52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week...ummm...10?

This is what happens when it takes me longer than a week to finish a book. I lose all track of everything. I *think* the rest of the people doing this challenge are on week 10.  I guess I too am on week 10, but on book 8. (blush)

Can I count all the research I've done this week about homeschooling curriculum -- trying to decide if I want to buy Tapestry of Grace for next year -- as a book? Or two? ;-)

Not sure what I'll do next - the oh so interesting titles on my nightstand are things like The K and W Guide for Colleges for Students With Learning Disabilities and How to Ace the Catholic High School Entrance Exams. Fun!!

Here's the list so far:

8. Dracula by Bram Stoker (I really liked it Jennifer, thanks for recommending it!)

7. The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister
6. the kindle version of Organized Simplicity: The Clutter Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider
5. Extreme Makeover by Teresa Tomeo
4. Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn (Dummy, because apparently we aren't gluten intolerant, lol!)
3. Made To Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
2. Gluten Free, Hassle Free by Marlisa Brown
1. The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism by Megan Hart


Sorry for this yawner of a post. 

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 7

It was a kindle kind of week again, read while at several dentist appointments -- this week I finished The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister.

I really want a fiction title next, preferably a classic I can get for free for the kindle...any suggestions for this sad, tired mama?


Past books:
6. the kindle version of Organized Simplicity: The Clutter Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider
5. Extreme Makeover by Teresa Tomeo
4. Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn (Dummy, because apparently we aren't gluten intolerant, lol!)
3. Made To Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
2. Gluten Free, Hassle Free by Marlisa Brown
1. The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism by Megan Hart

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 6

Because I just don't feel like writing a review for every book I read (i.e. I'm not very good at it and never have any idea what to say) I'm going to start a list and add to it when I finish a book.

I force myself to do oh so many things, I just don't want to force myself to write a book review when I don't want to. Feel free to ask any questions you like about the books I've read - I don't mind that at all, just don't know how to pull a review out of thin air (i.e. that stuff inside my head, lol)

So here is my list of books read so far in 2012.

This week's book:

6. the kindle version of Organized Simplicity: The Clutter Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider

Past books:

5. Extreme Makeover by Teresa Tomeo
4. Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn (Dummy, because apparently we aren't gluten intolerant, lol!)
3. Made To Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
2. Gluten Free, Hassle Free by Marlisa Brown
1. The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism by Megan Hart

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52 Books in 52 Weeks - Week 5

I see I'm getting a wee bit behind here!

Last week's book for the 52 week challenge was Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ, Not Conformed to the Culture by Teresa Tomeo

From the Amazon book description:

Popular radio host Teresa Tomeo knows from experience that the self-image of American women is being distorted by pop culture. With its emphasis on youth, physical beauty, and sexuality, the secular media is encouraging women--and girls--to see themselves primarily as sex objects. 

A professional TV and radio journalist, Tomeo pulls together the latest research on social behavior and trends in order to demonstrate that women are harming themselves and their chances for true happiness by adopting the thoroughly modern, sexually liberated lifestyle portrayed in magazines and movies. Packed with not only persuasive statistics but also powerful personal testimonies, Extreme Makeover shows that it is not the slogans of the sexual revolution and the women's liberation movement that free and dignify women, but the beautiful teachings of the Catholic Church.

I feel a little too beat up after the last week or so of news regarding Komen, PP, Obama's requiring Catholic institutions to go against their consciences, etc, to get into this one too deeply here. I do recommend that Catholics and non-Catholics alike read this book.  She was preaching to the choir here, however, as I had already "pull out of the media" years ago.  Seriously, it's hard to see just how blinded you are until you stop reading women's magazines, stop watching commercial TV, etc.

For more reviews (and better! I am sure! LOL) visit Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks!

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 4

I can't believe I made it to week 4, lol!   I *do* read, constantly, but I'm usually reading catalogs, or articles from a magazine, facebook statuses, or seven tenths of a book ;-) and can't really post on that or review.

This week's book is hopefully my last gluten free book review, because honestly, I'm tired of it!

Living Gluten Free for Dummies by Danna Korn was right up my alley.  In true "dummies" style it covers all the basics of a subject, delving off into more complicated topics here and there.  This book talks about everything from emotional difficulties when you or your child is diagnosed with celiac, to shopping and cooking strategies, identifying symptoms of gluten intolerance and getting diagnosed, recipes and more. The link above (to the book on Amazon) has a 'search inside' feature where you can see the table of contents and parts of the book.  The short sections are just long enough to keep my ADHD brain interested, while being long enough to explain what they need to.  

I only have two small complaints, and one may be because I have 14 years experience with kids with food allergies -- the author states that it's essential to eat NO gluten (none, nada, not even a trace!) if you have celiac disease, and there are places where she seems to stand by that, but there are other times where her explanations of how to stay "safe", like at a restaurant, leave me a little nervous.   The second was her more than occasional reference to how she doesn't like cooking much, and to her it's best to find a way to just open up a box or use a mix...but oh, someone else tried these recipes and they actually work so here they are! LOL.   I guess that's very down to earth and most people only dealing with celiac (as opposed to celiac plus other allergies or cooking needs)  can appreciate that.  Coming from where I'm coming from, I didn't.

BUT, I think this book was great to read if you need to know about gluten free living, cooking, and parenting, my complaints are small compared to the great amount of knowledge shared in the book.

For more book review links, visit Robin at Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks!

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 2

Second in line in my stack of gluten-free reading was Gluten Free, Hassle Free by Marlisa Brown, RD, CDE.   Marlisa has a website at Gluten Free Easy.

Gluten Free, Hassle Free contains chapters on celiac disease and testing, the basics of getting started eating gluten free, some basic starter meal plans and foods that are generally safe (and not) when shopping, and dealing with your feelings, and important nutrition factors to remember when going gluten-free,  among others. There are extensive lists of gluten free websites and samples of diet cards in many languages (i.e. something you can take into a restaurant that describes what you can and can't eat).  The recipes do not look too finicky, but they are dairy/egg heavy so many don't work for us without substitutions -- which I hate doing, because taking an allergen free recipe and making it *more* allergen free, in my experience, leads to something not half as appetizing as the original.  YMMV.

This is not a book I plan on buying, but it would probably be great for someone who only needs to give up gluten, and who hasn't had extensive practice shopping/eating allergen free already. Unlike me. We figured out the other day that we've been cooking allergen free for almost 14 years now.

To participate or see more book review links, visit Read 52 Books In 52 Weeks.

(Standard disclaimer: my links go to Amazon and I get a tiny kickback if you buy anything. Maybe in a year I'll make enough to pay for one bag of gluten free flour, lol!)

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: WEEK 1

For my first, and hopefully not *only*, week of "52 Books in 52 Weeks" I read The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism by Megan Hart, MS, RD, and Kim Lutz.

Now, I don't have children with autism, but I knew that the diet the authors would be discussing would be free of gluten and casein, which we are trying to avoid (for allergy and other reasons). So I picked this book up at the library along with a stack of similar titles.

The first fifth of the book or so contained helpful advice on cooking for and feeding an autistic child, although it did seem cursory as I'm sure is necessary to encompass such a big topic in 40 pages.  The rest contained recipes broken down into: baked goods, soup, breakfast, salads/slaws, entrees, vegetarian entrees, sandwiches and snacks, sides, vegetable sides, desserts, and odds and ends.

Overall the recipes seemed simple and straightforward -- great for busy moms of special needs kids!  Not *too* many exotic ingredients -- I would say almost none if you don't include xanthan gum and "gluten-free, casein-free" versions of normal pantry items like margarine, soy milk, tofu, mayonnaise.  There were a few mentions of "agave nectar"  I was also especially excited to see that many of the baked good and desserts did NOT contain eggs, which we also need to avoid.   Recipes were high in soy (as is typical in casein free cookbooks), but not overwhelmingly so. Since we also try to limit soy due to intolerance, I am hoping our typical substitutes (rice milk, dairy/soy free cheese, etc) will be sufficient. I enjoyed how the authors sprinkled helpful hints and informative facts throughout the recipes, such as the fact that tasting uncooked batter containing xanthan gum might taste bitter, but the bitterness disappears with cooking. I didn't know that and appreciate the warning!

I will admit, I have not tried to make any of the recipes yet -- I've been too busy reading books on going gluten free to actually cook anything new and exciting.   I'll need to pick out a few good ones before I return it to the library. At $6 and change at amazon, I may actually buy it.  Those of you who know me IRL know that is a big deal, lol! (I never buy cookbooks and look everything up on the internet instead)

I'll save any sort of "rating" of the book until I've tried some recpies!

For more fun, join us at 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

Disclaimer: Yes, my links go to Amazon.  In a good year I make a whopping $5 or so, if I'm lucky, on kickbacks, so feel free to click through or not.  You won't make or break our budget, lol. :)

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52 Books In 52 Weeks

Would you like to join us in reading and discussing 52 books in 2012?  Here is a Mr. Linky where you can sign up.  I was hesitantant to attempt this again next year, after crashing and burning in only JANUARY the last time I signed up.  But I was assured that it is OK to not review each book, it was OK to read fluff ... basically if it was a book meant for at least 9-12 years old and up it was good enough (within reason of course).

As I have blogged before, I have a stack of "How to Go Gluten Free" books on my dresser. These are mostly half advice/half cookbook type books.  It's going to have to do for the 52 Books challenge because I don't think I can fit in another type of book each week on top of those, which must get read post-haste.

Check out the rest of Robin's 52 Books In 52 Weeks Blog to see how things went last year.  And thanks Robin for hosting this, I hope I am up for the challenge this time!!

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Book #3

Finally, a book I can plow through in a weekend. :) My kind of book in this stage of my life. I found Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange to be a fun, entertaining look into the mind of Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice fame. I'm sure it helps that I have been enamored by all things Pride and Prejudice lately. The language is a bit more modern than the original Pride and Prejudice (except for the large portions of actual text taken from P&P when quoting dialog). My only beef was the constant switching from past tense to present, due to it being a diary format where he was talking of past events (in past tense) and then simultaneously quoting the dialog of the event (in present). It made my head spin. I also don't think it would be the best stand alone book - a person would get MUCH more out of it had they read the original Pride and Prejudice first.

I guess it's not a "classic," and I am no real book critic, but I liked it. :)

For more on this book challenge, visit Robin's site: Read 52 Bookks in 52 Weeks.

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52 Books in 52 Weeks: Week 2

Notice how I didn't say BOOK 2. This week we are going to practice new math: When does 1/2 + 2/3 + 1/3 + 1 + 1 = 1? When I am trying to convince myself that finishing 1/2 of one book, 2/3 of another, and 1/3 of a third book is equal to reading one whole book, because I actually watched movies of one of the books. Twice.

Hey, this is my world and I can make up the rules.

I started Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.. I just. couldn't. do it. Dropped that one half way through. A combination of a classic, wordy book and a distracted and tired brain just weren't a good combination.

So of course I learned my lesson and went on to a much different book. Pride and Prejudice! (I'm being sarcastic). I made it through 2/3 or so before I had to take it back to the library. But see, this one counts, because I watched both the BBC and the A & E movie versions of the book. ;-) I'm actually inspired to read the book again, because seeing it played out on screen has given me a deeper appreciation for what the characters were getting at with some of the dialogue, and where I missed some sarcasm.

Anyway, several half books and 2 movies later, I picked up The Resilient Child by George S. Everly. It's a quick read, but it's reading more like the start of a book than a full work. Lots of bullet points, not enough meat for me. I need someone to tell me how to do something, or at least give nice examples, when they say "do this." Then again, I'm only about half way through so that could change. I do not think I will chose this book to finish for next weeks 52 Books challenge, though. I'd like to pick something I can actually finish and review! What a concept!

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52 in 52: Book #1 - Simplicity Parenting

Hey, I finished book #1 before week #1 is actually over! Be quiet all you over there who know I started it in mid-December.

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne is about simplifying the life surrounding your children - their environment, daily rhythms, schedules, and filtering out the adult oriented world (news, mature topics, etc). Payne is a Waldorf educator and parent counselor, and I can really see the "Waldorf way" shine through this entire book. I think it is an excellent book for a non-Waldorf parent to learn how to reduce the amount of toys, books, and activities surrounding your child(ren) - however, if you have read many books on Waldorf style parenting already, this is nothing new. That being said, the book contains good examples of how and why to simplify your parenting lifestyle, and is an enjoyable read. A plus for me was that it took the Waldorfy-way of parenting and removed it from the "spirituality" (Anthroposophy) of Waldorf/Steiner education, which as a Catholic I have trouble with. So it was nice to be told the underlying benefits of rhythm and simplicity for my children, without being told it must be related to something anthroposophic. A nice intro into simplicity for mainstream parents.

I give it 4 stars. :)
****

If you enjoyed this garbled, overwordy review, there will hopefully be another next week on Sense and Sensibility. ;-)

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52 Books in 52 Weeks

I've joined the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge for 2010. Because I'm pretty sure I'll never finish 52 books in 52 weeks, I'm blatently cheating starting early. So far I'm about 60 pages into Sense and Sensibility.

I was thinking I would read Pride and Prejudice next -- mostly because I took it out of the library, it being right next to Sense and Sensibility ;-) -- but dh just sat down next to me to read aloud from The Princess Bride, and I know I will have to wrestle that one from him and my dd before too long.

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