2012 Book Reviews

I thought it would be fun to do a monthly book review. We'll see how consistent I am, but I at least want to start writing a little more about the books I'm reading.  These are in reverse order of when I read them.

My rating symbols are ^^ = 2 thumbs up, vv=2 thumbs down, ^v = one of each.


Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians ^v
Well, I read this for our sisters' weekend.  It was a fun easy read, and I am actually interested in reading the sequels.  But it was kind of a waste of time because it didn't really have any earth shattering messages or inspiration.  The author talks directly to the audience a lot, which is hard to get used to.  There are some very weird things.  But it is young adult fiction so it is fun and clean and worth a read if you just want some brain candy.  I did like the idea that whomever controls the information ultimately has the power.  It was interesting to think of the idea that the world is only how we think it is because of what we've been taught.  In the book there are actually extra continents, super powers, etc.  It was also interesting the idea that a person's weakness can also be a strength.

 Listening is An Act Of Love by the Story Corps^^
This book was not what I expected.  I thought it would be all about why listening is a good habit.  Really, it is a collection of amazing stories from ordinary people.  Fascinating.  Everybody has a story and everybody's story is important.  What a neat project the Story Corps has undertaken.  It really helped me get into the heart and head of people who are extremely different from me. 

A Love That Multiplies and The Duggars: 20 and Counting by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar^^
I LOVED these books!  They were so inspiring for a homeschool mom who is trying to raise a family and lead a Godly life.  I am so inspired by the stories they tell from their own lives and experiences of how God works in their life.  I love that they have taken on the seemingly impossible task of raising such an incredibly large family with so much faith and optimism.  They made me want to be a better mom, a better homemaker, but mostly a better daughter of God.  Will read them again and turn to them as a reference for sure!

When Queens Ride By by Agnes Sligh Turnbull ^^
An essay recommended by my mother.  It was not actually the story she was thinking of when she recommended it, but I found it a good read.  It is very old, and contains some controversial gender role themes.  I found it refreshing and important to remember how to build up a man.

John Adams: Reluctant Patriot of the American Revolution ^^
I was surprised that Brandon liked this one as much as he did.  It was a little dry and boring so I thought he would tire of it.  I found it interesting, though, and a nice little readable biography.  It was a good introduction to the story of a good man.  It was also some good background information on the Revolution.

The Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jang ^^
This book had a big impact on me.  It is a true story of a girl living during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  It was amazingly eye-opening.  It was told simply enough for me to read it to Brandon.  It provoked many important discussions between us.  It helped me realize that some of these things are happening in subtle ways in our own government and school system.  It made me want to hang on tight to my kids and work harder to teach them the truth about liberty and God.

The Year Of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs ^^
This was a delightful book.  Dallin read it to me.  We had a lot of laughs about the agnostic author trying to live the bible as literally as possible.  It was fun to see his spirituality emerge as he followed prayer routines and other rituals.  We learned a lot about the bible and the many faiths that follow and interpret it.  We disagreed with a lot of his conclusions, but were thankful for the chance to think about it.  We were mostly thankful for a thoughtful yet lighthearted way to end many tiring days.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner^^
This was my first time reading this classic.  I read it to the kids and we all adored it!  So similar to things I used to make believe when I was a kid.  Though they are orphaned and afraid of being split up, they have wonderful adventures trying to survive on their own and of course everything turns out just right in the end. 

The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley
I find myself coming back to this time and again.  I wish I could just remember from baby to baby!  I love the gentle approach to helping your baby get on a schedule and eventually sleep through the night.  It has only taken a few days each time to get my babies on a sleeping schedule.  I love that she respects both the parents and the child and recognizes that it doesn't have to be either sleep deprivation or crying it out.

How To Get Your Baby To Sleep by Dr. William Sears ^v
I picked this up at the library with the others.  I've read and appreciated Dr. Sears' approach to parenting for the most part.  The only thing I didn't like is that he makes sleeping with your baby sound unrealistically pleasant.  I have had a few good cosleeping periods in my life, but they weren't the magical bliss that he describes them to be.  I love to snuggle down and sleep with my baby in my bed, but I've found it isn't safe in our family if Dad is in the bed.  He sleeps too soundly and has giant elbows that can come down hard in his sleep.  This is the first time I haven't felt safe sleeping at night with my baby.  I get too tired to stay aware of where he is.  So I'm all for cosleeping, but I don't think I sleep better the way he describes and I don't do it right now.  Sulley doesn't actually like it that much anyway.

The Sleep Easy Solution vv
I didn't finish this book.  I can't stomach books that promote letting small infants cry alone in their cribs.  When I got to the part that said I should NEVER let my baby fall asleep in my arms, I was done. There are few things as blessed and joyful as having a little one fall asleep in your arms.  I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING!

Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley ^^
She was charming, she was witty, she was cheerful, she was uplifting, she was real.
I want to be just like her.

I lost track of when I read the rest.  I'm just going to review them.

June 2011
A Banner Is Unfurled ^^
I really enjoyed this first in the series based on my ancestors Julia Hills and Ezekiel Johnson.  Notes at the back of the book describe which events actually took place and documents sources.  I have been surprised at the license taken with some actual people that the authors have very little information on.  I wonder what those people are thinking in heaven!  I wish that more of the emotions and personal experiences had more backup evidence, but the authors have done a great job of telling the story with what background information they had.  They did a good job of filling in holes in an interesting way. 

Living In But Not Of The World by Sharlene Wells Hawkes ^^
I'm not quite finished with this book, but it didn't take me long to form a favorable opinion of it.  I always love real stories.  I will be sharing this book with my older kids.  It could easily be used as a handbook for how to deal with situations in the so-called "real world".  Written by a woman who has been there as Miss America and as a sportscaster for ESPN, she has had more than one experience to illustrate how to cope with being part of a "peculiar people".  Great examples and great advice.

May 2011
Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective?^^
This book gave me lots of food for thought and inspired me to study the issue more.  I liked the amount of data presented. 

April 2011
This may be a first for me.  I don't think I read anything.  I rested and took care of my babe and watched movies. 

March 2011
Persuasion by Jane Austen^^
A good girl who tries to do her best by her dysfunctional family and friends finally gets the man of her dreams.  What's not to love?

Do Hard Things^^
I started reading this with Nathan.  Dallin picked it up and got interested and started reading it with both of the boys.  I've missed a lot of it, but I loved what I read.  The fact that it is written by young adults to young adults makes it interesting and inspiring for the kids.

At this point I took a huge reading break.  I watched lots of movies instead. 

February 2011
Emma by Jane Austen ^^
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. It bugs me that the heroine is also the villain. Yet I always get drawn into the characters and the story. Sometimes I think things turned out a little too well for Emma after all of the trouble she caused, but she was very repentant and also very young. Past readings of this book have caused me to skip entire pages where certain characters were speaking (Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton). For some reason they didn't bother me nearly as much this time.

January 2011
Same Kind of Different As Me^^
My sister bought me this book for Christmas. I read it in just a couple of days, and I was really touched by it. I am always intrigued by true stories. In this story, the authors took turns writing the chapters. It is always enlightening to get a view of the world from such a different perspective. It is about a homeless man who left the slave-like lifestyle of sharecropping and ended up on the streets in big-city Texas. It is also about a wealthy art-dealer whose wife feels a calling to help the homeless and how much the two men learn from each other after they meet. There are some very beautiful lessons about what it is to be a true Christian and how to love people without judging them.

Life's Lessons Learned by Dallin H. Oaks ^^
This was Dallin's gift from my sister. He always appreciates reading things written by the man he is named after. I picked it up as something nice to supplement my scripture study and found it very enlightening. I loved hearing the stories from his life and the profound lessons he learned. Some of them were very simple. The chapters were short and easy to get through, but I still learned a lot. Some of my favorite principles were the difference between preference and principle. Sometimes I get really confused by varying standards of different people in the church. This article shed some light on the experiences I was having. He suggested that many of the rules we set for our family are matters of preference. I do try really hard to have my preferences goverened by principles, but I think it is a good thing that we can each do this in a different way. Another thing that I appreciated was his discussion on real intent. He said that sometimes the reason we do not get answers to our prayers is because we do not ask with real intent. His definition of real intent is asking with an intention to act on the information we receive.


Discipline Through Virtue by Thomas Morley ^v
I chose to begin my study of parenting books with this book because I've owned it for a long time and never read it. We got it as a gift from a friend many years ago, and it wasn't during a time where I was reading a lot of non-fiction. I knew it was a discipline approach based on the Book of Virtues. Dallin and I listened to these stories when we were newlyweds, and I really enjoyed them. The idea seemed really great. I was even excited as I cracked the book to see that the beginning was written in story form. I quickly found out, however, that it was poorly written. Cheesy and hard to keep reading. I forced my way through it, hoping to get to the good part. You know, the part where it tells you how to do it. Apparently the author thought that his tacky story was instruction enough, but not for me. I would have much rather read his approach and the data supporting it. The last half of this book gets a thumbs up, however. He has listed common discipline problems with references to several stories from Book of Virtues that can help put a powerful point across to your children without nagging or lectures. The stories also provide great topics for family discussion. I purchased the audio version of Book of Virtues to listen to in the car. I'm glad this book inspired me to use those stories more. They really are a great teaching tool.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen ^^
Every few years it is just time to re-visit The Complete Works of Jane Austen. I have the giant hardback version that my sisters gave me many years ago. I found that I could get it on my Kindle for only $2, and I'm glad I did. It is much easier to hold without the bulk of the huge volume and I can set the type bigger for much more comfortable reading. I think Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Jane Austen story, but whenever I say that I wonder if Pride and Prejudice should be my favorite. I think I love Sense and Sensibility so much because it was my introduction to Jane Austen via the Emma Thompson version of the movie. So, so good! Until it became such a poplular name, I wanted to name one of my kids Elinor because I think she is such an amazing character. This story is such a great example of how much choice we have about how to deal with our trials, and how when we are choosing our reactions, we are also choosing how much regret we will feel down the road. I do get a kind of sick feeling when reading these books about the aristocratic lifestyle. I don't agree with people who have no profession putting themselves above people who work. I am impressed, however, with the character traits, manners, and values upheld by that society. One of the great things about this as a story is its ability to tug at your heartstrings and take you on quite a roller-coaster ride right up until the end when everybody finally ends up with the right person.

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell ^^
I definitely needed this refresher on how to show unconditional love to my children. I spent a lot of time thinking about the language that each member of my family prefers. I also made a list of ways I could show each love language to each child. I think that by itself was a great activity. Sometimes the daily grind gets in the way of really showing our kids how much we love them. Often the things we already do for our families could be expressions of love, but we have to put the meaning into it. We have to really be doing it as an act of love. Ultimately, we really ought to be doing it all for the Lord so they feel His love through us. The five languages described in this book are: Touch, Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Words of Affirmation. This book created some neat discussions with Dallin. He couldn't quite stomach the writing style, though.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ^^
I love this story because I never grow tired of it. I think it is great when both the hero and heroine have some character flaws that need to be overcome, but overall they are exemplary. Jane Austen has such a gift for creating characters that are so varied and so real, even within a family. Of course there are multiple lessons about pride and prejudice, but also parenting, dignity, virtue, and propriety. The A&E version of this movie is about as close a book/movie relationship as I've ever seen. Much of the screenplay is word for word from the book.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen ^^
This is a story of enduring well. It is a story about integrity. Fanny Price is about as good a heroine as you could find in a book. She is humble and full of moral courage. And in the end, after she wades through a lot of suffering and heartache, she is rewarded. Another great thing about this book is that the "bad guys" all get their due. It is very rewarding as a reader to see them finally eat the fruits of their labor after mistreating everyone, but mostly Fanny with such disrespect. The only thing about this book is that it ends too quickly. She wraps everything up without much description or dialogue. Its like she was tired of writing and just wanted you to know it all turned out well. The only version of this I've seen on film had some very disturbing West Indies/Slavery scenes that were complete artistic liscence taken by the filmmakers. It was disappointing, to say the least.

Sadako and The Thousand paper Cranes ^^
I read this to my girls this month. It was a suggestion from the homeschool curriculum we currently use. It was a great story to get us back into our read-alouds because it was short but meaningful. We all stayed interested, and it touched on some important discussion themes like the atomic bomb, leukemia, and death. My sister's little boy is being treated for leukemia right now, so that made it even more meaningful. It helped us be so grateful for the advances in medicine that make his prognosis so much more hopeful than poor Sadako's. When we got to the chapter where Sadako was showing signs of the sickness, I found out that Ruby looked ahead and read the last page to Daisy! Cheaters! :) It actually says in the introduction that Sadako dies, but I don't think they were paying a lot of attention when I read that to them. I'm actually glad they knew, so they wouldn't have to suffer suspense and disappointment. It was my first time reading this book, and I'm glad we got to share the experience.