Bonds that Make Us Free, C. Terry Warner

Given to us by a friend of Russell, this book really is a “selfless help book”. It’s all about moving outside of oneself and becoming more aware of treating other people as people rather than as objects of our own invention. I know I’m not doing the book justice by writing this; it truly needs to be read. I wish I could say it changed my life; it did change my perspective and I’m working on the life-change. A very powerful book.



Reading Magic, Mem Fox

This book reaffirmed my love of reading to my kids (and my love of children’s books) and helped me see what I’m doing right (reading lots to them) and wrong (I would sit with Megan and make her sound out words rather than allowing her to catch the “spirit” of reading) in teaching my children to read. Not a hard book to read, but an important one.

Mommy, I’m Scared, Joanne Cantor

I got this book because I thought it would give me some tips on how to deal with Megan’s fear of movies. Instead, it gave me insights as to why she’s scared. The tips? Essentially, let your children avoid anything scary until they get older. Good enough.

$100 Holiday, Bill McKibbon

An idealist’s look at Christmas and how to make it simpler and more meaningful. An interesting history of Christmas and an interesting case for making Christmas less commercial and more spiritual, more family/friend/community-oriented and more fun and relaxed. Worth reading.



Unplug the Christmas Machine, Jo Robinson and Jean Coppoch Staeheli

Good, practical book for Christmas organization.

Before they moved at Christmas, my good friend Janice gave me a gift certificate to Books-a-Million, on the condition that I buy a book that helps remind me of her. I had a hard time coming up with one; our reading tastes don’t always coincide: she enjoys mostly historical fiction, non-fiction, and biographies. I don’t usually. I looked through the store, and stumbled across The Road From Home, by David Kheridan. It’s the true story of his mother, an Armenian living in Turkey in the early 1900s and her personal experience with the Armenian massacres by the Turkish people. It’s a powerfully simple book. It’s written from his mother’s (Veron’s) point of view, and her simple faith and hope that got her through all the terrible times she experienced. Yes, she was one of the lucky ones: she survived, though her siblings and grandfather died of cholera, her mother died of grief, her father had a heart-attack while working for the Turks and she saw her cousins killed by a bomb. So, life for her was no picnic in the park. Still, I was humbled and awed by her faith, her perseverance and cheerfulness in the face of adversity. I’m sure Janice would enjoy my selection, too.