•1:46 PM
At any given time, I am reading several books. I read them at different rates, finishing then in random order, according to how well they grab my interest. Occasionally, a book doesn't ever get finished. Through some books I creep, one chapter at a time, with portions of (or entire) other books being read in between. Sometimes my reading expands to eight books or so at the same time.
Right now, the list contains eight books, and they are as follows:
1. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle: loved this book as a child. Little Son just read it and enjoyed it a good deal, so I decided to read it again.
2. Training Hearts Teaching Minds, by Starr Meade: this books is a vehicle through which I am teaching my children the Westminster Shorter Catechism and instructing them in our faith. Wonderful book. We will be with this one for about two years.
3. Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America, by Paul Tough: Just finished this one over the weekend. It is an absorbing narrative about the Harlem Children's Zone (an organization where my brother used to work) and Promise Academy charter school and how those folks are learning what does, and does not, work when attempting to break the intergenerational welfare cycle of poor families.
4. The Danger of Raising Nice Kids: Preparing our Children to Change Their World, by Timothy Smith: This one is taking me a long time to get through. It was a recommended read by Generations of Virtue. It is not the fault of the book, for the author writes in an engaging style and has many important ideas to share with parents. I guess it is that I am having difficulty keeping my attention on parenting books lately. Every time I read a book like this, I add mental items to my "to do" and my "mommy guilt" list, and believe me, I don't need any additional items added to those lists.
5. Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy, by Seymour Reit: this is the latest Sonlight read aloud book that our family is experiencing. This is a fast mover, and an exciting read. Yes, it is incredible, as in, difficult to believe the truth of this story, but that makes it all the more fun to read.
6. The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God by Hugh Ross: A fascinating book, and an important book for our times, but definitely not an easy read. I wish at times like this that my science background were better, but it's not. So I content myself with reading a chapter at a time of books like this, absorbing the information slowly. It is incomprehensible how finely tuned are all the scientific constants of our universe, and the facts concerning our galaxy, sun, solar system, and our own planet and its very unique moon. It is startling, and intensely humbling, to see this latest attempt at scientifically describing and quantifying the incredible intelligence of our Creator.
7. Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, by Maggie Jackson
8. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30), by Mark Bauerlein
Books 7 and 8 are on hold at the library, and I am going to pick them up today. I have great interest in the subject of how consumer electronic technology is affecting our lives. I will let you know how the books are when I have read them. I think this is an important subject for parents, when we consider what, when, and to what extent we should expose our children to the trappings of modern digital society.
What are you reading these days?
Right now, the list contains eight books, and they are as follows:
1. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle: loved this book as a child. Little Son just read it and enjoyed it a good deal, so I decided to read it again.
2. Training Hearts Teaching Minds, by Starr Meade: this books is a vehicle through which I am teaching my children the Westminster Shorter Catechism and instructing them in our faith. Wonderful book. We will be with this one for about two years.
3. Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America, by Paul Tough: Just finished this one over the weekend. It is an absorbing narrative about the Harlem Children's Zone (an organization where my brother used to work) and Promise Academy charter school and how those folks are learning what does, and does not, work when attempting to break the intergenerational welfare cycle of poor families.
4. The Danger of Raising Nice Kids: Preparing our Children to Change Their World, by Timothy Smith: This one is taking me a long time to get through. It was a recommended read by Generations of Virtue. It is not the fault of the book, for the author writes in an engaging style and has many important ideas to share with parents. I guess it is that I am having difficulty keeping my attention on parenting books lately. Every time I read a book like this, I add mental items to my "to do" and my "mommy guilt" list, and believe me, I don't need any additional items added to those lists.
5. Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy, by Seymour Reit: this is the latest Sonlight read aloud book that our family is experiencing. This is a fast mover, and an exciting read. Yes, it is incredible, as in, difficult to believe the truth of this story, but that makes it all the more fun to read.
6. The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God by Hugh Ross: A fascinating book, and an important book for our times, but definitely not an easy read. I wish at times like this that my science background were better, but it's not. So I content myself with reading a chapter at a time of books like this, absorbing the information slowly. It is incomprehensible how finely tuned are all the scientific constants of our universe, and the facts concerning our galaxy, sun, solar system, and our own planet and its very unique moon. It is startling, and intensely humbling, to see this latest attempt at scientifically describing and quantifying the incredible intelligence of our Creator.
7. Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, by Maggie Jackson
8. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30), by Mark Bauerlein
Books 7 and 8 are on hold at the library, and I am going to pick them up today. I have great interest in the subject of how consumer electronic technology is affecting our lives. I will let you know how the books are when I have read them. I think this is an important subject for parents, when we consider what, when, and to what extent we should expose our children to the trappings of modern digital society.
What are you reading these days?
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2 comments:
Well, The Help (forgot the author) is sitting on my bookshelf, but I can't seem to get my head into it. It is well written, I just know that it is going to be painful to read and I really don't think I'm up to it just now. Instead I'm caught up in reading a book about the Catholic Church, though I have no idea why. I used to read. What happened to me?
I agree with you about A Wrinkle in Time. One of the highlights of a house exchange holiday we did with a family from LA was discovering Madeline L'Engle titles that aren't published in the UK. We came home with so many books!
Your post and the 100 greatest books one made me think about what I read as a child and adolescent and what is available to children now. I know 'teen lit' is meant to be a good thing for encouraging readers who would otherwise have given up, especially boys, but so much of it seems to be dumbing down. I went from reading children's books (and the 1960s and 70s in the UK was a golden age for children's writing) straight to adult classics. I think it stretched the mind and fed the soul in a way that a diet of teen lit can never do. I know this isn't a fashionable view!