On My Nightstand // September

So many good books this month. I scaled back from the 17 I read last month, I think 8-10 books is a good number per month for me, at least in this stage in life. I’m noticing that I read a lot more fiction than normal this month, I’m interested to see if this trend continues.

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma
An interesting true story of a girl and her father who read together every evening for over 3,000 consecutive evenings, until the day she started college. I always enjoy the research that explains how beneficial reading out loud can be and I think Alice’s story is such a great example. I listened to this one on audio, read by the author herself, it was a quick and easy listen.

Trouble by Gary D. Shmidt
I have been on a Gary Shmidt kick lately, and while I think Okay for Now that I listened to last month will still be my favorite I am always amazed at how Shmidt can write such deep stories for the middle school to highschool range. I really can’t tell much about the story without giving too much away but I do like this line from the book: “Henry Smith’s father told him that if you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.”

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
I just figured out that if I read one book by Agatha Christie a month it would take me nearly six years before I read them all. It sounds like a fun little challenge. 🙂 Once again I could not figure out the mystery details until they spelled it out at the end. I love that aspect of her writing, she always keeps me guessing.

Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss
I still have a few classics to read before the end of the year and I chose this one to listen to on audio. This seems like a book that would definitely appeal to 10-14 year old boys. It was an interesting-ish read but the whole time I kept thinking, how does nothing bad ever happen to them? But I kept reminding myself that the author wrote the book to entertain his own boys, that seemed to make it a little better. It was a meh book for me but now I can check that one off the list.

The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings
A thoroughly entertaining read of one mother’s first year homeschooling. Throughout the year she tries to find what kind of homeschooling method she fits into, even attending conferences in a variety of different approaches. She put a lot of effort into it, going so far as to completely change her look to fit into some of the conferences. Like I said, it was an interesting read though not really educational. And funny enough, I did feel myself feeling a little defensive when she shared about the approach that I feel the most connected with.

Raising Kids for True Greatness by Tim Kimmel
I am definitely a fan of Kimmel’s writing, Grace-Based Parenting from last month was amazing, and I found myself finding so my good takeaways from this one. Kimmel stresses that as Christians we should aspire to raise our kids to greatness, as opposed to raising them to success as most of the world does. And often times with true greatness, success follows along. (As of the time of writing this the book is on sale for only $2.50 from Amazon.ca)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Another one of the classics I read this month. As a Canadian I am embarrassed to say that I had never read Anne of Green Gables (hangs head in shame). I have watched the movie a few times but never read the book, but now I can say I have! I am actually pleasantly surprised to see that much what I can remember of the movie follows the book very well.

Notes From a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider
Truth be told, this is my third time reading this book in the last year and a half. So obviously I’m a fan. In this memoir Tsh shares her experience living all around the world and how their family has chosen to reduce the busy and the clutter in their lives and live more simply. I have highlighted so many lines in this book and incorporated so many of her ideas into our own life. A must read for anyone who is looking to live a simpler life.

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose
I came across this book when they interviewed the author on the Read Aloud Revival podcast, it’s written for the 8-12 year old range but I was mesmerized by the first chapter. I had never heard of novels written in verse before this one and it has honestly changed my life. The book is about a 12 year old girl who lives in the Kansas prairies and goes to work on a neighbors homestead 15 miles away and the troubles she encounters. If you or your kids like the Little House on the Prairie series you’ll like this one.

Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose
Another verse novel written for the 8-12 range, I enjoyed the book until the end where I thought the ending was completely unrealistic. Still love the format of verse novels though, definitely going to read more in the future.

As always, if you have any recommendations
for next month I’d love to hear them!