Friday, January 16

Books *EDITED*

I leave books half-read.

I felt really bad about this for a long time....as if I was not a true intellectual if I didn't complete dull, uninspiring books. Now, well, I'm happy to not earn the intellect label if the label requires finishing books that don't stir or edify.

*EDIT*
And I here I have to comment on my own post. The above paragraph bothered me all night. Okay, it bothered me for the 15 minutes I was conscious after the last kid was in bed. It implies something much more noble in character than is at all accurate. The truth is, I also put books down that are just plain boring. So I am missing out on lots of edifying things that I just don't take the time to finish. I'm not a diligent reader. I have no follow-thru. I'm lazy. It has to 'hook' me if it's going to be finished. That is the point I wanted to make. Now, back to the post.

Here are the books I've finished this year:



The Debt by Angela Hunt
This book is incredible. I already knew I loved Angela Hunt after reading The Note last month. This book begins looking through the eyes of a pastor's wife, active and dedicated. Her husband pastors a megachurch which is broadcast on national television. The story is about the shaking of her thoughts and understanding about what the walk of a Christian is supposed to look like. My favorite quote from the book is "Why are we surprised when we see sinners sin?" So often, we Christians live a secluded life that revolves around the church. We succeed in walking uprightly and protecting our children from the big bad world....but if we stay there, who is reaching the big bad world? Sometimes the lost seek the church. But this is rare. The church is supposed to be seeking the lost. This book brings it home so tenderly yet so passionately.




Persuasion by Jane Austen
It is still one of my favorites and I will read it again and again. Is there any review necessary? It's Austen. She is witty, clever, and has a heart's eye for the unspoken but deeply felt.




Validation Techniques for Dementia Care is an excellent resource for those dealing with Alzheimer's in a family member. It gives great examples of how to dialogue with them and reach them even toward the more unresponsive stages. There were sections discussing "centering" that I simply skimmed. I'll rely on Christ to steady my soul, thanks. When I meditate, it will be on God's Word and nothing else. I appreciate, though, that it emphasized the need for steadiness when approaching something that is so emotional. It was interesting to discover that there is a completely logical emotional reasoning going on in the Alzheimer's patient that can be deciphered through seemingly bizarre speech and behaviour. Often, it is an emotional need that can be affirmed, albeit temporarily. A fear manifests as a repeated question....over and over again. Even though the question has been answered (and quickly forgotten,) the fear is still present but can be fleshed out and assuaged.




The Field Guide (The Spiderwick Chronicles)
Yeah, yeah. It's a kid's book. I was previewing it to see if I would approve of the boys reading it. Um, no. First of all, it would scare the snot out of my nine year old. If, heaven forbid, we ever have a mouse scratch in our walls, reading this book would guarantee we never sleep alone again. As for Ethan reading it, I'm still not comfortable with it. My views on magic may not be very popular with either camp, but my conscience is clear before God and I continually seek to compare it to scripture, acknowledging that I am capable of all manner of misunderstanding. So please feel free to correct me. I will consider it sincerely.

First, I don't actually have a problem with magic and such in a story as long as God gets glory and the bad guy is clearly defined. I am not comfortable with the kids reading about ambiguous bad guys at the moment. At some point, it must be faced, but not in a child's book. At the same time, I'm not comfortable with some stuff readers in the magic-camp might be okay with. Read my comment in the comments section for a better understanding.

Second, while I am a fan of mind-candy, I prefer mind-candy that edifies. If it inspires selfish thinking, disrespect, or the like....why? There are so many good books out there.....why waste my time on something that makes me worse than I already am? or that teaches my kids to be snots?

This first book in this series is just an introduction, so I couldn't say how clearly defined the bad guy really is. I would have to read the series to give a true opinion. I doubt I will though. It's a fun read, but not great. Sonlight has shared so many great books to fill their time, I'm not worried about them getting desperate for something to read.

I'll wrap this long thing up with a giveaway. I'm finished with The Note (Women of Faith Fiction). If you want it, post a comment with a way to reach you and I'll enter you in the drawing. If you could share a critique of the ol' blog, it would be appreciated, but not necessary for the contest. My blogoversary is coming up and some changes are necessary but I haven't yet decided exactly what. Help me figure it out? Don't worry: I have the skin of a rhino. I'll wrap this up on Monday at midnight.

15 comments:

Mel at Adventures of Mel said...

You can reach me at http://missmalu30.blogspot.com/.:) I actually really like your blog; it's very inspiring and informative.

Jenni said...

Well, I certainly won't disrespect you for not finishing a book. I'm just not able to put even a bad book down. I have made the mistake of picking up a trashy romance (a genre I really hate) and reading a little because there was nothing else around (apartment laundry room) or just to see what my kids were giggling about (Scout garage sale) and then I wasn't able to stop until I was done. Oh, I loathed them. They made me want to puke. But I just kept reading because I had to know the ending. It's a horrible habit.

I LOVE that quote from the first book. YES!

Your blog: I love the design--it's really beautiful--but it loads slowly for me. That's the only complaint I can think of. It's not that big of a deal either, and it's not that terribly slow.

wedogmomma said...

..."acknowledging that I am capable of all manner of misunderstanding" = ME

I'm SO a fan of YOUR writing that I couldn't put this blog down!

All I can critique about the blog would be asthetic...
You are a cheerful, thoughtful and enjoyable writer....I think your black box backgrounds are too dark.
how's that for DEEP?
thanks for sharing your world...and I SO need a new read....find me at wedogsbarking.blogspot.com.
Gracias!

Christy said...

I want it, I want it!!!
The Debt sounds really good as well, I will add that to my list of books to read.

I am with you on magic and fantasy. I love reading about other worlds and possibilities. I love the sheer FICTION of it, the way that it stretches the imagination and takes you completely out of your day to day life. As a Christian, I dont' feel like it is bad or dangerous at all. Many disagree but like you said as long as it inspires decency and morality why is the fantasy aspect of it bad? I don't there is a danger of me reading Harry Potter and turning into a witch LOL.

Have you heard of Judith Marilier? I may have spelled her name wrong... She writes Irish folktales/fantasy books that are WONDERFUL. They are very clean and are fascinating. I am reading the Sevenwaters trilogy now.

Okay, back to the drawing.

Um...criticism? Me, criticize?! HA!!

Seriously, friend, I don't have one. I like your background, I love your posts and I love feeling like you are one of my good friends even though we have never spoken face to face :)

Jenn said...

Mel, I feel the same way about yours!

Jenni, I think your bad habit is much more admirable than my bad habit.

Niki, I feel the exact same way. Here is a blog I made, thinking of switching over (color AND theme)....http://proofbyexhaustion.blogspot.com/....whaddya think?

Christy, see, this is where I'm a weirdo. I'm not okay with the kids reading Harry Potter. When it's questionable, I highly research it. From what I've read, Harry is an ambiguous good guy.

The sorcery line has me hesitant, even in Lord of the Rings, to share with the boys. But I realize there are lines that I made in ignorance and haste. Even the Narnia series has sorcery and magic. In Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a 'good' character is a magician. This is all good for ME and will be eventually (probably soon, even,for Ethan) for the boys, but I haven't figured out my line yet. I'm learning from reading what God says on the matter, asking myself if it's wise for us personally, and listening to other Christian's thoughts on the matter and chewing on their responses....so keep sharing your awesome thoughts!

Christy said...

I responded to your comment on my blog and thought I would leave one here to so you could see it :)

The author's name is JULIET Marillier and the first book is Daughter of the Forest. Sorry, I misspell authors' names all the time. UGH.

About Harry Potter-I only read the first book so I honestly don't know much about them. I just remember reading it and wondering why so many people were so inflamed about it LOL.

Because Laura Grace is so young she is still watching only Disney magic! Books and movies like Secret Garden and The Little Princess are as far as I go outside of that. She is just still too young-Narnia would terrify her and Lord of the Rings gave ME nightmares so we will wait on those!

I was more talking about adult literature. It is really, really hard for me to read most Christian fiction because I find it lacking in depth and writing ability. Angela Hunt is a happy exception! I also like Francine Rivers and other authors like her.

There are some other books that you might like-you may have read them. Robin Mckinley writes good, clean books that are actually YA books. I had to read them in junior high and as an adult still enjoy them. They are about adults-not teens so I am not sure why they are written for YA. Anyway, the two I recommend are Blue Sword and the Hero in the Crown. She also has rewritten Beauty and the Beast and several other folklore stories that are good. Door in the Hedge and Chalice are supposed to be excellent but I haven't read them yet. They are on my ever growing list!

Anyway, these are the books I try to find. They are clean, but yet still have the story line and fantasy that draw you in.

Jenn said...

Christy, I totally agree about the sad lack of depth in some Christian books. Of course, there is a sad lack of depth in many non-Christian books, too, but yeah - I'm tired of shallow books. I read The Measure of a Lady once and BLECH! it was just like the bodice-rippers I read when I was a pre-teen. Ewww! And under a Christian label.

Angela Hunt, Lynn Austin, Frank Peretti...they make me think. Thinking is good.

I hear what you're saying on the Harry Potter thing. My thoughts automatically turn to what the boys can read so that's where I went with it. It gets hard to find things for kids at around age 8-14. They aren't ready for a lot of the classics, but are done with The Littles and such. Right now, most choices are of a darker nature and aren't an option for us. But I'm finding that there are a lot of OLDER books the boys can enjoy. Sonlight has incredible options and the boys love the books. Ethan did read the Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke and I approved it. But she has a Dragon series that I don't approve because it paints the dragon as a good guy and *this is probably going to sound silly* but I think the dragon icon typically represents evil and I don't want to blur the lines for him.

I read McKinley's Beauty and the Beast and LOVED IT!!!!! A friend gave it to me after Honor was born because the character in the book is named Honor. I thought that was interesting. I thought I was surely the only person in the world with a child named Honor, but have been proven wrong several times over now.

I wish I could stand to talk on the phone, Christy. Or that you lived closer. This needs discussed over lattes.

Christy said...

I am all for lattes!!!! LOL

YOu should definately read her other books then. They are all different very different, but at the same time equally good. Make sense? LOL

Bullitt Co-op said...

Hey...I posted about your giveaway on my blog along with a ...um, critique?...no, it was purely praise for your blog.

BTW, don't enter me in the contest as I already have the book and read it last Spring.

Shanna said...

I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT! You're rubbing off on me. LOL...that really wasn't done on purpose.

Bullitt Co-op is me...I created a blog for our co-op earlier....sheesh.

Amy said...

I'm new to your blog. I found you through my sister Christy's blog. I've only read a few post, but I love your honesty! I'm an avid reader. If I had no responsibilities I would probably want to read 24/7, but since my children have entered my life, my reading time has all but disappeared. I love Christian-fiction, but I agree with Christy; alot of Christian -fiction has no its depth. I would love to enter the drawing for the book! If I don't win I'll probably go buy it at some point. You can contact me through my blog(which I neglict horribly). www.praisingyouinthisstorm.blogspot.com
I look forward to reading more of your wonderful blog.

The Shafer's said...

I enjoy reading your blog it is definately on my list of blogs to look at every week. I have no critiques for you just keep blogging your heart out!

fixedonHIM said...

I am newer to your blog and always enjoy reading. I love how honest and blunt that you are!

Whenever I am itching for a change...changing the background has worked for me.

The book sounds like a great read!

Blessings,
Denise

Anonymous said...

I watched the Spiderwick movie with my girls (I had no idea what it was about, it was the second movie at the drive in and we had gone to see the first..which I don't remember what IT even was! haha) But it scared Faithy TO PIECES! She had nightmares. Yet she watched the first two of Harry Potter and was ok with those. I don't know what the difference was. But I doubt we'll read the books. I think the older girls started them, but didn't overly care for it...

I love Harry Potter, but I didn't let my kids read the books til they were older. Faith (who is 9) has not read the books, Kela and Cassie (13 and 11) both have. I think Narnia is just as scary, personally. (And has just as much "sorcery" in it as HP and LOTR, another one of my faves! :))

But Faithy is starting the Narnia series right now. We'll see how that goes!!

The last Harry Potter book is awesome with its christian overtones, imo. Harry tries to save LV from his sins and get him to feel remorse (repent)!! I love it.

Anywho, I bet your boys would love all the old books by Mark Twain (although Tom and Huck are pretty big troublemakers, they end up learning from their mistakes, just like Harry Potter ;)) Or Treasure Island.

Persuasion is one of my faves by Jane Austen :-D I just love how Anne grows more confident :)

I guess maybe the reason you guys are talking about (shallow-ness?) is why I cannot stand most books under the label christian. I do enjoy the Amish books by that one girl... But even they end up rife with so much drama I get tired of them pretty easily. They remind me of a soap opera.

I think I need to check out the Dementia care book. My aunt and the lady who lives with my parents (basically my adopted grandma) both have signs of Alzheimer's. :(

And I know this is super long, but never fear, I like Elf ;) And Stranger Than Fiction, and a couple other Will Ferrell movies. Just not very many. LOL My cousin, who is a big fan of WF gets upset with me cuz I roll my eyes at the mention of his name ;) haha

Maritez said...

No critiques..I started reading just a few weeks ago and am loving it! You can reach me at maritez.blogspot.com Thanks :D

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