Whatcha Readin'?

I have read a lot of books in my life and now I wish I had written them all down and reviewed them but I am always too anxious to get on to the next one to stop and write a book report. I guess I don't need a list of what I have read, because really what would I do with such a list if I had it? But just to see how I like it, I will record my recent reads here. So here is what I read in January. If there is a * next to it, I had read it before.


Raising a Puppy to be the Dog You Want- Clarice Rutherford and David H. Neil
We almost got Alyssa a puppy for Christmas, only it wasn't going to come home until January. I found a breeder I like and she had one cute cockapoo puppy left, ready to come home January 28th. I thought about making a picture of it into a poster for Christmas morning but finally decided to wait until after Christmas to decide. After Christmas I read this book and found it interesting and full of useful advice for dog novices like myself, but also very intimidating. A puppy sounds like more work than a child and it is not nearly as cute either. Our friends the Taylors got a puppy for Christmas and they love her but she has been WORK and reading stories on their blog about her eating her poop and puking it back up on the carpet officially tipped me back to the NO DOG EVER side, for now anyway.

Same Kind of Different as Me- Ron Hall and Denver Moore
My friend Kennon is on the board at the local homeless shelter and heads up all kinds of charitable projects, toy drives, school supply drives, Meals on Wheels etc. I asked her how she got involved and she said she had to after she read this book. She told me not to read it though, because it would take over my life. I decided to read it anyway. It is written by a rich man and a homeless man who became friends, after Ron's wife forced him to serve at the homeless shelter. It is a great little story about love and friendship and a great reminder that we have NO idea what has led people to the station they are at in life. Of course it made me want to be a better Christian but so far I have not jumped in with both feet like Kennon did.

I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond- Michael Oher
I mentioned once that I loved the movie The Blind Side so I wanted to read Michael Oher's account and hear his side of the story. It was heartbreaking to hear of a mother locking her kids outside and disappearing on a drug binge, leaving 12 little bitty kiddos to somehow find food and shelter until she came home. BUT it was really more of a hopeful story about overcoming, forgiving and moving forward. I loved hearing his story but even more I loved his strength and positivity. One chapter is written to other foster kids or kids from the ghetto and it is full of good advice. He is a humble, real person who doesn't blow all his money or party at nightclubs. He loves and forgives all those who wronged him but also had to accept that they are not a healthy part of his life and that he has to let them go. I have always been a big fan of deciding for yourself and taking accountability for your own life so a lot of his words sounded very much like words I have said to myself.

Number the Stars- Lois Lowry
When we went to the Museum of Science and Industry Alyssa had questions about why we captured the German submarine and why Germany was an enemy to us once. We talked about Hitler a little bit and she was so scared and sad that she started to cry. I want her to know more but I didn't want to upset her. I thought of having her read The Book Thief but thought it might still be too upsetting. I read this and thought it would be a good introduction to the Holocaust for her but she saw me reading it and informed me that she has already read it, so I guess she is one step ahead of me.

*Anne of the Island- LM Montgomery
I have two friends (Cheryl and Jessica) who rave about the Anne books regularly. I hadn't read them for decades so I decided to re-read the series. I read the first two last year and this year started with book 3, which is my favorite of the Anne books because she finally (possible spoiler alert) figures out how she feels about Gilbert.

*Anne's House of Dreams- LM Montgomery
The original set I had only had the first 4 books so this was the last of the ones I had read before and I also really liked it but not quite as much as the other 3. I felt like every chapter started with a lengthy description of the sunset or scenery and LM Montgomery is brilliant at writing characters and bringing their stories to life so sometimes I just wanted her to get back to the plot. Jessica told me that she reads all of the original 8 books every year so I committed to read the 4 I have not yet read, but I did not get to that this month.

Fablehaven 2: Rise of the Evening Star- Brandon Mull
I read the first one last year for my friend, Cheryl's book club and thought it was okay, but I am not usually a fan of fantasy so I wasn't interested in the rest of the series. I knew Alyssa would like it so I passed it on to her and in no time she had gobbled up all 5 books. She has been begging me to read the rest of them and I have reluctantly agreed to mix them in with my other reading. Book 2 again, was okay. Not my thing and it tends to leave my brain 2 seconds after I read it but it is entertaining enough to keep me reading so I will get through all 5 eventually. If you have a kid who loves "all things mystical and magical" (Alyssa's words) this would be a great series for them.

Man's Search for Meaning- Victor Frankl
Of course I hear this quoted all the time but I tend to gag on psychology/psychiatry books. I decided that since it was an actual account of life in a concentration camp, it might be easier to swallow. There were parts of it that I appreciated and I wrote down a couple of quotes. I am a huge believer in the power of positivity but the several essays on logotherapy that followed the story and read like a text book ultimately caused the book to lose some of its luster for me.

We the Living- Ayn Rand
When my friends Mike and Jen found out that I had not read Atlas Shrugged they got me a copy and wrapped it up and told me to get to work. I read it two years ago and loved it (aside from the 80 page political rant that wasn't necessary because she had already repeatedly made all of her points throughout the novel). After I finished it Jen started encouraging me to read We the Living. In some ways I loved it but the characters were ick! At first I thought the heroine was going to be an exact prototype of Dagny (from Atlas)...tough chick, independent, fight the machine and all the men are in love with her. She is described this way but in reality she is a dud. The only thing she really fights for is her boyfriend, who is a jerk and a loser. What I loved though was going inside Soviet Russia, and hearing what it was like from someone who lived there. Sometimes I think I have it rough because I am stuck in a house I paid too much for in a not super awesome neighborhood, but this reminded me that I am not nor have I ever been poor. I have never had to hope and pray for a crust of bread. I have never had other people move in and start living in rooms of my house. I am SO blessed and so much more grateful to live in America. I understand why Rand went to the extreme with her political beliefs after living like that, but I think she goes too far. Her beliefs are all ME, ME, ME. I get that socialism and communism don't work but she thinks we should only care about success and she even talks about not respecting anyone who believes in God because anyone who puts anyone above themself does not deserve her respect. A little too extreme and I do think there is value in being humble and caring for each other but I also believe we have the right to make something of ourselves as well and that we are much more than just part of the collective. Long review, but this is one that gets the mind going.

Gathering Blue- Lois Lowry
After reading The Giver I did not plan to read the rest of the trilogy. I knew they were each separate stories and The Giver stood on its own for me. BUT then my mom had a totally different opinion about how The Giver ended than Valerie and I had. I looked online and LOTS of people agreed with her. However, I read that book 3 tied everything together and gave a better idea of what happened so I plunged in to book 2 just to get to book 3. This followed a similar formula as The Giver. The society had different issues but the basic idea was the same. I liked it but I was excited to move on to book 3.

Messenger- Lois Lowry
Some people are appalled that this book was written because one of the great merits of The Giver is it's ambiguous ending and this does tie it all together and answer some questions. I however, LOVED book 3 and I love the answers that it provides. Once you can look at the series as a whole there are so many parallels to the world we live in and the different governments throughout history. This book also takes a good look at what pride does to us and even adds in a spiritual component. I finished this last night and then had the whole series running around in my head for hours. Loved it!

Alright so that looks like a lot of reading but a lot of them were kids books or quick reads. I really don't sit and read all day, I promise.

I did also read a couple books of Alyssa's. She is doing Battle of the Books...an interschool competition where you read 34 books assigned by the district, write trivia questions about them and go head to head with the other schools. She has only read 7 of the books because she is always too busy reading her own stuff. I would tell her to quit if she is not going to do it but they have already narrowed the team down from over 50 kids to 15 and she is still on the team. They will take 5-10 kids to compete. I guess we better get reading. The only B.O.B books we read this month were Mr. Popper's Penguins which was cute but not overly exciting to me, and a picture book called Fireboat by Maira Kalman, which the whole family loved. If you haven't talked to your kids about 9-11 this is a good, not scary book to introduce it to them.

Alright that is all for this month. Phew...Now I remember why I don't keep a list of books I've read. I'll review February's books in a month....

Unless I don't! (That was for you Valerie)