2023 Reader's Journal

 My Reader's Journal from last year is woefully bare, primarily because I kept forgetting to write down what I was reading.  I also started a new job, and that did cut into my reading time. I'm hopeful that this year I will remember to keep track and that I will make more time to read.  I read more books than this for sure--but these are the only ones I remembered to write down (and I'm terrible at trying to remember this far after the fact!).  I put an asterisk beside the ones I liked the best.

1. Dear Bob and Sue (Matt and Karen Smith)(this is a very funny book that I read when I went to the Bahamas last winter)

2. Middlemarch* (George Eliot)(this is a re-read, but I'm not done with it yet)

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe* (CS Lewis)(Audible)

4. Prince Caspian* (CS Lewis)(Audible)

5. How We Die (Sherwin Nuland)

6. Several books related to practicing law (ie, contract drafting and so on)

7. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* (CS Lewis)(Audible)(I LOVE THIS ONE!)

8. Re-Creations* (Grace Livingston Hill)

9. Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport)(another re-read) 

10. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstory)(I'm not finished with this, so please, no spoilers! I'm about 3/4 of the way through....and I'm going to withhold my opinion until I see how it ends)

11. Debt Free U* (Zac Bissonnette)(super useful information for how to attain a college degree while taking on zero debt--this is really important to our family) 

12. Heidi* (Johanna Spyri)(with Annie-we love this sweet story)

13. The Death of Ivan Ilych* (Tolstoy)--this one is motivated me to begin Anna Karenina.  The Death of Ivan Ilych was excellent; I had read it in college, but reading it now, in midlife, after all the water that has passed under the bridge...it was completely different, and so, so good. 

....see? Pitiful! 

I read multiple books on college admissions and paying for college, the titles of which escape me (mostly library books).  I read lots of essays. I dipped into some old favorites, such as The War of Art, to read favorite sections. I think I did a lot of that "dipping into" books this year! In fact, 2023 may have been my Worst Adult Year Ever for real, meaty reading.  In reflecting upon this, I do think my job was a major factor. I read a lot for work. 

So this year I hope to read a lot more books for just plain fun. :) 

Find my other reader's journals, and some good quotes, here. Happy reading! 

2022 Reader's Journal

I finally sat down to try to compile my 2022 Reader's Journal.  It was definitely not a year with a lot of reading; it was a year of travel and of grieving.  But there were a few books I just adored.  My recommendations have asterisks in the list below, and my favorites are highlighted here.

The Order of the Phoenix (JK Rowling)

This year I finished reading all of the Harry Potter books, and the Order of the Phoenix was my favorite. This is the midpoint in the story, and it's the place where we really begin (I think) to see the maturation of the main characters.  The stakes of the war between good and evil are raised in this book.  My favorite books other than this one were The Prisoner of Azkaban and The Deathly Hallows, but I like The Order of the Phoenix the best.  However, the later books--say, The Goblet of Fire on to the end--are better suited for teenagers than children.  I resisted reading these books for years (I'd tried to read the first one ages ago, but couldn't get into it, and it's definitely the weakest of the books), but now I appreciate the intricate world and characters JK Rowling developed and the ultimate message of the story, which has to do with the lifesaving power of  (surprise!) sacrificial love. 

All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)

I am placing this book here even though it disappointed me bitterly, because I really did enjoy the bulk of it.  I loved the weaving together of the stories of the German boy and French girl, and Anthony Doerr is a talented storyteller.  But I cannot forgive him for the last 50 pages.  Oh Anthony! Why?!

Even so, it's a very, very good book.  (But really. WHY??)

Vein of Iron (Ellen Glasgow)

I had read Vein of Iron years ago, but wanted to re-read the story of Ada Fincastle.  I loved this book--an insight into the world of a Virginian during the years preceding the Great Depression.  It's a well-executed book, and I think Ellen Glasgow is a sort of "hidden gem" writer. I was introduced to her years ago by my college roommate/best friend, who is a Glasgow scholar.  I particularly appreciated Ada's father in the story during this reading; he seemed more nuanced than I'd found him the first time I read the book.  

Final Gifts (Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley)

I recommend this to anyone who is dealing or may deal with a dying person--and spoiler alert!--that means everyone.  There is so much meaning in a person's final days, which can be both brutal and strangely lovely.  Too many people are keen and quick to disregard the things dying people say or do.  This book confirmed what I have thought for a long time: that there's meaning and a sort of universality among these experiences.  Highly recommended. 

How Green was My Valley (Richard Llewellyn)

Oh, how I loved this book! I listened to most of it on Audible, read by Ralph Cosham (he's great).  Then I finished it in paper--my husband gave me a first edition copy for my birthday, three days after my Daddy died.  It was such a treat to really relish the last chapters by reading it on paper.  I found the characters compelling and realistic, the story poignant and beautiful, and some of the scenes absolutely riveting and--in one case--heartbreaking. I read it right around the time my father died.  I cried.  It was a wonderful book--my favorite of the year. My father would have loved this book, too.  

1. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (JK Rowling)*

2. Are Women Human? (Dorothy Sayers)*

3. All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)* (loved this book until about 50 pages from the end, and then was furious and dissatisfied!)

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (JK Rowling)

5. The War of Art (Steven Pressfield) )(this was a re-read--I basically read it every year, because I'm a fan.)

6. How to be a High School Superstar (Cal Newport)(Cal sometimes drives me crazy, but he makes good points, and the primary point of this book is that colleges aren't that interested in "well-rounded" students anymore--they have thousands of applications from well-rounded, top-tier students every year.  Instead, the author encourages students to be interesting. I can get on board with that, because it seems like a more real and organic way to live--pursuing one's interests--than checking all the boxes of athlete, volunteer, scholar, et cetera. And--here's my addition--what makes someone interesting?  Being interested in the world! That's an admissions philosophy I can embrace and appreciate.) 

7. Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)(fascinating, weird, and strangely predictable, but ultimately too far outside the realm of believability, and yes, I realize that Harry Potter books aren't exactly within the realm of believability, but they do have their own logic and rationality, even if they don't comply with the workings of our natural world.  The world of Piranesi was just tooooo far gone for me. However, it was thought-provoking.)

8. The Shallows (Nicholas Carr)*(a good book that takes a hard look at what the Internet can do to our brains; this book contained one of the most thought-provoking quotes of the year for me, which I'll share sometime. I read it by the pool and kept having to stop and make notes in my journal about it.)

9.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (JK Rowling) 

10. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)*

11. Vein of Iron (Ellen Glasgow)*

12. Blue Ruin (Grace Livingston Hill)

13. The Jane Austen Diet (Brian Kozlowski)  

14. Final Gifts (Maggie Callanan and Patrician Kelley)*

15. How Green Was My Valley (Richard Llewelyn)*

16. A New Name (Grace Livingston Hill) 

17. Grace Livingston Hill (Robert Munce)(an interesting glimpse into Grace's life!)

I also listened to five Harry Potter books on CD: The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, and The Order of the Phoenix.

As always, there was also the Bible, smatterings of The Book of Common Prayer, my favorite devotional (Streams in the Desert), and Uniformity with God's Will, a personal favorite. I also read much of The Screwtape Letters, which I basically read every summer by the pool. It's an annual tradition for me now!

I also suspect, as I always do, that I missed a few books along the way, but I did my best to remember and list the books I've read here!

I did not read many books to my children last year.  Annie and I are working our way through Heidi, and the kids and I are reading Carry On, Mr Bowditch, and as a family we're reading The Hobbit, but it has been very, very hit-or-miss.  Some seasons are like that.  I hope that 2023 will be less like that. 

Here is a link to last year's list, and previous years' lists as well.

Happy new year, and happy reading!

Accept Each Day

 "I always liked routine and rhythm.  They help me recognize the gifts that, quite often, we fail to see as gifts because they seem dull and unimportant--essentially, life itself.  Liberation occurs only through acceptance."

and

"One has to accept each day and everything in it as a gift from God, and transform each day into joy.  If all the details of my life...are not giving joy but are only a burden, then it is really my sin, my selfishness, my laziness."

Oh, how I appreciate Father Alexander Schmemann! 

These quotes, particularly the second one, hit home with me the other night when I was reading through his journals.  I have lived this over and over and over again.  I have lived the joy of every single mundane day as well as the burdensome feeling of joylessness that I can trace back to my own sin. There have been excruciatingly difficult days when I felt completely overwhelmed by joy. There have been relatively "easy" days when I have felt cranky and burdened.  The difference truly always seems to be my own attitude, my own willingness to accept each day as a gift. We are given so many opportunities in life, every day, to take joy.  

I pray that God will always give me the grace to transform each day into joy, no matter what the days bring.  Amen.

We Must Risk Delight

"We must risk delight.  We can do without pleasure,

but not delight. Not enjoyment.  We must have

the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless 

furnace of this world."

-Jack Gilbert 

The Lost Sense of Quality

"We need all along the line to recover the lost sense of quality and a social order based on quality.  Quality is the greatest enemy of any kind of mass leveling. Socially it means the renunciation of all place-hunting, a break with the cult of the 'star', an open eye both upwards and downwards, especially in the choice of one's more intimate friends, and pleasure in private life as well as courage to enter public life. Culturally it means a return from the newspaper and the radio to the book, from feverish activity to unhurried leisure, from dispersion to concentration, from sensationalism to reflection, from virtuosity to art, from snobbery to modesty, from extravagance to moderation.  Quantities are competitive, qualities are complementary."

     -Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Letters and Papers from Prison)

2021 Reader's Journal

It's already February and I haven't posted my 2021 Reading List yet--but I finally have time.  Let's just say things have been busy; I calculated that I spent half of January in Charleston! 

I read some good books this year.  I can't believe the new year is already here, though (and we're a month in, actually--feels like January 3rd to me, still).  I am putting my favorites at the top here, and then placing an asterisk beside other books that I'd recommend! 

Ordering Your Private World (Gordon MacDonald)

I appreciated this book so much that I read it twice, and I think I need to read it again this year. It's a solid book on establishing your priorities and making sure your focus stays where it should in your external life AND in the interior life you lead....right up my alley.  So much good, inspiring, honest wisdom here that I highly recommend it, and will be giving it to my children when they are older. 

Extreme Ownership (Jocko Willink and Leif Babin)

What do two Navy SEALS have to share with a housewife from the rural mountains?  Everything. I appreciated this book so much. It's written and marketed for business owners; Willink and Babin run a consulting company.  However, I found it to be widely applicable to my own life.  If you run a home and especially if you have children, you do need to have strong leadership skills ("owning" the things that are within your sphere) in order to keep things on track, and the wisdom that these men bring from the battlefield into "normal life" is so useful.  I also liked Discipline Equals Freedom....it's so true. ;)  

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)

It will be hard for me to write about this book without gushing.  Although it sometimes feels written in the direction of selling the movie rights (and no doubt, it would make a fabulous film and I'm sure someone has already bought the rights!), it's still just so good.  It follows the life of an aristocrat in Moscow who is sentenced to house arrest for LIFE in the Metropol Hotel.  The way he lives, handles his life, manages his time, treats others, and ultimately raises a child is all so inspiring.  I listened to it on Audible, but my husband gave me the book for Christmas, so I actually finished it on paper (going slowly because I didn't want it to end).  Towles is a skillful writer with a perfect sense of timing, propriety, and tone.  This was the best book I read this year, and since I also read Jane Austen, that's saying a lot!

Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

I was stunned by this book.  Chinua Achebe's writing is spare and elegant but perfectly evocative.  I envy his writing.  I'm so impressed by his masterful use of the English language.  It is set in 19th Century Nigeria and gives a look at the culture of the area at that time and the slow infiltration of Western influences.  There was so much here that was distressing and disturbing, but also beautiful.  Reading about some of the customs of the Nigerian clans of the time was riveting to me.  A Gentleman in Moscow was my favorite fiction book of the year, but this was a close second.  

Long Live the Queen (Bryan Kozlowski)

Bryan Kozlowski has such admiration for Queen Elizabeth and a superb knack for assimilating the information he has about her and putting it together into a highly readable, enjoyable form.  I am an unapologetic fan of the Queen myself, so I was naturally drawn to this book and wasn't sure what to expect.  I found it totally delightful, inspiring, and fun.  Another one that I listened to and then decided I should own in paper form. :) 

1.  Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace (Christie Purifoy)

2.  Free to Be Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Story of Women and Law (Teri Kanefield)

3.  The Joy of Decorating (Phoebe Howard)

4. Deep Work (Cal Newport)-- which I'd started on Audible in December 2020.  I must say, I don't recommend it for Audible listening, though (deadly boring audiobook), but the content of the book is quite good. One of my college acquaintances was featured in the book--surprise!--so that was very cool. I had no idea! 

5. Before We Were Yours (Lisa Wingate)*--I read this book in record time, it was so absorbing. Based on the true story of Georgia Tann, a child trafficker and child abuser in the mid-twentieth century who ran the Tennessee Children's Home Society, it was an incredibly compelling story.  It's also terribly sad to know that thousands of children and families suffered at the hands of this money-hungry, evil woman. 

6.  Ordering Your Private World (Gordon MacDonald)*--I read this one twice; LOVED IT

7. The Winter Garden (Kristin Hannah)* --I had never heard of the siege of Saint Petersburg even though I studied Russian Literature for a full semester in college.  It was fascinating. And sad. 

8. Can You Drink the Cup? (Henri Nouwen)*

9. Bella Tuscany (Frances Mayes)* -my relaxing, wandering read of the year. I love her observations on life in Italy. I read a lot of this poolside on our vacation at a resort in Williamsburg in the summer, lazily watching my children float the lazy river while meandering through the Italian countryside in my mind. And it was my top read for "before bedtime relaxation."

10. The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence*) -a classic, a re-read

11. The Joyful Mysteries of Life (Catherine and Bernard Scherrar) 

12. My Life in France (Julia Child) (Audible)-I loved this book and it inspired me to take my cooking a little more seriously--at least for a little while :)  But the best parts of the book are her tales of life in France! Finn will enjoy reading it in a couple of years. 

13. Girl with a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier)

14. Extreme Ownership (Jocko Willink and Leif Babin)*

15. Younger Next Year (Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge)-in short: EXERCISE every day!

16. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens) (Audible)--Finn and I are reading this together--we're not done yet! But I love it so far. Another review next year, perhaps ;) 

17. A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles) (Audible)*

18. Persuasion (Jane Austen) (Audible)*

19. The Right to Write (Julia Cameron) --I haven't finished it, but I LOVE this book so far.....

20. Discipline Equals Freedom Field Manual (Jocko Willink)*

21. Whiskey in a Teacup (Reese Witherspoon) --I thought I'd hate this book, but it's just very cute, and since I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Southerner, so much of it was laughingly familiar to me! Monograms, manners, music--yes, yes, yes

22. Broken Horses (Brandi Carlisle) 

23. The Power of Less (Leo Babauta)*

24. Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)*

25. Long Live the Queen (Brian Kozlowski)* (Audible)

26. How to Homeschool 9th and 10th Grades (Lee Binz) (Audible)

27. Looking Backward (Joyce Swann) 

28. Harvard Schmarvard (Jay Mathews)*--a good book on college admissions with a neat list of 100 "hidden gem" colleges in the back. I'm sure I'll be re-referencing this book a lot in the coming years!

29. Cool Colleges (Donald Asher)--another good book that focuses on nontraditional colleges that may appeal to students who are super bright and have taken a somewhat "unique" path to education...ahem, homeschooling.  It's a book for the "hyper-intelligent, self-directed, late blooming and just plain different" and I have to say that all of those adjectives apply to my Finn. 

30. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--JK Rowling (audiobook)

31. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets--JK Rowling (audiobook)

32. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban--JK Rowling (audiobook)

33. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire--JK Rowling 

As you can see, I'm also reading the Harry Potter series for the first time (well, I've read the first 3 books aloud to my children, but we re-listened on audiobooks, and I'm now reading The Order of the Phoenix myself, which is #5). The books get better as you go along, I think; I really didn't love the first two books, but The Prisoner of Azkaban was quite good, and things definitely start to get fleshed out and more involved in The Goblet of Fire.  But I don't think these books are for young kids!  I appreciate stories about the war between good and evil because I believe it mirrors reality--it's just that Rowling sets that very real war in a very make-believe world with wizards. 

Plus plenty of Mary Oliver poems, The Bible, my devotional (Streams in the Desert, my all-time favorite)....etc!

Books I Read to or with my Children:

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society--Trenton Lee Stewart (January 2021 Book Club Choice--Annie)

2.  Little Women--Louisa May Alcott* (obviously one of the best books of all time :))

3. The Children's Homer--Padriac Colum* (it took us half the book to get into it, and then we enjoyed this retelling very much!  Well-written!)

4. The Trumpet of the Swan--E. B. White* (one of Annie's literature books)

5.  A Wrinkle in Time--Madeline L'Engle* (February 2021 Book Club Choice--Mr. Pauley)

6. The Velveteen Rabbit--Margery Williams (read this to Annie b/c we realized she'd never read it.  I can't read it without crying! I love this book. It's among my top favorite children's books.  Such a timeless message.  I am grateful for it--because I am getting "shabbier" and better-loved every year....and thus more real. ;))

7. The Wind in the Door--Madeline L'Engle (February 2021 Book Club Choice--we all read A Wrinkle in Time the first week of the month since it's so short, so we added another book!)

8. Macbeth--William Shakespeare* (wonderful, of course)

9. The Witch of Blackbird Pond-Elizabeth George Speare* (a book I LOVED as a child and didn't really remember; I had Finn read it for part of his literature this year and I re-read it, and loved it just as much this time as I had 30 years ago!)

10. My Side of the Mountain--Jean George (March 2021 Book Club Choice) (I liked it a lot) 

11. Peter Pan--J.M.Barrie (a read-aloud for school....we didn't really love it, actually!)

12. Miracle on Maple Hill--Virginia Sorenson (I read this to Annie) 

13. Heidi--Joanna Spryi (I read this to Annie) 

14. Something Greater than Gold (about Eric Liddell, the Olympian and missionary--we enjoyed it so much)  

15. Li Lun, Lad of Courage--Carolyn Treffinger

16. Nory Ryan's Song--Patricia Reilly Giff (good but a little too sad)

There are so many things that I read with my children that don't make it onto this list: poetry books, snippets of devotionals, tidbits from here and there, certain school books (I'm reading The Storybook of Science to Annie this year, for instance; or any of our beloved Genevieve Foster history books that I read....)

Perhaps this year we will pick up with our family book club again.  We petered out last year when one of the children picked a Roald Dahl book because (I know this is heretical for a lot of fans of children's literature, so I apologize in advance!)  I loathe Roald Dahl stories.  Alas.  Maybe we'll get going again, though!

                                                           *                                      *                                  * 

So that's it! My 2021 Reader's Journal. 

Here are my previous years' journals:

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Happy New Year, and happy reading!

The Uneventful, Unambitious Life: True Success, Possible to All

 I am so proud to report that I finally mustered up my courage and read Chapter Forty of Little Women to my children.  It's true that I delayed for as long as possible. It's true that I had to put the hankie nearby. It's true that I had already cried, multiple times, over the foreshadowing in previous chapters.

But I did it.

Finn had already read the book (he LOVES it!) and Annie already knew what happened to Beth--presumably she caught wind of it from her brother somehow--so no one was surprised, but even so, it never gets less sad.  I think the appropriate word for what I did was "sob." 

The entire chapter is poignant and wise. 

"Precious and helpful hours for Jo, for now her heart received the teaching that it needed: lessons in patience were so sweetly taught her that she could not fail to learn them; charity for all, the lovely spirit that can forgive and truly forget unkindness, the loyalty to duty that makes the hardest easy, and the sincere faith that fears nothing, but trusts undoubtingly....

"Seeing this [Beth's last days] did more for Jo than the wisest sermons, the saintliest hymns, the most fervent prayers that any voice could utter; for, with eyes made clear by many tears, and a heart softened by the tenderest sorrow, she recognized the beauty of her sister's life--uneventful, unambitious, yet full of the genuine virtues which 'smell sweet, and blossom in the dust,' the self-forgetfulness that makes the humblest on earth remembered soonest in heaven, the true success which is possible to all."

The self-forgetfulness

This is no well-praised virtue in today's world, is it?  I think a lot about social media and what is doing to us, and what kind of life it is shaping for our children.  Is there any way to achieve this "self-forgetfulness" when we are thinking of what to post next on social media--about ourselves? (Or our children?) It has its benefits, although I suspect they are fewer than its risks, and I don't want to deny the happy reality of how easily social media can connect us with far-off relatives.  (I always say--not really jokingly--that the only reason for Instagram is to see my cousins' babies and follow the Duchess of Cambridge!)

There's no way to photograph those "genuine virtues" that smell sweet and blossom in the dust.  Most of the virtuous things we do in life don't photograph well. I think about the generations of humans who lived before photography was widespread, and all the genuine virtues they must have quietly, invisibly displayed as they went about their normal lives.  All the acts of kindness, charity, forgiveness, faith, and love that happened over centuries--never captured in any form except within the heart of the recipients.

I loved this reminder that the truly successful life is, indeed, possible to us all.  

On Cultivating Beauty

 "Though I love pretty things and special touches (small as the honey scent of a beeswax candle, large as the curvy porcelain legs of a porcelain sink), like the rest of the world, I have tended to view such things as unnecessary extras.  They are indulgences.  They are not strictly necessary and should be doled out with caution, like special treats.  Surely only an incurable romantic would choose old wooden windows over modern vinyl.  But what if beauty is one of the greatest gifts I give my neighbors and my guests? What if my own choices give others the permission they need to forgo the plastic jug, to light the special candle, to sit quietly in the afternoon with milky tea in a bone china cup? I believe beauty reflects the truth about who God is and what this world is all about.  What could be more important than cultivating beauty in little ways and large, however I am able?"

-Christie Purifoy, Placemaker

2020 Reader's Journal

This year was a pretty good book year for me. The greater time at home, combined with huge painting projects and my subscription to Audible, allowed me to enjoy a fair amount of books this year. Next year my goal is to read 44 books--since I'm turning 44 years old. :)  (I originally got this idea from Nancy Kelly; her list for 2020 is located here.)

I'll highlight my top picks, then post the entire list below!  An asterisk means it's a book I would recommend. Most of the books I read this year are asterisk-worthy. I don't count my Bible reading, my devotionals, and my liturgical readings--I cycle through many of the same things each year. 

The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

I had never read this book before, and I picked it up off the bookshelf on a whim earlier this year.  Soon I was absolutely spellbound; I was transported to the brushy hot woods of Florida. I was eking out a bare subsistence with the Baxter family.  I was completely immersed in Rawlings' wonderful prose, her exquisite descriptions of the fauna and flora of Florida, and the heart-wrenching coming of age story that this book presents.  Out of 5 stars, I give it 10. I adored this book. My husband read it after I did, and he felt the same way!

Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger

It's hard not to love Leif Enger's prose. He is a masterful craftsman of the English language. This is another coming-of-age story, of a sort, and is beautifully-written with a genuinely funny narrator.  And of course, there's Swede.  Everyone has to love Swede.  Enger's incorporation of straight-up miracles into his story elevates this book into a spiritually-inspiring tale of love and sacrifice and faith.    

Middlemarch, by George Eliot 

The beauty of Middlemarch rests in its characters. (Of course, Eliot was a great writer, too!)  Oh!  The characters were so rich!  I listened to this book while painting a lot of furniture over the summer.  I was on tenterhooks some of the time.  I loved it so much that my husband gave me a beautiful copy for my birthday, along with the George Eliot film collection! I finished the book on a warm day in the flower beds, and had to put my tools down and just look at the sky as I listened to the very end.  I just loved it!  I look forward to reading another George Eliot book this year. 

The Hiding Place, by Corrie Ten Boom

The true story of the indefatigable Corrie Ten Boom, whose Christian family sheltered Jews in the Netherlands during World War II.  Unfortunately, the Nazis discovered the Ten Boom's hideout.  Corrie spent time in Ravensbruck concentration camp. While there, she and her sister led Bible studies and tried to bring the light of Christ to a dismal, horrific place.  The stories of their time there are amazing! This will be required reading for my teenagers.  I appreciated her story so much that I immediately read Tramp for the Lord after I finished this book. That is also an excellent, wonderful story of her faith and her ministry after the war.  

How Not to Die, by Dr. Michael Greger

Agree with Dr. Greger or not, but no one can argue with his thorough, research-based approach to nutrition.  I'm a nerd.  I loved it.  Dr. Greger presents study after study on various ailments that plague humans, and in many of these studies, one clear solution to the problems is....eat more whole foods, especially plants! This is common sense, yet so many people in our Western culture eat far too many processed foods and/or meats.  Dr. Greger divides foods into green light, yellow light, and red light foods.  The greens are whole, unprocessed plant foods. Yellow light foods are slightly-processed plant foods or whole, unprocessed animal foods such as yogurt, fresh eggs, etc. Red light foods are highly processed plant foods or animal foods such as bacon, lunch meats, and so on.  I appreciate his approach, which is to encourage people to eat abundant quantities of green-light foods, and limit yellow light foods....and eat red light foods as seldom as possible!  I am of the opinion that it's best for our mental and physical health to live a life of thoughtful balance, so I personally would never cut out entire food groups (unless I had a medical condition!). I love that he isn't an all-or-nothing thinker when it comes to diet, but he still presents solid research and evidence that following a plant-based, whole foods diet is a great way to experience increased health and well-being. 

Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson

This is a book about access to justice, and as an attorney, it was right up my alley. It's a book about justice, mercy, and redemption.   (There is a film by the same name. I haven't seen it.) I read the book after seeing pastor Tim Keller interview the author.  Bryan Stevenson presents stories of the cases he has worked on as a criminal defense attorney representing some of the most outcast members of society.  The primary focus is the story of Walter McMillan, who was sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit.  But Stevenson also touches upon the stories of children, some as young as 13, who are sentenced to extraordinarily long prison terms after brief and disturbing childhoods with scanty parental guidance or support.  I appreciated it so much, and it's another one that I am putting on my list for reading and discussion with my (older, nearly-adult) teenagers when the time comes. 

Ourselves, by Charlotte Mason

This is one of those "I wish I'd had it when I was 15 years old" kind of books. Peppered with timeless wisdom, this is a book that Mason wrote for adolescents, but it's absolutely invaluable to adults.  Absolutely worth your time.  I read it as part of a Living Education Lesson session. I plan to read it with Finn when he is in 9th grade--next year!

Those were my top picks this year, but I also read a lot of very good other books.  Here's the full list!

1. The Restoration of Christian Culture (John Senior)* (I'm not actually done with this book; I sort of read it on and off throughout the year)
2. Goodbye, Mr. Chips* (a sweet, short book, nice winter reading!)
3. The Slight Edge (Jeff Olson)(he's preaching to the choir with me, but a good book if you need motivation)
4. The Element (Ted Robinson)
5. Mere Christianity (CS Lewis)(parts of it)*
6. Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
7. Peace Like a River (Leif Enger)*
8. The Orchard (Adele Crockett Robertson)* (an interesting book about a woman who tries to save her family's orchard during the Great Depression)
9. Daddy Long Legs (Jean Webster)(this is a book I loved as a teenager, and I wanted to re-read it again as an adult. It's cute.)
10. The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann* (another ongoing book that I'm in no hurry to finish. I love it!)
11. Spoken from the Heart (Laura Bush)* (audiobook)
12. Patina Farm (Brooke and Steve Gianetti)* (just a beautiful book)
13. The Little Book of Hygge (Meik Wiking)
14. Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art (Madeleine L'Engle)*(I'm not done yet, but this is going to be a top pick of 2021, I am sure of it!)
15. Middlemarch (George Eliot) (audiobook)*
16. The Hiding Place (Corrie Ten Boom)*
17. Tramp for the Lord (Corrie Ten Boom)*
18. Under Our Skin (Benjamin Watson)*
19.  How Not to Die (Michael Greger)*
20. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Agatha Christie)*(good if you enjoy this genre; it's not my favorite genre, but this one is a classic!)

21. I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)(a re-read) 
22. Awaking Wonder (Sally Clarkson)(I'm not done with this one yet)

23. The Yearling (Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings)*

24. Discipline (Elisabeth Elliot)*

25. The Dutch House (Ann Patchett) (audiobook)

26. The Story of a Whim (Grace Livingston Hill) 

27.  French Country Cottage (Courtney Allison)(beautiful photos)

28. Running for My Life (Lopez Lomong)*
29. Ourselves, Our Bodies and Our Souls (Charlotte Mason)*

30. Just Mercy (Bryan Stephenson)(audiobook)*

31. Deep Work (Cal Newport)*

32. The Common Rule (Justin Early)*

33. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)*

34. Christmas at Fairacre (Miss Read)* (a sweet Christmas story)

35. Modern Etiquette Made Easy (Myka Meier)*(I love Myka's fresh take on etiquette, one of my own favorite topics)


BONUS: Books I Read To or With my Children (not counting poetry, some school books, Bible....):

1. Tumtum & Nutmeg (Emily Bearns) (such fun little stories! Annie and I read them together and often had to read "just one more chapter" to see what happened to these two adorable mice)
2. Coriolanus (Shakespeare)
3. Johnny Tremain (Esther Forbes)(I actually read this on my own and loved it, while Finn was reading it)*
4. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)(cried off and on all the way through, and as an adult, furiously wrote down some of Marmee's wonderful wisdom)*
5. The Golden Goblet (Louise Jarvis McGraw)*
6. Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery; on audio book)(not done yet!)*

7. Understood Betsy (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)*

8. Old Mother West Wind (Thornton Burgess)

9. Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare) 

10. The King of the Golden River (John Ruskin)*

11. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)*

Here are my previous lists: 

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

Happy reading!

On Time

This fall I've enjoyed reading Charlotte Mason's Fourth Volume, Ourselves, in preparation for reading it with Finn within the next year.  It's such a great instruction manual on living a good life! I wish I'd read it in the 1990s.   

I've particularly enjoyed the chapter entitled "Integrity: Justice in Action."  I'll share some quotes from this occasionally over the next few months, but I'll start with some wisdom on time. 

{a gorgeous cloud over my aunt and uncle's house}

"It is a bad thing to think that time is our own to do what we like with.  We are all employed; we all have duties, and a certain share of our time must be given to those duties.  It is astonishing how much time there is in a day, and how many things we can get in if we have a mind.  it is also astonishing how a day, a week, or a year may slip through our fingers, and nothing done. We say we have done no harm, that we have not meant to do wrong.  We have simply let ourselves drift......

"[People] dawdle through the working day, hoping that some one will make them do the thing they ought.  Now, this is a delusion.....[t]his power of making oneself work is a fine thing.  Every effort makes the next easier, and, once we mount upon that easy nag, Habit, why, it is a real satisfaction to do the day's work in the day, and be free to enjoy the day's leisure."

Isn't this true?  And I love the "easy nag" of Habit. Truly, I believe our habits either make or break us. 

"Some people dearly like to be going on with a little job of their own in the time which should have a fixed employment.....Integrity forbids this....[e]very piece of work has its due time.  The time which is due to an occupation belongs to that, and must not be used for any other purpose."

I agree with this, for the most part.  I do think we have to take time seriously; otherwise, days and weeks are wasted.  At the same time (sorry; can't resist), we also need to be wise in deciding how our time should be spent.  If you've got a tendency to over-productivity and over-work, you can fall into the habit of simply working all the time.  But sometimes life demands we must use time for a purpose other than the one we'd originally assigned to it.

Illness and medical emergencies are obviously one example of this. But other examples are:

talking to a child late into the night (when really, you should be sleeping so you can get up and exercise in the morning)

extending a breakfast theological discussion a bit longer, because people have questions and need to talk (when you should use that time to begin "formal schoolwork" or chores)

paying attention to a child or spouse's emotional state and spending time with them (even if the time had been allotted for some other purpose)

I suspect Charlotte Mason would agree with me.  After all, the work of the family is tending to each other's needs; that's my primary "occupation" right now and that's where the bulk of my duties are focused. So although some days we can stick strictly to a routine, there are days when the "do the next right thing" approach is the most valuable use of our time. 

{farm life! lots of lessons in doing the next right thing on a farm....}

There have been seasons in my own life when I have outwardly accomplished very little, but the spiritual and emotional work was enormous.  When my husband was super sick after radiation treatments, I was as "unproductive" as I've probably ever been, but I was tending to my husband and children's physical and emotional needs.  We all grew during that hard time.  Not much felt like it was "done," but what was done, was what was meant to be done.  So, if you're in one of those times, don't forget 2 Corinthians 4:18 (part of the passage my children and I are memorizing right now), which reminds us to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, because what is unseen is eternal. You can't really check "tend to my family's emotional and spiritual needs" off the list every day; how in the world can we quantify that?  But it's of the utmost importance.  

 I appreciate this reminder to use our time wisely, to use the time allotted to a specific task for that task, while also keeping at the forefront of our minds the reality that our highest duties often require setting aside that task and allowing a more eternal, important task to take its place. 

Onward and upward, with small faithful steps, every single day.......

Restlessness, the Hard Master

"Restlessness, from being a good servant, might become a hard master; indeed, he does sometimes become so, and people do things that are too hard for them in the way of rowing or climbing, running or jumping.  Worse still, the Daemon of Restlessness possesses them, and they cannot settle to any kind of work or play because they always want to be doing something else.  This is a very unfortunate state to get into, because it is only by going on doing one thing steadily that we learn to do it well, whether it be cricket or algebra...." 

Charlotte Mason, Ourselves 

I am currently enjoying a Living Education Lesson season with Nancy Kelly, and in it, we are reading part of Ourselves.  If you aren't familiar with this volume of her six-volume series, it's a wonderful book on character development. Mason originally wrote it for teenagers, but its instructive truths are perfectly enlightening for adults--and include good reminders that we all need. I know I am not the only person who has read it as an adult and wished that I'd read it 30 years earlier!  

This passage stood out to me recently because I was thinking of how utterly distracted we can all be.  Between cell phones, YouTube, constant sources of news, push notifications, social media apps....how in the world, I often wonder, does anyone without limitations on technology settle down to do anything at all? It seems so omnipresent.  

Mason was writing this long before smartphones hijacked our minds.  Restlessness isn't a new problem; it's just that we now have new ways of indulging in it.  You can never achieve mastery of foreign language, math, or music without a steady daily effort; I think we can all agree to that.  But how about in our domestic lives?

I can see how restlessness has resulted in half-finished chores and projects in my own life in the past!  As I've aged, I've gotten much better at "settling down" and sticking with a task or project, and seeing it through to the end.  There's probably a personality type that struggles with this more than others (probably the creative type!).  If you're like me, you get excited over possibilities.  And then you can get extremely bogged down in implementation,  By disciplining myself to implement--slowly, surely--I accomplish much more than I ever did when I was trying to do ten creative things all at once. 

Restlessness can even disturb our most mundane tasks.  Sometimes it takes actual discipline to finish cleaning the kitchen (all the way), to fold and put away all the laundry, to get the bathroom totally cleaned. Of course, sometimes we have to just do the best we can and leave the rest--like when you have small children! Or if you are ill, or have a spouse or close loved one with an illness. 

Self-discipline is one of the best skills I think we can learn ourselves and teach our children. It's one reason I value chores, music lessons, and Annie's ballet class for my children. They teach us to do things in a systematic, orderly, continuous way, and they train us to do them even when we don't want to do them!  I actually believe that self-discipline soothes the savage beast of restlessness.  But no amount of chores, piano practices, or plies will teach my children to focus if I am not willing to focus myself!  So I also try hard to practice disciplines in my own life: daily exercise, my own chores and housework, and completion of tasks and projects I begin.  This may be one of those things that is "caught" more than taught, but it's important, particularly in our age of countless distractions.  (And addictions: did you know social media was designed to be addictive?) 

"...it is only by going on doing one thing steadily that we learn to do it well..."

Thanks to Charlotte Mason, once again, for the truth and inspiration!

A New Book Challenge

Like many people, I have found that during this season of quarantine, I have more time to read books. (When I'm not trying to garden and paint furniture...!)

I don't follow the Modern Mrs. Darcy, but I recently saw, via Roan's blog, a 2020 reading challenge posted.  I thought it looked both intriguing and doable, and decided I would try to follow along as well! It apparently consists of 12 books over the course of the year, in various categories.  They are (with my own selections for each one provided):

A Book Published the Decade You Were Born: 100 Years of Solitude --this has been on my to-read list forever--literally since I was gifted it as one of my college "book bridal shower" gifts-- but I'm so intimidated by it.  However, I am going to rise to the challenge this year!   I changed my mind! I began reading Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place, and I'm loving it!  I checked the date and it was published in 1971.  So I'm going to count that instead. :) Perhaps I'll still read 100 Years....but we'll see!

A Debut Novel: Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

A Book Recommended by Someone You Trust: I already listened to Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush, recommended by Roan, but my stepmother recommended Before We Were Yours, and I may try to read that also

A Book by a Local Author: I think I'll choose Factory Man, by Beth Macy, who is *somewhat local* to my area

A Book Outside Your Comfort Zone: I have no idea!  What's outside my comfort zone--that's not inappropriate?  I love all genres. I'm still trying to figure this one out......perhaps something related to the hard sciences.  I think I will read The Martian Chronicles. I forgot that I don't like all genres--I don't like science fiction at all (and definitely not horror), nor do I like dysopian books.  My husband has been saying that he wants Finn to read The Martian Chronices for a couple of years now, because my husband really liked it in middle school.  So I'll pre-read it and see if I think it will be a good fit.  

A Book in Translation: I am currently deciding this, but I think I'll pick a translation of the Illiad or the Odyssey

A Book Nominated for an Award in 2020: The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, since *everyone* has recommended this to me

A Re-read: Anne of Green Gables, with my children :) 

A Classic You Didn't Read in School: Middlemarch, by George Eliot (I just got this on audiobook today and am eager to begin it--I've wanted to read it forever!)

Three Books by the Same Author: I debated this one, but because I read and enjoyed Peace Like a River so much, I decided to also read So Brave, Young, and Handsome and Virgil Wander, by Leif Enger. I may do at least one of these as an audio book. 

*       *      *

A week or so ago I finally decided to take the plunge and try a free Audible trial. With that, I got 2 credits for 2 books.  The first one I purchased was Laura Bush's memoir, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I wasn't sure I would really use Audible that much, and I wasn't sure I'd like audio books, but I found myself easily listening as I folded laundry, exercised on the elliptical trainer, drove 3 hours roundtrip to go house-hunting with my sister, or cleaned the kitchen! I'm eager to listen to my next free book--that's Middlemarch. At this point, I think I will keep the Audible membership because I'm enjoying these books so much. 

Ahh! Reading is such a joy. I look forward to many hours of books this summer--I hope the pool will open so that I can read by the water soon. :) 

Reading Goals

I don't have too many "goals" for the new year, although I have a purpose: to try to live slowly (even when life feels so fast!).  In the past, I've not really made a big list of books I want to read--but this week, catching up on blog reading while sick, I was inspired by Sarah's post with her ambitious list. I thought--why don't I make an ambitious list, too? And of course, variations and deviations are expected, but---as Sarah points out--it's a guide!

I went downstairs to our schoolroom, where most of the books live, and jotted down some titles that jumped out at me.  I started with books we have here, on hand, plus a few of Sara's recommendations.  I tried to focus on fiction since that is my area of weakness; I tend to read a lot of nonfiction, but not fiction--although I love fiction books. I think I do this because I can dip in and out of nonfiction more easily, but with some self-control, perhaps I can do the same thing with fiction.  :) 

So here's my list--and I may add to it over the coming year--(update: I did add to it! Here's the additional list.)

Fiction

Wuthering Heights (Bronte) (I am a huge fan of the spooky kind of romance of Jane Eyre, so I think I'll also like Charlotte's sister's book. I almost feel I've read it before, but I'm pretty sure I haven't. At the same time, I have had this experience before: thinking I haven't read a book, and then realizing halfway through when scenes come back to me that yes, in fact, I have.....)

Peace Like a River (Leif Enger) (I read part of this book a few years ago and never finished it!! which I shall remedy now)

The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky)(This was inspired by Sarah, who said she just loved it, and I love Dostoevsky, so....)

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)(a gift at my wedding shower from a friend--it was a book wedding shower, long story--which I've never read, but I've seen the play!)

The Girl with the Pearl Earring (which my mother-in-law loaned me a few years ago and I still haven't read....)

A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles) (Thanks, Sarah!)

The Little Prince (a classic! to read again, perhaps with Finn)

In This House of Brede (Rumer Godden) (another Sarah recommendation)

Jayber Crow (Wendell Berry) (because I love Hannah Coulter!)

Galileo's Daughter (Sobel)(my Dad gave this to me years ago and I never read it)

Daddy Long Legs (a book I read in high school and loved)

All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)(my best friend Allison highly recommends this one!)

Persuasion (Jane Austen)

Drama

The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) (I read it in college; time to read again)

Of course, Shakespeare: I'm reading Coriolanus now and hope to see 2-3 plays in person (undecided as to which ones yet), and then I get to read another play in the fall!

Nonfiction

Seasons at Eagle Pond (Donald Hall)

The Death of Adam (Marilynne Robinson)

Bulfinch's Greek and Roman Mythology (Finn is really into Greek mythology right now due to Percy Jackson books, and this would be an interesting add-on for me; I studied a lot of it during my four years of Latin in high school, but it has been years.  As  a Christian, we are finding it pretty fascinating to read the Greek and Roman myths and discuss them!)

Mere Christianity (CS Lewis)

The Creative Habit (Twyla Tharp; a re-read) 

Splendor in the Ordinary

The Life-Giving Home (Sally Clarkson)(maybe) 

I want to read A Severe Mercy, but I need to wait until we're further along in the remission process.  My heart is still too tender for this now. 

With one or both of my children--not counting their school books:

Anne of Green Gables, per Annie's request!

Little Women

The Narnia books (they've read them once already, we are on Prince Caspian now, working our way through again)

The Golden Goblet (set in ancient Egypt--our current nighttime read-aloud)

Nory Ryan's Song

Sarah, Plain and Tall 

The Little House books--we read through at lunch

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Door in the Wall

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch

My Side of the Mountain

....I don't know how many of these I'll read, or how many new ones will be added, but it's fun to have a loose framework for the coming year!

2019 Reading List

Every year I like to write this post--my Reader's Journal for the year! I got this idea from Nancy Kelly years ago, and I love reading people's reading lists and recommendations. You can read her most recent list here.  One of my goals (if you can say it's a goal) this year is to increase my reading time.  I love to read!

I am quite late posting this, because I am living a full life over here these days.  I am grateful for this full life and everything it entails--and what it doesn't entail, which is cancer!  I just don't carve out much time for the computer.

My favorites from this year are:

Educated (Tara Westover)



This was a fascinating and distressing look into the early life of Tara Westover, who was "homeschooled" in a fundamentalist Mormon family.  In reality, the academic aspect of her education was sparse at best. But the even more troubling part of the story was actually her parents' separatist attitudes and combined mental illness, which permitted abuse among the Westover siblings. I typically do not like to read disturbing books, but to me the redeeming quality of this book was Westover's inspiring resilience.

Living More with Less (Doris Longacre)



A classic book on living lightly and with compassion. The book discusses how our choices impact the world around us and encourages thrift and thoughtful consumption from the lens of Christian witness.  I really liked this book!

Home (Marilynne Robinson)



Gilead from another angle: this book follows the end of life story of Reverend Boughton, and gives the Jack side of the Gilead story (if you've read Gilead, you will probably know what I mean). I loved Gilead and I loved this book.  Robinson's writing is careful, slow, beautiful, poignant, heart-wrenching. I just love her work!

Thrall (Natasha Trethewey)



I admit to a personal bias in favor of Trethewey's work. (Her Native Guard is one of my favorite contemporary books of poetry.) This book is a book of poems for her father, who was one of my own mentors.  I knew him well from my perspective, and I knew what he'd told me about Natasha, and I also knew how proud he was of her when she won the Pulitzer.   I was absolutely riveted by this collection of poems.  They are raw, sad, moving, beautiful, personal, powerful.  

The full list is here, and books with an asterisk are recommended (there are a lot of those this year!):

1. Gift from the Sea* (Anne Morrow Lindbergh)(a beautiful, contemplative little book--I'll read it again at the beach someday!)

2. Real Love for Real Life* (Andi Ashworth)(inspiring for those in the trenches of caring for others)

3. LP's Six Week Program* (Louise Parker)(I have mentioned my love for Louise Parker previously, and her Lean for Life book made my top picks last year; this book is just as good, although it creates a 6-week program and goes week-by-week.  I just love her approach to exercise and health. It resonates with me.  And the thirty pounds I lost in 2018?  Still gone!  And I'm also down one additional jean size since sometime last year, without trying. Truly--her method works....because it's basic, reasonable, and doable. I do plan to do a dedicated post on her approach sometime in the next year or so.)

4. Humble Roots* (Hannah Anderson)

5. Simple Living* (Frank Kettering and Wanda Urbanski)(I read this in 2004 as a miserable lawyer with the flu and it was one of those books that shifted my perspective and helped me craft a new vision for my life...it has been fun to dive into the book again, 15 years later)

6. The Restoration of Christian Culture* (John Senior) (I'm still reading this one, but am loving it so far)

7. Living More with Less (Doris Longacre)*

8. Indestructible (Jack Lucas)(I mentioned this book here)

9.  A Philosophy of Education (Charlotte Mason)(I'll always recommend this book to anyone interested in educational philosophy)*

10. Educated (Tara Westover)*

11. Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport)*(I agree with Newport's analysis of the problems of technology and digital distraction in our day and age, but I do not agree with all of his proposed solutions. I think his solutions tend to be very effective for a man with a predictable job, but aren't effective for a mother who homeschools her children. I wanted to write an addendum for all the people out there who don't have a life that mirrors Newport's!)

12. Scale How Meditations (Charlotte Mason)* (more on this one sometime soon)

13.  The Journals of Alexander Schmeeman* (I'm still reading this one--loving it so far)

14. The Peace of Wild Things* (Wendell Berry)

15. Confessions of a Slacker Mom (Muffy Mead-Ferro)

16. Home (Marilynne Robinson)*

17. The War of Art (Steven Pressfield)(re-read)(read my original review, here)

18. Thrall (Natasha Tretheway)*

19. The Prodigal Girl* (Grace Livingston Hill)

20.  The Millionaire Next Door (Thomas Stanley) (in parts)

21. Everyday Millionaire (Chris Hogan)(for the record, I do not think becoming a millionaire is a great life goal, but it's a solid book on how to work in the direction of financial independence)

22. Homing* (Grace Livingston Hill)(I LOVED this book!)

23.  The Little Way of Ruthie Leming (Rod Dreher)

24.  The Liturgy of the Ordinary* (Tish Harrison Warren)(I'm still reading this one, on the elliptical trainer)

25. Every Moment Holy* (Douglas McKelvey) (wonderful liturgies for everyday life; I highly recommend this book!!!)

As usual, I suspect I missed something.  And I dive in and out of many books at times, too!  But this is a pretty solid, representative list. I was happy with much of what I read last year.  This year I probably want to try to read more fiction, because I do tend to prefer to dwell in the realm of non-fiction.  So I'm starting the year off with a new novel now......

Here are my previous lists:

2018

2017

2016

2015

Happy reading!