Fostering a new renaissance through creativity, authenticity, spirituality, and art
My 12 year old daughter had read this book last spring and loved it so much that she bought the CD with her own money so she could hear it frequently. She and I listened to it while driving during our trip to Maine. Five stars seems like a paltry offering for this remarkably wonderful … Read more
I enjoyed this encouraging book of lessons from centenarians, and give it five stars. Written by Neenah Ellis about her interviews for her NPR series, it is more than the sum of its parts, as she examines her own life and responses in the process. I found her digression about “limbic response” fascinating, for example, … Read more
When I bought this book in 2001, I read the preface describing his “spiritual healing” during medical intervention, and I put the book down. Now, years later, I picked it up and persevered past language about “energy” that was not phrased as I would say it, to embrace the true universal meaning the author was … Read more
I got this book at that recent library sale and have really been enjoying it. His pictures have wit and commentary while still being endearing. I took the liberty of sharing a few pages below, but check out his work for yourself on his website here. Apparently there is a $150 collector’s edition of this … Read more
I liked this book by Malcolm Gladwell and give it five stars. He debunks the theory that success is based on talent and instead shows how it is mostly the result of opportunities and hard work. “Outliers” are people that represent a phenomenon outside of everyday experience, but Gladwell shows that these exceptional people are … Read more
I liked this book by Kathryn Stockett and give it 5 stars. This recently released novel is about black help in white homes in the early 1960’s. Through the voices of three women, one white woman in her early twenties, and two black maids, it clarifies the complexities of these relationships complicated by the climate … Read more
I have really enjoyed this book by Dawn De Vries Sokol and even give it five stars. I bought it in the fall and have savored it slowly and incrementally at bedtime, studying each page thoroughly and carefully before going on to the next. I disciplined myself not to flip forward, and didn’t allow myself … Read more
I read this classic book by Jean Henri-Fabre (France 1823 – 1915) to my homeschooled 6th grader as supplementary science material this year. She gives the book four stars in general, and five stars in the category of “school books.” She would often pick it out of the stack over other ongoing things. Originally published … Read more
I loved this book and give it five stars. I heard a retrospective on NPR of their best interviews with writers, and that is where I first heard of May Sarton. I liked what she said in the interview, so I looked her up. She is the author of 48 books of poetry, fiction and … Read more
My 12 year old daughter has read this book by Trenton Lee Stewart so many times, I finally succumbed to seeing what it was all about, and we listened to it in the car together. Recently, we made more progress on it than usual when we were caught in a colossal traffic jam as we … Read more
A review of this book in the Christian Science Monitor said, “This remarkable book will stir and provoke thought. It offers rewards to any reader concerned with the promise and power of faith, and the hunger for spiritual discovery.” It lived up to this description and much more. Pagels makes clear how choosing the gospel … Read more
The above two books are the best (non-spiritual) non-fiction I have read since the Omnivore’s Dilemma a few years ago. Now that I have to return them to the library after hogging them for months, I thought I’d review them together since I wrote extensively on the topic of their content in former posts: (see … Read more
This book was a masterpiece. I give it five stars even though when I tried to read it in print a long while back I gave it up as impossible due to all the colloquial language. Listening to it on CD in the car was the ticket for me. The voice-over for this text was … Read more
Do you know the story of Hosea in the Bible? This Christian story mirrors it with a good man told by God to marry a prostitute and all that then ensues. Taking place during the California Gold Rush it is a believable story and a fast, satisfying read. The harsh realities of child prostitution are … Read more
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park is a young adult book that I read with my 12 year old. We both enjoyed it, since it was an accessible, easy read, with…