The Long Winter (& More May Reads)
I finished reading eight books last month, including Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter. Read on for my impressions of each title.
The 8 books I read in May:
The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
I read Eloise Jarvis McGraw’s The Golden Goblet aloud to the kids and grandkids I’m homeschooling last month. We’d congregate in the living room every day after lunch to read a chapter or two. However, the writing is so well-paced and the story so interesting that even my college students started joining in to listen.
Set in ancient Egypt, the book tells the story of a young boy named Ranofer, the orphaned son of a master goldsmith, After his father’s death, Ranofer finds himself unhappily apprenticed his half-brother, a greedy and abusive stonecutter with a dark secret.
Ranofer learns not to ask probing questions, but his keen eye and sharp mind slowly start to put the puzzle pieces together as he begins to suspect his half brother is hiding a crime.
Favorite Poems Old and New
I’ve been reading Favorite Poems Old and New aloud to the children as part of our literature studies (again). I’ve read lots of books of poetry over the years — many to myself and even more to my children — but this remains my all-time favorite collection.
It offers an easy and enjoyable way to expand one’s vocabulary, enrich one’s education, and develop a greater appreciation for language.
Poems are grouped by topic, and the book includes a wide variety of styles. Our family has discovered several favorites in the pages of this book which we’ve subsequently committed to memory. Some individually by the child who was especially fond of it. Some as a group so that we can review and recite together.
Weakness is the Way by J.I. Packer
In Weakness is the Way, J.I. Packer expounds upon the second epistle to the Corinthians and, in so doing, reminds us that God’s economy stands the world’s idea of wisdom completely on its head.
Christ sets the example for us. He “came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
And Paul sums it up succinctly in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
The book is a good reminder to examine ourselves and see that we are operating in God’s wisdom, not earthly wisdom.
French Kids Eat Everything by Karen le Billon
One of my subscribers recommended French Kids Eat Everything several months ago, and I finally got around to reading it this week. It was delightful!
When the author moved with her husband and children to a small French village to be closer to her in-laws, she was totally unprepared for the culinary culture-shock that awaited her there.
Not only did the cuisine differ dramatically from that to which she and her kids were accustomed, but the whole French mentality toward food, fine dining… and the most effective way to deal with finicky eaters.
Parents of picky eaters everywhere would do well to give these French food practices (and the included recipes) a try.
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The old Indian warned the people of DeSmet they were in for a very long, bitterly cold winter, and he was right. Blizzards dumped so much snow on the settlement that the trains couldn’t get through with supplies.
No coal. No groceries.Very little contact with the outside world for seven months.
But the Ingalls pulled together. They milled gain by hand in a small coffee grinder. They twisted hay into sticks to burn once the coal ran out. And by using their wits, perseverance, and resourcefulness, they managed to survive The Long Winter against all odds, while simultaneously finding creative ways to stay entertained and forge sweet memories through it all.
The Memorization Toolbox by Abigail Martin
One of my newsletter subscribers recommended I read a slim but extrememly practical book by Abigail Martin called The Memorization Toolbox which I most happily did.
Inside its covers are 168 tried-&-true tips on committing large portions of God’s Word to memory, shared by an author who has memorized entire books of the Bible that way. In fact, she challenges readers to memorize just one new verse a week. By doing so, you could have the entire book of Jonah memorized in a year. Keep that rate up for five years, and you could memorize the books of Jonah, Colossians, Titus, Philemon, Jude, and III John.
But with Martin’s helpful suggestions for making Bible memory work easier, you–like I– will likely surpass the one verse weekly goal many times over.
The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
My daughter and I also finished The First Four Years in May. This is the last of nine books in Laura Ingall’s Wilder’s Little House Series.
Beginning with Laura and Almanzo’s wedding, this volume follows their life in early marriage, describing the many joys and set backs they experienced and the birth of their little daughter, Rose.
I love reading how harmoniously they worked together to establish a homestead out on the South Dakota prairie. It’s the kind of teamwork and grit that would benefit many modern-day marriages as well.
No More Tears by Gardiner Harris
Want to keep believing Big Pharma (or even the FDA) has your best interest at heart? Then you better not read this book.
If, however, you’d like to know how deep the corruption goes or the extent to which certain pharmaceutical companies put profit ahead of public safety, Gardiner Harris’s eye-opening book, No More Tears, delivers such details big time.
It’s based on decades of investigative journalism, internal memos, courtroom testimonies, clinical trials, and firsthand accounts of people whose lives were forever altered by the pernicious products peddled and the perilous cover-ups perpetrated by one of America’s most trusted companies, Johnson & Johnson.
More tips & resources for my fellow bookworms (or wannabes):
Do you love to read as much as we do? I’ve gathered all my best resources for bibliophiles onto this page, or you can read more of my book reviews by following this link .
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