What I'm Reading/ Thinking Now--Be careful!

I'm a cah-razy reader.  I read detective fiction, chick lit, literary fiction, young adult lit, parenting books, teaching books, blogs, magazines, etc.  My brain is organized chaos, and my reading life tends to be organized chaos as well.

So without further ado-- a reading list of sorts:

1.  French Kids Eat Everything

In an effort to accomplish my goal of becoming a healthy family, I began with this book.  The author really likes the French (she married a Frenchman), and she is very anti-American eating mentality.  However, I liked her 10 rules, and I am implementing some of them at the Denton house-- less snacking, enjoyable meal times, more "real food," etc.  The book is not revolutionary; however, it is good sometimes to be reminded what you should be doing.  I am especially working on having the table set (I have 3 great table-setters) and making supper time a time to enjoy one another as a family.  In other words, I am working on getting my family to help out and relaxing my expectations :-).

That being said, I felt that she cow-towed too much to her husband and his family and that she put too much responsibility for her children's eating on her shoulders.  From what I got from the book, both she and her husband were work outside the home parents, and to me, it should seem that they should be equal participants in feeding their children.  However, I don't know why this angered me so since it is the way it goes down in my family as well.  Maybe I'm angry because I not the homemaker type, but I feel forced into this role--either by my control-freaky nature or Brad's lack of guilt over our children eating McDonald's every night :-).

2.  Sophie Kinsella books like this and this.

OK.  I am woman hear me roar.  I have feminist tendencies.  I want to be respected even though I have no desire to make a perfect casserole.  BUT, I LIKE CHICK LIT!!!!

Sophie Kinsella's books are just fun and funny.  They are not revolutionary or life-changing, but you will laugh and laugh and laugh.  Plus, there are no gratuitous sex scenes.

3.  The blogs.  I love to read blogs.  Especially blogs by funny, smart women.  Actually, I only read blogs by funny, smart women.  Here are my favs (the ones I read every day, or at least every time they post):
Jen Hatmaker--  She meets my "smart and funny" requirement, and she is also challenging and real.  I have especially enjoyed these blogs of hers this year:
The Election Thoughts From a Christian Independent
Women of Valor--Pinterest Aside
For Cheaters, Shirkers, and Cherry-pickers
The Easter Conundrum:  Part 1
In the Basement

Sarah Bessey-- Definitely "smart and funny" and also struggling, challenging, real, and a great writer.
Read this:
In Which I Hope She Remembers, This Day at Church
In Which I Learn to Own My Authority

The Pioneer Woman-- I read all of her new confessions, and I try some of her recipes.  I find her incredibly funny, and I have shared some of them with Brad and he finds them funny as well.  Loved this one:
I Digress

Southern Hospitality--Her story is what fascinates me.  She decorated this beautiful house with her husband in Alabama, and then he left her with nothing.  She had to totally start over.  She moved in with her parents in Atlanta, saved up her money, and bought a 70,000 fixer-upper.  Most of her blog is her journey to fix-up this home with her mother and father.  They are pretty amazing.
Her story

Bower Power--  Katie Bower is the epitome of REAL.  She just had her second baby, she is rehabbing a house, her husband has an hour commute--sometimes life is not pretty, but she is honest and funny throughout it all.  She lives in Loganville, so I have fantasies of meeting her in Walmart and becoming her best friend :-).


Young House Love-- They are the ones that started me on reading blogs regularly.  They are a couple who quit their jobs to blog about rehabbing their house.  I just like their personalities.  I wouldn't mind being their best friends too :-).

4.  The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler-- I love, love, love a good Anne Tyler novel.  I started reading her novels with The Accidental Tourist and then Breathing Lessons and then all of them.  I'm a little behind on her recent novels because (see Chick Lit section) I have been reading mostly pulpy things since we had children.  A good Anne Tyler novel, though, will take your breath away.  She is a beautiful writer who writes fabulously drawn characters--and I LOVE great characters.  The Beginner's Goodbye was good, but it is not her best.  I love Digging to America and really any of her books.

5.  The Night Circus-- This book seemed to be a set up for a movie, rather than a fully formed novel.  I love well-drawn characters, and the characters in this book were not very memorable to me.  In fact, I kept losing track of who was who.  The plot meandered and this book was unique.  So if you like meandering, unique plots, read it :-).


These are the books I have read recently.  Maybe I'll write about the books I enjoyed most this year next :-).  Who knows?  I figure this blog will be like my reading preferences, meandering, awkward, and a little weird.

Peace out XO (I teach JH)