BOOKS I FINISHED - MAY 2015

The Myth of  Multi-Tasking: How "Doing it All" Gets Nothing Done, written by Dave Crenshaw

This is like a self-help book in a short story disguise, a super quick read with plenty of practical information. The things that stood out to me most were having a realistic view of the way we spend our time, choosing to use our time efficiently and in a way that reflects our priorities, responsibilities, and relationships, and an exercise that shows the difference between doing two things one after another and doing them at the same time.

p. 93, "Remember that helping people understand the simple truth will help them change their behavior faster than simply trying to get them to change their behavior."



Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel, written by Maria Semple

Sachi recommended this book and I really enjoyed it. In a nutshell, it's the story of a brilliant girl in a school filled with people who just want to impress everyone with superficial things and a brilliant mother who seems to be pretty neurotic and agoraphobic. It's a story of broken people making foolish decisions, both superficial and life-changing, but it's also about people getting back on their feet again and learning from their mistakes. On top of that, it manages to be a pretty funny book and I laughed through a lot of it.

p. 43, "That's right," she told the girls. "You're bored. And I'm going to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it's boring now? Well, it only gets more boring. The sooner you learn it's on you to make life interesting, the better off you'll be."



Legendary Learning: The Famous Homeschoolers' Guide to Self-Directed Excellence, written by Jamie McMillin

Although a bit repetitive at times, this random pull from the library shelves had some good things to think about for any educator or parent, regardless of whether or not they homeschool. While McMillin definitely leans toward a "homeschooling is the best option" mindset, which is not a view I've ever had, she also acknowledges that a traditional classroom setting can be good for some kids and that teachers have constraints that are beyond their control. Some of the highlights for me, though not necessarily new ideas, were about giving kids freedom to pursue the things that interest them, setting an example in things like always learning new things and persevering through hard circumstances, realizing that we never know how the interests and experiences of childhood may come into play as an adult, the importance of time spent outdoors,and the value of hard work.

p. 96, True mentors will slingshot a student farther than themselves, and farther even than the student dreams to go.

The Beach House, written by Sally John

This fictional story of four women who used to be very close, haven't seen each other in twelve years, and spent a week together was recommended to me by Linda. I'm a sucker for books about women's friendships and this one tackled their history together, the issues they were each currently facing in their personal lives (marital, professional, spiritual, and so on ... all in very different seasons of life), and their futures. This is the first in a series, but I'm not sure how many other books there are.

Still Alice, written by Lisa Genova 

Mandi, Melissa, and Sarah all recommended this book and it was great. Alice is a highly respected and world-renowned psychology professor and linguistics expert from Harvard who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The reader is brought along for the ride as her family grapples with the ramifications of her illness, her colleagues and community find out about it, and her world quickly starts changing. This is one of those stories that's simultaneously great and hard to read. I'm out of the loop on movies and hadn't realized this book had been turned into one until I was looking up links for this post, so I'm not sure how well it syncs up with the book.



As Silver Refined: Learning to Embrace Life's Disappointments, written by Kay Arthur

I loved this book! It's filled with reminders of God's sovereignty, encouragement to know his word for ourselves so that we can face the hard times in life with what we know to be true of his character and promises, challenges to act instead of react to challenging situations, and reminders that the fires of life are opportunities to become more like Jesus, to be refined.

p. 2-3, He places the crucible in the fire and sits down beside it A long day is before him, and this is where he will stay for as  long as the metal is subject to the flames. Silver is too precious to be forsaken in the furnace, too valuable to be ruined through inattention.  < snip >  And then ... once more he bends over the crucible, and this time he catches his breath. There it is! In the silver he sees what he has waited for so patiently: a clear image of himself, distinct and sharp.

p. 45, It's not the easy times that make you more like Jesus but the hard times.

p. 71, Meekness is born in situations that humble you.

p. 89, But meekness doesn't reciprocate. The meek are not ruled either by their circumstances or by the actions or reactions of others. They stay composed because they're ruled by God and they understand that God is the ultimate victor.

p. 183, Beloved, believe God - no matter what you see, no matter what you think, no matter what you feel. Stay in His word.

LIBRARY BOOKS THE KIDS REALLY LIKED

Press Here, written and illustrated by Herve Tullet

Teebs had me read this to him over and over and over and ... well, you get the idea. It's a fun book that instructs the reader to do different things on each page, which results in the illustrations (appear to) change on the next page.

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