Saturday, June 9, 2007

Summer Reading Challenge


De'Etta at Choosing Joy is hostessing a Summer Reading Challenge. I love to read. I used to read a lot. But lately, all the reading I've been doing in online. Now, that's kind of handy when it's 3am and I'm up with a baby and don't want to turn on any lights for fear of waking someone else. I can read the laptop screen even in the dark. But I miss the smell of a book and the feel of the printed page and that little sound the page makes when you turn it. (Yeah - I know - I'm weird. Just call me "Bibliophile.")

I also have a child who is learning to read, and I want him to have book-reading modelled as an enjoyable pastime. If he only sees me looking at the screen, he doesn't know if I'm working or reading blogs or what. If he sees me with my nose in a book just for the sheer pleasure of it, maybe - just maybe, he'll want to eventually model that behavior. Also, I want him to see me reading for information and from several different books in a day. (Since I spend a lot of time sitting in the rocking recliner with one baby or the other, I have plenty of time to read a bit here and a bit here from different books, and to ponder them - because I need something to ponder - Clifford and Thomas the Train and the Backyardigans are turning my brain to mush rapidly.

The picture's not quite accurate because I swapped out two books. But here's the list:

For Amusement:

I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (not pictured)
Sisterchicks on the Loose by Robin Jones Gunn (not pictured)

To Further my Education (on-going project - one chapter of each a week, with notes made)
The Iliad by Homer (Fagles translation - been trying to conquer this for months)
The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer (because I'm interested)

To Strengthen my Spirit:
The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson (post discussion questions)
Enjoying Where you Are On the Way to Where You Are Going by Joyce Meyer
In the Secret Place of the Most High by Cynthia Heald

About Homeschooling with a focus on Charlotte Mason:
Learning in Spite of Labels by Joyce Herzog
For the Children's Sake by Susan Macaulay
When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper (to be reviewed)

About Homemaking
Queen of the Castle by Lynn Bowen Walker (to be reviewed)


5 comments:

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

I found, as you, that I was reading mostly online too with lots of young ones. Katrina's challenge has been a wonderful reminder to me to "read, read, read"....and I'm happy to have a new challenge. Happy Reading.

Anonymous said...

I have Queen of the Castle and have used it throughout last year to do several "light-hearted" Bible studies with the girls in my Sunday School class. It's got some pretty cute stuff in there. :)

Man, I just love the SMELL of the library and the library books! Especially the Central Library, since that is where we went as kids. The Brookside library doesn't exactly smell the same, haha.

Peculiar Blogs said...

great list of books! I am a book fanatic, as well, a bibliobibuli. :-)

Peculiar Blogs said...

You can hear the song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gofOWQOTgY I didn't post it because the video is specific to some particular people who made it. And of course you can share it! I would LOVE to share. :-)

Cynthia said...

Looks like a very nice list to work your way through. I just have to comment on Valerie's comment about the smell of library books... ugh.... I can barely tolerate reading library books because they usually smell so musty...