Skip to main content

Not so good books... A few thoughts

Sometimes it can be a very good that I have to press on to the end of a book that I have agreed to review. Sometimes it can be a very discouraging thing.

This week, it is the latter. Last night, I finished a Christian fiction book that I will be posting a review about in 2 weeks. It really wasn't very good. Honestly, I respect authors for writing books. But, I think that we are still supposed to be discerning about what we fill our minds with. And I am going to be a little more reticent to request books that I don't feel very sure about.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV

I know that there are going to be times when we read a book and there's going to be hard parts in it--amidst the conflict and struggles of the characters. I do expect that. But, I don't expect a book to be filled with characters who have all engaged in premarital sex and couples who are engaged (but not yet married) and living together and all are attending church (and have for years) and are seeking the Lord. Only one time in the book was there one line when a character (who isn't in the rest of the book) mentions the word "chastity" and then its blown off.

Will this book be enjoyable to anyone to read? I don't know. It wasn't for me. It didn't point me towards God or provide any fun, relaxing reading. I struggled through it and made it to the end. Sadly, I still have a bad taste in my mouth as I puzzle about the book.

And you know one of the funniest things about this book, it isn't until the end that the author actually gives some description of how the people look physically (and it's completely different than the pictures on the front and back covers of the book). Isn't that strange?
Labels:

Comments

Deb said…
Well said.

As for the covers, the folks who choose them don't even read the books.
January 20, 2010 at 9:17 PM
CoffeeShopBloggers said…
Can I also add how much I detest the Bob books! There is no story, no plot. The illustrations are also crummy. No wonder my kids refused to read them!

I blog on children's literature. If you want great picture books, see my entry "Favorite Picture Books You've Never Heard of." My kids loved these books; we read these instead of those Bob type books.

http://pragmaticmom.com

Pragmatic Mom
January 21, 2010 at 9:17 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...
1 comment
Read more

Writing A Homeschool Teacher Resume

I'm helping a friend who's switching jobs write a resume.  She hasn't written one in years, so this is something new.  I began working on her resume, but then stopped to write my own because I thought it might be helpful.   Being a homeschool teacher may not seem to many like an occupation or career, but it is.  I used the combined form of resume for myself.  I began with the basic information, then moved on to strengths (the combined skills/experience part), education, Occupational Experience, then Related Experience, Certifications, Computer Skills, and mentioned at the end... References Available Upon Request.   Sometimes homeschooling parents have to reenter the workplace because of family changes and needs.  How could you express what you've been doing in a way that's acceptable for a resume? Well, here's my take on it... Teacher, Homeschool                  ...
1 comment
Read more