Ella Enchanted: 4.5 Stars
I still love this book as much as I did when I first read it in Children's Lit. at BYU. It is such a great twist on a classic fairytale and I had so much fun reading it with my kids. Even the boys, who would never pick this book up on their own, got into it. Clayton was completely stumped by the whole obedience curse and kept trying to think of ways Ella could get out of it by using trickery or play on words. It ended up being the perfect precursor for the new Cinderella movie, which I also loved. loved. loved.
Violins of Hope: 5 Stars
I can't stop thinking about this book. I have books I leave by my bed. Books I read to the kids. And then I have books I carry everywhere. This was one of those (because it was paperback). Which meant at stop lights I was crying. Swimming lessons. . .crying. Middle school pick-up. . . crying. Piano lessons. . . crying. Dentist office. . . crying. I heard about these violins when they were on display in the United States a few years ago and I have been waiting to get my hands on this book. The Israeli violin maker, Amnon Weinstein, has made it his life work to find, repair, and restore to playing condition violins of the Holocaust. The Jewish-made violins were originally decorated with the Star of David and are incredibly breathtaking. But the stories behind these instruments are even more breathtaking. . . more heart wrenching. . . more courageous. . . and more remarkable. I have never viewed the Holocaust from this perspective. These instruments are performed in concerts now all over the world and have become memorials, not only of the musicians themselves, but to all the many people - mothers, fathers, and children of the Holocaust. They are also a testament to the power of music and the human spirit. This book is a fascinating work of scholarship and research and the stories unfolded are achingly beautiful.
Think Like A Freak: 3.5 Stars
Another great read by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner from U of Chicago. These guys know how to twist and turn my thinking. I really liked the last part about the power of decision making where, by setting up a website and convincing (seriously) thousands of people to log in and essentially "flip a coin" to determine major life decisions, they discovered that whether the outcome was heads or tails people (for the most part) reported being happy with the decision. Although tossing a coin is definitely not the best approach to decision making, I do agree that indecision can be detrimental. In a world where we like to do things exactly the same as everyone else, I like the idea of trying to think differently. I passed this book to Clayton who is definitely getting a kick out it and already finding ways to think like a freak.
Lulu and the Brontosaurus: 4 Stars
I read this to Lydia and Eliza. Lydia loved this book so much she talked Christine into reading it out loud to her again - which Christine did in one week! Judith Viorst (author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) captures children's emotions so well. I loved her multiple endings to this story and all the lessons learned - so clever. The illustrations by Jane Smith are equally charming. Very cute book. Come back and read it again, Christine!
Daring Greatly: 3 Stars
I normally don't like learn-to-love-yourself books like this. On the one hand, I find myself constantly distracted - wondering who reads this? and why on earth do thousands of people (mostly women) like these books? While on the other hand, insanely over-analyzing my own life. But in the end, I'm glad "Daring Greatly" was the book group pick this month. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would and found Brene Brown's ideas to be very much in line with gospel principles. I had never heard of her, actually, until I picked up this book. But from page one she blatantly assumes you know who she is (which I didn't) and that you're already familiar with her research (which I wasn't). I had to quickly do some Googling around to discover that Brene Brown is - wow - a Houston author and I had to watch a few of her TED talks to understand the groundwork for this book, which she bases on a quote by Theodore Roosevelt:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”
"Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness. Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. If we want greater clarity in our purpose or deeper and more meaningful spiritual lives, vulnerability is the path.”
I agree with this mostly. Every good change in life takes some courage. Stepping out of our comfort zone is at least stepping and doing hard things only propels us forward. Her description of vulnerability is so closely tied to my understanding of humility that I found myself swapping the words in my mind. I believe that Christ, not vulnerability (or humility) is the source of hope. But allowing ourselves to be vulnerable (or humble) can be the beginning.
“Connection is why we're here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. The power that connection holds in our lives was confirmed when the main concern about connection emerged as the fear of disconnection; the fear that something we have done or failed to do, something about who we are or where we come from, has made us unlovable and unworthy of connection.”
There are are only a few things we can take with us when we die - knowledge and experience, our relationships with others, our links to family, and our connections with the people we love. Which is why the fear of disconnection is real. This section of the book helped remind me to use difficult moments with my children as a chance to connect rather than disconnect with them.
“There is no one right parenting method. The real questions for parents should be: "Are you engaged? Are you paying attention?" If so, plan to make lots of mistakes and bad decisions. Imperfect parenting moments turn into gifts as our children watch us try to figure out what went wrong and how we can do better next time. The mandate is not to be perfect and raise happy children. Perfection doesn't exist, and I've found what makes children happy doesn't always prepare them to be courageous, engaged adults.”
Out of the whole book, I appreciated her thoughts about parenting the most. I love the idea that imperfect parenting can actually be very good parenting and our mistakes can be made gifts for our children.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: 5 Stars
I just finished reading this with Eliza and Lydia. It is one of my favorite books to read aloud. Isn't a magical, magnificent candy factory every child's dream? I never get tired of Roald Dahl's wacky characters and rollicking dialogue. The other children in the book - Augustus Gloop, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, and oh my, Veruca Salt - have become household examples of what not to be around here. There are so many life lessons found in children's books.
1 comment:
thanks for sharing! when i need a book to read i check your lists first!
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