From February to July, I took the time to write a little something about the books I read each month. I'm not sure why I stopped. I think partly because these posts are the most boring posts on my blog and partly because I just don't feel like I as much time to blog (one child is harder than two - at least when they are six or older).

I don't feel like I have much to blog about right now. I'm busy and happy with both girls home and it feels good to not be on the computer half the day. But, I thought it would be nice to review the books I have read since August.

August

Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster
The first time I read this book was in 1996. At the time I was reading a lot of books about simplicity and budgeting and being frugal. I even started to write a book on the subject, but it seemed like I was a year late to the game and I kept finding new books similar to the one I was writing.

I loved this book because it isn't just about living simply. It is about having a Christ-centered life and how simplicity follows from that (and how simplifying your life can bring you closer to Christ). I re-read it in August because I felt I needed that message again.

In July I read another book by Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline. I had read both books in '96 and when I read them before Freedom of Simplicity was the one that really resonated with me. While I enjoyed them both, this time Celebration of Discipline was the one that inspired the most change in me. When I read it ten years ago, the message seemed too extreme and too tough to tackle. This time it didn't.


Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Fabulous book. I hadn't read this since high school and thought it would be good to re-read. It was.

September

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I had a lot of recommendations to read this book. I really liked it, but I didn't love it. The writing was excellent, I cared about the characters, I liked the sense of Afghanistan that I got. I didn't like some of the obvious and/or convenient plot twists. Not sure it stood up to the hype, but it was a solidly good book.

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Another book that I read in high school and decided to re-read. Great book.

November

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
At night I would lie in bed and watch the show, how bees squeezed through the cracks of my bedroom wall and flew circles around the room, making that propeller sound, a high-pitched zzzzzz that hummed along my skin.

Fabulously written. I loved this story from magical beginning to lyrical end.

December

The Know-It-All by A. J. Jacobs
Really funny and sweet book. This book is written by a guy who decides to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. Each chapter is a letter of the alphabet. He shares funny stories about the stuff he learns about and his daily life.

I read the People's Alamanac Presents the 20th Century a couple of years ago, but that was 879 pages and the Encyclopedia is 33,000 pages.


Endurance by Alfred Lansing
The amazing voyage of a bunch of guys in the Antartic. This was a good book. It's one of those survival books that makes you glad that your socks are dry and your bed is warm.


The Book of Mormon
In August, the president of our church challenged us to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I finished on 12/31/05 at 11:40 pm. I should've been done about a week earlier, but I totally and completely forgot about reading the whole week before Christmas.