by Sarah
Just for curiosity's sake, I'm tracking how many books I read. David and I read daily to the kids, too, so this isn't an exhaustive list. But I'll only note a children's book here if it particularly stands out to me. From mid-July through December, my free time was consumed with buying a house, selling a house, packing and moving, and unpacking and repairing. We're still unpacking and repairing, but at least now we have a (mostly, don't ask about the oven) functional kitchen and two fully functional bathrooms, again. Life is slowly returning back to a more normal pace, with the addition of two kittens to the family. So I'm slowly picking up reading again and will attempt (fingers crossed) more regular blog posts, again.
Books of Scripture
- Gospel of Mark
- Gospel of Luke
Children’s Picture Books
- Cars and Trucks and Things that Go
- by Richard Scarry
- Such a fun, lighthearted book with very detailed drawings. Be warned, it takes forever to read through, especially if you stop to find Goldbug on every page. We also have his “What Do People Do All Day” and “Best of Lowly Worm” books.
- I Love You Head to Toe
- by Bonnie Rickner Jensen, illustrated by Alisa Hipp
- A board book. When I get around to compiling a list of faith-based books for kids that aren’t corny and/or blasphemous, this one will make the cut.
Books in General
- Solimar, the Sword of the Monarchs
- by Pam Muñoz Ryan
- This young-adult fiction looked intriguing, set in post-colonial Mexico, about a young girl who must save the Monarch butterflies, her family, and her kingdom. It was ok, a few too many lucky coincidences for my taste.
- Trojan Women
- by Euripides
- A play written around 415 BCE, centering around the fates of the women of Troy after the city was conquered by the ancient Greeks. There’s a reason the play has survived for over two millennia; it is a powerful story. Got to see a theatrical performance in college, and it brought tears to my eyes. I re-read this as part of my research for the “Why Are We White-Washing Slavery in the Bible” posts.
- Plague of Unicorns
- by Jane Yolen
- One of my favorite authors as a teenager, and I still enjoy her books. A charming story about a young boy who has to leave home and reminds the adults around him that the small and the unprepossessing are often also the underestimated.
- The Lost Hero
- by Rick Riordan
- An engaging young-adult fiction, particularly if you enjoy Greek and Roman mythology.
- Conquistador, a Novel of Alternate History
- by S. M. Stirling
- In the year 1946, a WWII veteran discovers a parallel timeline and find a California where Europeans never set foot. Fast forward to 2009, and the two timelines collide.
- I found the first half engaging. Skimmed through a lot of fight scenes in the second half. Not one I’m going to keep, but good enough that I passed it on to my dad, who really enjoyed it.
- The Other House
- by Henry James
- My first Henry James novel. Even though I knew the ending (if you want to avoid spoiler alerts, don’t read the intro), kept me on the edge of my seat. Who needs soap operas when you have 19th century British lit?
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
- by Harriet Jacobs
- The autobiography of a woman who was born into slavery in the United States. Absolutely gripping. She is very articulate and observant. Like “Trojan Women,” I read this in part as research for my “Why Are We White-Washing Slavery in the Bible” posts. Both this and “Trojan Women” are direct indictments against the claim that slavery could ever be “a workable economic system,” as has been claimed by some evangelicals.
- “You may believe what I say; for I write only that whereof I know. I was twenty-one years in that cage of obscene birds. I can testify, from my own experience and observation, that slavery is a curse to the whites as well as to the blacks. It makes the white fathers cruel and sensual; the sons violent and licentious; it contaminates the daughters, and makes the wives wretched. And as for the colored race, it needs an abler pen than mine to describe the extremity of their sufferings, the depths of their degradation. Yet few slaveholders seem to be aware of the widespread moral ruin occasioned by this wicked system. Their talk is of blighted cotton crops – not the blight on their children’s souls.”
- Fun history trivia that I should include in Part II when I get around to writing it – Robert E. Lee (famous/infamous general of the Confederate States of America) was also opposed to slavery because of the moral decay he thought it brought to slave owners. (Disclaimer – he was by no means an abolitionist; he thought people of African descent were inherently inferior to those of European descent and supported their return to Africa. But not the return of European-Americans back to Europe, strangely…)
- “You may believe what I say; for I write only that whereof I know. I was twenty-one years in that cage of obscene birds. I can testify, from my own experience and observation, that slavery is a curse to the whites as well as to the blacks. It makes the white fathers cruel and sensual; the sons violent and licentious; it contaminates the daughters, and makes the wives wretched. And as for the colored race, it needs an abler pen than mine to describe the extremity of their sufferings, the depths of their degradation. Yet few slaveholders seem to be aware of the widespread moral ruin occasioned by this wicked system. Their talk is of blighted cotton crops – not the blight on their children’s souls.”
- The Wild Robot
- by Peter Brown
- More young-adult fiction. Miss Bee’s teacher read this to the class, and she asked for a copy for home. Both girls kept requesting it for bedtime stories. A newly-awakened robot washes up on an uninhabited island and makes a life and relationships for herself there. Really imaginative, enjoyable book. I don’t typically like using the robot analogy to describe those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but the main character was handled with empathy, and those with ASD may feel a kinship with her.
- Shadows of Self, book Two of the Wax and Wayne Series
- by Brandon Sanderson
- Have yet to read a Sanderson novel that disappoints. Political theory, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and more all wrapped up in a fantasy novel. And they’re rated G, if certain scenes from Game of Thrones (same genre, different author) were just a bit too much for your taste.
Total (General) for Quarter One – 14
Total (General) for Quarter Two – 9
Total (General) for Quarters Three and Four – 9