Biding my time with books

Winter is slowly, ever so slowly, waning into spring. A glance outdoors would suggest quite the opposite; just how much snow can one province get?
And yet... dinner is no longer eaten in darkness. There is a new brightness in the sky.
The noticeably longer days are giving me hope.

Yet until the snow melts a bit, or the temperatures rise, I still choose to play the part of the hermit, and stay put under a blanket with a book at the ready. I recently deleted my Facebook account (for many reasons which can be boiled down to my own lack of self-control), but I enjoy having something to occupy my mind while I'm nursing, or when the children are sleeping... or when I am hiding in the bathroom.... Don't pretend you don't sometimes take extra long bathroom breaks, too. :)

So I have returned to my old love of reading.
I used to wonder how so many moms got so much reading time crammed into their full days. And now I see, I had been reading, plenty, it was all just through social media!

Here is my Books Completed list for January and the first half of February:

1. Out of the Ashes by Anthony Esolen
Patrick received a review copy of this and I snatched it up before he could get his hands on it!

Fans of Anthony Esolen will recognize his characteristic acerbic wit as he chronicles the downfall of all things political, educational and familial in Western society. In fact, I was vaguely aggravated that I felt I had already read this book, it being so similar in tone to his previous works. Once I got over that, I was simultaneously entertained and sobered by his assessment.

It was definitely a worthwhile read. I especially loved the evocative image of an Ottawa bureaucrat marching into Avonlea and telling Anne Shirley what she must teach regarding gender fluidity at her one-room schoolhouse. The absurdity illustrates several points -- about the need for freedom of choice in education, in keeping school governance small, as the Avonlea residents wouldn't stand for such a thing at their school, not to mention the perplexing question of "gender fluidity" to begin with. It was especially poignant to me because, at the time, Anne of Avonlea was my current read-aloud to the boys.

2. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Here's my confession: I had never read this book in its entirety until just a few weeks ago. This is despite having read, and reread, Anne of Green Gables, countless times.

It was exactly as wonderful as I expected it to be, made even sweeter by the fact that my two young sons love the character of Anne as well. Dear Noah has even said he wants to be a teacher when he grows up, and I know that was inspired at least somewhat by the beautiful kind of teacher Anne is to her students (even dear Anthony Pye).

Also... Gilbert Blythe forever.

Enough said.

3. Trim Healthy Mama by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison
I almost didn't include this on my list, because it feels a bit unseemly to discuss my weight-loss goals online. Yet I decided to include it as a public service announcement in case other people were thinking of jumping on the bandwagon: I hate this book.

The whole approach of dividing up carbs from fats is so mentally exhausting, and frankly, joyless, that I cast that book into the depths of faddish diet Hell. Sometimes I want to eat a freaking baked potato with my steak. Weight Watchers is by far my preference, or even full-on Paleo, not this annoying song-and-dance of divvied-up carbs and fat.

And... they tried to make a Biblical imperative for eating turkey bacon...!

I could go on and on.

4. The Sleepeasy Solution by Waldburger and Spivack
Let's just let the subtitle explain the situation to you: "The Exhausted Parent's Guide to Getting your Child to Sleep from Birth to Age 5." Alas, as I type this right now, my almost-eight-year-old is yelling at me from his bedroom, an hour and a half after his bedtime. If there was a sequel, I'd be on the lookout for it.

5. Different by Sally Clarkson and Nathan Clarkson
I admire Sally Clarkson, noted Christian author on issues surrounding motherhood. However, I have always had a difficult time reading her books; her idealism and cozy images of reading aloud all day to her homeschooled kids, serving them tea and playing classical music -- all of it seemed so lovely but unattainable. I dismissed her vision of motherhood by assuming she must have had very "easy" neurotypical children.

Little did I know one of her children has struggled with OCD and anxiety, ADHD, ODD and depression his whole life, making parenting him as a child, adolescent, and even now, as an adult man, a great challenge. In this book, they teamed up to share the story of her unshakeable commitment to love him and guide him through his challenges.

I loved this book. I have a feeling I will revisit it. The window into the mind of the child, through Nathan's retelling, was so touching. I think it would be worthwhile for any parent to read, regardless of whether or not their child has been labeled as "different," because it gives the reader a chance to grow in empathy.

Meanwhile, the story of Sally's heroic mothering and unconditional love amidst many challenges is so inspiring. It's a clarion call to loosen expectations, and just love without counting the cost -- a lesson we all could use.

6. Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
This beautiful book will likely stay with me forever. It is the story of one woman's life, from childhood to old age, and her steady unwavering commitment to family, home and the community to which she belongs. As I read it, I recalled a debate I witnessed between friends of mine who are married. The husband wondered aloud, "Why read a 400 page novel to digest some truth that St. Thomas Aquinas can communicate in a single page of the Summa?" To this, she responded, "What about beauty?"

Indeed.

Hannah Coulter communicates the beauty of faithful love, the dignity of hard work and sacrifice, and the poignancy of loss, far more convincingly than any philosophical text, because it does so through an inspiring, yet attainable, example of a woman. It is the most moving novel I have read in my adult life.

7. Kingfishers Catch Fire by Rumer Godden
The main character in this novel could almost be a foil to Hannah Coulter. For every time that Hannah shows her dedication to her family, her wisdom in motherhood, her love of her husband, Sophie shows her feckless immaturity. She is a woman with high hopes completely ungrounded in reality.

Rumer Godden is a master story-teller; I devoured In this House of Brede, hence I decided to get this from the library. Her character portyals are so vivid and complex. The way she demonstrates Sophie's pathetic attempts to create a sense of home and stability for her uprooted children, and how her children respond to it, is masterful.

I must tell you, though, that this novel is dark. Watching her undoing and that of her children was more than just merely painful to read at times. It drove home many of the same themes as Hannah Coulter but from an opposite angle. If you love probing thought-proving stories with darker themes, this would be a worthy choice.

8. Under Pressure by Carl Honore
This examines the desecration of childhood by means of over-scheduling, over-testing, over-emphasizing academic performance far too early, and its effect on children. I felt a bit like Honore was preaching to the choir as I read it. But I found it fascinating peering into the lives of parents who obsessively micromanage their children's lives. Likewise, I loved reading about amazingly successful school systems in other nations that take a thoroughly unorthodox approach; it confirmed my belief in children's need for free play.

9. Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
This book was so eye-opening, so helpful, I can't recommend it enough. It examines the process by which we form habits, how to make habits stick and so forth. It's a real page-turner, which isn't always true of non-fiction for me. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book.