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Sometimes it’s hard to even remember back to the DBK (Days Before Kids) when we would have time for a quiet afternoon of reading by the lake. I’ve found that now it takes considerable effort (or sheer negligence) on my part to clear time for reading. Tonight, by I delaying writing this assignment and ignoring the small mountain of laundry waiting to be folded, I was finally able to return to the novel I set down nearly a month ago. It was so refreshing for me to read big words and think big thoughts for a while.
Whether your personal reading happens steadily each day or in random snatches, we hope that everyone is finding some time in their lives for quality literature. (I include self-help books in that category–Sink Reflections is definitely a classic!) Please share those titles, along with your opinions of the books, both so we can get to know each other and get some good ideas for what to read next!
What books have you been reading lately? In what (positive) ways has your reading influenced your mothering overall?
P.S.–Don’t forget to check out the Brilliant Books section of this site as you make your reading selections! If you feel so inspired, we invite you to write a book summary/review of your recommended books for others to follow!
I read No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy not too long ago. It’s probably not for everyone–it is about a sociopathic killer, after all–but I loved it. It was an elegant, insight rumination on the reality of evil that questions if escaping it is possible and if confronting it is noble.
I guess it didn’t influence my mothering at all, but that’s probably why I enjoyed the time I spent reading it so much.
Oops, I meant to say “insightful” up there.
I just finished reading The Help. I learned a ton about what life was like in the South in the 1960s – had no idea that almost-slavery was still going on then! I thought about how sad it is that human beings often don’t treat each other well when they focus on differences rather than similarities. I also reflected a lot about what it would be like to have a cook/nanny/housekeeper show up and do my bidding every day. On the one hand, it would be lovely. On the other hand, I like having my home to myself and I feel that cooking and cleaning (while they certainly get old sometimes) are important and meaningful parts of my day as I do them with and for my husband and children. The article “What’s the Point of Housework” helped me realized that more.
I also read The House at Sugar Beach recently and learned a ton about life in Liberia when there were very distinct classes – everyone was black but being light black and not being strictly native to the area made you much more elite. I love learning about history and culture in different parts of the world. This book is a true story – quite powerful. Made me feel so grateful for the safety from fear and the security I enjoy in my life.
One of my favorites that I have read and re-read is a novel ‘Tending Roses’ by Lisa Wingate. It is a very easy, light read, yet full of insightful, profound thoughts of an aging grandmother as she looks back on her life as a young wife/mother. I often recall some of that advice in my mothering-especially the part she recalls (in essence) ‘The favorite most fulfilling part of her life was when she let her roses grow wild.’ Meaning…she had to focus her priorities, and tending a beautiful rose garden wasn’t the priority while her children were young… Excellent read.
As for when I find time to read, I only read a book every few weeks because I become so caught up in them, that for a couple of days, that’s almost all I do…
I try to read on my lunch breaks from work and here’s one I just finished recently.
“Color of Water: A black man’s tribute to his mother” by James McBride. It’s a true story and it’s a very good book. I would have to describe it as inspirational. It’s about James’ white mom raising a house full of children (that were not white) during the 60’s. She was a single mom and had to struggle to get ALL her children through life during a time when issues of race where extremly high. This is truly a story of how a mom’s true love for her children helped them get through the hurdles of life.
You HAVE TO read These Is My Words by Nancy Turner. I couldn’t put this book down! We read it in my book group and the review was the same for everyone. LOVED IT! It’s about a family that settles in the Arizona territory in the late eighteen hundreds. You just wouldn’t believe the stuff that happens to the main character Sarah Prines. You’ve got everything from Indians, to train robberies, to romance. If you love it just as much as I did, you’re in luck, there are two more written after that. I just finished the second one last night. It was great too.
I usually read after my kiddos go to bed at night before passing out myself. More often then not, the reading puts me to sleep. I also try to squeeze in time when they are napping.
I too loved These Is My Words. It’s a favorite.
I’ve finally started reading my mother-in-law’s favorites–mystery books by Mary Higgins Clark. Sometimes I feel like I only read non-fiction, so having a fun story to follow has made a difference for me in allowing me time to relax a bit at the end of the day.
The reading I do has completely shaped my motherhood. When I read inspiring literature and captivating stories, I have more ideas to share with my children, more teaching opportunities, and a clearer mind. Reading is just good for the soul!
(And I also add my five stars to These is My Words!)
Thanks for your comments, everyone! Right now I am reading Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton, and I am definitely glad I am reading it. I wouldn’t say “It’s the best book! Everybody has to read this!” probably because it’s not a “feel good” kind of book. But it is certainly worthwhile. Challenging to get into (I actually took careful notes on the first 30 pages just so I could keep track of the dozens of characters I was being introduced to) but it has beautiful language and stunning descriptions (the description of Mrs. Manson Mingott given in chapter four is some of the best writing I have ever seen!) It’s an interesting read as far as learning about the elite New York culture at the end of the nineteenth century. This is the stuff of Emily Post. I feel good while I’m reading it because it makes my brain work in a way it doesn’t usually have to. The novel is also full of little mirrors–I catch glimpses of myself in different characters such that I’m now thinking about life a little differently. So for all of these reasons, I would say, Go ahead, Read it!
Ok, presently (as I gnaw on my green beans) I’ve been reading Total Nutrition During Pregnancy by Betty Kamen. It is followed by a book she wrote (which I purchased a number of years ago) called Total Nutrition for Breast-feeding Mothers. They’re both a blast through the 80’s, yet contain invaluable research.
I’m sure, due to us living in Japan, my comments probably have crazy, middle-of-the-night times posted on them! I have never been a night person though. Going to bed as close to 8 PM and getting up around 4 AM gives me a chance to pray, do personal reading, and exercise before the troops are up. I remember reading once and thinking, if God sends wisdom as the dew, it’s probably a good idea to be awake “when the dews are forming.” Anyway, it gives me a good chance to read and reflect and face the day replenished.
I just finished reading Joy in the Morning, by Betty Smith (author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – I’m going to try and read that one next) It was refreshing to read a book about a woman who was happy, and tried her best to see the joy in all she did. I definitely enjoyed it.
I’ve always been a reader, but since having kids, I rarely check out books at the library for me because I never finish them. Here’s to hoping I will do this more often.
hmmm…I think that the last book I read was one of Joanne Fluke’s food mysteries. Does anyone else read her? I love the main character, Hannah Swensen, who owns her own cookie shop. Good characters, clean reading, a little romance, lots of murder mystery. All based on certain desserts. This last one was The Plum Pudding Murder. Just fun reading and she includes many recipes in each book. So, in this book there was a recipe for Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies. Oh my gosh! That definitely blessed my family. We love them! Also scored me some Mommy points.
Saren, I haven’t read The Help, but if you’re interested in a nonfiction account of slavery-like conditions in the South, I highly recommend Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon. It’s dense and disheartening (to say the least) but it completely transformed my understanding of American history. I say that with no hyperbole. I plan on having my children read it when they study American history in high school.