Ah, September. The official end of summer. The official beginning of book reading season. I AM SO READY.
Fuzzy blankets. Apple cinnamon candles. Piles and piles of books to read in front of the wood stove. Let’s cozy it up, my friends.
I managed to get a little momentum going with book reading in the latter part of September, and I’ve already gathered a HUGE stack of books to read in October. I’m excited to share what I’ve been reading with you.
Here are my latest recommendations of books to read (and books to skip):
The Story for Kids
Our church went through “The Story,” a paraphrased Bible by Max Lucado, this year. We grabbed the kids version to read aloud at home. I read one chapter a week aloud to our kids, using the same schedule the church set for the adults reading through The Story, so that we would all be reading the same stories each week.
It was ok. I’ll be honest: I hated reading it aloud. It just felt clunky at times, and didn’t seem to be a very interesting version of the Bible. The kids listened to it but I rarely felt like they were invested in what they were hearing.
I feel like there are lots of other versions of the Bible for kids that are much more enjoyable. We probably won’t hang on to this one forever.
Verdict: skip
The Ministry of Ordinary Places, by Shannan Martin
I’m going to dedicate an entire blog post to this book in the near future, but for now let me just say this:
THIS BOOK CHANGED MY WHOLE WORLD.
This is not me being overly dramatic. I pinky swear. Stay tuned for the deets.
Verdict: read
Wedding Cake Murder, by Joanne Fluke
Recent internal dialogue; “Do I confess to reading this book?” Argh. I’m so embarrassed to admit I wasted valuable reading time on this one.
I like to have a book on my Kindle that I can pick up and read in stolen moments throughout the day. I try to find a book that’s easy to read, so nothing intense or thought-provoking. Something enjoyable and fun. “Wedding Cake Murder” was that book for me this month.
I have read many books in this series. They’re easy to read. They’re little cozy mysteries, perfect for those times when I just need a non-scary mystery to relax with. I haven’t hated this series in the past. Well. I HATED this book. I probably skimmed a good 2/3 of it. It was the slowest moving mystery ever. Awful, unnatural, ridiculous streams of dialogue. Super annoying and generic characters with no appealing characteristics whatsoever.
I am completely over this series.
Verdict: skip
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling
Slowly but surely making my way through this series. Not going to lie – I was less than enthused to see that this book had 870 pages. It feels a little excessive. But I didn’t hate it. Not going to devote a ton of time to this write up since everyone else in the world read this book 15 years ago. 😉
Verdict: read
Creative Correction, by Lisa Whelchel
Is this a life changing parenting book? No.
Is it chock-full of ideas for correcting your kids and habit-training? Absolutely.
Confession: I am the world’s most uncreative parent ever. Have you heard that old famous phrase by Gilbert and Sullivan, “Let the punishment fit the crime”? Super awesome idea in theory, but impossible for a generic disciplinarian such as myself to carry out.
Enter “Creative Correction.” This book gives punishments that fit the crime! Gah. It’s fantastic.
I will admit that I skimmed over a lot of the text in the book and am mainly giving it my recommendation based on the lists and lists and lists of ideas for creative correction in your kids’ behavior.
That sums up my list of books to read and skip for September. What are you reading lately?
Books mentioned in this post:
- The Story for Kids by Randy Frazee
- Ministry of Ordinary Places by Shannan Martin
- Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
- Creative Correction by Lisa Welchel
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