Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
I read this book, which is currently on the New York Times bestseller’s list, partly because it was described as modeled after Sense and Sensibility, partly because it takes place in Westport which is near here, and largely because I needed something light to read. It fell apart for me as a Sense and Sensibility … Read more
As a New York Times bestseller, with over a million copies in print, the cover of this novel says it is a story of human triumph. Just read the back cover below and you can see why I read it! But after reading it, I don’t recommend it, even though it is exceptionally well written … Read more
My oldest sister recommended this novel to me and it was compelling enough to keep me up way too late, finishing the second half of it in one sitting. I am torn between giving it four stars (because so much bad stuff happens I’d never condone) and five (because it is a plausible, honest, and … Read more
Okay, ignoring the stupid title, I really liked this book and give it five stars. I renewed it three times from the library – wangling one more than allowable as I was loath to give it up. It is about how and why to get processed foods out of your life and actually enjoy what … Read more
I’m so glad blog reader Clare recommended this book to me multiple times! Thank you! I really enjoyed this touching novel and give it five stars. It is a story told of Seattle’s International district, bouncing between the 1940‘s and the 1980‘s, from the perspective of a Chinese boy both at the age of twelve … Read more
As promised (click here) I wanted to feature an example of vital picture books. Usually I’d promote individual picture books that were remarkable in themselves, which is not particularly the case here. This post is about a remarkable man and his ideas. Picture books about him best communicate his important message into the budding thought … Read more
This is a book more people should read. I give it five stars. My oldest daughter read it in high school and ended up attending one of the 40 schools featured here. Her school, St. John’s (click here), which I had not heard of before, is already an enormous blessing even though she’s only half … Read more
Yeah! Celebrating my second year of this daily blog. It’s only missing three weeks from Sept/October which will be uploaded soon (when the best of that will also be added to this list!) Last year I started the tradition of making a “best of” list with links, and folks (including me) have found it especially … Read more
We are a very bookish family. But for the first time ever, none of us received any fiction for Christmas! See in this post the wonderful non-fiction our household got instead… quite a diverse harvest.
I bought this 10 year journal for myself last year and am really enjoying it. I give it five stars! It has a small space on each day of the year, for ten years. Each year you add an entry below last year’s entry on that date. I looking forward to starting the second year … Read more
I really liked this book and give it five stars. I applaud her simple, no nonsense style and straight forward, practical approach. There are so many books on clearing clutter and getting organized that miss many of the important underlying issues that need to be addressed. This book hits on those and deals with them … Read more
I checked out this book from my library’s new book shelf and am very glad I did. Besides highlighting the usual suspects as so many books do, this one features artists I had not heard of, that I now want to find out more about. The book does a good job summing up the trends … Read more
Considering what this book could have been, I found it disappointing, and only give it three stars. Maya Angelou is an amazing woman and you do glean from this memoir what she was up against, and that her personal struggles made her strong. This book was written to the daughter she never had (all of … Read more
This version of Psalm 23 is from Walter Wangerin’s The Book of God: The Bible As a Novel, page 255: I am not lonely. God is here. Hand at my shoulder. Word in my ear. The Lord is the shepherd who leads me down to quiet pools and a soft green ground. He feeds, restores, … Read more
More than 6 billion dollars worth of art is stolen each year. This book is the remarkable memoir of an undercover FBI investigator who tracked down lots of it, but not as much as he wanted to. Art theft is not as difficult as trying to sell the works after stolen. Even when one bides … Read more
Last night I hosted the homeschooling High School meeting at my house. There was a good attendance, even though only half of my huge RSVP list actually showed. This was probably good, as my living room is small. We had almost every stripe of homeschooler present, except possibly the strict one-box-curriculum-provider kind, or complete unschooling … Read more
My daughter is studying the life of Andrew Carnegie right now. This amazingly successful “man of steel” immigrated from Scotland at 13 and started working as a bobbin boy for 12 hours a day six days a week making $1.20 a week. Ten years later was making $400 a month working 9 to 5 as … Read more