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Categories Reading My Library

BANG!

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It had been sitting on my nightstand for quite some time. I knew I’d have to read it eventually. It should be good, I told myself. It’s a Caldecott Honor book, a children’s book, an innocent story.

But my mind wasn’t innocent as I glanced at my nightstand to see the spine staring at me: “BANG THE GREY LADY AND THE STRAWBERRY SNATCHER”.

Now, I don’t think I have a dirty mind–but I’m not entirely clueless about the slang of the day–so “Bang the grey lady” was just a bit much for my mind to take.

I’d look at it and start laughing–and then sternly reprimand myself for doing so. “Get a grip, Rebekah. That’s the lady’s name. She can’t help it that her last name means something naughty nowadays. Stop laughing.”

I read Molly Bang’s other picture books: One Fall Day, Ten, Nine, Eight, The Paper Crane, When Molly Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry…, In My Heart, and My Light I liked them. I liked the colorful illustrations–some painted or drawn, others photographs of three dimensional murals. I liked the way Bang used language. I liked the gentle, everyday yet not quite everyday nature of her stories. I liked them.

So I opened Bang the gray lady—

Except that’s not the title. So “Bang” and “The Grey Lady” run together on the spine. That doesn’t mean they’re both the title.

I opened The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher, still chuckling over the spine and berating myself for my sophomoric sense that just WOULDN’T give up.

And I absolutely hated it.

How did this thing win a Caldecott?

It’s a wordless book about a bright blue Strawberry Snatcher who wears a Red and Green cape and a purple hat. He chases after the gray lady, trying to snatch her strawberries. The problem is, the Gray Lady (since she IS gray) keeps disappearing into the dusk.

Then the Strawberry Snatcher is diverted by a bramble of raspberries. The Grey Lady returns home to her family and enjoys the strawberries with them. The end.

I wasn’t impressed. Not with the story, not with the illustrations, not with the way “BANG” ran together with “The Grey Lady” on the spine. This is a book I’m not picking up again.

Reading My LibraryFor more comments on children’s books, see the rest of my Reading My Library posts or check out Carrie’s blog Reading My Library, which chronicles her and her children’s trip through the children’s section of their local library.


Categories Book Notes

Musings on laying down arms

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Unless something spectacular happens in the last dozen chapters, I won’t be writing a full review of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Maybe it’s just me–or maybe it’s the slow pace that I’m taking through the book–but I think this has got to be the most boring book Hemingway has ever written.

I plug along, one chapter at a time, taking it like a dose of medicine before the dinner that is a book I actually enjoy.

The only redeeming value (thus far) has been the protagonist’s occasional conversations with the priest who serves alongside him on the Italian front of the Great war.

When I last wrote about a conversation between the two, it was the priest who had something useful to say. This time, the protagonist has a real point.

[The priest asked] “Then you think it will go on and on? Nothing will ever happen?”

“I don’t know. I only think the Austrians will not stop when they have won a victory. It is in defeat that we become Christian.”

“The Austrians are Christians–except for the Bosnians.”

“I don’t mean technically Christian. I mean like Our Lord.”

He said nothing.

“We are all gentler now because we are beaten. How would Our Lord have been if Peter had rescued him in the Garden?”

Basically, the protagonist suggests that we only lay down our arms when we recognize that we’ve been beaten.

To hear Hemingway’s description, it appears that the Austrian/Italian front was largely static–the armies just pushed back and forth over the same bit of land in a tug-of-war that seemed to never end.

When the Italians were losing ground, they were humbled. They saw that their fighting was accomplishing nothing, so they were ready to lay down their arms. When the Austrians were losing ground, ostensibly they felt the same way. But it would only be when both were humbled, when both realized that fighting was getting them nowhere that both parties would be willing to lay down their arms.

But the protagonist does more than simply muse on the conditions under which surrender is possible. He makes a statement about Christianity and surrender–even Christianity and disarmament.

Equating imitation of Jesus Christ with Christianity, he states that only in defeat do we truly become imitators of Christ–because it’s only in defeat that we lay down our arms.

I find this idea fascinating in light of my current book club discussion of Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You. We’re wrestling with this idea that nonresistance to evil is a Christian virtue–perhaps even, as Tolstoy and some other might suggest, THE Christian virtue (which, by the way, I happen to disagree with–I would say that THE Christian virtue is love. I am, however, wrestling through how nonresistance to evil makes up a component of that Christian virtue of love–but I digress.)

Is nonresistance to evil a primary means by which Christians are to imitate Christ? I’m still turning that topic over in my mind. But Hemingway’s little commentary has made me think a bit further.

Then there’s the protagonist’s final question. “How would Our Lord have been if Peter had rescued him in the Garden?”

What if Jesus had let Peter “deliver” Him in the Garden of Gethsemane? What if He had urged the use of the sword against His enemies?

Jesus would have emerged triumphant on this earth, a military leader. He could have gotten out of there. He could have escaped death.

And he would have been utterly defeated.

Jesus’ victory was not to be found in wielding the sword. His victory was not found even in self-defense. His victory occurred when He surrendered–to God’s will and then, for God’s sake, to man’s.

He could have won an earthly victory in the Garden, but if He had; He’d have lost the eternal battle. And so Jesus, recognizing the eternal defeat earthly victory would have meant, surrendered to earthly defeat in order to gain the heavenly victory.

How often, I wonder, do I fight earthly battles under the illusion that somehow earthly victory means something eternally? Oh, that I could see with the eyes of eternity–and surrender the battles here that if fought and won would only engender true defeat.

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (October 2010)

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On last month’s nightstand:

On my nightstandOn my nightstand

What I actually read this month was…

I was a little surprised at how much reading I HAVE been able to accomplish this month. Nevertheless, you’ll see that I have plenty of books carrying over.

Fiction

  • Amorelle by Grace Livingston Hill (My Review)

Nonfiction

  • The Church Supper Cookbook
    A wonderful collection of recipes, several of which I’m determined to copy for my own personal use.
  • Crochet Inspiration by Sasha Kagan
    A collection of great crochet stitch variations with glossy photos, clear instructions, and charts if you prefer those.
  • Dreaming of Dior by Charlotte Smith (My Review)
  • Founding Faith by Steven Waldman (My Review)
  • Justice that Restores by Chuck Colson (Review coming later)
  • Money Saving Slow Cooking by Sandra Lee
    I wasn’t impressed. Too many processed foods, not enough that looked appealing.
  • The Narnian by Alan Jacobs (Review coming later)
  • Nothing to Wear? by Jesse Garza and Joe Lupo (My Review)
  • Not Quite What I was Planning
    Six word memoirs. These are great.

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author Balian-Balouch (10 titles)
  • C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia by Mary Dodson Wade (My Review)

Currently in the middle of…

On my nightstand

The asterisk marks the book I picked up over the course of this month–all the rest are holdovers from last month’s list.

  • Ask Me Anything a Dorling-Kindersley book
  • *Boston: Moon Handbooks
  • The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (Lisa’s Review)
  • Desiring God by John Piper
  • Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
  • The Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy
  • Nina Garcia’s Look Book by Nina Garcia

On this month’s nightstand:

On my nightstand

Again, the asterisks mark the books I picked up over the course of this month–all the rest are holdovers from last month’s list.

Fiction

  • Love’s Abiding Joy by Janette Oke

Nonfiction

  • *30-Minute Get Real Meals by Rachael Ray
  • *Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America by Kate Zernike
  • How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day
  • Making the Big Move by Cathy Goodwin
  • *Nasty, Brutish, and Long: Adventures in Eldercare by Ira Rosofsky
  • Radical by David Platt
    Reviews by Lisa of Lisa Notes, Vitamin Z, Sandra Peoples, Lisa formerly of 5M4B, and Carrie–basically, the whole world is talking about this one! :-)
  • *Four wardrobe makeover books–who knows how deep I’ll go into these
  • *Another Boston guidebook–cause I’m headed to Boston this fall for a professional conference!

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author BANG-?
  • The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Nebraska an “America the Beautiful” book by Ann Heinrichs
  • Nebraska a “Celebrate the States” book by Ruth Bjorklund
  • The Old Motel Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • The Secret of Skull Mountain by Franklin W. Dixon

Drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading.
What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “Amorelle” by Grace Livingston Hill

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It’s funny how perspective changes preferences.

I remember reading Grace Livingstone Hill when I was a pre-teen and loving the homemaking ingenuity of her characters. I enjoyed the old-fashioned romance of her once-contemporary novels.

By my late teens, I had definitely developed a bias against Hill. I considered her a writer of pablum, meaningless, bland, run-of-the-mill Christian fiction.

And now I’m reading her again–partly because I’ve read a few bloggers who spoke of their admiration for Hill and partly because she’s at my library and is an easy read.

I hadn’t read Amorelle during my earlier years–so I can’t compare my thoughts on this specific title from then to now–but I can make some observations.

Amorelle goes to stay with her worldly aunt, uncle, and cousin after her pastor father dies, leaving her homeless. Her aunt and cousin quickly consign her to the status of household help. She excels in this role, creating delicious little snacks and doing pretty handwork. Yep, just what I remember from my earlier days–homemaking ingenuity.

Amorelle’s old-fashioned Christianity (with its certain social taboos) contrasts sharply with her cousin’s brash worldliness. Louise is loud and scheming. She calls her mother by her first name and pettishly insists on her own way. Amorelle, on the other hand, is sweet, acquiescent, and courteous.

So is Amorelle meaningless, bland, run-of-the-mill Christian fiction, as I would have said in my late teens?

That’s what I’m not so sure about any more. Certainly, Amorelle is not top-tier fiction. It’s not likely to win any literary awards. But there is a depth to this novel and an almost natural quality with which faith is woven into the storyline.

Amorelle is swept off her feet by a young member of Louise’s set, a handsome business-like fellow who is nevertheless quite taken with Amorelle. Almost without realizing it, Amorelle finds herself engaged to George. But the moment their engagement is announced she starts to wonder whether this decision was wise.

Is George really the right man for her? Do they have that unity of heart and soul that Amorelle’s parents seemed to have? Is Amorelle in love with George? Or is she really just in love with being in love? Amorelle must learn to lean on the Lord’s wisdom to guide her through these difficult questions.

Like I said, Hill isn’t likely to win any literary awards for her writing–but I did find Amorelle to be a nice, comfortable read. It isn’t meaty enough for a main course, but neither is it the meaningless fluff of a dessert. It’s a salad book, a nice, nutritious break from meat and potatoes reading.

Rating: 3 stars
Category: Christian Romance
Synopsis: After the death of her pastor father, Amorelle moves in with her relatives–and shortly finds herself engaged to a dashing young businessman. But is George really the right man for her?
Recommendation: This isn’t spectacular reading, but it’s a nice, medium-weight novel for relaxing on a lazy day.

Visit my books page for more reviews and notes.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: Nothing to Wear? by Garza and Lupo

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What woman has not opened up her closet, surveyed its contents, and declared, “I have NOTHING to wear”?

And what woman, if she has declared this in the presence of a man or child, has not heard the response, “What are you talking about? Your closet is stuffed with clothes”?

Many a book attempts to help women out of this predicament–some helpfully, others not so helpfully. The majority of books within this category lay out a simple solution: Create a basic wardrobe where everything goes with everything and then accessorize from there.

Jesse Garza and Joe Lupo’s Nothing to Wear? offers this standard piece of advice–and gives a 5-step process for making it happen.

The five steps are:

  1. Define your style
  2. Edit your wardrobe
  3. Fill in the gaps
  4. Pull it all together
  5. Nurture the new you

I think the biggest advantage of this particular book’s approach to a wardrobe makeover is its first step. Defining your style consists of identifying your age group, your body type, your lifestyle, your arena, and your style type and then using that information to create a personal “style statement” that gives you a point of reference to use in evaluating your current wardrobe and any purchases.

A disadvantage to this book’s approach is that the authors recommend taking a great deal of dedicated time for making a wardrobe overhaul–and recommend purchasing several specialized closet organizers for the project. I don’t see the need for devoting so much time or money to such a project.

Of course, any wardrobe overhaul is going to take time–but I don’t think it has to be done in a single window of time, or that it needs to take as long as the authors of this book intimate.

I decided to reassess my wardrobe a couple of weeks ago and completed steps one and two in an afternoon. Now, admittedly, I might be a little more aware of my wardrobe and its quirks than many women are. For example, I didn’t have to try on many items during my “edit your wardrobe” step because I am already very aware of how each clothing item fits or doesn’t fit, flatters or doesn’t flatter, etc. So I spent most of my “editing” time holding up each item and evaluating how I felt it fit within the “style statement” I’d made for myself. From there, I divided my items into a giveaway pile (which I let my little sister “shop” in that evening), an alteration pile (for items that needed mending or tailoring or perhaps a complete makeover), a fabric scraps pile (for items in too poor of condition to give away, but which still had potential for quilting/sewing/crafting.) Clothes that could be kept were returned to my closet.

I am a bit anal-retentive, so as I returned each item to my closet, I logged it on an Excel spreadsheet. That meant that once my closet was complete (after 3 or 4 hours), I had a complete list of each article of clothing I owned. I categorized these by major categories and created a shopping list for myself (and a budget, since I’m that kind of person!) The next morning, I went shopping and completed step 3 in another 4 hours.

Total time for steps 1 through 3 and reading the entire book? Nine or ten hours. A far cry from what the book would suggest is necessary.

I also skipped step 4, which I thought was pretty extraneous. Step 4 consists of creating a collection of looks with your different separates and photographing yourself in them so that you can just pull out your personal “look book” and have a complete outfit ready to go in minutes. This might be useful for some people–but I find that I enjoy the spontaneity of creating different variations day by day. And since I set out my clothing for the next day as part of my evening rituals, I don’t have to worry about being pressed for time in the morning and ending up with a less-than-professional look.

In short, this book was pretty typical of its genre and perhaps a little too regimented to be of use to some people. Its great strength was the idea of creating a personal style sheet with which to evaluate your closet. Its great weakness was insisting on uninterrupted time and specialized closet organizers. If your library has a copy, I’d check it out and read through the first two steps, following the first to a T and using the second as a general guideline. But I wouldn’t buy this book.

Rating: 2 stars
Category: Fashion/Style
Synopsis: Two stylists talk about how to get your closet under control–so you never again have “Nothing to Wear”
Recommendation: First few chapters are interesting, first “step” is definitely worthwhile. The rest is ho-hum. Borrow it from your library and scan it, but don’t buy it.

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Categories Book Notes

The Heretic Hunter Strikes Again

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I’ve told you my book club is reading Leo Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God is Within You, right? I mentioned how interesting the conversation was likely to be given our group’s differing political viewpoints.

What I didn’t realize was how interesting the discussion would end up being due to our shared religious viewpoint.

And how Tolstoy is clearly a heretic.

We had hints that Tolstoy’s beliefs might be less than orthodox from the very beginning–but none of us would have guessed at the revelation that would be unfolded in chapter 3.

Tolstoy denies the inspiration of the Old Testament.

“The man who believes in the inspiration of the Old Testament and the sacred character of David, who commanded on his deathbed the murder of an old man who had cursed him…and similar atrocities of which the Old Testament is full, cannot believe in the holy love of Christ.”

Tolstoy denies the Nicene Creed.

“The Sermon on the Mount, or the Creed. One cannot believe in both….The churches are placed in a dilemma: the Sermon on the Mount or the Nicene Creed–the one excludes the other.”

He denies that the basic doctrines of Christianity have any utility for men nowadays.

“Truly, we need only imagine ourselves in the position of any grown-up man…who has picked up the ideas…of geology, physics, chemistry…when he…consciously compares them with the articles of belief instilled into him in childhood, and maintained by the churches–that God created the world in six days, and light before the sun; that Noah shut up all the animals in his ark, and so on; that Jesus is also God the Son, who created all before time was; that this God came down upon earth to atone for Adam’s sin; that he rose again, ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father, and will come in the clouds to judge the world, and so on. All these propositions, elaborated by men of the fourth century, had a certain meaning for men of that time, but for men of today they have no meaning whatever.“

Tolstoy consider the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith to be a profane doctrine.

“And what is most important of all–the man who believes in salvation through faith in the redemption or the sacraments cannot devote all his powers to realizing Christ’s moral teaching in his life. The man who has been instructed by the church in the profane doctrine that a man cannot be saved by his own powers, but that there is another means of salvation, will infallibly rely upon this means and not on his own powers, which, they assure him, it is sinful to trust in.”

In short, Tolstoy is a heretic.

One of those within our discussion posed the question, “Is Tolstoy even a Christian?” My answer was, “No. He’s not. He has denied every essential doctrine of the orthodox Christian faith. He is not a Christian. He’s a heretic.”

Am I too harsh? I think not.

Then comes the dilemma we faced last night. Should we continue to read the work of a clearly heretical man? Is it worth our time or glorifying to God that we read and discuss Tolstoy’s ideas on nonresistance to evil by force as articulated in the Sermon on the Mount, knowing that Tolstoy rejects the divinity of Christ and every other central tenet of the Christian faith?

What do you think? Would you keep reading?

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “Dreaming of Dior” by Charlotte Smith

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Clothes horse. Fashion plate. Trendy. Style watcher.

Words you won’t hear used to describe me.

I’m a classic dresser, a fairly formal sort, with just a touch of whimsy. Unlike many women, I don’t generally take pleasure in clothes shopping and couldn’t care less about the latest styles.

But vintage clothing is one of my weaknesses.

I have dozens of dresses culled from used stores that I proudly wear. A 1940s gown, which I rarely have occasion to wear, not being used to formal dinners. A 1950s housewife’s dress. A 1960s Jackie O sheath. A shirt dress from the fifties or sixties. A maxi (that doesn’t quite make maxi status on me and is therefore slated for conversion to a modest “mini”) from the sixties/seventies. I just adore vintage.

So when I read Bermuda Onion’s review of Dreaming of Dior, I knew I wanted to take a look. Thankfully, my library had a copy and I snatched it right up.

The book contains illustrations of the stunning gowns from Doris Darnell’s collection–along with anecdotes about the former owners of each outfit. The illustrations alone are worth looking at–but the stories only make it better.

The stories feature a jet-setting crowd, traveling the world, meeting foreign dignitaries, dropping names left and right. It’s a world completely foreign to me, but one that I enjoy reading about nonetheless.

Many of the anecdotes reminded me of a favorite memoir of mine–Letitia Baldridge’s A Lady, First. I love those stories of diplomacy and etiquette and dinners that require fancy dress. Dreaming of Dior is just the sort of book for a story-loving, vintage-clothes-obsessed dreamer like myself.

Rating: 4 stars
Category: Fashion History
Synopsis: Charlotte Smith displays the fabulous collection of vintage outfits she inherited from her godmother–and tells the stories that go along with the gowns.
Recommendation: Lovely illustrations of lovely gowns with entertaining anecdotes to go along. This was a beautiful little book.

Visit my books page for more reviews and notes.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia” by Mary Dodson Wade

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I consider juvenile nonfiction as my own personal version of Cliffs Notes (for those of you too young to remember the once ubiquitous yellow and black covered pamphlets, think a printed Spark Notes.) Whenever I want to get a general outline of a topic, a basic overview of an idea, or some interesting facts about something, I turn to the juvenile nonfiction section at my local library.

I was excited to see C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia in the children’s nonfiction section when I was working on the Chronicles of Narnia reading challenge (all the way back in July!)

I generally enjoy biographies written for younger people because they tend to focus on the highlights rather than getting bogged down in the minutiae (as some adult biographies can.)

I discovered that Mary Dodson Wade’s biography did a good job at giving a classic overview of Lewis’s life. The author begins at the beginning with young Clive Staples renaming himself “Jacksie” and concludes with some of Lewis’ legacy. In a concise 83 pages, it offers an efficient, comprehensive biography.

My only peeve with the book is its title. With a subtitle like The Chronicler of Narnia, I would have expected the narrative to focus on events and ideas that specifically relate to the Chronicles of Narnia. It did no such thing.

Sure, the book opens with a quote from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader–but from there it gives no mention of Narnia until the second to last chapter (Chapter 13). While many other authors would discuss similarities and differences between Lewis’s childhood imaginary world Boxen and Narnia, Wade remains silent. While many other authors would muse on how Lewis’s love for myth or experience in the Great War or training in philosophy or comaraderie with the Inklings affected his writing of Narnia, this author does not. She does not mention Narnia until after she has told almost all of Lewis’ story and discussed all his other writings. Then and only then, she states “Lewis wrote seven fantasies for children” and begins to speak of the Chronicles.

This is where I find it hard to review this title. How can I assess such a book? It was well suited for the purpose for which I read it–that is, to give me a Cliff Notes on Lewis’s life so I wouldn’t have to work so hard while reading a more in-depth adult biography (I’m currently working on The Narnian by Alan Jacobs.) But as a biography in and of itself? It gets the job done. It tells the facts. But it has little artistry of form to recommend. Wade’s writing doesn’t pull me into Lewis’s world, it doesn’t fascinate me by establishing a meta-narrative in which to read his life, it doesn’t make any interpretations about who Lewis was. It’s just…the facts, nothing more.

Rating: 2 stars
Category: Children’s biography
Synopsis: Wade summarizes the major events in C.S. Lewis’ life, including his many writings.
Recommendation: The facts are there, the treatment pretty comprehensive–but this title lacks soul. If you want an encyclopedia entry-type coverage of Lewis, go ahead and read this. Otherwise, look elsewhere to learn who Lewis really was.

Visit my books page for more reviews and notes.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “Founding Faith” by Steven Waldman

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To listen to today’s secularists talk, one might get the impression that America’s founding fathers were ardent secularists, devoted to Enlightenment thinking, and irreligious if not antireligious. Conservative Christians tell a whole different story–a story that stars devoutly religious founding fathers who hold to an orthodox Christian faith.

Steven Waldman’s Founding Faith explores this controversial topic in a scholarly but still accessible manner. Waldman asserts that to lump “The Founding Fathers” together as though they all had the same views is a disservice to them. Instead, he explores the religious beliefs and actions of five “founding fathers” who were prominent in framing the debate for issues of religion and state.

Waldman explores the personal piety, personal and public writings, and public actions of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. He makes a good case for the plurality of religious beliefs among the founding fathers–as well as for the plurality of interpretations of how church and state should best interact.

I enjoyed Founding Faith tremendously, finding it to be a balanced, scholarly work that shines a great deal of light on the difficult question of what the Founding Fathers believed about religion in general and about state involvement in religion in particular.

I was interested to see the emphasis Waldman places on Madison as a primary framer of the “Establishment of Religion” clause. Waldman introduces Madison as a pious man, perhaps the most orthodox of the five men considered in this book. Unlike Jefferson, who primarily wanted separation of church from state for the sake of the state, Madison was interested in preserving the purity and vitality of the church from state intervention. Madison wished for an even more stringent separationist position–in part because of his sympathy for Virginian Baptists who decried the establishment of religion as oppressive to minority sects such as themselves.

As I said, this book is balanced and informative treatment of the faith of America’s founders and their views of how state and religion should interact. Lovers of history will enjoy this book–as will anyone who has ever been confused by contradictory reports of the Founders’ faith (or lack thereof).

Rating: 4 stars
Category: American History/Religion/Church and State
Synopsis: Waldman describes the religious beliefs of five founding fathers–and how each founding father felt the church should (or should not) be involved in religious affairs.
Recommendation: A wonderfully balanced portrayal of the faith of the founding fathers. Definitely worth reading.

Visit my books page for more reviews and notes.

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (September 2010)

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On last month’s nightstand:

On my nightstandOn my nightstand

What I actually read this month was…

Fiction

  • By Way of the Silverthorns by Grace Livingston Hill
  • Heavens to Betsy by Beth Pattillo (Review)
  • Love’s Enduring Promise by Janette Oke
  • Love’s Long Journey by Janette Oke
  • Masquerade by Nancy Moser
  • Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

Nonfiction

  • Handmade Home by Amanda Blake Soule (Review)
  • Light and Easy Menus by Cooking Light
  • Manufacturing Depression by Gary Greenberg (Review)
  • Proverbs translated by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro (Quotes)
  • A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken (Notes)
    It’s hard to top Lisa’s review, which, in addition to being a good review, is poetry in and of itself. Ergo, I didn’t even try. I did however, write some notes and quotes as I read. Follow the link above to see those.
  • The World According to Mr. Rogers
    A collection of quotes from Fred Rogers. Feel good, humanistic, nothing spectacular.

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author Babcock-Baker (55 titles)
  • The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank (Review)

Currently in the middle of…

On my nightstand

  • Desiring God by John Piper
    I’m currently reading this one and writing up some of my reflections here on bekahcubed.
  • Dreaming of Dior by Charlotte Smith
    I added this to my TBR after reading Bermuda Onion’s review. So far, I’m enjoying it a lot.
  • Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris
    My progress on this book has ground to a halt as each of us in this book club have gotten uber-busy with school starting up again, a couple of us getting new/additional jobs, etc. Don’t know when (or if) we’ll be finishing it up. For those who’ve been wanting my opinion on it, since my review from a second read-through appears to be still a long way into the distance, I like this book a lot. That’s why I suggested it for book club read-through. Most of what Harris shares is just plain Orthodox evangelical doctrine–but it’s a good broad overview of Christian theology and why “average Joe” Christians ought to study it.
  • A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
    I quoted this in yesterday’s Week in Words post
  • Founding Faith by Steven Waldman
    I’m nearing the end of this book. It’s so near I can taste it. But alas, I am not done yet. And if I were, I wouldn’t have time to review it anyway. It’ll be finished by next month. I promise.
  • The Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy
    A new book for my politically/theologically inclined book club. I’m so glad Randy decided to take up the baton and get us going for a second go-round. This should be an interesting discussion since so far we’ve got two raging liberals, one not-so-raging but still liberal, one raging conservative (me), one raging libertarian, and one peaceful soul who hasn’t yet raged his political views :-)

On this month’s nightstand:

On my nightstand

Fiction

  • Amorelle by Grace Livingston Hill
  • Love’s Abiding Joy by Janette Oke

Nonfiction

  • The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande (Lisa’s Review)
  • Crochet Inspiration by Sasha Kagan
  • A Dictionary of Christian Theology edited by Alan Richardson
  • How to Write & Publish a Scientific Paper by Robert A. Day
  • Justice that Restores by Chuck Colson
  • Making the Big Move by Cathy Goodwin
  • Money Saving Slow Cooking by Sandra Lee
  • The Narnian by Alan Jacobs
  • Nina Garcia’s Look Book by Nina Garcia
  • Not Quite What I was Planning
  • Nothing to Wear? by Jesse Garza and Joe Lupo
  • Radical by David Platt
    Reviews by Lisa of Lisa Notes, Vitamin Z, Sandra Peoples, Lisa formerly of 5M4B, and Carrie–basically, the whole world is talking about this one! :-)

Juvenile

  • Children’s Picture Books author BALIAN-?
  • Ask Me Anything a Dorling-Kindersley book
  • C.S. Lewis: The Chronicler of Narnia by Mary Dodson Wade
  • The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
  • Nebraska an “America the Beautiful” book by Ann Heinrichs
  • Nebraska a “Celebrate the States” book by Ruth Bjorklund
  • The Old Motel Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • The Secret of Skull Mountain by Franklin W. Dixon

Yeah. The chances that I’ll actually read these all are about nil, since I’m uber-busy now (take my previous schedule, add 26 hours of commitments and you’ve got my new schedule.) Maybe I’ll have time to read again come January when I go to having just one full-time job?

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