What’s on Your Nightstand?

This March has felt like what Almanzo describes springtime to be like in Farmer Boy: busy from dawn until dusk with no time to sit except to race down some food. I had 10 cubic yards of compost delivered earlier this month and it’s been busy shoveling and building and planting. An herb bed built and filled with compost (thanks to my mother-in-law for the help!), extra compost added to one of my raised beds, eleven trees planted. Raking the old dead grass off the “pasture” (actually the septic field).

When I have had opportunity to sit down, I have done some reading – but it’s almost entirely been children’s picture books read to Tirzah Mae and Louis. So I’ve got another spare list this month (lots of in-progress books, only two finished).

Books for Loving:

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley (In Progress)
  I’ve gotten a few more chapters read in my church history studies – and am SO thankful that I scheduled myself a “catch up” month every fourth month. I’m going to need it (especially since every section gets longer!) I’m currently looking at the period between Constantine and the Middle Ages, a time ripe with creeds and controversies.
• Getting to Know the Church Fathers by Bryan Litfin (In Progress)
  I’m clearly abusing my church library’s lack of fines for not returning books on time – I’ve checked this one out several times, and currently have it out over a month longer than the three week lending period. But as far as readable mini-biographies of the church fathers go, this is excellent. I’ve resolved to read the last three chapters this week so I can return it next Sunday. (End the abuse!)

Books for Growing:

• Your Time-Starved Marriage by Les and Leslie Parrott (In Progress)
  The Doctors Parrott make good on their promise of short, readable chapters. I can read a chapter in just 7 minutes (while doing something else, because I rarely simply read these days.) In some ways I think I started reading this just a moment too late, since Daniel and I had already come up with some action steps to deal with the “now that we have two kids, neither of whom sleep predictably, it feels like we never spend any time together-together” problem. But what they’ve said already has resonated with me – and I’m about to get into the nitty-gritty part, so I’m hopeful they’ll have some useful tips for making intentional time together.
• Success as a Foster Parent by the National Foster Parent Association with Rachel Greene Baldino (In Progress)
  Reading this has slowed to a crawl thanks to all the reading and homework we have for our foster care class – but I’m glad for the start I had on this before our class, which has meant that our classwork is more familiar. This is a great introduction to the process for someone who’s interested in fostering but who wants to learn a little about it before they start juggling schedules to actually get certified.
• Growing Family Fruit and Nut Trees by Marian Van Atta with Shirley Wagner (In Progress)
  We planted five apple trees this month and are hoping to have a plan for the rest of the orchard by fall so we can put everything else in first thing next spring. So I’m reading up on fruit trees. This particular book is somewhat dated but ended up being my first pick to read right through because it doesn’t attempt to be comprehensive, which means that it’s quite easy to read. I read the first hundred pages in moments snatched here and there the day we planted our apple trees (read: when going to the bathroom or taking a break to breastfeed Louis). The remaining 20 pages are waiting for…someday soon, probably. One of the most interesting features of this book is that the author writes from Florida, so she discusses plenty of trees I’d never thought of planting. I spent my early teen years reading homestead memoirs from back-to-the-land folks in Maine and envied their ability to grow their own maple syrup. Now I’ve had a chance to envy Ms. Van Atta’s ability to grown her own oranges and grapefruits!

Books for Knowing:

• The Almost Nearly Perfect People by Michael Booth (In Progress)
  You’ve heard of how the Scandinavian countries are some sort of utopia, right? (Unless you read conservatives, then you might be pretty skeptical of that claim.) Anyhow, Booth writes about Scandinavia (where he’s lived for some time, having married a Dane) in this semi-journalistic, semi-memoirish book. In general, I’m enjoying reading this, although Booth jumps here and there and everywhere without any obvious thesis or point even to the individual chapters, much less to the entire book.
• The Place Where Hell Bubbled Up: A history of the First National Park by David A. Clary
  A short (64 page) little book filled with old-timey black and white photos from the first days of Yellowstone National Park along with the tale of its discovery and early status as a national park (approximately until the introduction of automobiles.) I enjoyed reading this in preparation for our family trip to Yellowstone this summer.

Books for Enjoying:

• The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
  Daniel and I have been trying to complete the “Light Reader” level for the 2017 Christian Reading Challenge put out by Tim Challies. One of the book categories is “a book for children or teens” and I’ve been intending to read the Chronicles of Prydain since Amy’s husband Mike recommended it when I asked for advice finding a completed series that would be similar to Brandon Sanderson’s work (Daniel is a fan of Sanderson, but neither Daniel and I are super fond of reading series that haven’t been completed – and Sanderson has LOTS of those.) Anyway, we read this first book in the series and I certainly enjoyed it enough to continue on with the series. It’s a relatively lighthearted children’s fantasy with plenty of adventure and not-too-heavy-handed-learning-opportunities.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

Between a quick weekend trip north to pick up some beef (a 513 lb half!), a teething infant, a toddler who is no longer napping, and beginning our foster-care class, I haven’t had a lot of time for reading this month. But I’ve sneaked in a little here and there :-)

Books for Loving:

• The Epistles of St. Ignatius
  I appreciated reading through these epistles and learning a little more about Ignatius, a second century Christian bishop. While I had some points of disagreement with Ignatius, his arguments against the docetists and for the Incarnation encouraged me to give praise to the Incarnate God. I wrote a little of what I learned about Ignatius in this blog post.

Books for Growing:

• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
  What can be better than a book subtitled “why we eat more than we think”? The subtitle is a delicious wordplay. We eat more food than we think we eat. We eat mindlessly and therefore spend more physical time eating than we spend thinking about what (or why or how) we’re eating. Wansink’s book talks about the psychology of eating, about our unconscious behaviors related to eating and how to tweak those behaviors. Highly recommended.

Books for Knowing:

• Getting to Know the Church Fathers by Brian Litfin
  I’ve actually only read half of this so far – I’ll finish the other half next month while studying the church under Constantine (and thereabouts). So far, though, it’s been an excellent introduction into some of the noteworthy people of the first few centuries of the church. Litfin gives a mini-biography of each father (and one mother), reflects on their life and teaching from an evangelical perspective, and then shares an excerpt from that father’s writings. As someone who has virtually no knowledge of these individuals, I’ve found this to be very helpful in my study of church history.

Books for Seeing:

• The Pearl by John Steinbeck
  It’s only five chapters long (I think), and I’ve only read one of those chapters. Sigh. But I’m looking forward to finishing it up next month.

Books for Enjoying:

• The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan
  Ever since I finished the ninth book in the Ranger’s Apprentice series, I’ve been checking my local library to see if the final book of the series was available. Finally, after months of weekly peeks at the bookshelf, I checked the computer – and discovered that my branch doesn’t own a copy! Silly me. I requested this from another branch and greatly enjoyed it.

While I haven’t read much as far as grown-up reading goes, I’ve been doing lots of reading aloud to the children. And in celebration of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 150th birthday this month, Tirzah Mae and I read a whole slew of the “My First Little House” picture book adaptations (which I plan to write about Thursday when I wrap up my participation in Barbara’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

It’s not every month that 5 Minutes for Books’s “Nightstand” falls on the last day of the month. It’s also not every month where I complete practically every book I’ve been working on by the end of the month, so as to start fresh for the next month. But since I’m trying to be super-disciplined to read at least one book in each of my five categories each month and since I’ve got to keep on top of my church history goal, I have completed everything I planned to read this month.

Books for Loving:

• Paul: In Fresh Perspective by N.T. Wright
  A look at some of the themes of Paul’s writings (Creation and Covenant, Messiah and Apocalyptic, Gospel and Empire) and how Paul reworked traditional categories of Jewish thought (God, God’s people, and the future of God and His people.) I wrote a very few comments on this book in my post summarizing my first month studying church history.
• True Community by Jerry Bridges
  A look at koinonia in Scripture and its implications for the Christian church of today. Highly readable, with excellent content. A lot to think about, a lot to grow into.

Books for Growing:

• Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler by C. Hope Flinchbaugh
  A quite readable and occasionally helpful little volume for Christian parents. I wish I could recommend it because it reads so nicely for a busy mom. Unfortunately, Flinchbaugh’s Word-of-Faith style charismatic-ism infuses so much that it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. (Full disclosure: I was raised charismatic and am a continuationist; I had experiences with Word-of-Faith type teachings in my early teen years and find several of that movement’s tenets to be unbiblical and unhelpful.)
• Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
  Just about every guest of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast recommends this book. But since it wasn’t at my branch of the local library and since I assumed that it was just another book-list book (albeit from a Christian perspective), I wasn’t in any hurry to get it. But when I saw it on the shelf at my church’s library, I decided I’d at least figure out what the buzz was. What I found was so much more than a booklist. This is a full-figured book about nurturing children through books and poetry. I haven’t started going through the bibliography yet (so I can’t really comment on Hunt’s booklist!), but the book itself is an excellent encouragement for Christian parents to share beautiful books with their children.
• As They Grow: Your Two-Year-Old by Diane O’Connell
  I didn’t have particularly high expectations of this book “by the editors of Parents magazine” – but I was in for a wonderful surprise. This book gives a fairly comprehensive look at what a child experiences in his twos, along with how parents can support and train their children through the twos. While I have a few points of difference with the authors (for example, they are anti-spanking and are concerned that children might learn gender roles if their mother does the housework while their father does the car maintenance), I generally found the advice to be common sense and helpful. I’m planning on skimming through this again and taking some notes so I can implement some of the strategies found within.

Books for Knowing:

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley
  I read the first section (2 chapters long) on the “Age of Jesus and the Apostles” as the spine for my first month’s study of Church History. I’m glad I chose this as a spine. It’s easy to read and has just enough detail to allow me to take tangents for further study, without getting me bogged down as I’m reading.
• Great People of the Bible and How They Lived by Reader’s Digest
  I read the New Testament section of this volume and found it an excellent resource to understand the stories of the New Testament in their historical context. If you’d like to read more, I wrote some comments on this book and the one above in my post summarizing my first month studying church history.

Books for Seeing:

• Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
  A re-read for my book club. I thoroughly enjoyed this the first time through (enough that I recommended it for book club!) and enjoyed it even more the second time. I especially enjoyed how preparing to lead discussion encouraged me to ask questions of myself as I read.
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
  The compelling story of a man who seeks to give his sin nature absolute freedom – and discovers that this is not freedom at all. You can read my full review here.

Books for Enjoying:

• Friday’s Child by Georgette Heyer
  A bit of an unusual romance (since the main characters get married in the first couple chapters of the book) and a bit predictable from there on out (spoiler alert: they fall in love). But the inevitability of the two characters falling in love didn’t make this story of a completely innocent girl and her frivolous husband any less fun. A good part of the fun is the strong supporting roles the hero’s best friends serve as they attempt to turn his callow bride into a respectable lady.

Up Next:

• Church History in Plain Language by Bruce L. Shelley
  Section 2: “The Age of Catholic Christianity”
• Getting to Know the Church Fathers by Brian Litfin
• The Epistles of St. Ignatius
• The Early Christians in their own words edited by Eberhard Arnold
• Early Christian Church by J.G. Davies
• Against Heretics and Against Marcion by Tertullian
• The Gospel of Thomas
• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
• Boys in the Boatby Daniel James Brown
• Success as a Foster Parent by the National Foster Parent Association with Rachel Greene Baldino
• The Pearl by John Steinbeck
• The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

I’m also planning on reading as many “My First Little House” books as I can find at our library to Tirzah Mae in celebration of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 150th birthday and Barbara H’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

This last hospitalization and newest newborn experience hasn’t been as conducive to reading as the prior. Having a toddler in addition to a newborn means “down time” isn’t down time. My “down time” in the hospital was spent coordinating care for Tirzah Mae and updating the many helpers who made some degree of normalcy possible for her. And now that I’m home, I’m still finding it difficult to find time to read. Tirzah Mae splashes in the water from my bath (whether or not she’s in the tub with me), talks to me while I’m going potty, and wants to hold hands with me and “dance” when I’m exercising – all activities I used to take advantage of as reading time. Louis is generally “lower maintenance” than Tirzah Mae was, sleeping contentedly in his bassinet and playing quietly with his hands on a blanket on the floor. But Louis requires two hands for breastfeeding, meaning that if I don’t have a book set up on my lap before we begin breastfeeding it’s hard to get one started.

As a result, my reading has been sporadic and one-sided. You’ll notice almost all the books I’ve finished are “books for growing”. This is because these can generally be read paragraph-by-paragraph, whereas novels or informative (versus instructional) nonfiction need to be consumed in larger chunks.

Books for Growing:

• Breastfeeding with Confidence by Sue Cox
  A short (128 pages) introduction to breastfeeding. I didn’t learn a whole lot of new information (since supporting breastfeeding was a good portion of my job as a WIC dietitian), but feel this would be excellent reading for a motivated pregnant mom (who doesn’t have time or energy to read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which, though helpful, is entirely too long for many women.)
• 101 Questions and Answers about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Steven J. McCabe
  Everything you need to know about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, arranged in an easily-readable (and searchable) question and answer format. I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome during pregnancy and appreciated learning a little more about it. Also, I hope never to get it again!
• Baby and Toddler Sleep Program by John Pearce with Jane Bidder
  The first book I’ve read that recommends total extinction. While I haven’t the constitution for total extinction, the multitude of other “environmental” tips helped as I worked to wean Tirzah Mae off needing me in bed with her to fall asleep. We’d gotten in the habit of breastfeeding lying down in her bed during the exhausted phase of my pregnancy – but she got too dependent on it, so we had to work towards a more manageable sleep routine. We were still doing a version of graduated extinction when I went into the hospital – but she’s sleeping great now. I hold to my earlier opinion that “sleep programs” are less than helpful “out of the box” – but that the discerning parent can find helpful tips in every “sleep program”.

Books for Knowing:

• Overdressed by Elizabeth L. Cline
  An exposé of the “fast fashion” industry, Elizabeth Cline’s Overdressed discusses how we went from having two seasons of fashion to having trends changing on a monthly, even weekly, basis. Cline details the damage fast-fashion has done to the American clothing industry, to the quality of clothing, as well as to the style of the average American. Whereas individuals used to buy clothing a couple times a year, buying quality intended to last and mending or altering clothing as needed, now people are in the habit of buying clothing continuously and just as continuously discontinuing use or throwing items out as their cheaply produced and cheaply purchased clothing wears out or falls apart. I have a great deal of sympathy for Cline’s complaints regarding poor quality, disposable clothing and the continuous purchasing of clothing. On the other hand, Cline is decidedly anti-free-market and pro-union, not positions I support. Nevertheless I found this book enjoyable and informative. It has bolstered my resolve to purchase clothes used and/or to make my own whenever possible.

While I mostly just finished “Books for growing” this month, I am hopeful that in the upcoming months I can reestablish more balance in my reading. I’m currently at work on books from each of my five categories, so I’m feeling pretty good about the prospect.

Here’s what I’ve got going right now:

• For loving: To Fly Again by Gracia Burnham
• For growing: Breastfeeding Special Care Babies by Sandra Lang
• For knowing: Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larson
• For seeing: Selected Poems by Christina Rossetti
• For enjoying: Listening Valley by D.E. Stevenson

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

It’s time for 5 Minutes for Books’s monthly nightstand – and I am GOING to post this on the day, even if it means skipping pictures!

I don’t particularly feel like I’ve been reading less lately, but I’ve certainly completed fewer books this month than many months. And what I have finished has been racing to keep ahead of books that have to be returned to the library (I really should try checking out fewer – I have about 90, including children’s picture books, checked out right now.)

Books for Loving:

• I’m in the middle of a rather dense defense of divine sovereignty just now – and thus haven’t finished any “books for loving” this month.

Books for Growing:

• Beyond the Sling by Mayim Bialik
  An introduction to attachment parenting (AP) – a mix of psychology/neurobiology and the practicalities of how Bialik does AP. There are a number of aspects of attachment parenting that I find appealing and practical (exclusive breastfeeding and babywearing especially), but I am ultimately unconvinced that AP has the scientific support proponents think it has. Most of the studies Bialik cites show how detrimental truly awful parenting can be (that is, abusive and neglectful parenting) – but fail to show how AP-style parenting is preferable to more traditionally Western childrearing practices (standard potty training vs. elimination communication, some variation on crying-it-out and separate sleeping vs. bedsharing, authoritative discipline including some spanking vs. no spanking and a less authoritative discipline style, etc.) I found this interesting as a look at AP, but found little that I consider useful to my own parenting practices.
• Beautiful Babies by Kristen Michaelis
  Another “growing” book that turned out to be entirely unhelpful. This is basically a defense of the Weston A. Price diet for pregnancy and early childhood. The nutrition advice ranges from odd to downright dangerous. The rationale for the advice is nostalgia and cherry-picked scientific studies. And Michaelis (like a lot of self-taught nutritionists) despises me and my ilk (that is, people with actual training in nutrition.) My husband enjoyed(?) many a rant from his wife thanks to this book.

Books for Knowing:

• Jewish Family Celebrations by Arlene Rossen Cardozo
  A decent introduction to the Sabbath, the festivals of the Jewish year, and the life-cycle rituals of Judaism. This book has scripts, recipes, and traditional (or less traditional) activities associated with each celebration. One oddity is that the author seems to be a practicing but non-religious Jew. That is, she performs the rituals associated with Judaism but gives no evidence that she believes them to be anything other than ancient myth ritualized by a surviving people – thus, the enduring nature of Judaism is what is celebrated rather than the definitive action of God in calling Israel out from among the other nations.

Books for Seeing:

• Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
  I’ve only seen “My Fair Lady” a couple dozen times, so it’s only fitting that I finally read the play upon which the musical was based. I found myself surprised at how well the musical follows the script, at least inasmuch as the text is preserved. On further reflection, I realize that the brevity of Shaw’s original work assists greatly in its conversion into a (rather long) musical – as opposed to the many books I’ve seen mangled from trying to reduce 300+ pages of text into 90 minutes. I appreciated Shaw’s decidedly unromantic ending and his reflections on the personalities of his characters. Maybe now I need to read Ovid’s Metamorphoses, from whence Shaw’s title came?

Books for Enjoying:

• Halt’s Peril by John Flanagan
  The penultimate book of the “Ranger’s Apprentice” series. I continue to enjoy the adventures of Will and his friends. This book was particularly interesting since the main “enemy” was not soldiers arrayed in battle lines but… well… something else. :-)
• Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
  This was my book club’s MARCH read – and I finally got around to finishing it here in May. But don’t let that give you the wrong impression. This was an engaging look at family and belonging – told through the eyes of a modern-day foster child and a Depression-era orphan train rider. It was fascinating to learn more about the incredibly-long-running orphan train phenomenon – and I look forward to learning more about the orphan trains and their riders (perhaps by visiting Concordia Kansas’s Orphan Train museum.)

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

The document once entitled “A Catalogue of All I’ve Read Since September 5, 2006” has grown too large to be easily accessed and is now split up into over a dozen individual spreadsheet files, helpfully subdivided into even more sheets within the document. This is the comprehensive list, with call numbers and author names and the dates I finished books (as well as whether the particular category into which the book falls is “open” or “closed”.) The spreadsheets work well to record whether and when I read a particular book – but they’re less helpful in recording my thoughts on the books. For that, nothing beats a good Nightstand post. Which is why, despite being halfway into the month of May, I’m still posting my April Nightstand.

Books for Loving:

• The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper
  An excellent short treatment of the question “why did Jesus die?” Piper gives 50 God-centered reasons (as in, what was God’s purpose in Christ’s death), spending 1-2 pages on each reason. This offered plenty of opportunities for worship and I think this would make an excellent family devotional for the Lenten season.

Books for Growing:

• Praying with Paul by D.A. Carson
  Read with my midweek Bible study, this discussion of Paul’s prayers has helped me develop more God-centered habits in prayer. While this is topical in scope, Carson does an excellent job of expositing Paul’s prayers in context – which firmly centers Paul’s prayers (and our own) in the character and action of God. I highly recommend this book.
• Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Glade B. Curtis and Judith Schuler
  If you want to be scared out of your mind by all the things that could go wrong in pregnancy and to be convinced that every intervention your doctor might suggest is absolutely the right decision, you’ll want to read this book. If you prefer to learn what a normal pregnancy looks like, how to deal with the normal problems of pregnancy, and to make evidence-based (versus fear-based) decisions for your pregnancy and childbirth – this is not at all the book for you. May I recommend Tori Knopp’s The Joy of Pregnancy instead? (Check out my full review of Week by Week here.)
• Lawns 1-2-3 by The Home Depot
  We will be putting in a lawn one of these days (it’s been three very dry months since we moved in, fire warnings all the time and several significant wildfires about – but the first rains finally came last week and turned our acre of bare ground into oozing mud.) I wanted a good basic introduction to lawn care to help us make our decision on what types of grass we’ll put in and what sort of care we’ll provide. This book suited that purpose well.
• The Postage Stamp Garden Book by Duane and Karen Newcomb
  I thought this woud be just another version of Square-Foot Gardening, but it isn’t. While similar in garden-size and intensive spacing, Postage Stamp Gardening involves a “scatter and thin” method of sowing (vs. Square Foot Gardening’s methodical planting on a grid). In general, I think I’m going to stick with the Square Foot Method, since I’m persnickity and don’t like wasting seeds (and have a hard time distinguishing seedlings from weeds unless I can rely on my careful planting locations to guide me!) Nevertheless, there were a few helpful tips in this book, and I’m glad I read it.
• Everything Else You Need to Know When You’re Expecting by Paula Spencer
  A little bit different than my typical pregnancy reading, this book is all about the etiquette of pregnancy – what to do or say when people ask rude questions, how to handle pregnancy and birth announcements, etc. I didn’t find anything particularly enlightening about this book, but I did enjoy the little comebacks Spencer’s friends and acquaintances have come up with for some of the most common rude questions.

Books for Knowing:

• The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum
  A history of the birth of forensic medicine in New York City during the Prohibition. Maybe it’s just because I’m rather into medical stuff, but I just blazed through this book, letting all sorts of other household tasks wait.
• Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein
  I truly dreaded reading this book (it’s in a Dewey Decimal category I’m trying to close) because I despised Ricki Lake in the pair’s documentary “The Business of Being Born”. Maybe Epstein took a more central role in the writing of this book? Because this was really a very well-done discussion of the options that are available to women – empowering women to take a more assertive role in determining how their labors and deliveries will proceed (rather than letting hospital protocol or standard practice make the decisions for them.)
• Theories of Childhood by Carol Garrhart Mooney
  A brief introduction to the theories of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Erik Erickson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky. The author focuses on early childhood education, reviewing only the theories that apply to children age 5 and younger. I found this to be a very readable introduction to the various theories and look forward to delving a little deeper into the topic later on.

Books for Seeing:

• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
  Based purely upon a popular conception of Frankenstein but without having seen any of the Frankenstein movies, I would have been inclined to dread reading this book. But several bloggie friends have read this in the past few years, and every one of them remarked on how NOT like the popular story the book is (thank goodness!) I found Frankenstein to be an entertaining and thought-provoking look into the responsibilities of a creator to its creature, the nature of humanity, and the limits of “playing God”. I rather wish I’d been reading along with someone else with a plan to discuss, because I know there’s plenty I didn’t think about that I could have.

Books for Enjoying:

• 52 Loaves by William Alexander
  An interesting but not amazing memoir of a man’s attempt to make the perfect loaf of peasant bread – undertaken one loaf per week for a year. It was a pleasant read but I don’t know that I’d recommend it.
• Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy
  This was my book club’s April pick, and it was an engaging huge-cast story. Unfortunately, it was also super.depressing. People were unfaithful, spouses grew apart and weren’t even paying attention to it, no one was intentional about their relationships at all. It didn’t really bother the other book club ladies as much as it did me, but it did bother me. A lot. I am aware that many marriages do fall apart, that many people just drift through their lives without intentionally building into their marriages. But I don’t intend to just drift through my marriage – and reading about marriage after marriage falling apart through lack of intentionality doesn’t at all encourage me.

Other Books:

• Curtains, Blinds, and Valances, A “Sew in a Weekend” book
  Instructions for a wide variety of window dressings – photos are a bit dated but the instructions are good. I made some tie-backs using their pattern (although I adjusted both the pattern and the instructions, because I’m like that.) I’ll be checking this book out again when I finally get around to making Roman blinds for Daniel’s and my room (and maybe a few more times as I work through the rest of the house.)

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are were reading this last month!

A number of my blogging acquaintances are switching their end-of-the-month reading logs to the actual end of the month rather than participating in 5 Minutes for Books’ Nightstand Blog Hop on the last Tuesday of the month. I am not one of them. I enjoy the Nightstand community and don’t have any problem having my log be on a semi-arbitrary date.

What I have been having a problem with is getting my Nightstands posted, though!

I have half-completed Nightstand posts for the past 5 (FIVE!) months sitting in my drafts folder.

Which is why this month, I decided to post my Nightstand, however late it may be!

So here’s what I’ve read in the past month…

Books for Loving:

• Concise Theology by J.I. Packer
  An excellent book with 2-4 page summaries of a variety of theological topics. I can see using this as a jumping-off point for a high school theology class (or something like that.) I especially appreciated reading this when I decided to add application – spending a brief amount of time framing a prayer of response after each section.

Books for Growing:

• Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
  I’ve read this book by the “Flylady” before, but it’s always useful when I’m setting up a new household and in need of some motivation to get my routines in place. I don’t follow Flylady to a tee and I find her annoying whenever she starts getting philosophical – but the idea of setting up routines to keep your household running is a good one.
• The Accidental Housewife by Julie Edelman
  A completely worthless home how-to manual. Basically, Edelman advises you buy lots of disposable junk for cleaning, turn on music and dance while you clean, and drink lots of wine throughout.
• On Becoming Toddlerwise by Gary Ezzo andRobert Bucknam
  I know plenty of folk who swear by the Babywise/Growing Kids God’s Way approach – but while I didn’t find anything overtly objectionable in this particular volume, the thought of trying to follow their routine with my toddler (the whole day divided into 15 minute segments of activities) sounds exhausting. I am a woman of routine, but our household routines are arranged according to the time it takes to clean up after meals and exercise and fold a load of laundry and clean the bathroom. In other words, Tirzah Mae’s routines fit into the household routines rather than trying to run a household in between arbitrarily set 15-minute cycles.

Books for Knowing:

• Beast in the Garden by David Baron
  Baron tells the story of the mountain lion, once only a threat to cattle, and the process by which mountain lions in Boulder, Colorado became habituated to humans, culminating in some highly unusual human deaths. A fascinating look at how humans and animals interact (and how we can’t just “return to the wilderness”). I had a hard time putting this one down.
• When to Rob a Bank by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
  A collection of blog posts from the ever-popular Freakonomics authors. I enjoyed the randomness of this collection, as well as the smaller-than-a-usual-chapter articles, which allowed me to read them in bite-sized chunks. I did NOT enjoy the many articles about gambling (which I consider to be both boring and unwise).
• Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner
  Wagner documents the deplorably woman (and baby) unfriendly practices of American maternity care and gives suggestions for how to fix it. Marsden deftly describes how obstetric care in the US pays only lip-service to evidence, choosing to experiment on pregnant women and their children in the absence of evidence (and even in the presence of evidence AGAINST certain practices such as Cytotec inductions). Marsden’s solutions were intriguing, but I had some definite quibbles: I don’t believe nationalized health care is the answer and I don’t think litigation is the answer. It was interesting to compare Marsden’s view of litigation with the Theresa Morris’s in Cut it Out!. While I agreed strongly with Marsden’s emphasis on the midwife model of care as a solution for the current system, I was disappointed that he did not also mention how primary care doctors are increasingly opting out of providing obstetric care (in part due to litigation, in part due to the scheduling demands of obstetric care.) I think that, especially in rural areas, this is a huge barrier to low-risk women receiving good prenatal and obstetric care.

Books for Seeing:

• I made the mistake of trying to read Homer’s The Odyssey at the beginning of the year, while I was still in my first trimester exhaustion AND moving. Yeah. No.
• Which is why I’m trying again with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. I’m about halfway through.

Books for Enjoying:

• The Dinner Diaries by Betsy Block
  As a memoir, this fits with my generally enjoyable reading. Except that this was a memoir about feeding a family and Betsy Block did it ALL wrong. I wrote up the two main things she did wrong (and some alternate advice) in my full review.
• The Yummy Mummy Manifesto by Anna Johnson
  Basically about staying hip even though you’ve become a mother. Occasionally interesting but generally kinda annoying (What if I’ve always dreamed of being able to wear twinsets and khakis without someone accusing me of dressing for a different stage of life? Don’t tell me that now mom’s aren’t supposed to dress like that.)

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

Since the first day of September was a Tuesday, the fourth Tuesday of the month is the earliest it can ever be – which means the September Nightstand completely snuck up on me. (Does anyone else feel that way when the Nightstand isn’t on the last Tuesday of the month?)

And since I haven’t had a lot of books that needed to go back to the library over the past three weeks, I’ve been enjoying a leisurely reading schedule that has me partway through a couple dozen books but only finished with a few. Which means you should be able to browse a nice short list this month :-)

Fiction read this month:

• Whirlwind by Cathy Marie Hake
  A rather typical Christian romance in which a widower ends up thrown into a marriage of convenience with his son’s new nanny. A little underdeveloped mystery, some likewise underdeveloped romantic tension. I still enjoyed it. Also, this was my library’s last book by Hake, so I’ve closed her out in my quest to Read Every Book at my local library.
• The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
  My in-real-life book club’s September pick, this was a long but intensely interesting look at the intertwined lives of three women. It wasn’t a mystery exactly, but it was something like that. I highly recommend it. Read my full review.
• 3 “Arthur” picture books by Marc Brown
  Maybe I need to pick up the pace so I can just get done with these. Ugh.
• A dozen or so read aloud board or picture books
  I’ll be discussing our favorites from among these this Thursday for Read Aloud Thursday.

Nonfiction read this month:

• Don’t Know Much About Literature by Kenneth C. Davis & Jenny Davis
  This Q&A book made me feel that I do indeed not know much about literature. Either I hadn’t read anything from the author (sadly, way too common an occurrence) or the questions were about the author’s life instead of his works. I did ace the quiz on C.S. Lewis, though. So there’s something. Also, this closes out the “802” section in my library. Go me!
• The Journal of Best Practice by David Finch
  David Finch’s marriage was on the rocks with little expectation of resolution when his wife made a discovery that changed their lives: David has Aspergers. The Aspergers diagnosis (which was confirmed by a doctor) gave Finch the impetus to try to work on his marriage, to try to work on himself. Daniel and I listened to The Journal of Best Practices (read by the author) while we drove on our recent vacation – and we generally enjoyed it, although we felt that the author blames his Aspergers for rather a lot. Many of the problems in the Finch’s marriage were exacerbated by Aspergers, sure; but they’re the same things many marriages suffer from – lack of communication, failure to see a spouse’s perspective, poor division of labor, etc. Finch makes statements about “neurotypicals” that make me wonder what tree he fell out of (and if his editors also think that’s actually how normal people are) – believe it or not, not being on the autism spectrum doesn’t make one intuitively socially aware or incapable of overthinking something. Nevertheless, this book was interesting to listen to and gave us plenty to talk about. We were disappointed, however, with how often the author drops the F-bomb. (Side note: Why is such deplorable language considered acceptable writing? I wish I could trust that I can listen to a nonfiction book in my car with my daughter present, but I’m realizing I’m going to have to do a lot more screening of our trip reads in the future.)
• The New Kitchen Science by Howard Hillman
  Back in the day, I taught a lab called “Scientific Principles of Food Preparation” – and I loved it so much I’ve dreamt of making a series of posts with videos showing the amazing science that goes on under our noses every day in the kitchen (although, oh my, the work it’d take to turn that dream into a reality!) So I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, Hillman starts his Q&A format book with a chapter on kitchen *equipment* – definitely the most boring of kitchen science. It got more interesting as the book went on, but I still felt like the book could have been laid out differently to better engage the reader and more logically explain the science. (Also, it could have included a LOT more experiments!)
• The Modern Christmas in America by William Waits
  An adaptation of the author’s doctoral dissertation in sociology, this was a rather dry treatment of the evolution of gift-giving in America from the 1880s through the post-WW2 period. The author took a novel approach to studying this by exploring popular literature: magazines and their advertisements. I enjoyed the many advertisements reproduced in the book, but thought the author’s blatant socialism (in the chapter on charity) and his theories on “decontamination from the marketplace” were rather off-putting.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

My library is celebrating 100 years this year – and, as part of their celebration, they’re inviting library patrons to try to read 100 books this year (with the opportunity to read great prizes, they say.) The only stipulation is that the books must be at least 100 pages in length (do I sense a theme here?) As of today, I’ve read 72 books over a hundred pages (I only wish I’d noted the pages – I’ve seen others tabulate how many pages they’ve read, and that’s a pretty good idea.) That’s 72% of the way to 100 and it’s 65% of the way through the year, so… I think I might make it to 100 :-D

Fiction read this month:

• The Siege of Macindaw by John Flanagan
  I am continuing to enjoy the “Ranger’s Apprentice” series – the former castle wards turned apprentices are now in their first duty posts, handling a tricky situation up North. Will and Horace have to figure out how to siege Macindaw with fewer men than are within the castle walls – and they have to do it before something horrible happens to Alyss, a prisoner within the castle tower.
• The Adventures of Perseus by Peter Hepplewhite
  An episodic recounting of the myth of Perseus, with cartoon-like illustrations and a call-out box or two per double-page spread giving background information on the current episode. For example, in the episode entitled “Perseus rescues his mother”, a call-out box titled “Ask the storyteller” asks “What happened to Medusa’s head?” I’d say this is probably a good choice for mid- to upper- elementary child.
• The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer
  An arranged marriage, a suspected murderer, a free-trader, an actual murderer, and a runaway bride? This Heyer novel had me laughing out loud – and quite unable to communicate why to my husband. Heyer just has a knack for hilarious interpersonal interactions (but ones that you can’t always understand in just an excerpt!)
• 18 board books
  Tirzah Mae and I have been doing lots of reading this month!

Nonfiction read this month:

Books about Family Issues (Marriage, Childbirth, Baby Care):

• I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile
  An expansion on a chapter in I was a Good Mom before I had Kids, by the same authors. My opinion of this book is about the same as my opinion on the chapter in the earlier book – generally good advice but the women they talk to can be incredibly disrespectful to their husbands. You can find my full review here.
• Thank You, Dr. Lamaze by Marjorie Karmel
  A fascinating memoir of Karmel’s experience giving birth naturally in France using Dr. Lamaze’s variation on “Pavlovian childbirth” – and then of applying that same method while giving birth in America. For those who are into birth or the history of birth (okay, I might be the only one?), this is absolutely riveting. Read my full review here.
• Cut it Out! by Theresa Morris
  A fascinating sociological exploration of the current c-section epidemic in the US. This author argues (and quite successfully, I think) that organizational changes (mostly driven by litigation) are the primary contributer to the US’s astronomical c-section rate. Morris interviewed hundreds of healthcare providers and recently postpartum women and includes extensive quotes throughout the book. Definitely worth reading if the subject interests you at all (I read it in two, maybe three sittings?)
• How to Survive Your Baby’s First Year by Hundreds of Heads
  Lots of dogmatic black-and-white advice with little by way of usable tips – except the oft-repeated (and, in my opinion BAD) advice to “do what works for you”. Read my scathing review here.
• The Baby Food Bible by Eileen Behan
  Somewhat dated and doesn’t address a lot of the hot-button issues (or many of my favorite soapboxes), but a good resource for a mom of an infant under 8 months who intends to make her own baby food purees. Read my full review here.

Books about Building a Home:

• Almost Green by James Glave
  A freelance writer tries to build a super-green studio workspace in his yard. Interesting in parts, insufferably supercilious in others. I don’t really recommend it. You can, however, read my full review here.
• Porches and Sunrooms by Roger German
  A full-color resource for planning, building (or renovating), and repairing a porch, three-season-room, sunroom, or conservatory. I enjoyed all the photos of lovely porches – and gained what I think will be useful information about the process of building a porch.

Books about History:

• Caesar and Christ by Will Durant
  I’ve been listening to this one off and on since April – and I finally finished it (it’s only 30 discs long!). It’s a fascinating look at the history of Rome – from the foundations to the fall. I’d like to read it again someday – and I see this as potentially being a great resource for a high school study of ancient history.
• The Black Count by Tom Reiss
  The story of the novelist Alexandre Dumas’ father, also names Alexandre Dumas. Dumas was a mullato from French Saint-Domingue who participated in the French Revolution, even becoming general-in-chief of the French Republican Army. After participating in Napoleon’s unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, Dumas became a prisoner in Naples while Republican France devolved into a totalitarian regime under Napoleon. This was a intriguing story of the French Revolution and of race relations in revolutionary and post-revolutionary France.

Other nonfiction:

• Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
  This month’s pick for my in-real-life bookclub. I love how this story reminds me of my own childhood – both because of similarities between our stories and because of how the Gilbreth story influenced our family culture when I was a teen.
• Christmas in Brazil by World Book
  Brazil has some rather different Christmas season traditions. Interesting.
• The Lion’s World by Rowan Williams
  A delightful conversation about themes in Narnia; like a chat with one of the smartest people you know, who also happens to be a lover of Narnia. You can find my full review here.
• Organize Your Stuff the Lazy Way by Toni Ahlgren
  Not particularly well-organized for a book on organizing – and tremendously dated (about half of the book applies to stuff that no longer exists thanks to technological changes).

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

After last month’s success with reviewing, it’s almost guaranteed that this month I’d be behind on reviews – but not too far. Mostly, I have lots to write about NARNIA.

Fiction read this month:

• The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
  My in-real-life bookclub selection for the month of July. I’m going to review this someday (maybe) – but, for now, I’ll just say that it’s a powerful fictionalized retelling of the life of Sarah Grimke, a noted abolitionist and early women’s rights activist. It’s definitely worth reading.
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
  I’m in Narnia for the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge – and was surprised at how little I remember from this book (it’s been, what, five years since I last read it?) I have lots of thoughts but haven’t written any up yet – which means you might be inundated over the next week.
• 2 picture books author last name BROWN
  I’m moving really slowly through the “Arthur books” because, well, I rather despise them. Thanks to all those who offered some alternatives on that post :-)
• 13 board books
  I’ll be talking more about these on Read Aloud Thursday – coming up in just a couple of days!

Nonfiction read this month:

Books about Children and Parenting:

• Before Their Time by Daniel Taylor and Ronald Hoekstra
  A wonderful collection of stories from a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Minneapolis. I reviewed it, and wrote a few more reflections about our own NICU experience, in this post.
• Your Child at Play: Birth to One Year by Marilyn Segal
  A month-by-month guide to your baby’s development with lots of activities you can do with your child. I loved it, but it’s a bit outdated and modern parents might notice some safety concerns. You can read my full review here.

Books about Essential Oils:

• Essential Energy by Nikki Goldstein
• The Essential Oils Book by Colleen K. Dodt
  Everyone and their dog is doing essential oils these days, so I figured I’d try to see what the buzz is about. So far, I see lots of unsubstantiated claims and frankly silly pseudoscience. Does that means there’s nothing to it at all? No, not necessarily – just that there’s a lot of opportunity for research, and that until the research has been done, it’s worth taking the advice of aromatherapists with a grain of salt. I have mini-reviews of these written, just not posted. So…one of these days.

Books about Health:

• Lean Mommy by Lisa Druxman
  An excellent, balanced approach to establishing a healthy lifestyle after having a baby. Even if you don’t plan on doing Druxman’s “Stroller Strides” exercises, this is still a worthwhile book to have postpartum. I wrote about the book (and about my own postpartum body issues) here.
• Eat This, Not That! by David Zincezenko and Matt Goulding
  The concept of this book is great as a column, not so great as a book – lists of the “best and worst” foods in more than a dozen categories (and healthier switches you can make.) I reviewed the book in greater detail here

Books about Houses:

• Atomic Home: A Guided Tour of the American Dream by Whitney Matheson
  Sparse text. Lots of full-color pictures, generally from advertisements, of tract homes (and their furnishings) from the 1950s. Lots of kitsch. Lots of reminiscing (except that it isn’t reminiscing for me ’cause I never experienced the ’50s). Lots of fun.
• Get Your House Right by Marianne Cusato & Ben Pentreath
  I skimmed rather than read this almost 250 page text aimed at preventing McMansions. It contains a lot of good architectural advice – and a lot of supercilious upturned noses.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!