Books Read in 2009

My goal for 2009 was to read 2 books a month! I far exceeded my goal! I know that I read 35 books, but I can't remember all of them. Below are ones that I remembered. Some I recommend, some I do not. My goal for 2010 is to read another 35 books! (and this year I promise to write them down!)


Homer's Odyssey (*****) What a fantastic Book!!! This is a TRUE story about a blind cat that no one wanted, was adopted, and ended up saving a young womans life on more than one occasion! The cat scared away a burglar!!! This is one of my new favorites. Read the book, and think outside the kitty litter box so to speak. Even if you aren't an animal lover, you can learn something! Compassion for those smaller and weaker. Strength for those of you that don't want to roll out of bed in the morning! If Homer can live a happy life, so can you! I laughed and I cried reading this book. The GOOD thing....Homer is alive and at a healthy 13 years of age. Read the book and visit Homer's Human's blog here.

Knowing God (*****) Fantastic Book, Must Read!! What an amazing author, I would recommend any book by him!

Hard To Believe (*****) Fantastic Book, Must Read!!

Don't Make Me Count to Three (*****) By Far THE BEST Parenting book I have ever read!!! And if you know me, you know I've read them all! If only they would have taught this in all my child development classes in college!!

Shepherding The Child's Heart (*****)

What's The Difference (**) No Photo Available

Helicopters, Drill Sergent's and Consultants (**)

Mommy, Teach Me (***)

Diners, Drive Ins and Dives (**) The recipes included aren't that great.

That's My Son (****)

Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible (**)

The Birth Order Book (**) I studied Birth Order when getting my Bachelors degree....I was hoping to learn something new. It is a good book if you are new to birth order, but if you have studied it before, you won't need this one.

Look Me in The Eye, My Life With Aspergers (****)

Parenting with Love and Logic (***)

Total Money Makeover (**) Not that I didn't like this book, but if you read any Dave Ramsey book, you'll get the idea, no need to keep buying his books. GREAT plan that DOES work!

What in the World is Going On? (***)

The Beloved Disciple (*****)

Don't Lose the Wonder (**) Another old one.

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Strong Willed Child (*****)

Dare to Discipline (****)

Parenting From the Pew (**) Not sure I agree with all of it, but will be good for those parents that have perfect angels that can sit for long periods of time. IF you have a strong willed child or a child with ADD or ADHD, don't bother with this book.

Simple Church (*****) Good book, not sure I agree with everything, but I agree that "church" as we know it today is not what God intended.

The Five Love Languages of Children (*****)

Emotions, Can you Trust them (*****) This is an older book and I was surprised by how good it was!

House (***) By one of my most favorite Christian authors! Not his best work, but good.

Have a New Kid By Friday (***)

Discovering God's Purpose For Your Life (**)

Sorry, no photo available.

The Shack (Disgusting book, don't read) IF you want to know why, let me know. I could write an entire blog entry as to why NOT to read this book. I'm amazed by how many Christians LOVE this book and by how many of my churched friends recommended this to me. I'm not putting a link or a photo, I cringe thinking someone might actually click on it and order it!

Love and Logic for Early Childhood (***)

Parenting isn't for Cowards (***)

Love and Logic Tickets to Success (*)

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Bringing up Boys (*****)

Monster

I'm so behind in my blogging it's not even funny!! Here is a another book that I read in January from one of my favorite authors, Frank Peretti. IMHO it wasn't as good as his others. It seemed as if there were way too many characters to keep up with. Still, it was a good book and I would recommend it....and you know I'm not too much of a non-fiction reader...but I LOVE Peretti. The great thing about him, is he sucks you into his books quickly!! It was an easy read and I think it only took 3 nights or so to read it.

Don't judge a book by its cover...

Don't judge a book by its cover....except this one!!!

It was time for another "easy reading" book for me. I saw this on the "recent release" shelf at my local library. I saw the cover and knew I had to read it. And I'm so glad I did. This is a story of a grossly abandoned dog, Issy. Issy, a pure bread Border Collie, "lived" on a 3 acre fenced in area with a small dog house. He was fed by a local farmer that would stop by on occasion after his "family" just up and moved. For YEARS Issy would run up and down the fence line until he literally had a 2-foot trench that he ran in. Jon Katz, a writer. photographer, and animal lover, "adopted" him. Katz has a menagerie of rescued animals on his farm...my favorite is a bull named Elvis, if you read this book, you'll love him too!! You can look at the farm here and be sure to take a look at his wonderful photo album!!

NOW Issy is a Hospice volunteer!!! If you know and love animals, you know they have a sense about them. Jon did an amazing job at bringing Issy's story to life and relating to the reader the special bond that they share. This book relates how both Issy and Jon helped each other journey through their mental illness struggles, both coming out on top. I enjoyed this book so much that I can't wait to read another Katz book. So, sometimes it IS ok to judge a book by its cover!!

I'm seriously excited about making another trip to the library to get another Katz book!!! If you love photography be sure to check out his website where you can check out his fascinating farm journal (blog).

Pat Tillman

WOW! This is probably one of the best books I've read in a while.

If you are a football fan, you know who Pat Tillman is. Trying to get your husband to read more, this may just be the book to get him started.

This book stirred up every emotion possible. I can't imagine what this family has gone through and I admire them for putting this down in a book. One question remians...vast government conspiracy and cover up that points all the way to the top...... or horrible accident......read it and decide for yourself.

Dare to Discipline

Whooee, I'm on a reading role! I have just finished Dr. James Dobson's The New Dare to Discipline. This is such a great parenting resource. This book has tips for any age child and he does a great job discussing different methods of discipline. This book is for parents AND teachers!! I love Dr. Dobson , if you couldn't tell already, and have a great admiration for him and for his constant love of children and our Lord. You can check here for his recent broadcasts, there may be one in your area.

Dewey

Sometimes I like a book that is just a nice, feel-good, kind of story. Well "Dewey" is just that book. If you are an animal lover and a book lover then this book is for you!!! It's a short story of a library cat that changed an entire town. Dewey lived for 19 years at the Spencer Public Library in Spencer, IA. And yes, I did have to get a box of Kleenex for the last few chapters.

Click his picture and it will take you to Amazon.com

Bringing Up Boys

I love to read. However it has taken me MONTHS to read Bringing Up Boys by James Dobson. For example, in the past month, I have had a miscarriage and have been battling Vertigo and a horrid sinus infection for 2 weeks. So reading, has not been on the top of my list. Thankfully, I finished the book today.

If you have children, you undoubtedly know that boys are different. Not better or worse than girls, just different. They just seem to have their own set of challenges and lets not forget joys. "Boys will be boys"..."Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails"...."Don't worry he's just a boy". Are all constant reminders of differences.

Our son, Mason, has been the biggest joy of my life! I love how he loves to learn, he gets so excited by seeing the moon in the daytime. Trying to catch bubbles can provide hours of fun and laughter. Watching a worm slither on top of the grass is awe inspiring. How sad is it that we all grow up and seem to lose that great curiosity and wonder of life in the world and nature around us. I'm so thankful that I have Mason to "remind" me almost daily of all the wonderful things life has to offer us.

Parenting a boy...especially those "active" ones can be a challenge and a great blessing at the same time. If you are having behavior problems this book is for you. If you are not having behavior problems this book is for you as well!! James Dobson does a great job with this book and I will now recommend this book to anyone I know that will be having a boy. Anyway, if you have a son....will have a son...or have a boy in your life -- whether you are an aunt, uncle, grandparent, friend, etc. This book is for you. It's an easy read and provides us a glimpse into a little boys (of all ages) world and how to protect them and parent them while protecting their God-given strengths.

Here are some websites for you to check out on this book as well.
http://www.bringingupboys.com/

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/