Sunday, September 21, 2008

Fall Into Reading 2008

It's time to kick off Fall Into Reading 2008 with Katrina at Callapidder Days. I have what looks like a rather ambitious goal when you put it all down on paper, or a blog post as the case may be, but I read a lot in my spare time, and I usually have a fiction book in my hands as I'm falling asleep at night. The school books I read as I'm homeschooling my kids are not really optional and I have to whip through them pretty quickly, and I usually have the most trouble with the non-fiction. It's primarily getting started with them. When it's time to start a new book, I'll usually pick up a fiction book instead of a non-fiction book. That's where one of my biggest problems with procrastination occurs...I'll put off picking up the non-fiction thinking I'll get that one next time, and so on, and so on. But once I start a non-fiction, I will tend to get on a roll and read several back-to-back. Here are my lists for this fall:

FICTION

1. The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart. I saw this book recommended by multiple people on 5 Minutes for Books: What's On Your Nightstand last month. It was read by moms and kids alike, and it looked like something my 14-year-old twin girls might like. It's hard to find something "exciting" that is still modest enough for them to read. They read the book and now it's my turn.
2. The Cat Who Played Post Office by Lilian Jackson Braun. This is the next book in the series for me to read, and since I have to read them in order, obviously this is the next one I will read. I mix them up by reading other books by other authors in between.
3. Murder, She Wrote: A Palette for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain. This is also the next book in the series for me to read in order. I also alternate these and just read one every once in a while. It makes me enjoy them more.
4. The Beginning by Catherine Coulter. This includes The Cove and The Maze, the first two books in her FBI series. I found this at Sam's Club super cheap, and I'm all about cheap books. I like mysteries, and I can't tell for sure if this qualifies as mystery or just thriller from the back cover, but it sounded pretty good, especially for the price. I checked it out on Amazon when I got home, and there are now 12 books in the series, so they must be good to somebody.
5. Double Jeopardy by Catherine Coulter. This includes The Target and The Edge, the third and fourth books in the FBI series. Same reasoning as behind the last one. I figured if I liked The Beginning I'd want this, and if I didn't I was out less than ten bucks.
6. Yukon Quest by Tracie Peterson. This includes Treasures of the North, Ashes and Ice, and Rivers of Gold. It's a 3-in-1 book I got from CBD (Christian Book Distributors) over a year ago on clearance for under ten dollars. I love good bargains, and my mom recommended this particular series of Tracie Peterson's to me, as well as a few others.
7. The O'Malley Chronicles Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Dee Henderson. These two 3-in-1 books include all six of the O'Malley books written, except for the prequel, which I just finished a couple of weeks ago. They were recommended to me by my cousin, and I found them on clearance also at CBD for under ten dollars each.
8. The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. I found this at Sam's Club when I bought the Coulter books. It looks good, and doesn't appear to be something that would make me uncomfortable to read (I don't like to read about you-know-what or a lot of bad words), plus to harp on the same thing, it was inexpensive. To top it off, it got me out of my box. I can sure get in a rut with my reading, and I can be happy there, but I'm trying to stretch my wings. This is my right wing. My left one is #9.
9. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Same basic concept as #8.

NON-FICTION

1. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. I've had this book for a year or so. I think I started it on a trip and then didn't ever pick it up when I got home. I really want to read this book and finish it. I've only heard good things about it.
2. Five Little Questions That Reveal the Life God Designed for You by Dannah Gresh. I've enjoyed some of Dannah's other books and I'm looking forward to reading this book. It may serve double duty as an extra devotional.
3. Living Simply by Joanne Heim. I've seen this recommended somewhere, but I don't remember where. Heim says that finding simplicity is a means to finding a better quality of life.
4. The Consolation of Imperfection: Learning to Appreciate Life's Limitations by Donald McCullough. I saw this book reviewed by someone on What's On Your Nightstand and I was interested. I found it on CBD highly discounted. The excerpt from the back cover reads: "Sometimes we hate to admit it, but there are limitations in life...Despite our greatest efforts, there are things we cannot change. Instead of resenting life's limits, Donald McCullough suggests that we view them as personalized details of a unique, divinely created portrait. While not making light of painful situations, he offers affirming reflections on the hidden gifts of embracing life's limits."
5. Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman. I love what he writes, and right now I could use this book.
6. Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jery Bridges. One of the foreign missionaries our church supports was visiting a couple of weeks ago, and when he was speaking to our class he mentioned this book. I was interested enough to check it out when I got home. I think this is going to be an excellent book, and probably very convicting too.

DEVOTIONALS

1. Mocha on the Mount by Sandra Glahn. I got this from Hubby for Mother's Day and didn't start it until this last month. I need to finish it up.
2. The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. This was recommended by Lora and I think this is going to be a valuable devotional for me. From the back cover: "No calling is greater, nobler, or more fulfilling than that of motherhood. Every day, as we nurture our children, mothers influence eternal destiny as no one else can. Tragically, today's culture minimizes the vital importance of a mother's role. By catching a vision of God's original design and allowing it to shape your life, you can rediscover the joy and fulfillment that can be found in the strategic role to which God in all his wisdom has called you, for a purpose far greater than you can ever imagine."

HOMESCHOOL READING (BECAUSE I READ WHAT MY KIDS READ)

1. Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights retold by N.J. Dawood.
2. Stories of Beowulf by H. E. Marshall.
3. The Story of Europe by H. E. Marshall.
4. Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall.
5. Robin Hood compiled by Neil Philip.
6. Canterbury Tales translated by Barbara Cohen.
7. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli.
8. Men of Iron by Ernie Howard Pyle.
8. Various 'You Wouldn't Want to be a....." books dealing primarily in the medieval time frame.

There are other books that we read for history selections in conjunction with these that are a chapter at a time for overview or are small books for some specific topic. I didn't list everything; just some of the longer books, literature readings for the oldest three kids, and then the bigger non-fiction history books that I will sit down and read straight through to get a good overview of what we'll be covering, even though the kids might read it over nine to eighteen weeks (some of those books have about 500 pages in them).

No pictures of my stack; it would be too big because of those hefty 3-in-1 books, and honestly I'm just a little too lazy to go to the trouble. I was not too lazy though to put a link for each book so you could take a look if one of them sounded like something you might like. Be sure to check out everyone else's list too at the link at the top of my post. I know it will help me try and get out of my "reading box," and it might help you too. At the very least it can give you some ideas on books you might like to read later.

Happy Reading!



35 comments:

Lora @ my blessed life said...

Ooo, I'm loving your reading list!! I'm working on mine, almost finished:)
Thank you for the b-day wishes! I had a nice day.
About Detroit: I grew up in the Cincinnati area where my dad pastored for 8 years. We have several minister friends in the Detroit area and he would occasionally speak there. Oh--and I had a *youth camp boyfriend* from one of those churches for a couple of summers and so I was much enthralled with Detroit-ha! I haven't been there in years, but I always enjoyed visiting there. The Ford Museum was a fun place--have you taken your kids there yet?

Lora @ my blessed life said...

P.S. You really should watch When Harry Met Sally--it's a classic!! I think it came out in '89.

Tami @ This Mom's Delight said...

I need to be more aware of what my kiddos are reading. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Let me know what you think of "Have a New Kid by Friday" and "Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate". They both sound interesting.

Joyful Days said...

I'll be looking forward to your reviews. Lots of good reading going on. Somehow, my spare time reading has gotten more spare. I need to get busy!

Happy Reading!

Brittanie said...

I love Dee Henderson. She is my all time favorite author. Her O'Malley series rocks! I hope you love them. :)

Unknown said...

Good luck with your reading. I'm going to check out one of your picks - Have a New Child By Friday - sounds very interesting.

Nise' said...

Great list! I read The Wednesday Letters this summer and it was wonderful. Be sure to have a kleenex nearby!

Unknown said...

Looks like a great list! Memory Keeper's Daughter is a great read. I read The Excellent Wife for a study group once and liked it as well. I enjoyed "meeting" you and visiting your blog. :)

carrie said...

That's an awesome list...I made mine short and sweet but I know it's not even close to what I will end up reading total. I'll end up with three times as much ;)

I love the FBI Series by Coulter, do you read James Patterson at all? If not he has a series with Alex Cross as the main character and it's great detective work books ;)

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Wow, what a list! My husband and I both read (and like) The Cat Who... books, and we're ALL loving The Mysterious Benedict Society. I have Respectable Sins on my "think about getting this" list on Amazon.com -- I agree, it looks good but convicting!

Susanne said...

Whew that's a great list! I've been wanting to read the Martha Peace book also. Happy reading!

Heather and Reese said...

I've read the Memory Keeper's Daughter, but I think that's the only one from your list. Please let me know how Living Simply is, I'm mighty interested in that topic at the moment.

Great list!

Bless you, Kayren!

~Reese

Anonymous said...

That's quite a list!! Good luck with all that. I added the Jason Wright books to my GoodReads list...

Betsy Brock said...

You kids are sweethearts! I love the nickname Caboose for the baby of the family! ;)

Carrie said...

LOVE your list! Esp. The Mysterious Benedict Society (I hope you read it and approve now!), The Excellent Wife, and The Mission of Motherhood (which is awesome).

Have fun reading!

Robin M said...

Great List! I read all of the O'Malley Chronicles by Dee Henderson and enjoyed them immensely. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about catherine coulter. I need to give her another try. And of course, the Mysterious Benedict Society. I've heard so much about it. I'll have to put it on my wishlist. Thanks for sharing.

Robing of mytwoblessings

Ronnica said...

Whoa, this is ambitious! Especially when you consider that several of those are 3-in-1 books. I hope you enjoy them!

Lindsay said...

You have a lot of reading ahead of you this fall :-). Some of the stories your kids are reading I still remember the things I learned from them. BTW your kids are adorable!

Becky said...

I love the Mysterious Benedict Society.

Much Ado said...

What a great list! I just finished reading the Excellent wife, which was, well - EXCELLENT! I have also just ordered Respectable Sins, so I will be interested to see what you think of it. Happy reading!

kalea_kane said...

Great list of books! I love Lillian Braun!

Anonymous said...

I'm in the middle of reading The Mysterious Benedict Society aloud to my kids, and we are absolutely loving it! Great list. :)

Tiffers said...

Love your list! I saw The Wednesday Letter on someone else's list and it gave me goosebumps readin the description. MUST READ! I also have Kevin Leman on mine. I must remember to take a look at The Excellent Wife and Respectable Sins. Happy reading!

Nancy said...

Hey! Great reading list. There are a lot of books I'm not familiar with, so I'm looking foward to reading your reviews.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my list. Sorry I missed Know & Tell Friday...things were crazy around here. Will hopefully do it this week!

Paula said...

I really enjoyed reading the Yukon series a few years ago. Happy reading! :)

Just Mom said...

The Catherien Coulter books are great - enjoy! I also liked The Memory Keeper's Daughter very much - you picked a good one for your left wing! I enjoyed reading your list.

Kat said...

Great fantastic list. You did such a wonderful job of describing your books. I found several in you list that I am adding to my list of books to read in the future. Thanks for the great list!

kalea_kane said...

OOOH...you know what? I didn't read the first book before Blind Dates Can Be Murder. Well, it is a little lower on my list. Maybe I can locate it.

eva said...

Looks like a fantastic list! I am amazed at the time you took to describe each book too! I look forward to reading your reviews. Good luck on your reading journey!

Feel free to drop by my blog and take a look around. Don't hesitate to leave a comment or two! :D

The Happy Housewife said...

Great list, Respectable Sins is a great book!
Toni
http://thehappyhousewife.com

Tara said...

You definitely have a lot to read too! I enjoyed Living Simply last fall or spring (??) and enjoy reading the authors blog too. I hope you have as much fun reading this fall as I do!

Helga Marie Bee said...

ooh, I love the Narnia books. it is so great that with the movies, there is a renewed interest.
I will have to check out the companion books you listed.

Amy Jo said...

Great list! I'm also a homeschooling mom...loved what you wrote "because I read what my kids read." That's so awesome! Would love to hear what you think of some of your picks. Blessings & JOY, Amy

heidi @ ggip said...

That is a hefty reading list! My goodness. I read the Memory Keeper's Daughter and loved it. I also do like Catherine Coulter, but I can't read them very often anymore. Good luck!

Linda said...

I have ordered Rivers of Gold and it may come today. I am pleased as I will know the ending of the series.

 
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