July reads

I am still prioritizing middle grade reads and had a good reading month.

GROWN-UP READS
📖 Bible study: 1 John, 2 John, 3 John (I really appreciate the John's being so short and making me look so productive 😆), Isaiah. 
📖 Bomber Mafia (secular,  nonfiction,  history)... well-written,  engaging WWII nonfiction  so of course I enjoyed it.
📖 Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right (secular, nonfiction, health)... So much gold in this one! I have recommended it to so many people and ordered my own physical copy.
📖  The Hawaiian Quilt (Christian, fiction, Amish)... I listened to this audio book because one of my reading goals this year was to read a book set in a place not yet on my location list and this one is set in Hawaii. Also Indiana. It was cute but not an overall favorite. I think I like but don't love Amish fiction.
📖 The Pursuit of God (Christian, nonfiction)... This book was so full of gems for me. I highlighted it so much! (See image above). I will absolutely try more Tozer.

📚 Plus applicable sections of The No-Cry Nap Solution // What to Expect: The First Year // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks

YA & MIDDLE GRADE READS
📖 And They Found Dragons, books 2 & 3 (Christian,  middle grade, fiction,  fantasy)... Not our favorite but we did enjoy it.
📖 The Bug Bandits (Christian,  middle grade, fiction)... One of my kids loves bugs and a couple love mysteries so this was a good hit. It wasn't really Christian so much as just clean. It talked a lot about the movie Home Alone, which my kids have never seen, but I asked them and none of them felt lost/confused by that.
📖 David Macaulay architecture books- Castle // Cathedral // Mill // Mosque (secular,  nonfiction)... I am so fascinated by architecture and loved these!
📖 Her Own Two Feet (secular, middle grade, nonfiction, TGTB book list)... this was such a beautiful story and made me think so much! I can't wait to pass it along to my kids.
📖 Indescribable Atlas Adventures (Christian, nonfiction)... I absolutely loved this one and bought a copy for our social studies & geography this year.
📖 Into the Uncut Grass (secular,  very short middle grade, fiction)... I loved this one and was so excited to hear what my kids thought! They thought 'Meh.' I guess it means more to mamas.
📖 Left Behind: The Kids, 13, 14, 15 (Christian, YA, fiction)... My oldest is loving these books! I'm enjoying them less that I previously was. But still enough to keep trying.
📖 Little Christmas Carol (secular, fiction)... love this version for 6th-ish grade! Love the illustrations,  too.
📖  Ly-Lan and the New Class Mix-Up (Christian, chapter book, fiction)... I liked this one for 3rd-ish-grade and so did my girls. We'll watch for the sequel.
📖  One Long Line (secular, nonfiction,  middle grade, science/nature)... This was a short and interesting read about caterpillars and a scientist who studied them.
📖  The Ology (Christian)... I ended up buying a copy of this one, too. We'll read this every few days as part of our morning basket time.
📖 Rolling Warrior (secular,  middle grade, nonfiction, TGTB book list)... I loved this one! I find polio/post-polio stories quite compelling but this one
📖 School's Out (Christian,  middle grade, Amish fiction)... Some of my girls love Amish stories. They liked this one but prefer Life With Lily.
📖 The Tree Book (secular,  nonfiction)... Beautiful and incredibly informative!
📖 The Tuttle Twins Guide to Logical Fallacies (Secular, YA, nonfiction)... Good, informative,  easily understood read.

PICTURE BOOKS WE LOVED: Because Barbara // A Book, Too, Can be a Star // Grateful for You // Jumper (spider) // Luminous // More Than a Little // Night Walk to the Sea // Out of School and Into Nature // Painting Wonder

May Reads

I did a good bit of reading again in May. I did a book list inventory near the end of the month and realized I need my kid reading to focus primarily on YA and upper middle grade novels now so that's my goal in June. Build up our 7th and 8th grade book list! 

First, grown-up reads...

📖 Bible study: My husband and I have still been studying God's covenant with Moses and trying to understand how/why they aren't a part of most modern Christian denominations' practices. This has been quite the project! June was heavily focused on Passover. 

📖 I Really Do Miss Your Smile (Christian, fiction, short story)... This is the prequel to the Christiansen Family series, the story of how John and Ingrid got together. I really liked it! I can't get enough of these Christiansen books!

📖 Jimmy (Christian, fiction)... Jimmy is great for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird. This was a very moving story but it definitely made me cry. 😭 

📖 Rescue Story (Christian, nonfiction)... This is a memoir if Christian musician Zach Williams' journey into his faith and career. I liked it alright. There's a lot of substance abuse in his background and he and his wife also had a dysfunctional\abusive beginning so be prepared if you decide to read it.  

📖 Self Heal by Design (Christian, nonfiction, health, science)... This was an overall good read for health nerds like myself but I don't agree with every word because of some things from other health books. 

📖 Plus the designated chapters of my ongoing baby reads this year, What to Expect: The First Year // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks 

And for my kids' shelves...

📖 Adventure Cat (secular, nonfiction)... One of my kids really loves these nonfiction animal stories and this one was no exception.

📖 Bernard Pepperlin (secular, fiction)... This was a fun and cute story about the dormouse from Alice in Wonderland but there's a final battle svene that'll be a bit much for sensitive readers. I added this to our 5th grade list.

📖 Buzzer Beater (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... This basketball story is the second in a sports series but works as a standalone since each book is about different children playing different sports. I've never enjoyed basketball but I liked this pride/sportsmanship story just fine and it was a hit with my oldest. 4th grade list.

📖 Emmy in the Key of Code (secular, middle grade, fiction, novel in verse)... This was a fun, quick read about a girl taking a coding class at school. I actually enjoyed learning about coding + music and I enjoyed observing Emmy's relationship dynamics with her parents, her coding teacher and classmates, and her new friend. 6th grade list.  

📖 Horse Heroes (secular, nonfiction)... I don't like the fiction series by this author but I have liked her nonfiction research books just fine for third graders. (So far, at least!)

📖 Lightfall #1: The Girl and the Galdurian (secular, middle grade, fantasy, graphic novel)... This quick-read graphic novel was a big hit for my oldest. We hope the second will be a yes, too!

📖 Lucky Scramble (secular, middle grade, graphic novel)... This quick read is about a speed cubing competition. I added it to our 5th grade list.

📖 Mouse Scouts 1-4 (secular, chapter book, fiction, TGTB book list)... These are cute, basically a mouse version of girl scouts.

📖 The Secret of the Yellow Death (secular, YA, nonfiction)... I always enjoy health/medical stories so of course I enjoyed this one. I added it to our 8th grade list.

Picture books we enjoyed this month: Amish Christmas // Audrey Bunny // Books by Horseback // Elsa's Chessboard // The Girl Who Built an Ocean // The Horse's Haiku // It Will Be Okay // Knit Your Bit // Mother to Tigers // Saving the Countryside // Toe Shoe Mouse // Whoosh!

What I read in April

First, grown-up reads...

📖 Bible study: My husband and I have been studying something together and would happily take any and all resources you've got! We've been studying the laws of Moses and trying to understand how/why they aren't a part of most modern Christian denominations' practices.

📖 Eat to Live (secular, nonfiction, health, science)... This one has me so fired up! I am breastfeeding a baby so my focus is health and living a long + vibrant life raising this kiddo rather than weight loss. There is definitely a ton of weight loss talk but lots and lots of disease-prevention nd cancer-prevention talk I was focused on.

📖 The Huckleberry Patch (Christian, fiction, short story)... This was a good, tiny burst of inspiration that was free for Kindle, at least when I got it. I think it probably only took about ten minutes to read

📖 Stories for Your Soul (Christian, nonfiction)... I really enjoyed these short inspirational stories by Max Lucado. A couple really moved me and got me crying.

📖 Things I Never Told You (Christian, fiction)... I very much enjoyed this first book in the Thatcher Sisters series. It had faith, deep character development, and a strong exploration of family relationships/dynamics. All things needed to make my favorite kind of book! I definitely want to read book 2. (YouTube short here) 

📖 Plus the designated chapters of my ongoing baby reads this year, What to Expect: The First Year // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks

And for my kids' shelves...

📖 Biddy Mason Speaks Up (secular, nonfiction, history)... I actually found this book in my library's catalog by searching for midwives' birth stories but wasn't expecting so much rich black history! Be warned, there is one sentence that says some slave women were raped by their masters. I added this to our 7th grade list. 

📖 The High Cheese (secular, middle grade, fiction, TGTB book list)... This was a good baseball story. My oldest asked me to request book 2 (a basketball story) from our library as well.

📖 Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (Christian, middle grade, fantasy)... Another hit with my oldest. We'll definitely try the next in the series.

📖 Leif the Lucky (secular, fictionalized biography)... It seems like homeschoolers just love these d'Aulere books. I like this Viking book fine but it wasn't a new favorite or anything.

📖 May the Best Player Win (secular, middle grade, fantasy)... This chess-focused story was a fun read but it did take the Lord's name in vain multiple times. 

📖 Sleuth Family Robinson (Christian, middle grade, fiction, graphic novel)... This is such a fun read featuring "a family that actually likes each other!" Big hit for my kids. (YouTube short here)

📖 Starla Jean series 1-3 (secular, chapter books, fiction, TGTB book list)... Starla Jean is cute and quirky. My seven-year-old loved these books! 

📖 Wild Buildings and Bridges (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... I love architecture so my nature-smart kid and I really enjoyed this one.

📖 Wind Riders books 1-3 (secular, fiction, chapter books, TGTB book list)... My seven-year-old loved this series! 

Picture books we enjoyed this month: The Brilliant Brain // Bunny's Book Club Goes to School // Ella Of Course // How Science Saved The Eiffel Tower // The Sleeping Rose // The Smallest Spot of a Dot // The Snatchabook 

What I read in February

I tried to be really intentional about my first month of postpartum healing this time around and I feel like I did a good job! I napped or rested in bed reading during a lot of baby's naps plus I employed the same trick with this baby that I used to use during nighttime (early morning) feedings- read on the Kindle so I don't engage/stimulate baby during sleep hours yet don't fall asleep! But I didn't do much audio book listening since I wasn't doing the workouts, driving, or chores that normally make sense as audio book time.

First, grown-up reads...

📖 Bible study: Proverbs! Still focused on a very slow bible study- quality, not quantity.

📖 All That Really Matters (Christian, fiction)... I am really fascinated by the overall idea of influencers (it's such a strange byproduct of an internet-heavy world, isn't it?) and really enjoyed this novel about a popular makeup influencer and her time mentoring young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. I'm not at all interested in book 2 but I am really loving Nicole Deese lately so I'll be reading it anyway!

📖 Bitter and Sweet (Christian, fiction)... Yet another book exploring family dynamics and character development. I am forever drawn to deep, rich stories like these. This one is set in South Carolina and focuses on a toxic adult sister relationship + some ties to their great grandmother's past.

📖 Boost Your Breast Milk (secular, nonfiction. Parenting? Health?)... Good, short and to the point, helpful!

📖 The Brain's Way of Healing (secular, nonfiction, health)... I didn't read the whole super long book, just parts that matched up with a loved one's condition. So fascinating!

📖 Formula of Deception (Christian, fiction, suspense)... I was really into this Alaska suspense book but there was a point right near the end that kinda pulled me out of the story. I will try more Carrie Stuart Parks in the future.

📖 Habits of the Household (Christian, nonfiction)... I adored this book! But I do think you won't get much out of it if you aren't actively parenting young children.

📖 Meet Me in the Margins (Christian [but not really], fiction)... I read this because Janssen said it was a good clean read for teens + I'm a sucker for a good book about books/writing. I am not a sucker for romance but they're growing on me IF they're done right. I loved this one! 

📖 A Time to Stand (Christian, fiction)... I was so curious to see how this one would go- a black lawyer who feels called to defend the white police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager. I have liked the other Robert Whitlow books I've read and I liked this one, too. 

📖 Plus the designated chapters of my ongoing baby reads this year, What to Expect: The First Year // The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding // The Wonder Weeks 

And for my kids' shelves...

📖 All of Creation (Christian, upper middle grade, nonfiction)... I've always thought it so strange that an environmental sustainability focus is so often seen as almost anti-Christian. The environment was hand-created by God, we live here, it's the thief who came to destroy, and besides, God is pretty clear in Genesis that we're supposed to take care of our world. This book did a good job of laying out practical things we can do to protect specific plants/creatures/habitats in a very Biblical, faith-focused way. #Christianhippie 🤷🏼

📖 The Blind Girl's Song (Christian, middle grade, fictionalized biography)... This was a well-done, engaging biography about the author of many famous hymns. I enjoyed this one and think a lot of music-minded kids will enjoy it, too. 

📖 Can You Survive: an Alien Invasion (secular, middle grade, fiction, choose-your-own-adventure)... Something that interested my son... Fluff of course, overall fine. Like most of these kinds of books, some adventure paths were better than others.

📖 DNA by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Short and informative with fun tidbits thrown in.

📖 Flight of the Eagles (Christian, middle grade, fantasy)... I was curious to see if this 90s story would be too old and outdated for my oldest but it wasn't! He definitely plans to continue the series.

📖 Heroes: Incredible True Stories of Courageous Animals (secular, nonfiction)... These are all stories about animals helping during wars. Some stories end sadly but it's a good read for kids who can handle that.

📖 Kate and the Spies (Christian, middle grade, historical fiction)... This Revolutionary war novel is the third Sisters in Time book I've read and it's going to be a definite hit with one of my kids.

📖 Lena in the Spotlight series- Hello Stars // Daydreams and Movie Screens // Shining Night (Christian, middle grade, fiction)... I liked this Faithgirlz series about a young lady becoming a movie star overnight. Lots of good faith content in these.

📖 The Misadventured Summer of Tumbleweed Thompson (Christian, middle grade, historical fiction)... Really liked this one and know my kids will love it so already planning to use it as our next read-aloud! 

📖 The Mythmakers (secular, YA, nonfiction, graphic novel)... This is a great look at the lives + relationship of JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis which I'll definitely hand to my kids as high schoolers. I also loved this author's Bonhoeffer graphic novel in a similar style.

📖 Nicholas Quick and the Man from the Chaos Dimension (secular, middle grade, fiction, fantasy)... Fantasy is never my favorite but this one was fun and then was a hit with my oldest.

📖 Who Were the Navajo Code Talkers? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, history)... I don't love every book in this series but I did really enjoy this one!

📖 Winning the War in Your Mind for Teens (Christian, YA, nonfiction)... Wow, what a powerful read period but especially for supporting teens through those hard angsty times. 

Picture books we enjoyed this month: The Book Bus // Buzzing With Questions // Captain Cat // I Will Rejoice // I've Loved You Since Forever // The King Without a Shadow // Pa, Me, and the Sidewalk Pantry // The Prince and the Porker // Race to Kindness // Take Heart My Child // What's Inside a Flower // The Wonderful Things You Will Be // You Are My Happy  

Books I Read in January

I started January very sick and very pregnant. I did a whole lot of resting which often involved reading or listening to audio books. I sat reading in multiple waiting rooms, I had a few nights where I woke up with contractions and read since I couldn't get back to sleep... It was a good reading month! I also had a baby right there near the end! 👶💙

First, grown-up reads:

📖 Bible study: Still Genesis as I am working through all of my Bible study very slowly and intentionally rather than hurrying to read a certain amount each day.

📖 The First Forty Days (secular, nonfiction, pregnancy/birth)... Didn't agree with every bit of it but loved the overall concept (postpartum care is so important and the American view of it is lacking to say the least!) and it really fueled a strong desire for me to keep my fridge and freezer fully stocked with nourishing homemade soups + have a solid postpartum recovery plan in place.

📖 The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley (Christian, fiction)... I am an introverted homebody but I'm much more sensitive, emotional, and sentimental than Isadora is so I initially wasn't sure I'd be able to relate. I really liked Isadora though and was really cheering her on. 

📖 I Still Believe (Christian, nonfiction)... This memoir by Christian musician Jeremy Camp was very inspiring. I definitely plan to watch the movie now, too.

📖 I Think I Was Murdered (Christian, fiction, suspense)... Basically, a woman uses an AI chat bot that mimics her dead husband's writing style to stay connected to him. One day, he tells her he thinks he was murdered. She naturally has to investigate. *Insert ominous music.* Good one!

📖 In Unison (Christian, nonfiction)... I moved on to this one after I Still Believe and I really enjoyed this look at Jeremy and Adrienne Camp's marriage.

📖 Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (secular, nonfiction, pregnancy/birth)... This was a re-read for I think the 4th time!! As always, a few things are too hippie even for me but it was overall very helpful!

📖 The Light on Halsey Street (Christian, fiction)... This one, set in 1985 New York, was a little gritty with drug and alcohol abuse, theft, and jail time playing big roles in the book and man, was it a good read! I LOVE to see a deep, rich faith journey play out and in this book we got two of them! Will absolutely be reading more by Vanessa Miller.

📖 The Roads We Follow (Christian, fiction)... Loved this road trip novel that was so full of family dynamics! It's book 2 in the Fog Harbor Romance series but it focuses on completely different main characters and works fine as a standalone.

📖 What to Expect When You're Expecting (secular, nonfiction, pregnancy)... Standard pregnancy classic, of course!

And for my kids' shelves:

📖 Bonhoeffer (Christian, YA, nonfiction, history)... I've been meaning to read this one for a couple years and glad I finally did! I love Bonhoeffer books and look forward to the upcoming Bonhoeffer movie! Added this one to my high school list. 

📖 Enemies in the Orchard (Christian but not really, historical fiction, novel in verse)... This one definitely gets sad so I recommend it more for older middle grade readers but I did like it. I like most WWII books though! 

📖 The Human Genome by Jim Whiting (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... Short, simple, good read for anyone interested in DNA or, in our case, coding the human genome. 

📖 If You Lived With the Cherokee // If You Signed the Constitution // If Your Name Was Changed at Ellis Island (secular, nonfiction)... These have been a big hit with my oldest two who both love history.

📖 Life Behind the Wall (Christian, middle grade, historical fiction)... I loved this Berlin Wall trilogy and added it to our 7th grade book list!

📖 Little Cat's Luck (secular, middle grade, fiction, novel in verse)... Companion to Little Dog Lost. Not my favorite or anything but one of my kids loved animal books and novels in verse so should be a hit!

📖 Mythmaker: The Life of JRR Tolkein (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... My oldest and I both enjoyed this biography about the Lord of the Rings author.

📖 Romanov (Christian, YA, historical fiction fantasy)... I didn't actually finish this book but read about 75% so thought I'd talk about it anyway. I have always loved a good Anastasia story, ever since I saw the wildly inaccurate fictionalized cartoon movie in elementary school, and was so looking forward to this one! But it was so depressing and heart-wrenching, I eventually just couldn't take anymore. Nadine Brandes is a great storyteller and I'll keep reading her works but this one was too much for my sensitive lil heart.

📖 Three Tasks for a Dragon (secular, middle grade, fantasy)... I was fine with this one but didn't really enjoy it. One of my kids loved it but one didn't even finish it. 

📖 Trapped in a Video Game (secular, middle grade)... Overall I am not into or impressed with books like this. There was some talk of boogers I thought was just dumb but i went ahead and let my oldest read it. He had fun but wasn't impressed enough to want to read the sequels. 

📖 The Video Game Encyclopedia (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... This was certainly not a riveting read for me but it was fine so I approved it.

📖 Who Was JRR Tolkien? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, biography)... I liked the Mythmaker one a little more but this was still good!

Picture books we loved: The Amazing Age of John Roy Lynch // Charlie and the New Baby // A House in the Woods // Not Finished Yet // Saint Valentine The Kindhearted // Shoebox Sam // The Spyglass // The Things God Made 

December 2024 reads

December was a sad and weird month where my family went through quite a lot in a very short time. It was quite a rough ride (which is not anywhere near over yet so we'd love your prayers!) but we watched God come through for us again and again. I didn't read much at all in the first half of the month but once we got into a rental house things calmed down a little bit. Then I was too sick to do anything but make soup and read! Plus, Christmas novellas are short reads I whipped through in no time at all. 

First, grown-up reads:

📖 Bible study: Genesis... Though it was tempting to turn to Job 😂 Still working through all of my Bible study very slowly and intentionally rather than hurrying to read a certain amount each day.

📖 A Carol for Christmas (Christian, Christmas fiction)... I always enjoy a more emotionally driven story but it tends to be harder to find deeper Christmas stories. Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my favorites for a reason!

📖 The Christmas Bus (Christian, Christmas fiction)... This was my buddy read with my mom this year and I finished it on Christmas day. This was not my favorite kind of deep and emotionally evocative read but it was a fun and sweet Christmas read we both enjoyed.

📖 Cosy: The British Art of Comfort (secular, nonfiction)... I'm a cozy girl at my best but I desperately needed some comfort this month. I loved this book but it did contain a curse word (the F word) at least twice. As we are replacing all our lost belongings we've been very focused on a more minimalist approach, not just collecting a bunch of stuff but seeking out the few specific items we truly need/loved. Now I'm also focusing on making sure these are cozy items that bring us comforting feelings, too.  

📖 Dashing Through the Snow (Christian, Christmas fiction)... I listened to this one as an audio book on a long drive where my kids weren't present. I was glad they weren't because there was random talk of a man who claimed to have had intimate relations with an alien. The rest of the book had almost nothing to do with that and was an overall fun Christmas read but i am starting to think I only like Debbie Macomber's nonfiction writing.

📖 The Dorito Effect (secular, nonfiction, science / health)... This was such a fascinating food science read! I didn't expect to learn much about artificial flavorings and such, but I did! But I actually picked it up for the info about how produce is weaker, both nutritionally and in flavor, and learned so much about that! 

📖 Mother-Daughter Murder Night (secular, fiction, mystery)... I read this one because I saw it reviewed as 'Gilmore Girls, but with murder.' I agree with the description. It was a fun one, not gruesome or scary and full of family dynamics as a mother, daughter, and granddaughter amateur sleuthed to solve a murder. This one did contain a few curse words + a few other words/phrases some will be offended by in the 2nd half of the book. I overall enjoyed it but was also reminded why I stick to Christian fiction + a select few known secular authors.

📖 Tin Can Serenade (Christian, Christmas, fiction, short story)... This is the world's shortest little epistolary novella, like a 30 minute read, but in Amanda Dykes' classic historical fiction style. Thoroughly enjoyed!

📖 Untangle Your Emotions (Christian, nonfiction)... I'm pretty decent at feeling my feelings (most of the time, anyway) but I still found this book very helpful. It's a great companion book to Get Out of Your Head, which I also enjoyed.

📖 Zen Mama (secular, nonfiction, pregnancy)... This one was fun but probably most ideal for (crunchy) first-time mamas.

And for my kids' shelves...

📖 American Murderer (secular, late middle grade, nonfiction)... This nonfiction about a southern hookworm epidemic and its treatment was so fascinating to me! One of my kids likes health/disease books almost as much as I do. 

📖 Parkinson's Disease (secular, YA, nonfiction)... Helpful but sad... This book was read for informational purposes, not for the sake of feeling hope 😞

📖 Scooby-Doo and the Spooky Strike-Out (secular, chapter book, fiction)... These kind of books are of course kinda meh to me but they're always a big hit with my younger kids.

📖 SmART (secular, middle grade, nonfiction)... My oldest and I found this brain/attention/art book so fascinating! I love that some of my kids will enjoy this one for the brain side and others for the art side.

📖 Who Was Winston Churchill? (Secular, middle grade, nonfiction, biography)... In spite of all the many WWII fiction and nonfiction ice read over the years I know very little-- next to nothing!-- about Winston Churchill. I wanted to learn more about him after learning how inspiring he is to many Christians. I don't think this book painted the vibrant picture most people are seeing but it was still overall fine.

Library picture books we loved: The Christmas Doll // Lefty: A Story That is Not All Right // Over and Under the Snow // We Believe in Christmas