March was a pretty chaotic month for us. The first part was spent traveling and gearing up for/attending our local Youth 2000 conference. I taught many an essential oils class and Dave dove into his final push for the semester. A couple of weeks ago, I was left exhausted and in need of a quick blogging break, and that continued into Holy Week, since I typically try not to post during Holy Week.
While I’m happy to be back by your side, the downtime did allow me to reread some books I’ve loved in the past. Dave, like last month, says he regrets to inform you that he has not been able to finish a book this month, either. His offer to explain the ends and outs of conception, gestation, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period stands, however. 😉
What Does God Want? by Fr. Michael Scanlon
I’ll be writing more about this in an upcoming post about books on discernment, but let me go ahead and say here that this is a must read for everyone who ever has to make any sort of decision. So everyone, and that means you. Our family has some major decisions ahead of us, so I’ve been diving back into this gem for refreshment and advice. It’s so short and such an easy read. It’s a practical guide to making decisions, big and small, and what steps we can take to align our will with God’s will. Y’all, it is so beautiful and oozes truth and goodness and love of the Lord. Please read it.
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
This book is one that’s on my constant cycle of re-reads. I can never read it enough. Sometimes I will read through it with a particular person in mind (i.e. Dave, George, a good friend, my parents, my coworkers, etc.) to dig into how I can love them best. Other times, I read it with myself in mind to continue my quest to know myself better, so that I can better strive to become the person I was created to be. This book describes the five love languages, or the five basic ways most people give and receive love: quality time, physical touch, acts of service, gifts, and words of affirmation. Most of us give and receive love in predominately one or two ways. This book is the foundational guide to discovering your own love language and the love language of people in your life. Although I think an over-emphasis on love languages is a tad barf-worthy, I do find it immensely helpful in loving the people in my life in a way they better receive it.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
I began this last month and finally finished it. I admit, I struggled through the end. Not because Amy isn’t funny (she is), but the book was a bit long for me. She weaves her stories together beautifully, but there were times when I was praying the chapter would end so I could go to sleep. I do want to read another comedian book, and I’m interested in Jim Gaffigan’s, Tina Fey’s, and Mindy Kaling’s books.
God Gave Us You by Lisa Tawn Bergren
This is a sweet book in the series from this author where a mama polar bear explains to her baby polar bear the story of her little life. It’s just really precious and we love reading it to George before bed.
I Love My Daddy published by Hothouse
One of my favorite board books! It’s super short and is a great read if George is tired to the point of cranky and doesn’t want to sit through multiple books before bed. It makes me cry every time. It just does.
I’d love to know – what are your favorite baby books? I’m looking for some unique ones to get George for his birthday! What have you been reading lately? Let me know what should be on my list for next month! 😉
I really don’t have any memory if I’ve actually read the Fr. Scanlon book all the way through, perhaps just parts while I was standing in the bookstore, but because of all that you’ve already mentioned, I’ve always just seen it as less of an instructional, and more of a chapter into a time period (haha) and way of thinking/operating (his, specifically,) thus, a good read for everyone.
I don’t really like the Love Languages book, primarily, because mine, communication (of the direct variety) isn’t in it. More or less, the sun doesn’t shine brightly for me and I get anxious if I can tell someone is beating around the bush somehow or, waiting two weeks to tell me something ‘because they just didn’t know how to say it’ and they like, live with me, but in and of itself the book is super helpful in terms of helping people in their awareness of ‘languages’ and people. Like, looking beyond what might be already obvious.
I just started reading a random book I grabbed from the library’s British Lit section called ‘Long Live the King,’ by Mary Roberts Rinehart. I’m very hesitant in choosing fiction, because you get sucked into the author’s view of life … which can be bad, but so far (I’m on chapter 2) the story is hilarious and is involving a blonde child (boy) in the nursery, painfully sitting through an opera, while teasing (via non-verbal communication) his teenage cousin (girl.) It seems promising.
~ Clara
I read Mindy Kaling’s book in the airport a few years ago, and it ended up being really embarrassing because I was crying from laughing so hard! So just a warning if you pick up that one 🙂
I agree, Yes Please got a little longer than I liked. All three of the other comedies you mentioned are way better, in my opinion! I own Kaling and Fey’s, and they are both laugh-out-loud funny. I had to stop reading them both at night before bed because I was waking David up from laughing! Also, Jim Gaffigan’s was free to rent from my library on my Kindle.
Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling’s are quick reads! AND they are hilarious, I read them both on flights. Jim Gaffigan’s on my kindle for the next time I get a chance to read. I did finish Attachments by Rainbow Rowell in one day, I couldn’t put it down.
I think it’s finally time for me to pick up Yes Please. I LOVED Mindy’s book, such a light and enjoyable read! And the 5 Love Languages is a definite classic! It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, and I definitely need to re-read it now through the eyes of a married woman.
i felt the same way about amy poehler’s book, like it was wordy just for the sake of being wordy. so if you’re like me, you would like tina fey’s book more, it’s a little more succinct but just as funny (albeit in a completely different way, it’s kind of amazing the different ways they look at life given how similar they are comedically!). for george, this is a little spendy, but a coworker got this personalized name book for amelia when she was born, and while she isn’t into it yet at 7 months, it’s a lot of fun and i think it would be a good birthday book as a baby gets older and understands their name! http://www.iseeme.com/my-very-own-name-personalized-book.html?utm_source=my-very-own-name-personalized-book&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=googleproducts&gclid=Cj0KEQjwgI6pBRDak6aRovWNqLsBEiQA8zZSLkWpDTCEugh8d0SxdCoUah5CCNWitDzW2Dx5ZdSZYDIaAgZ48P8HAQ