Some good books

Recently I told you I'd read these good books:
Same Kind of Different As Me
To Kill a Mockingbird
Mark just finished To Kill a Mockingbird, and enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Since then I've read a few more good books, so I thought I'd let you know, because if you're like me, you're always up for some good book recommendations:

Cheaper by the Dozen
, by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

I'm embarrassed to tell you that while I have seen both movies- the old movie; based on the book, and the newer Steve Martin/Bonnie Hunt version; which doesn't actually follow the book at all- but I had not read the book itself. Not only had I not read this book, but I assumed it was a fiction book. I did not know that it was a memoir; that this was written based on the experiences these two children had in their own family, with their own father.

All that aside, I have to say: I loved this book. It was laugh-out-loud funny at parts, and I can't tell you how many times I read aloud sections to Mark, who laughed right along with me. This dad was the ultimate creative, homeschooling-type of a father, and I was utterly enthralled by the ways he taught his children. It is written in a witty, engaging way and definitely worth the read. I've bookmarked it as one to read aloud to the kids, when they're older, too.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

I can't even remember who recommended this book to me, but I'm glad they did. I could not put it down. It is historical fiction, and Stockett's debut novel. The story is set in the 1960's, in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter, a young college graduate, wants to write, and is encouraged by a mentor to write about something that disturbs her. She sets out to write about the black maids in Jackson. We learn women in particular: Aibileen and Minny, who work for white families, love and raise white children and yet are despised by those same white families for the color of their skin.

I loved these characters- Aibileen and Minny in particular- and the story that Stockett wove.

Other books I've recently read or am in the process of reading:
The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn, which has me once again contemplating how we can live more simply, but with the purpose of being able to be more generous.
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God, by Francis Chan
Belles on Their Toes, by Frank B. Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (sequel to Cheaper by the Dozen.)
Living Simply with Children by Marie Sherlock, recommended recently by Andrea.

What have you been reading?

7 comments:

  1. Hi Stacy :) Thanks for the recommendations! Right now, I am re-reading Karen Andreola's "Pocketful of Pinecones." I read it twice a year (at least), once as we finish the school year and once as we get ready to begin again in the fall.

    It's light and full of encouragement :) Love, Q

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  2. Yay for Cheaper by the Dozen! I have had stomach aches from laughing over that book, and my sisters and I still quote lines from it as inside jokes. So glad you enjoyed it too!

    I'm reading Everyday Talk by John Younts, which is a great one for any parent. For fun, I tore through The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford this weekend. It was great, and I'm not really an animal person! It will be a read aloud someday, but not until my kids can handle a book with very little dialogue to break up the descriptive passages. (We're still in the picture-books only stage.) And I recently read Stepping Heavenward again (and again), about 4 times back to back! It gets better and better the older I get. :)

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  3. I will have to check out Cheaper By The Dozen - didn't even know it was a book!

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  4. Thanks for the list of books!
    I just ordered "Living Simply w/Children." Looking forward to reading it.

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  5. I went to order "The Help" from my library - I'm number 86!!! I guess it's a popular book. Looking forward to reading some of your recommendations. We recently read the Adele and Simon books. My kids love them - especially my 6 year old daughter!
    Anna

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  6. I love exchanging book ideas! I just returned a neat and interesting book to the library called Hungry Planet.

    It was created by a husband and wife writer/photographer team who went around the world photographing and writing about the amount of food a family eats in a week's time.

    Great photographs and thought provoking information on how the rest of the world gets or doesn't get the calories they need.

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  7. Quinne,
    Oh, I've never read that! I should see if our library has it.

    Cara,
    I'd love to hear you and your sisters quote the lines! :)

    LOVE the Incredible Journey. I read that one aloud several months ago. I'm going to have to look into Everyday Talk.

    Wendy,
    I've just begun it, but from what I've read so far, it's right up my alley! :) You'll have to let me know what you think!

    Anna,
    Yikes! Though I can see why it's popular-- it was very good!

    Glad you're enjoying Adele and Simon with your children!

    Rebecca M,
    Sounds interesting! I'll definitely look into it at our library!

    ~Stacy

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