Book Review: What the Scriptures Teach Us About Raising a Child

What the Scriptures Teach Us about Raising a Child by S. Michael Wilcox

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Before reading this book, I truly considered whether or not I could take what it might say without a lot of guilt. Because I have children that are older and out of the home or close to it, it's a little depressing to read on this topic and find out everything I've done wrong. However, I love Michael Wilcox and hoped to continue to learn and become a better person and was richly rewarded by his insights.



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Book Review: Keeping Faith

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I would label this as a Catholic book, I guess. I didn't find it enthralling or controversial nor did it add anything to my relgious beliefs. I had to make myself continue to read it until near the end when there was finally something I wanted to find out - who gets custody of Faith.



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Book Review: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a cute story along the lines of The Secret Life of Bees, where a female community takes in a young girl and helps her recover and move on from a difficult childhood. I couldn't help but love each of the characters from the expected to the unpredictable. I love women who can be themselves - as eccentric as that may be. A quick read full of "suthern warmth".



Favorite quote: "It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us our strength and gives us our beauty."



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Grow They Must

I love it when my children have cute little sayings based on what they hear us say and it always makes me sad when they start to say things correctly.

On my refrigerator we have a Family Home Evening chart and last week Emily wanted to change the names assigned to various responsibilities. She took the chart down and stared at it for a long time. It's because she's always called it Hamily Oh NeeNeen. Now that she is beginning to read, she could tell that something was wrong. She turned to me and asked, "Where is the neeneen?" I hated to help her sound out the words and see the light come on in her eyes. She will never say it incorrectly again.

I'm not going to correct everything she says -
She calls sunscreen - "sun scream" - isn't that perfect
Hair conditioner is "air conditioner"
Recently she called pocket change - diamonds, quarters and pickles - I'm still laughing over that one

Book Review: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a tender book, a fictionalized story of the Japanese internment camps. This part of our American history is troubling and yet I think understandable today given our experiences with terrorism. It's something I think about as I consider how "race" is treated and discussed in our society. I've also enjoyed the books, When the Emperor was Divine, The Bracelet and the Journey to Topaz series. I wonder why so much of our history is never taught in school. I think we would understand ourselves and our country better is we were brought up more aware of all of our history.



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Book Review: Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Haunting. While I found this a compelling story for many reasons, I almost put it down for good at one point. There is a small section of the book that turns questionable and the story loses it momentum. I was afraid the book would turn to dwelling on inappropriate and trivial relationships and the intrigue and mystery would be lost. A girlfriend recommended finishing it and luckily the story returned to its' opening obscurity which made me want to find out the ending.



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