What Am I Reading in 2014?

February was an incredibly busy month and March is laid out to be even busier. Still, it has been nice to have a stack of books that I am eager to pick up in a spare moment. I usually have one sitting on the piano in the living area, and I find it easy to read a couple of pages when the children and chores are not demanding immediate attention. I am finding that the right reading material can actually inspire me to continue forward in my daily tasks.

 

So here is what I managed to read over the past month.

 

Loved, loved, loved this book. Tsh's style really grabbed me, and I was inspired by the vision of living intentionally. I appreciated the flexibility with which that vision was presented. How it looked for the Oxenreider family is fascinating, but I know it can and will look entirely different for the Mallery family. I am re-reading this more slowly.

 

So after reading her latest book, I decided check out her first book from the library. Definitely interesting to note how she has grown as a writer in the four year gap. I find this book helpful and so much better than "Large Family Logistics" which I had been reading. I would recommend "Organized Simplicity" above it for sure.

This was a book I borrowed from my sister and finally got around to finishing and returning. I think I may need to re-read it during a slower time of life.

I am still in the middle of this, but am reading it super fast. It falls into a similar category as "Notes from a Blue Bike" and I am totally enjoying the authors style. At times it seems like someone who is just thinking out loud about how to be happy.

I was given this book last fall, and while it was an easy and pleasant read, I am happy to reshelve it. While I would consider myself a definite Narnia fan, I become tired of constantly finding Christian references in the Chronicles. I am not denying they exist, but I just want to enjoy the stories the way I enjoy many stories. They provide wonderful examples to children of nobility, courage, and other attributes (which I believe all good children's literature should). When I introduce the books to my kids I want them to love them, because then the learning comes naturally. I don't intend to read them with a guidebook of character questions. So this was good book for those who need a jumping off point for deeper conversation.

 

There you have it! I am delighted to have covered so much ground over the past month-ish, and feel like I am getting into the reading groove again. I am trying to stick with books I want to read, rather than the ones I feel I should read. I have stopped a book or two because it was becoming an obligation rather than a joy. As a mother I do not have time to read something I don't really want to, and no one is forcing or expecting me to read anything. My reading should be helping, not hindering, my journey as a mother, wife, and woman.