So this summer has been the summer for reading at our house! I love to read. I always have several books I'm in the middle of. This summer I have read at least 5 books. My favorite book of the summer is The Shack by William P. Young. This book blew my mind. I read it once then bought several people the book so I could get other people's opinion. Now I'm half way through reading it again with Rusty. This book changed the way I see God. That is a strange statement considering it's a fictional book but I'm telling you it rocked my world. You'll have to read it to understand because there's not much I can tell you about the book without giving something important away.
Next book, Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews. Great book (true story) about how one couple survived through terrible medical problems without losing faith. It' s an amazing book written by the girl's father, who is a pastor. The format of the book is interesting because one chapter will be a letter written to the pastor's church updating them on his daughter's progress; the next chapter is written like a sermon about the importance of recognizing the way God has moved in our lives so that when troubles come we can fall back on who we know God is. Really glad I read it.
The strangest book that I loved to read this summer is an Art college textbook. I found it at a garage sale for .50 so I bought it. It is such an easy read. Who'd a thought! I have read that thing like a novel. And I have highlighted passages and tagged pages to copy later for use in my classroom. It is a huge book but full of interesting information about the fundamentals of art.
One of the best books I've ever read is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. So full of wisdom. Very easy read - hard to put down. I am a slow reader and often reread a page or paragraph over and over (part of my OCD I suppose!) and I read this book in two days. I just could not put it down. Thanks, Keli, for telling me about this wonderful treasure.
I am finally finishing That's My Son, How Mom's Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character by Rick Johnson. This book has given me such insight into how my boys think and relate and process information. It gives practical and straightforward advice on how to relate to my boys at each stage of development. It's one I'll keep around for reference.
Oh, I just thought of another one I read at the beginning of the summer. Well, I actually started it before school was out. It's Frommer's 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up. It's the coolest book. I bet I have 50 post it notes sticking out of this book! It sure makes me want to travel with my boys!
I am now reading, Discovering Orff by Jane Frazee. I'm a nerd - I know. It's a music curriculum book about teaching the Orff music method.
The boys have read a ton of books this summer too. They signed up for three reading programs - one at the Mall, one at the Longview Public Library, and one through the Shriners. And they went to our school library and checked out books and took AR tests on them - that'll help in the fall. I love that the boys love to read. Matthew read a 12th grade book this summer and tested on it in our library. He made a 100 and got 17 AR points for that thing! I was totally impressed. It's funny how a person's personality is reflective in the books they read. Matthew loves mysteries and old baseball books - really any old book. Kaleb likes the flashy sports books - any sport. Benjamin, of course has to read to and wants character books - like Scooby Doo or Power Rangers. Rusty - well, let's just say his reading is limited to the Dallas Morning News each day - and always must begin with the Sports Section!
I hope I haven't bored you. Go out and pick up one of these good books (maybe not the Orff one) and enjoy a good book!!
