love to paint

I find for some reason that I am often in the minority.  Such is the case with regard to a book I've begun reading over the past few days.  A good friend of mine had asked if I'd read it because several of her friends had really enjoyed it.  My curiosity was piqued, so I began looking for a preview of the book online.  I found a pdf preview of the first third on the publisher's website, which I read a few nights ago.  Then, on Monday I happened to be at a friend's house who had the book (and wasn't reading it), so she let me borrow it to get the full picture of the book. When I was reading yesterday, I thought to myself, maybe I'm just missing something...  So many people like this book...  As I read on, I found that there were some things I agreed with the author about and then others that I saw very differently. The book is Teaching From Rest:  A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace by Sarah MacKenzie.  The premise of the book i...

Most homeschoolers I know, including myself, are continually looking for reading lists with ideas for books their children can and should read. A good friend of mine gave me this book by Leslie Raynor and Christopher Perrin to peruse and asked me my opinion of it.  I read through all of the lists in the books and found it to be problematic.  It tries to do too much in a small space.  The lists are divided into K, Lower Grammar (1-3), Upper Grammar (4-6), Rhetoric (7-9) and Dialectic (10-12).  Within the lists, books are classified by genre and then by level (1-3--easy, normal, challenging). I discovered as I read that book that I would not recommend this book for several reasons. 1.  There is almost no realistic fiction in this book. I only found 2 books--From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenwiler and Bridge to Terabithia in the 4-9 lists.  Dickens is considered realistic fiction by these authors. 2.  The way the books were leveled d...

Yesterday, I sat reading from two different books.  Both of which I put down.  Both of which I don't intend to pick up again. The first book was a mystery by Dorothy Sayers, a Harriet Vane mystery titled Gaudy Night .  I made it through the first chapter and then was so overwhelmed by the cynical attitudes of the characters about each other that it made me want to cry.  I think I have considered cynicism a modern invention of the last thirty years, but this book made me aware that cynicism has a much longer history than I had realized.  This book was originally published in 1935.  Harriet Vane's life mirrored Dorothy Sayers' own life in many respects, according to my husband. As I read the first chapter, I was struck by the wonderful and varied language Ms. Sayers used in her writing.  I loved that aspect of the writing.  In order to read the book, I had to think and consider the impact of the vocabulary she chose. Heaviness began to permeat...

Sometimes I come across books that are hard to review. I, like other reviewers, fear negative remarks and attacks. So, why even write a review that isn't positive and what people want to hear? Well, because of concern--concern about how ideas and words can get twisted. I like to read some of the books that I think will be popular in mainstream Christian circles, so that I'm aware of what people are reading and thinking about.  So, I decided to read Stasi Eldredge's new book Becoming Myself .  It was published a month ago.   My husband and I have read several of John and Stasi Eldredges' books over the past years. We've noticed that there are some good ideas in their books, but that the points can get carried away.  I discussed their books with our pastor this morning and he used a phrase that I thought was very apt to describe their books.  He described their approach as being very "emotionally charged."  I agree.  It is.   As I started out r...

I enjoy memoirs and books about marriage.  So, I was very curious to read the new book Joni and Ken, An Untold Love Story , a collaboration between Larry Libby, Joni Earekson Tada, and Ken Tada.   The story begins with Joni's diagnosis of breast cancer in 2010.  Then, it jumps back and forth in time to share bits and pieces from Ken and Joni's life together.  At first, I found myself very puzzled as I read.  The stories would stop and start quickly and abruptly.  "Where are we going?"  I found myself wondering. Then I came up with analogy that helped me.  Reading the book is like looking at someone's baby book.  Usually, there are one or two pictures for each milestone.  Each picture is a snippet, not the whole story.  Pictures usually reflect significant memories.  When looking at a photo album, you'll often flip back and forth through the pages and in time as the album does.  This book does the same thing, moving ...

Last week,  a book arrived in our mailbox that my girls were both very excited to read.  They knew it was on its way and eagerly looked forward to its arrival.  The book was the newest in the Adventures in Odyssey Imagination Station chapter book series.  The series has been fun for my girls to read.  It's basically a Christian version of the Magic Treehouse Books.  I asked my daughter to write a review and here it is...           Hunt for the  Devil's Dragon is a book I would  highly recommend for children that are reading chapter books. When I read it, it was so detailed that I felt as if I was right there, watching it all happen.  The style of the writing is very nice . My sister said, "It taught me to stand up for my friends."  Besides its style, it also teaches a lesson, like most of  the Imagination Station books. The Imagination Station books are one of my favorite series.  Check it out ...

A friend of mine gave me a book to read yesterday because she wanted to know my opinion of it.  I knew she had some concerns, but I wanted to try and read it without any bias.  So, I sat down and began to read.  I read some and skimmed some.  I started to notice some commonalities in the way the author wrote about different topics.  I found that I had some concerns, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what they were.  I read a passage to my husband and he thought it was fine.  Still, something didn't seem quite right.  So, this morning I called my mother in law and explained that I wanted to talk through something with her.  I apologized beforehand and explained that it might not all make sense the first time it came out of my mouth.  She was fine with this.  Then, I told her what the book was about.  It was about teenage girls and inward beauty.  She said she really wanted to talk through this with me.  So, we bega...

I remember waiting for each installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to come out on the big screen.  It was early in my marriage and the films came out around December, if I remember correctly.  It was hard to wait!  I've been waiting again because o ver the past three years, I've been reading Bryan Litfin's Chiveis Trilogy .  One by one they've been published.  The final book was just published in June.  The trilogy tells the story of the demise of our world due to a deadly virus.  The remnant left alive enter a modern dark age and Christianity is hidden.  A dark religion takes over the minds of the people.  The trilogy is about the search for Christ. The first book, The Sword , surprised me.  It was a book of speculative fiction--a genre that is not my usual choice.  I enjoyed the development of the main characters, Teo and Ana.  The plot took unexpected turns.   The second book, The Gift , was a solid sequel. ...

This weekend I went garage saling with my kids as I often do on Saturday mornings.  My mom was with us for the first time.  She was surprised by how many conversations I struck up with strangers.  But, she chuckled about it and told my husband many stories about our adventures when we got home. One of my conversations was with a woman who has written a book.  She self published it back in 2007.  She's been trying to publicize it and get it out there for the past 4 years.  It was interesting to hear from her how challenging that has been--and how much she's invested in it.  She wrote a book that matters to her.  I suspect that most authors feel that way.   Or at least I hope they do.  During my conversation, I discovered that the book was a fictional story about a young woman who has an autistic son.  The author has an autistic son who is in his 20s now.  Autism is such a mystery and I was very curious about this story. ...

I was intrigued by this book when I read a brief description of it in Family Fun Magazine as being two stories told side by side--one in pictures and the other in words. I had the chance to review it so I thought it might be interesting.  The cover made me think the story might somehow be scary or eerie, but it isn't. The cover belies the wonderful story inside the pages. Selznick's story and writing remind me of E.L. Konigsburg's books. This story begins by telling two stories. The first is Ben's story in 1977, set at Gunflint Lake, Minnesota. His mom has recently died and he is living with his Aunt, Uncle, and their children. Ben's story is told in text. The second story is about Rose. She is a young girl in 1927. Her story is told through pictures. As the brief description of the story says, both Rose and Ben are searching for something that they desire to find. I loved reading Rose's story through pictures. The black and white pictures are wonderful....