#OpenBook for October 2023

 

Welcome to  #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

 

9-9-23 Dear Committee Members - Julie Schumacher - The third book in this trilogy just came out and it looked interesting, so I decided to request the first book in the series from the library. It is an epistolary novel telling the story through letters a frustrated English professor writes, many of which are letters of recommendation on behalf of his students. It did feature a few swears and some less than ideal behavior, but overall this was a fun, snarky book with more than a little truth in it about life as an academic in a humanities field. She author is a faculty member at the University of Minnesota (or at least she was at the time this book was written nearly ten years ago) and perhaps knows something of which he speaks.

9-12-23 In the Trenches: Finding God Through Parenting Littles - Kelsey Gillespy - Even though my days of parenting littles are behind me, I enjoyed this book and its reflections on the spiritual lessons to be learned in that life stage. Gillespy wrote In the Trenches to help other moms suffering from the exhaustion and loneliness of parenting young children to feel seen and less alone, and she succeeds in that goal. The spiritual lessons, however, are good regardless of your life stage and help readers reflect on how God sees us. (Read for Catholic Library World)

9-15-23 Arise to Blessedness - Jen Norton - This is a lovely book that combines word and image to help readers reflect on the Beatitudes and how they were lived by eight modern saints. There are also journal prompts and blank pages to use for journaling. 

 

9-17-23 Thinking Inside the Box - Adrienne Raphel - I'm really not a puzzle person. Most puzzles just leave me frustrated. However, my second son got me into doing the daily crossword puzzle with him and we've been doing it on most days for about a year. This was an interesting book on the history of crossword puzzles, different sorts of word puzzles, how to make a crossword puzzle, and crossword competitions. While it meandered in some spots, it was a fascinating look at something I knew little about.

9-22-23 Ruth's Ginger Snap Surprise - Anne Blackburne - Ruth Helmuth has no children and has been widowed for a year. Her bishop thinks she should sell her farm to someone to could make more use of it. He also thinks maybe she should marry him (even though he is much, much older). Ruth is horrified. She loves her farm and has no desire to marry the bishop. She comes up with ways to make more use of the land and in the process falls for the widowed Joanas Hershberger and his sweet young daughter Abigail. This was a tender Amish romance that I enjoyed. (Read for a book review publication)
 

9-24-23 Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture - Virginia Sole-Smith - I'm really not sure how I felt about this book. It was definitely thought-provoking. The author is working against fat bias, which is great. All people have equal dignity and should be treated the same regardless of size. However, her embrace of "eat anything you want whenever you want" might be taking it a bit too far. Also, she has logical inconsistencies. For example, she has no problem with medical interventions that force anorexics to be supervised in their eating and made to eat a reasonable amount of food as part of their treatment, but any restriction of food for someone who is overweight should be avoided at all costs due to the psychological damage it can cause. Another example is that she is against diet and exercise regimens that cause girls or women to stop menstruating, but she is also for "gender-affirming" care which, while she doesn't discuss it, often includes puberty-blockers. So, this book made me think, but it also got me annoyed and downright angry at times.

10-1-23 The Radcliffe Ladies' Reading Club - Julia Bryan Thomas - This book had my name written all over it. It featured young women at college in the 1950s and a book club. And I did enjoy it, but it took an unexpected dark turn about half way through. 

10-1-23 The Glory of God - Maria J. Bain - This is a beautiful picture book that helps teach children about the value of following the Ten Commandments and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and how those tools can help them be the person God wants them to be.

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for junior year). 

9-26-13 Nicomachean Ethics - Aristotle - This was a moderately interesting book that explored topics such as happiness, the work of man, virtues, justice, friendship, and pleasure.

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following book this month:

 9-21-23 Running Out of Time - Margaret Peterson Haddix - This book was originally published in 1995, but the author recently wrote a sequel so it has been rereleased. Jessie lives in 1840, or so she thinks. When the children in her village start dying of diphtheria, her mother tells her the truth - that they are living in an historical recreation and in the outside world it is 1996. With no one allowed to leave, Jessie has to sneak into the modern world and try to get help. This was a really good book, although in reading it to my twelve year old, I also had to explain what life was like in 1996! I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!