill their plates first) the pastor's wife turned to me and smiling, said, "Mrs. Koranda should go first because she is the elder woman."
WHAT!!!!!!!!?????!!!!!
Oh my, I was. Except for one senior lady (who did not stay for dinner) I WAS the elder woman. Granted, it is a very small church with only five other women, but I was the oldest. By two years.
Somebody get me my cane! I am wondering, too, if there is not something about potluck fellowships that is causing all this...
I was not so offended, however, as to refuse to go first at the buffet. No need to take too defensive a stand.
So, suddenly it occurs to me that I am, more and more, in the position of being the older woman. The Titus 2 woman. I have a responsibility to the younger women. Even though my chilren are still young, I do have some life experience. I have graduated college, held jobs, been married for 15 years, established a home, birthed four sons, gotten two of those sons into their double-digit years, homeschooled for eight years, raised some chickens, processed some deer, own a business with my husband....
And I think that I am holding up very well, especially considering what I have been through!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Reading log, May 2010
Trying to keep this updated in a timely fashion!
31. Murder at Longbourn – 3 – Tracy Kiely – sort of cute mystery, not great. Lots of red herrings, some funny moments, but on the whole, pretty unbelievable.
32. The People of Sparks – 3.5 – Dupree – sequel to The City of Ember – read aloud with the older boys.
33. And the Shofar Blew – 4.75 – Francine Rivers – read for book club – story of a pastor who takes over a dying church with elderly congregation and turns it into a mega church, and loses his way. Very telling about seeker-friendly churches, etc.
34. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – 4.75 – Jacqueline Kelly – excellent story of an 11 year old girl – Calpurnia – living in Texas in 1899. She wants to be a naturalist and study science; while her family expects her to spend her time learning to knit, tat, cook, etc. She is nurtured by the relationship with her grandfather, who lives with them. He is one of the founding members of National Geographic Society, and teaches her how to be a naturalist, to study and make scientific observations of the world around her. Her “evolution” is her growing and discovering what she wants to do for herself. It does ties in with the naturalist studies of Charles Darwin, but there is no indoctrination in his origins of man. It is more about his work as a naturalist. Her grandfather does upset her mother by wanting to discuss what the fossil record means to the Book of Genesis with dinner guests, but discussing ideas should certainly be allowed! All in all, if you can get past any predjudices against seeing Charles D.’s name anywhere, it is a wonderful story. Calpurnia reminds me of Flavia de Luce, but without the edge – she is a naturalist, not a chemist, and doesn’t have Flavia’s fascination with poisons.
35. The God of the Hive – 4.5 – Laurie R. King – the newest Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery. This was an immediate sequel to the last (which came out a year ago!) so it was hard to get back into the storyline. It was okay, not as good as the others. Mary and Sherlock were apart for about 90% of the book, and that is what I like best – the interaction between them. That is what makes the whole story. So anyway, that’s where we leave off – hopefully it won’t take her another year to write the next one!
36. The Unbearable Lightness of Scones – 3.75 – Alexander McCall Smith – next in the 44 Scottland Street series. It was okay. I’ve liked others better. This one had a lot of dull points. The last two were really good, so maybe this just suffers by comparison.
37. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – 4.5 – Rebecca Skloot – excellent non-fiction – in 1951 Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman from Baltimore – died of cervical cancer. Before she died the doctor took samples of her tumor, and grew a cell line from them. This cell line, named HeLa, continued (and still continues) to grow and has been used in every imaginable sort of experiment, developing medications and vaccines, testing the effects of space travel and nuclear weapons. Her children, who were basically uneducated and poverty-stricken - did not find out until 20 years later. It is the story of Henrietta and her family, and what happened when the world found out who the HeLa cells came from and how it affected their family. Usually this would not appeal to me, but it was a fascinating story from page 1. Highly recommend.
31. Murder at Longbourn – 3 – Tracy Kiely – sort of cute mystery, not great. Lots of red herrings, some funny moments, but on the whole, pretty unbelievable.
32. The People of Sparks – 3.5 – Dupree – sequel to The City of Ember – read aloud with the older boys.
33. And the Shofar Blew – 4.75 – Francine Rivers – read for book club – story of a pastor who takes over a dying church with elderly congregation and turns it into a mega church, and loses his way. Very telling about seeker-friendly churches, etc.
34. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate – 4.75 – Jacqueline Kelly – excellent story of an 11 year old girl – Calpurnia – living in Texas in 1899. She wants to be a naturalist and study science; while her family expects her to spend her time learning to knit, tat, cook, etc. She is nurtured by the relationship with her grandfather, who lives with them. He is one of the founding members of National Geographic Society, and teaches her how to be a naturalist, to study and make scientific observations of the world around her. Her “evolution” is her growing and discovering what she wants to do for herself. It does ties in with the naturalist studies of Charles Darwin, but there is no indoctrination in his origins of man. It is more about his work as a naturalist. Her grandfather does upset her mother by wanting to discuss what the fossil record means to the Book of Genesis with dinner guests, but discussing ideas should certainly be allowed! All in all, if you can get past any predjudices against seeing Charles D.’s name anywhere, it is a wonderful story. Calpurnia reminds me of Flavia de Luce, but without the edge – she is a naturalist, not a chemist, and doesn’t have Flavia’s fascination with poisons.
35. The God of the Hive – 4.5 – Laurie R. King – the newest Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery. This was an immediate sequel to the last (which came out a year ago!) so it was hard to get back into the storyline. It was okay, not as good as the others. Mary and Sherlock were apart for about 90% of the book, and that is what I like best – the interaction between them. That is what makes the whole story. So anyway, that’s where we leave off – hopefully it won’t take her another year to write the next one!
36. The Unbearable Lightness of Scones – 3.75 – Alexander McCall Smith – next in the 44 Scottland Street series. It was okay. I’ve liked others better. This one had a lot of dull points. The last two were really good, so maybe this just suffers by comparison.
37. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – 4.5 – Rebecca Skloot – excellent non-fiction – in 1951 Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman from Baltimore – died of cervical cancer. Before she died the doctor took samples of her tumor, and grew a cell line from them. This cell line, named HeLa, continued (and still continues) to grow and has been used in every imaginable sort of experiment, developing medications and vaccines, testing the effects of space travel and nuclear weapons. Her children, who were basically uneducated and poverty-stricken - did not find out until 20 years later. It is the story of Henrietta and her family, and what happened when the world found out who the HeLa cells came from and how it affected their family. Usually this would not appeal to me, but it was a fascinating story from page 1. Highly recommend.
Saddle Up Your Horses......For the Great Adventure
I haven't blooged much, even though so much has been going on in our lives - I am not able to put into words what God is doing with us. Our family has been on such an incredible journey the last few months. We left our safe harbor and have voyaged out, and it has been amazing. Unsettling at times (most times!). Scary sometimes. Hard to figure out what to do with all my "mental free time" now that I am not focused on that anymore. But it is a wild adventure - we have met so many people, been sucked into worship and studying God's word and doctrine in a whole new way, re-committed to our original family goals that we made so long ago. Right now, I just feel like anything is possible, and hold on - the ride gets bumpy at times. The Holy Spirit is showing us things and leading us in directions I never imagined, and my hunger to read my Bible, and study doctrine, and learn from those who have gone before is just growing.
Life right now is like that Steven Curtis Chapman song:
"Saddle up your horses - we've got a trail to blaze!"
This is the great adventure!
Life right now is like that Steven Curtis Chapman song:
"Saddle up your horses - we've got a trail to blaze!"
This is the great adventure!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Updating the reading log!
I realize my blog is mainly just a book log - I never feel like I have anything of great interest to share! However - these authors have things of great interest. This is my list from January 1 - April 30. My goal is always 100 books in a year, though if I were to start reading "hard" books I'd be willing to sacrifice that number! The rating after the title is the 1-5 score, with 1 almost never showing up (if it is that bad, I don't finish it) and 5 being almost life-changing!
And here it is:
READING LIST 2010
JANUARY
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – 5 – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – one of the best books I’ve read in a long time – I expected it to be fluffy from the title, but it was not – the story, told through letters, of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, and how the local people survived. Excellent, excellent.
2. Elephant Run – 4.5 – Roland Smith – story of a young man in Burma during WWII. When the Japanese occupies his home he and his father are taken prisoner. Learned so much about the “other war” in WWII that we don’t hear as much about – the war in the Pacific with Japan.
3. Soft Rain – 2.5 – - story of a young Cherokee girl and her family during the forced relocation of their people (Trail of Tears). Pre-read for the boys US History, but I don’t think I’ll bother having them read this one – I’m sure we can find something better, even in juvenile historical fiction.
4. White Picket Fences – 3 – Susan Meissner – way too many coincidences in this one. This is the second Meissner book in a row that I have not really cared for. Like the last, too easy and simple a conclusion, too many obvious and clichéd events.
5. Time and Again – 3 – Jack Finney – supposed to be a great sci-fi time travel classic. The time travel story was great, but the book could have been ½ as long – pages and pages of descriptions of minutiae – I skimmed past a whole lot of it. Definitely not getting the sequel!
6. A Poisoned Season – 4.75- Tasha Alexander – 2nd in the Lady Emily Ashton mystery series. Not a false step in this one. Romantic without being mushy, illectual intrigue, and none of the “amazing coincidences” in so many mysteries.
7. Fatal Waltz – 4.75 – Tasha Alexander – 3rd in the Lady Emily Ashton series. Love, love, love them.
8. Intervention – 3.5- Terri Blackstock – read for book club. Fast-paced story that kept you turning pages, but overall pretty “light”.
FEBRUARY
9. The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddball, and Geniuses Who Make Up America’s Top High School Chess Team – 3.5 - Weinreb – interesting but not great. It was written by a sports writer, and I never really got a feel for who the kids were. Also, the writer has a serious hate for GW Bush. Okay, we get it already! Any chance he got, he managed to insert Pres. Bush into the narrative.
10. Tears of Pearl – 4.5 – Tasha Alexander – not quite as good as the first three – Emily is married now, and has been welcomed into the diplomatic circles as an “investigator” – takes a little of the edge off of her.
11. Homeland – 4 – Barbara Hambly – letters between a Southern woman and a Northern woman immediately before, during and after the Civil War.
12. Anne of the Island – 4 – LM Montgomery – 3rd in the Anne of Green Gables series. Very good, once you get used to how they talk! Anne is away at college in this one.
13. Artemis Fowl – 3.5 – Eric Colefer – adventures of Artemis Fowl, 12 year old criminal mastermind. Read aloud with the older boys. They liked it – I enjoyed it. It had some “crude” jokes and minor cursing.
14. The Remedy for Regret – 3.5 – Susan Meissner – it was okay. No where near as good as some of her others, but better than the last one. Her books are Christian fiction, but most of them are not evangelical – more about getting right with God than salvation. They seem to end with the main characters at the start of their walk with God. They are better written than say, the Yada Yada prayer group books, but I don’t enjoy them anywhere near as much.
MARCH
15. Thicker Than Blood – 4.5 – C.J. Darlington – very good Christian fiction – it was thisclose to being a 5 – story a Christy, a woman with a drinking problem and a past, who reunites with the sister she hasn’t seen in 15 years. First novel, written by a homeschool graduate. I am going to recommend it for my church book discussion group.
16. Still Life – 5 – Louise Penny- excellent murder mystery – very funny, but not a “cozy” mystery – just incredibly well-written with very real characters. First in a series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec homicide division.
17. The Great Turkey Walk – 4 – Kathleen Karr – historical fiction read aloud with the boys. Very enjoyable and funny, the story of Simon Green who purchases 1,000 turkeys and walks them from Union, MO to Denver in 1860. Reminded me quite a bit of By The Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleishman, that same kind of humor.
18. revolution – 4.5 – George Barna – quick read about a movement among Christians who are leaving established churches and the Sunday morning routine and its’ clutter and bureaucracy to live a life based on 24/7 discipleship. Very interesting and inspiring – points out the differences between the church (building/structure) and being the Church.
19. Aunt Dimity Down Under – 4 – Nancy Atherton – very light Aunt Dimity mystery – no dead bodies, just a hunt for a missing person, all across New Zealand. Fun little books.
20. A Fatal Grace – 5 – Louise Penny – the second adventure of Inspector Armand Gamache’ in the village of Three Pines. Even better than the first. The only caveat I would add is that there is some profanity and the majority of the characters are not Christian. I know that this would eliminate the books for some readers. But I absolutely love these books. The characters are so real, and you really get to know and have empathy for them. And while they are murder mysteries, they are like Agatha Christie – good story and plot, but none of the “over the top” gore and sex that is so prevalent in recent popular authors. I don’t read anything like that (ie, Alex Cross mysteries, etc.)
21. The Cruellest Month – 5 – Louise Penny – third in the series – maybe even better, though this time I was pretty sure who the murderer was.
22. What About Church?Guidelines for Fellowship in the Home Schooling Family and the Home Church Alternative – 4 – Jeff Barth – someone “gifted” me with this book when they sent me a selection on paperbackswap. It has been on my shelf for a few years. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about church, how our family (who seems to be more peculiar all the time) fits in, corporate worship, etc. While I don’t see us (at this time) as being home churchers, it was an interesting book and certainly gave me food for thought, and helped solidify some of the things that I have been thinking about.
23. The Rule Against Murder – 4.75 – Louise Penny - #4 in the series. Just a tiniest bit not as good as the first three. But only tiny.
APRIL
24. A Brutal Telling – 4.75 – Louise Penny - #5 in the series. Very good, though kind of weird. Didn’t like the ending. Looking forward to her next book in the series.
25. Death of a Gossip – 4 - M.C. Beaton – first in the Hamish Macbeth series. Pretty good mystery. Better than Rhys Bowen’s Constable Evans series (which it reminds me of), but not as good as Louise Penny or Laurie R. King. I am going to keep moving on with the series, though.
26. Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today’s Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity – 3.5 – David W. Bercot – interesting and very readable, but I don’t think I agree with him. His premise is that the early church (prior to Constantine) is the only true and accurate church – the church changed with Constantine, then markedly with the Councils and Augustine. Felt Augustine was in error, the Roman Catholic Church was in error, the Reformers (especially Luther) were in error for going back to Augustine, instead of earlier Church fathers (Clement, Justin Martyr, Polycarp). Annabaptists were true to early church teachings, until they became accepted and compromised with the world. Basically, the closest he can find to the early church in doctrine are Amish/Mennonite, but they are too caught up in externals.
I have a hard time with these sorts of books because I always want to know who was RIGHT – and unless you are willing to spend years studying ECF writings, history, etc. (all of which is presented from different perspectives) you never really get to draw a conclusion beyond “Well, that is what THAT guy believes, anyway!”
27. Eve’s Daughters – 5 – Lynn Austin – excellent book – story of four generations of women in one family, and the way their choices affected the lives of the generations after. Not at all sweet/soppy, just a good story.
28. Live A Little: Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health – 4 – Love, Domar – “Eat a brownie, blow off your run, stay up late, stop worrying about your health” – I usually don’t read health/diet books because they all seem to disagree on so many things, and tend to be so dogmatic. This was a fun read, though. It was about living life in moderation, and being “pretty healthy” for whatever age you are. Discussed how much of the “proven research” really isn’t proven (no one can say definitively how much sleep an individual needs – it is very individual!) or who pays for research (who paid for the research that has had us eating blueberries by the bowlful for their antioxidants? Blueberry growers, go figure). Light and reassuring, with quizzes and sections on healthy attitudes towards eating, sleep, stress, relationships, exercise and health screenings.
29. The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag – 4.5 – Alan Bradley – second book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series. I love Flavia. She is 11 years old, in England in the early 1950s. She is brilliant – fascinated by chemistry, especially poisons. And she solves mysteries, with nothing more than her brain, observational abilities and trusty bike name Gladys. I love this kid. Looking forward to #3!
30. Eli – 4.75 – Bill Myers – what if Jesus was born in 1970? What would the Messiah look like, what would his ministry be, who would be his followers? Who would he anger? Who would kill him? Excellent, fast-paced, thought-provoking book!
And here it is:
READING LIST 2010
JANUARY
1. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – 5 – Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – one of the best books I’ve read in a long time – I expected it to be fluffy from the title, but it was not – the story, told through letters, of the Nazi occupation of Guernsey, and how the local people survived. Excellent, excellent.
2. Elephant Run – 4.5 – Roland Smith – story of a young man in Burma during WWII. When the Japanese occupies his home he and his father are taken prisoner. Learned so much about the “other war” in WWII that we don’t hear as much about – the war in the Pacific with Japan.
3. Soft Rain – 2.5 – - story of a young Cherokee girl and her family during the forced relocation of their people (Trail of Tears). Pre-read for the boys US History, but I don’t think I’ll bother having them read this one – I’m sure we can find something better, even in juvenile historical fiction.
4. White Picket Fences – 3 – Susan Meissner – way too many coincidences in this one. This is the second Meissner book in a row that I have not really cared for. Like the last, too easy and simple a conclusion, too many obvious and clichéd events.
5. Time and Again – 3 – Jack Finney – supposed to be a great sci-fi time travel classic. The time travel story was great, but the book could have been ½ as long – pages and pages of descriptions of minutiae – I skimmed past a whole lot of it. Definitely not getting the sequel!
6. A Poisoned Season – 4.75- Tasha Alexander – 2nd in the Lady Emily Ashton mystery series. Not a false step in this one. Romantic without being mushy, illectual intrigue, and none of the “amazing coincidences” in so many mysteries.
7. Fatal Waltz – 4.75 – Tasha Alexander – 3rd in the Lady Emily Ashton series. Love, love, love them.
8. Intervention – 3.5- Terri Blackstock – read for book club. Fast-paced story that kept you turning pages, but overall pretty “light”.
FEBRUARY
9. The Kings of New York: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddball, and Geniuses Who Make Up America’s Top High School Chess Team – 3.5 - Weinreb – interesting but not great. It was written by a sports writer, and I never really got a feel for who the kids were. Also, the writer has a serious hate for GW Bush. Okay, we get it already! Any chance he got, he managed to insert Pres. Bush into the narrative.
10. Tears of Pearl – 4.5 – Tasha Alexander – not quite as good as the first three – Emily is married now, and has been welcomed into the diplomatic circles as an “investigator” – takes a little of the edge off of her.
11. Homeland – 4 – Barbara Hambly – letters between a Southern woman and a Northern woman immediately before, during and after the Civil War.
12. Anne of the Island – 4 – LM Montgomery – 3rd in the Anne of Green Gables series. Very good, once you get used to how they talk! Anne is away at college in this one.
13. Artemis Fowl – 3.5 – Eric Colefer – adventures of Artemis Fowl, 12 year old criminal mastermind. Read aloud with the older boys. They liked it – I enjoyed it. It had some “crude” jokes and minor cursing.
14. The Remedy for Regret – 3.5 – Susan Meissner – it was okay. No where near as good as some of her others, but better than the last one. Her books are Christian fiction, but most of them are not evangelical – more about getting right with God than salvation. They seem to end with the main characters at the start of their walk with God. They are better written than say, the Yada Yada prayer group books, but I don’t enjoy them anywhere near as much.
MARCH
15. Thicker Than Blood – 4.5 – C.J. Darlington – very good Christian fiction – it was thisclose to being a 5 – story a Christy, a woman with a drinking problem and a past, who reunites with the sister she hasn’t seen in 15 years. First novel, written by a homeschool graduate. I am going to recommend it for my church book discussion group.
16. Still Life – 5 – Louise Penny- excellent murder mystery – very funny, but not a “cozy” mystery – just incredibly well-written with very real characters. First in a series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Quebec homicide division.
17. The Great Turkey Walk – 4 – Kathleen Karr – historical fiction read aloud with the boys. Very enjoyable and funny, the story of Simon Green who purchases 1,000 turkeys and walks them from Union, MO to Denver in 1860. Reminded me quite a bit of By The Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleishman, that same kind of humor.
18. revolution – 4.5 – George Barna – quick read about a movement among Christians who are leaving established churches and the Sunday morning routine and its’ clutter and bureaucracy to live a life based on 24/7 discipleship. Very interesting and inspiring – points out the differences between the church (building/structure) and being the Church.
19. Aunt Dimity Down Under – 4 – Nancy Atherton – very light Aunt Dimity mystery – no dead bodies, just a hunt for a missing person, all across New Zealand. Fun little books.
20. A Fatal Grace – 5 – Louise Penny – the second adventure of Inspector Armand Gamache’ in the village of Three Pines. Even better than the first. The only caveat I would add is that there is some profanity and the majority of the characters are not Christian. I know that this would eliminate the books for some readers. But I absolutely love these books. The characters are so real, and you really get to know and have empathy for them. And while they are murder mysteries, they are like Agatha Christie – good story and plot, but none of the “over the top” gore and sex that is so prevalent in recent popular authors. I don’t read anything like that (ie, Alex Cross mysteries, etc.)
21. The Cruellest Month – 5 – Louise Penny – third in the series – maybe even better, though this time I was pretty sure who the murderer was.
22. What About Church?Guidelines for Fellowship in the Home Schooling Family and the Home Church Alternative – 4 – Jeff Barth – someone “gifted” me with this book when they sent me a selection on paperbackswap. It has been on my shelf for a few years. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about church, how our family (who seems to be more peculiar all the time) fits in, corporate worship, etc. While I don’t see us (at this time) as being home churchers, it was an interesting book and certainly gave me food for thought, and helped solidify some of the things that I have been thinking about.
23. The Rule Against Murder – 4.75 – Louise Penny - #4 in the series. Just a tiniest bit not as good as the first three. But only tiny.
APRIL
24. A Brutal Telling – 4.75 – Louise Penny - #5 in the series. Very good, though kind of weird. Didn’t like the ending. Looking forward to her next book in the series.
25. Death of a Gossip – 4 - M.C. Beaton – first in the Hamish Macbeth series. Pretty good mystery. Better than Rhys Bowen’s Constable Evans series (which it reminds me of), but not as good as Louise Penny or Laurie R. King. I am going to keep moving on with the series, though.
26. Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up: A New Look at Today’s Evangelical Church in the Light of Early Christianity – 3.5 – David W. Bercot – interesting and very readable, but I don’t think I agree with him. His premise is that the early church (prior to Constantine) is the only true and accurate church – the church changed with Constantine, then markedly with the Councils and Augustine. Felt Augustine was in error, the Roman Catholic Church was in error, the Reformers (especially Luther) were in error for going back to Augustine, instead of earlier Church fathers (Clement, Justin Martyr, Polycarp). Annabaptists were true to early church teachings, until they became accepted and compromised with the world. Basically, the closest he can find to the early church in doctrine are Amish/Mennonite, but they are too caught up in externals.
I have a hard time with these sorts of books because I always want to know who was RIGHT – and unless you are willing to spend years studying ECF writings, history, etc. (all of which is presented from different perspectives) you never really get to draw a conclusion beyond “Well, that is what THAT guy believes, anyway!”
27. Eve’s Daughters – 5 – Lynn Austin – excellent book – story of four generations of women in one family, and the way their choices affected the lives of the generations after. Not at all sweet/soppy, just a good story.
28. Live A Little: Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health – 4 – Love, Domar – “Eat a brownie, blow off your run, stay up late, stop worrying about your health” – I usually don’t read health/diet books because they all seem to disagree on so many things, and tend to be so dogmatic. This was a fun read, though. It was about living life in moderation, and being “pretty healthy” for whatever age you are. Discussed how much of the “proven research” really isn’t proven (no one can say definitively how much sleep an individual needs – it is very individual!) or who pays for research (who paid for the research that has had us eating blueberries by the bowlful for their antioxidants? Blueberry growers, go figure). Light and reassuring, with quizzes and sections on healthy attitudes towards eating, sleep, stress, relationships, exercise and health screenings.
29. The Weed That Strings The Hangman’s Bag – 4.5 – Alan Bradley – second book in the Flavia de Luce mystery series. I love Flavia. She is 11 years old, in England in the early 1950s. She is brilliant – fascinated by chemistry, especially poisons. And she solves mysteries, with nothing more than her brain, observational abilities and trusty bike name Gladys. I love this kid. Looking forward to #3!
30. Eli – 4.75 – Bill Myers – what if Jesus was born in 1970? What would the Messiah look like, what would his ministry be, who would be his followers? Who would he anger? Who would kill him? Excellent, fast-paced, thought-provoking book!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Year end book wrap up
I did not realize it, but I have not posted any reading logs since September. So, here is Oct - Dec, 2009. I did make my 100 - just squeaked by.
OCTOBER
73. Writings to Young Women: As Told By Her Family, Friends and Neighbors – Laura Ingalls Wilder – 4 – edited by Stephen W. Hines – collection of reminisces about the Wilders.
74. The Girl She Used to Be – 4.75 – great story – Melody has been in the witness protection program since her family witnessed a mob murder when she was 6 – now her worst fear has come true – a man knows who she really is, and has come to get her. And she goes with him. So many twists and turns – loved it.
75. The Prince Lost to Time – 4.5 – Ann Dukthas – excellent story – Nicholas Segalla, a mysterious man who never ages investigates the death/disappearance of the Dauphin of France, the son of Louis VXI and Marie Antoinette.
76. The Language of Bees – 4.75 – Laurie R. King – the last in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series – and it is a cliffhanger! I hope she writes really fast!
77. The Apocalypse Code – 4 – Hank Hanegraaff – excellent book on eschaetology. My favorite Bible teacher.
78. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – 4 – Jean Lee Latham- read aloud for SL core 3. It was not as good as Johnny Tremain
79. Aunt Dimity Goes West – 4 – Nancy Atherton – one of the better Aunt Dimity books
80. Plum Pudding Murder – 4 – JoAnne Fluke – light fluffy mystery. Just when I thought the series should be coming to an end, a new twist was thrown in!
NOVEMBER
81. Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter – 4.25 – Nancy Atherton – another fun Aunt Dimity mystery – this time Lori couldn’t be any more wrong as she leaps to conclusions and searches for the vampire (hidden by his vampire family, of course) that her boys saw in the woods near their home.
82. The Lost Art of Gratitude – 3 – Alexander McCall Smith – latest in the Sunday Philosopher Club series. Boring.
83. The Cold Light of Mourning – 3.75 - Elizabeth J. Duncan – Penny Brannigan, manicurist in a small village in Wales, solves the mystery of who killed the bride on her wedding day. Not as good as Aunt Dimity, along the same lines of Constable Evans (also set in Wales). Nice and interesting, but not really much fun.
84. Demon Ex Machina – 4.25 – Julie Kenner – 5th installment in the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series. A lot of loose ends wrapped up. I really enjoy this series, sort of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, grown up with two kids and living in the suburbs.
85. A Measure of Mercy – Home To Blessing #1 – 3 – Lauraine Snelling – this is now the 4th series about the people in the town of Blessing, South Dakota. The first series of 6 books (Red River of the North) was excellent, as was the second series of three books (Return to Red River). The third series, Daughters of Blessing was good, but not as good. Each one was a romance story of one of the girls in the town. This next series is about Astrid, the daughter of the town founders. It was okay, but not great. Definitely not a “stand alone” book. I enjoy these books, but only because the first ones were so very good, and now after 14 books and 5 or so years I feel like I know the characters. But just on the merits of this book alone, it was not that great.
86. In The Time of the Poisoned Queen – 4.75 – Ann Dukthas – the last Nicholas Segalla mystery! At least I am assuming it is, as it was written in 1998 and no more have come since then. Very sad. Nicholas Segalla, the mysterious Jesuit/detective who lives forever is involved in the mystery surrounding the death of Mary Tudor. Is Queen Mary being poisoned? And if so, by whom….? Great story, great what-ifs.
87. The Lewis and Clark Expedition – 4 – read aloud with the older boys, Landmark Book about their journey. Very good.
88. What’s For Dinner, Mom? – 4 – Lorrie Flem – a food prep/freezer cooking/kitchen organizing/menu planning guide from Lorrie Flem, editor of TEACH magazine. Usually I don’t count cookbooks, unless I read all the way through them. But this was more of a guide than just a collection of recipes. Would be an excellent resource for someone just starting out with meal planning.
89. Where Do I Go? 5.0 – Neta Jackson – House of Hope Series, takes off where Yada Yada Prayer Group leaves off, focusing on Manna House, the shelter for homeless women.
90. Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon – 4 – Nancy Atherton – the last published (so far) Aunt Dimity book. In this one, a Renassance Fair comes to the village of Finch and Lori is investigating a suspicious string of events. Always fun, easy reads.
DECEMBER
91. The New Answers Book: Over 25 Questions on Creation/Evolution and the Bible – 4 – Ken Ham, editor
92. June Bug – 4.25 – Chris Fabry –June Bug and her father live in an RV and travel the country as nomads. One day she walks into a Wal-Mart and sees a picture of herself among the “Missing Children” posters. The rest of the story is her journey to find the truth about herself and her father, and where they came from. Read for church book club. Good, fast-paced story, so I gave it a high rating, but it didn’t leave any real lasting impression. Just an interesting story.
93. Day After Night – 4.5 – Anita Diamant – based on the true story of the rescue of Jews who were held by the British in internment camps in Israel after the end of WWII. It is told through the eyes of 4 young Jewish women who had survived the war – one a concentration camp survivor, a Polish Zionist, a Parisian beauty and a Dutch women who had been in hiding and betrayed. Excellent story.
94. The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving – 4 – Robert Spector – a history of the small merchant in America, interwoven with the author’s family history (Russian Jewish immigrants and owners of a meat shop in New Jersey) and interviews around the country with small businesses making a go of it in America.
95. Who Do I Talk To? Yada Yada House of Hope Book 2 – 5 – Neta Jackson – I think I like this series even more than the Yada Yada Prayer Group books. Gabby finds herself homeless, and starts learning to follow God’s leading as opposed to her own plans. Read it in about 24 hours – can’t wait until 6/2010 for Book 3!
96. Christian Unschooling: Growing your Children in the Freedom of Christ – 3.5 – Teri J. Brown and Elissa M. Wahl- it was okay, mainly just a “What is unschooling” and then essays from unschooling families. I don’t see any connection (even after reading the book!) between Christianity or lack of it and unschooling. Apparently others do, though. I did notice that most of the essays that went on and on about the joy and freedom were mostly people with small children – duh, we can all unschool 2nd grade! There were fewer that had families in high school and lo and behold! Most of them were using some curriculum, at least for math. In essence, I think all methods can work for different people at different times in the homeschool journey, but I don’t care for the people (on either end) who get all dogmatic about it.
97. And Only To Deceive – 4.75 – Tasha Alexander – mystery series set in Victorian England society – I think in Emily Ashton I may have found a heroine to tide me over while I wait for the next Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery from Laurie R. King. Emily is a young widow of noble birth who is beginning to think for herself and show independence in a tightly circumscribed society. Good mystery (though I did guess who dunit). I have the next in the series on hold at the library.
98. My Journey With Farrah: A Story of Life, Love and Friendship – 3 – Alana Stewart – basically the journal Alana Stewart kept during the 2 ½ years that Farrah Fawcett was battling cancer. I had a hard time with it, because Alana is very New Age-spiritual, trying anything and everything – but no mention of the Bible (other than Lords Prayer and Psalm 23, which she read out of a Christian Science book), or Christ. Anyway, reading about someone dying is always sad, but this also seemed empty. I do admire her love and devotion to her friend, though.
99. A Window to the World - 3- Susan Meissner – a disappointment, after Why The Sky is Blue and The Shape of Mercy. Jen and Megan are best friends. Then, when they are 8 years old Jen is abducted in front of Megan and disappears off the face of the earth. Just never really got into the characters, and the resolution was way too neat and tidy.
100. The Pioneer Woman Cooks – 4.5 – and yes, I am counting a cookbook as a book! Generally I don’t but I did actually READ the entire book. And, I needed it for 100 this year.
I decided it was okay to count it, because I read a few ebooks this year and didn’t count them, and read several chapter books (Magic Tree House, Beast Quest series, and all the My Father’s Dragon) to my younger boys that I did not count. My page volume of “uncounted books” was enough to put me over the top, imho. And there is probably at least one book that I missed writing down this year!
OCTOBER
73. Writings to Young Women: As Told By Her Family, Friends and Neighbors – Laura Ingalls Wilder – 4 – edited by Stephen W. Hines – collection of reminisces about the Wilders.
74. The Girl She Used to Be – 4.75 – great story – Melody has been in the witness protection program since her family witnessed a mob murder when she was 6 – now her worst fear has come true – a man knows who she really is, and has come to get her. And she goes with him. So many twists and turns – loved it.
75. The Prince Lost to Time – 4.5 – Ann Dukthas – excellent story – Nicholas Segalla, a mysterious man who never ages investigates the death/disappearance of the Dauphin of France, the son of Louis VXI and Marie Antoinette.
76. The Language of Bees – 4.75 – Laurie R. King – the last in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series – and it is a cliffhanger! I hope she writes really fast!
77. The Apocalypse Code – 4 – Hank Hanegraaff – excellent book on eschaetology. My favorite Bible teacher.
78. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch – 4 – Jean Lee Latham- read aloud for SL core 3. It was not as good as Johnny Tremain
79. Aunt Dimity Goes West – 4 – Nancy Atherton – one of the better Aunt Dimity books
80. Plum Pudding Murder – 4 – JoAnne Fluke – light fluffy mystery. Just when I thought the series should be coming to an end, a new twist was thrown in!
NOVEMBER
81. Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter – 4.25 – Nancy Atherton – another fun Aunt Dimity mystery – this time Lori couldn’t be any more wrong as she leaps to conclusions and searches for the vampire (hidden by his vampire family, of course) that her boys saw in the woods near their home.
82. The Lost Art of Gratitude – 3 – Alexander McCall Smith – latest in the Sunday Philosopher Club series. Boring.
83. The Cold Light of Mourning – 3.75 - Elizabeth J. Duncan – Penny Brannigan, manicurist in a small village in Wales, solves the mystery of who killed the bride on her wedding day. Not as good as Aunt Dimity, along the same lines of Constable Evans (also set in Wales). Nice and interesting, but not really much fun.
84. Demon Ex Machina – 4.25 – Julie Kenner – 5th installment in the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series. A lot of loose ends wrapped up. I really enjoy this series, sort of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, grown up with two kids and living in the suburbs.
85. A Measure of Mercy – Home To Blessing #1 – 3 – Lauraine Snelling – this is now the 4th series about the people in the town of Blessing, South Dakota. The first series of 6 books (Red River of the North) was excellent, as was the second series of three books (Return to Red River). The third series, Daughters of Blessing was good, but not as good. Each one was a romance story of one of the girls in the town. This next series is about Astrid, the daughter of the town founders. It was okay, but not great. Definitely not a “stand alone” book. I enjoy these books, but only because the first ones were so very good, and now after 14 books and 5 or so years I feel like I know the characters. But just on the merits of this book alone, it was not that great.
86. In The Time of the Poisoned Queen – 4.75 – Ann Dukthas – the last Nicholas Segalla mystery! At least I am assuming it is, as it was written in 1998 and no more have come since then. Very sad. Nicholas Segalla, the mysterious Jesuit/detective who lives forever is involved in the mystery surrounding the death of Mary Tudor. Is Queen Mary being poisoned? And if so, by whom….? Great story, great what-ifs.
87. The Lewis and Clark Expedition – 4 – read aloud with the older boys, Landmark Book about their journey. Very good.
88. What’s For Dinner, Mom? – 4 – Lorrie Flem – a food prep/freezer cooking/kitchen organizing/menu planning guide from Lorrie Flem, editor of TEACH magazine. Usually I don’t count cookbooks, unless I read all the way through them. But this was more of a guide than just a collection of recipes. Would be an excellent resource for someone just starting out with meal planning.
89. Where Do I Go? 5.0 – Neta Jackson – House of Hope Series, takes off where Yada Yada Prayer Group leaves off, focusing on Manna House, the shelter for homeless women.
90. Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon – 4 – Nancy Atherton – the last published (so far) Aunt Dimity book. In this one, a Renassance Fair comes to the village of Finch and Lori is investigating a suspicious string of events. Always fun, easy reads.
DECEMBER
91. The New Answers Book: Over 25 Questions on Creation/Evolution and the Bible – 4 – Ken Ham, editor
92. June Bug – 4.25 – Chris Fabry –June Bug and her father live in an RV and travel the country as nomads. One day she walks into a Wal-Mart and sees a picture of herself among the “Missing Children” posters. The rest of the story is her journey to find the truth about herself and her father, and where they came from. Read for church book club. Good, fast-paced story, so I gave it a high rating, but it didn’t leave any real lasting impression. Just an interesting story.
93. Day After Night – 4.5 – Anita Diamant – based on the true story of the rescue of Jews who were held by the British in internment camps in Israel after the end of WWII. It is told through the eyes of 4 young Jewish women who had survived the war – one a concentration camp survivor, a Polish Zionist, a Parisian beauty and a Dutch women who had been in hiding and betrayed. Excellent story.
94. The Mom & Pop Store: How the Unsung Heroes of the American Economy Are Surviving and Thriving – 4 – Robert Spector – a history of the small merchant in America, interwoven with the author’s family history (Russian Jewish immigrants and owners of a meat shop in New Jersey) and interviews around the country with small businesses making a go of it in America.
95. Who Do I Talk To? Yada Yada House of Hope Book 2 – 5 – Neta Jackson – I think I like this series even more than the Yada Yada Prayer Group books. Gabby finds herself homeless, and starts learning to follow God’s leading as opposed to her own plans. Read it in about 24 hours – can’t wait until 6/2010 for Book 3!
96. Christian Unschooling: Growing your Children in the Freedom of Christ – 3.5 – Teri J. Brown and Elissa M. Wahl- it was okay, mainly just a “What is unschooling” and then essays from unschooling families. I don’t see any connection (even after reading the book!) between Christianity or lack of it and unschooling. Apparently others do, though. I did notice that most of the essays that went on and on about the joy and freedom were mostly people with small children – duh, we can all unschool 2nd grade! There were fewer that had families in high school and lo and behold! Most of them were using some curriculum, at least for math. In essence, I think all methods can work for different people at different times in the homeschool journey, but I don’t care for the people (on either end) who get all dogmatic about it.
97. And Only To Deceive – 4.75 – Tasha Alexander – mystery series set in Victorian England society – I think in Emily Ashton I may have found a heroine to tide me over while I wait for the next Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes mystery from Laurie R. King. Emily is a young widow of noble birth who is beginning to think for herself and show independence in a tightly circumscribed society. Good mystery (though I did guess who dunit). I have the next in the series on hold at the library.
98. My Journey With Farrah: A Story of Life, Love and Friendship – 3 – Alana Stewart – basically the journal Alana Stewart kept during the 2 ½ years that Farrah Fawcett was battling cancer. I had a hard time with it, because Alana is very New Age-spiritual, trying anything and everything – but no mention of the Bible (other than Lords Prayer and Psalm 23, which she read out of a Christian Science book), or Christ. Anyway, reading about someone dying is always sad, but this also seemed empty. I do admire her love and devotion to her friend, though.
99. A Window to the World - 3- Susan Meissner – a disappointment, after Why The Sky is Blue and The Shape of Mercy. Jen and Megan are best friends. Then, when they are 8 years old Jen is abducted in front of Megan and disappears off the face of the earth. Just never really got into the characters, and the resolution was way too neat and tidy.
100. The Pioneer Woman Cooks – 4.5 – and yes, I am counting a cookbook as a book! Generally I don’t but I did actually READ the entire book. And, I needed it for 100 this year.
I decided it was okay to count it, because I read a few ebooks this year and didn’t count them, and read several chapter books (Magic Tree House, Beast Quest series, and all the My Father’s Dragon) to my younger boys that I did not count. My page volume of “uncounted books” was enough to put me over the top, imho. And there is probably at least one book that I missed writing down this year!
Baked Oatmeal
Baked Oatmeal
2 cups quick oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup applesauce
¾ cup milk
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and pour into greased 8x8” pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until done (mine was baked in a glass pan, and very done in 20 minutes) Serve with honey, maple syrup or blueberries.
A whole recipe is 27 WW points. I did use sweetened applesauce (all I had) but next time I will use some of my homemade chunky unsweetened, so that will remove a few sugar points. I also used skim milk. I think you could replace the brown sugar with Splenda Brown Sugar stuff, but I have not had good luck using Splenda in any baking, so I'd rather just have the real stuff and do the treadmill for a bit. We ate ours warm with a drizzle of honey. I think raisins would bake well in this, too.
2 cups quick oatmeal
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg, beaten
1/3 cup applesauce
¾ cup milk
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and pour into greased 8x8” pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until done (mine was baked in a glass pan, and very done in 20 minutes) Serve with honey, maple syrup or blueberries.
A whole recipe is 27 WW points. I did use sweetened applesauce (all I had) but next time I will use some of my homemade chunky unsweetened, so that will remove a few sugar points. I also used skim milk. I think you could replace the brown sugar with Splenda Brown Sugar stuff, but I have not had good luck using Splenda in any baking, so I'd rather just have the real stuff and do the treadmill for a bit. We ate ours warm with a drizzle of honey. I think raisins would bake well in this, too.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
September reading list
Books for September: some great, some only okay. I only have one more book left in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series, and I am dreading it being over - it is one where I feel like I really know the characters.
I think I am going to make my 100 for the year....3 months left, and only need 27 more books, and I'll finish one today.
65. Justice Hall – 4.5 – Laurie R. King – the continuing adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his wife and partner in detective work, Mary Russell. This time they are trying to solve the mystery surrounding the death of the heir to a British dukedom in the aftermath of WWI. Always good.
66. Royal Flush – 4 – Rhys Bowen – 3rd book in the Her Royal Spyness series. Lady Georgiana is 34th in line for the British throne in the early 1930s. She comes from a noble but impoverished family. Toss in a cast of eccentric characters, some upper-crust British clichés, that American woman Mrs. Wallis Simpson and a dead body or two and you get a fun, easy murder mystery. Very enjoyable series.
67. The Secret Life of Becky Miller – 4.5 – Sharon Hinck – a few clichés stopped this from being a complete 5 – Becky Miller is a young mother of 3 who is trying (way too hard) to do Big Things For God. Should be required reading for all mothers of young children who find themselves on 18 bazillion committees at church.
68. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – 2 - ? – junior novelization of the movie – whatever would we do WITHOUT Scholastic Books? It is good to read the books that movies came from, but books written AFTER the movie – not so good. Bedtime read aloud for the boys – it was Tony’s turn to pick. I finished it, and it took about 3 weeks, so I am counting it!
69. The Power of a Positive Mom – 3.5 Karol Ladd – pretty good, Christian book, just basic uplifting Mom stuff
70. The Game – 4.5- Laurie R. King – continuing adventures of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes – this time in India, rescuing Kimball O’Hara (a grown-up Kim of Rudyard Kipling fame) – leaves a few loose ends.
71. The Locked Room – 4.5- Laurie R. King – ties up the loose ends for Russell and Holmes from the previous book
72. Run For Your Life – 3.5- Betty Swynford – read aloud to older boys – story of a German boy whose family hid Jews in the early days of WWII and the Jewish boy whose family was hidden – they are captured by the Nazis and it is the story of how the two boys escaped. Pretty good, the boys really enjoyed it.
I think I am going to make my 100 for the year....3 months left, and only need 27 more books, and I'll finish one today.
65. Justice Hall – 4.5 – Laurie R. King – the continuing adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his wife and partner in detective work, Mary Russell. This time they are trying to solve the mystery surrounding the death of the heir to a British dukedom in the aftermath of WWI. Always good.
66. Royal Flush – 4 – Rhys Bowen – 3rd book in the Her Royal Spyness series. Lady Georgiana is 34th in line for the British throne in the early 1930s. She comes from a noble but impoverished family. Toss in a cast of eccentric characters, some upper-crust British clichés, that American woman Mrs. Wallis Simpson and a dead body or two and you get a fun, easy murder mystery. Very enjoyable series.
67. The Secret Life of Becky Miller – 4.5 – Sharon Hinck – a few clichés stopped this from being a complete 5 – Becky Miller is a young mother of 3 who is trying (way too hard) to do Big Things For God. Should be required reading for all mothers of young children who find themselves on 18 bazillion committees at church.
68. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – 2 - ? – junior novelization of the movie – whatever would we do WITHOUT Scholastic Books? It is good to read the books that movies came from, but books written AFTER the movie – not so good. Bedtime read aloud for the boys – it was Tony’s turn to pick. I finished it, and it took about 3 weeks, so I am counting it!
69. The Power of a Positive Mom – 3.5 Karol Ladd – pretty good, Christian book, just basic uplifting Mom stuff
70. The Game – 4.5- Laurie R. King – continuing adventures of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes – this time in India, rescuing Kimball O’Hara (a grown-up Kim of Rudyard Kipling fame) – leaves a few loose ends.
71. The Locked Room – 4.5- Laurie R. King – ties up the loose ends for Russell and Holmes from the previous book
72. Run For Your Life – 3.5- Betty Swynford – read aloud to older boys – story of a German boy whose family hid Jews in the early days of WWII and the Jewish boy whose family was hidden – they are captured by the Nazis and it is the story of how the two boys escaped. Pretty good, the boys really enjoyed it.
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