October TBR and Reading Challenge

    Today has been a very hard day. I feel completely drained of all emotion and energy. Guess what I usually like to do when I am having a hard time? I like to participate in what we call escapism. I usually do this by getting into a new book and not leaving it until I feel better. However, this time I am not permitting myself this negative habit. Instead I am allowing grief and sorrow to work itself out in a healthier way and simply finding quiet time here and there to sneak in some reading.

    This month, one of my favourite booktubers has a fun readathon to participate. It has been my guide to which books I'll pull off my shelf to read this month.   

    Each prompt that she gives can be done either physically while reading any book or by reading a book that somehow fits the prompt. This sort of thing just made me get so excited. I went to my shelf and found what I felt like might just be the perfect pile for this month.

Rainy day: The Thursday Murder Club- Richard Osman

    I chose this one so I could enjoy the humor while listening to the rain falling outside. It has nothing to     do with rain as far as I know. 

Fireplace: The Splendor Before Dark- Margaret George

    This is all about Nero and we all know what he did with fire.

With a blanket: Little Black Book- Kate Carlisle

    This book has a blanket on the cover and is a cozy mystery so both things work for this prompt.

Under the trees: The Giver- Lois Lowry

    The cover of this book has tree branches all over it.

Fresh baking: A Killer Edition- Lorna Barrett

    The cover is plastered in fresh baking in a kitchen.

In the dark: Shadow and Bone- Leigh Bardugo

    The word shadow refers to darkness.

On a hike: Welcome Home- Travels in smalltown Canada- Stuart McLean

    A travelling book is much like a hike.

Drinking tea: Emma- a modern retelling- Alexander McCall Smith

    In the British classic tradition they always drank tea. I also have been enjoying a lovely tea while           reading this one.

Of course these are subject to change but this is the plan for this months reading.
How about you? Looking forward to any good books this month? 

Jerry Bridges

Another book complete and well worth the time. Not that it took long at all. I never wanted to put it down. 

This practical book gives many ways to see where you fall into the same traps of sin and how to fight to be holy. To have the correct balance of faith and hope but also personal effort in gaining holiness.

The very final paragraph of the book says:

Surely He has not commanded you to be holy without providing the means to be holy. The privilege of being holy is your, and the decision and responsibility to be holy is yours. If you make that decision, you will experience the fullness of joy which Christ had promised to those who walk in obedience to Him.

A highly recommended read from my point of view. I have his following book, The Pursuit of Godliness, which I plan on picking up next.

If you chose to pick this one  up, you will not  be disappointed.

7 Toxic Ideas Polluting Your Mind

I finished a book!!! 

It really is an accomplishment. Celebrate with me.

This book takes seven ideas that we have taken in our society and changed them from God's view to our own. He dissects what the bible tells us about subjects such as consumerism, relativism and materialism and how we change these truths to fit better with what we want.

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and cohesive from start to finish. It has practical questions to ask oneself as a bit of an examination and it is a book I know I would read again.

Thank you Anthony Selvaggio!

A Christmas Read

A fun, dark and fantastical story or who Kringle is and where he came from.

I really enjoyed this read but am very thankful I stopped myself from reading it out loud to the boys without having read it first. I'm thinking it is a bit scary for young ones.

The Forgotten Garden

Tara lent me a couple of books and suggested I started reading this novel first. I have to say, I was not disappointed in the least.

I loved every minute of the book. I wanted to try and solve the mystery as I was reading ( I actually managed to solve some of it and was quite impressed with myself). I found Kate Morton's writing a style that was readable and enjoyable.

It follows the lives of several different ladies in different generations and how their stories tie them all together. There wasnt one story I prefered over the other. Each person was someone I was attached to and eager to learn more about.

If you enjoy fantasy and mystery with a little history worked in, I think you would really enjoy this book. I think I will be hitting the library soon in search of more of her books. I am a fan.

Thanks Tara.

The Hidding Place

For Christmas this year my mother-in-law bought me this book. Inside she wrote a little inscription (which is a wonderful habbit they have with giving books) and mentioned that it was a part of our childrens heritage and one that should be shared with them.

Believe it or not, I had never read this book before. I have read quite a few books about the war. Some true, others historical fiction. All very touching and real.

This book was no different. I loved every bit of it. It was written by the main character and she told of her family and there involvement in the war in Holland agains the occupying Germans. I was atonished at Betsy. A Character that almost seemed angelic. I feel as though I could never live life the way she did. Her outlook on life was always through Gods eyes. She always spoke about the enemy the way Corrie would speak of the victims.

I wasnt able to put the book down. It is a beautiful book.

What was convenient too is that my sister had ordered the movie from the library some time ago and so once I was done reading, we popped the movie in and watched it. It wasnt the same as the book (most movies arent) but I thought it was interesting because Corrie Ten Boom is actually at the end of the movie telling you that that was her story. So much of it is different from the book that it made me wonder who had taken what liberties. None of it ultimately mattered. It was still an amazing story of Gods power and the strength of prayer and faith.

Here is the trailer for he movie if you havent yet seen it.



This book is a must read. dictated through a voice that held no hate or anger but love and compassion. If you havent read it, go pick it up. I am certain you wont be able to put it down until the book is done.

Shopping Anyone?

That is, from 1921.

Children:Underwear:Fashion:
Country loyalty:

Found in our floor and is a wealth of enjoyment to look through.

Floor Documents

Here's a newspaper Dave found and a few fantastic imaes from it.






While flipping through it I noticed chapters. I had forgotten that in the past, many books and stories were published through articles in the paper. How neat!

Pregnancy Etiquette- 1966

* One should tell others they are pregnant only when it becomes obvious. Not meaning when you are showing but when you need to decline "a ten mile hike, or get caught in a spell of upchucking on the job, it's better to be frank than to evade the issue and leave people wondering."

*If you are working, you must tell you boss, especially if your job requires someone to be trained. And be sure to tell your family and friends and not let them hear it through the grape vine. Casual aquantances can just find out when you dawn the first maternity outfit and "you wont have to say a word."

*You should start wearing maternity clothes when all your other clothes are uncomfortable. Wearning them too early is unflattering.

*If someone asks you for a list of people to invite to your shower, give them the names of your family and close friends.

"A baby shower is should be casual and informal- not an occasion for inviting a lot of people of mere acquaintances."

And remember you shoudl never do anything at your shower. You are the guest of honor.

*Your doctor should be very close since they will be your support for nine months.

"He will be a teacher, councelor, and general wailing wall".

You should interview doctors and if in te first few months you dont think they are right for you, tell them frankly and choose another one. Do not switch in the final months.

*"Make yourself pretty and your condition as inconspicuous as possible." You may continue to do all the things you enjoy just to a lesser degree.

* Dont talk about "your condition". People dont want to hear about it. Sometimes a neighbour will listen happily but be careful because they might be using you so they can talk about their own stories.

* Dont talk of "your condition" in fron of children. You might like to teach your children about what is real but you cannot teach that to others children.

*When your due date is close, stay home. No one wants to worry about you going into labour and having to rush you to the hospital.

*Send out birth announcement as soon as you can after the birth and thank you letters for gifts.

"a few extra touches, such as a box of chocolates for the girls on the maternity ward, notes or thank you's for special courtesies, mark you as a thoughtful person."

*Finally, empahsize the good and play down the bad.

"At this time when you are so very much a woman, you will want to be every inch a lady."

Safety Musts For Car Travel- 1966

1. Parents should always check doors and windows before leaving the house. They should all be locked and child should be taught never to put their hands on the handles. Most new cars now come with these safety back door locks and if not, a dealer can easily install some.

2. Safety belts are not just for adults but everyone in the car. a very young child should use harnesses to arrange the belt safely around the child. it should go around their shulders, chest, waist and pelvic region but still allow the child to turn and stand. (!) Infants should be in a carseat but be certain to find a good one. A baby should be in a travel bed with straps that you can secure in the car using an adult safety belt.


3. Many children like to stand in the front seat where they can see the road but this is very dangerous. A sudden stop could throw the child. (really?) A young child is safest in the back where there is more padding.

4. Teach your children not to play with the dashboard. Also no child should ever be left in the car alone. They are too curious and might manage to ram the can into something like a tree or burn themselves on the lighter.

5. Comfort is important because children are more likely to stay in their seats and quiet thus staying safe. If on a long journey, using the crib mattress is a good idea so the child can sleep (!)

"A standard size crib mattress fits neatly in the back of most cars, flush with the back of the front seat. When sleepy, the child can lie down on his own comfortable bed without danger of falling onto the floor."

6. Dont give your child a treat on a stick.

7. No big toys in the car. They should be light and made of plastic of rubber. No balloons!

8. Never leave sharp or heavy objects on the back window. They could fall and injure.

9. Dont bring children into open convertible

10. Stop the car and pull over when dealing with a crying or tantrum throwing child.

Toilet Training From 1966

One of the magazines Dave found in our floor was a parenting magazine from the 60's (Your New Baby). This, I thought, would be loads of fun to read and see what they had to say. So, I will devote a few posts to different ideas from that time and magazine.

The first idea is as the title tells you, toilet training. I have to say, right away I was fan of this author.

"Contrary to many popular opinions, a baby is not capable of being toilet trained until he is about 18 to 21 months of age..."

The author believes that those children who use the toilet earlier than this are not trained but that the mother is trained. And since the mother is the one who has to remind the child and remember herself to put her child on the toilet it becomes a reflex for the child.

"He develops a conditioned reflex which makes him strain to empty his bladder or bowel every time he feels the ring of the toilet seat around his buttocks."

He goes on to express how unhealthy this is for the child because they no longer need to be responsible for knowing when they actually have to go to the washroom and thus soil and wet themselves when they are much older.

He claims that around 21 months you really should just have to tell your child about the toilet, let them try it out and they will likely be trained from that time on.

He also talk of how girls are easier to train because they only have to learn one bathroom position for both duties but also "girls wear dresses while boys wear pants." He also goes on to describe how winter is harder because boys have "training pants, long trousers with suspenders, an undershirt and a sweater to keep warm, he cannot possibly strip down fast enough by himself to do his duty."

Another opinion is that bed wetting should not be a worry until after the age of 4 since there are issues with weather and sweating. Apparently because a child sweats more in the summer they are less likely to wet the bed because they have less liquid in their system.

Now here is where I am very alarmed at his ideas. He mentions that you shouldn't try to potty train until your child has a regular bowl movement time. Im ok with that. However, then he said to help them understand doing their b.m in the toilet "use a daily soap or glycerine suppository for a few days to make sure that he will have his movement in the toilet."

Seriously???

That is just about it for the article. He suggests having a word for the duties (different for pee and poop but that are polite around company. "Perhaps you can come up with some dandy new ones. The important point is that both of you need to know what you are talking about."

I can just imagine:

Matthew do you need to go have a tulip? No? ok, do you need to do a rose? ya? ok lets go.

Ha ha ha!

Anyways, I dont find these ideas too different from today but I do love his language and his fervour.

" To me, it seems pretty small potatoes for a grown woman to boast that, by careful observation, she was able to learn that the baby evacuated at certani hours. That's not such an earth-shaking discovery is it?"

Oh, I love it.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I decided to start reading another book on my list as I wait for my book on systematic theology to arrive and I have to say, it was a good choice.

It started at the end, and from there to the beginning I was unable to put the book down.

It is so well written. It is about an old man who has lost everyone and dies. He meets 5 people on his way to heaven who want to each teach him a lesson to bring meaning into his past life. It is not a christian book so the ideas are very different but it brought tears streaming down my face three different times. You love this old man and your heart breaks for him but in the end, it is beautiful.

Its been a while since my emotins got so wrapped up in a character. I strongly recommend this book, if you can seperate truth from fiction in terms of theology. Its imaginative and it is very hard to put down.

The Far Away Tree Collection

I have decided that I am no longer so gung ho about doing the book reading plan I had started because I took a break from one book I was reading (and not enjoying at all) and read a christian book. It was so wonderful to read. It refreshed me and it felt worth reading.

I dont want to feel like I cant read other books that are not on the list so I decided that I will just read the ones that interest me or that I have on my book shelf and in between them I will read others as well. I will just read what I want, when I want.

I did want to read this children's series:
It is a series of 3 stories about a magical tree in a magical forest and you can climb to the top and find a different world waiting there every week.

It is very fantastical and very simple. I started reading it and thought I would hate it just because the way the language is I felt like they were writing for stupid people. Then as the story developed I becgan to love it. The charaters are fun and different, the places are original and it was a very easy read.

I dont know how easily you can find a copy of these stories. I had never heard of them before and they are old and from England but if you can, they are fun to read. Or you can borrow them from me. If you have any kids, they would love reading them or having them read. Something I do like is they are written with "hidden" lessons in them. So the child who is selfish gets in trouble for being just that...
If you choose to read it, enjoy!

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This is a collection of 12 short stories. Initially I thought it was just going to be a novel like The Hound of the Baskervilles but I was mistaken.

1. A scandal in Bohemia
In this short story you are introduced to Holmes and learn some previous vices of his. It is a captivating mission full of disguises and tricks. I enjoyed it very much.

2. The Red-Headed League
This short story involved a much larger crime but I didn't like it as much as the first one. I think maybe because it just seemed so odd... although I guess that can be the criminal mind; very creative.

3. A Case Of Identity
"...he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. "

I love that I can chuckle while reading! This was an interesting adventure. More disguises but I predicted the outcome right away.

4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
This story was very fun to read. A real murder and mystery. I still knew exactly who was to blame for it but I was not able to figure out how it would be proved. Obviously I am not a Sherlock Holmes. These stories are so much fun to read!

5. The Five Orange Pips
This story leaves you wishing it had an end. It begins by mentionning that some stories are too odd and do not have the outcome which you might desire. And so, this one is rivetting but I HATE not knowing the ending. My guess would be they faked their death. Who are they? You would have to read and find out.

6. The man with the Twisted Lip
This story is clever but not much in it is too different from some of the other stories. I still enjoyed it though.

7. The adventures of the Blue Carbuncle
A story that demonstrates the kind of man Sherlock Holmes is. Very clever and yet in solving the mystery and yet very forgiving when faced with genuine repentance.

8. The Adventure of the Specled Band
This story is the first one that hints at a supernatural cause and yet, because it is Sherlock Holmes, you know it has to be something real and tangible since that is what he is all about. A bit creepy since it is trying to make you think it is a spiritual thing.

9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
A severed thumb and human crushing... A very action packed tale.

10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
I am beinnging to see very common themes and outcomes in these stories.

11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
A real mystery trying to discover who stole the very precious jewels. SO many of these stories deal with people mysteries. It was neat to come back to one that had to do with thievery and figuring out how they did it and who it was.

12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
The series ends on a very good note for me. This last story, although I knew the just of it, kept me feeling uneasy the whole time because it dealt with imprisonment but was so vague that one couldnt guess the nature of what was going on (the imagination can be so much worse than the reality). I liked this story because it had more to it, in a sense than some of them.

So, another book down. And this one I really did enjoy. you can pick it up when you have a few minutes and put it down just as easily since you know you will be back to finish it not too long. Absolute opposite of Middlemarch!!!

Middlemarch

There isnt much left to say about this book except that I am finally done!

The only good part of the book was the last chapter which summarized the futures of various families. It was a terribly depressing book about failing marriages, broken hearts, lies and secrets and few happy moments. I suppose that was the point of the book though. To comment on those sorts of things and how they play out in small towns.

Im glad its done and really dont recommend it. Sorry to the author and all those who really enjoy classics. This is one I would recommend you not even dare to pick up.

Bridget Jones's Diary

I find it very interesting that this book was on the list of the books I am reading. However, I wont complain because it was a very easy book to pick up and put down. Moms need that kind of book since you rarely find time to read in a day.

It really is a funny kind of book if you like that kind of thing ( I really do). And using a journal format is always nice because it is so easy to read. If you feel like a fluffy read and something so easy then this might be one of those books.

I must admit, I was so set on finishing a book (since Middlemarch doesnt seem to even end) that I might not have enjoyed it as much as I could have. Also, I was usually somewhat distracted while reading.

The Little Prince

This story is an allegory of the human condition. It addresses issues like possessiveness, drunkness, conseit, selfishness, laziness, aimlessness, discontentedness. It was a really easy read and yet made you want to stop and think about what it was REALLY saying. I enjoyed it and have a couple of quotes that I like here for you.

"'Then you shall judge yourself,' answered the king. 'That is the most difficult thing of all. It is far more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then indeed you are very wise.'"
(so true!)

"It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
( the author focuse so much on all the people who focused on what they could see and yet never felt happy. Genuine happiness is not in our things but where we put our hearts.)

Life Of Pi

I started this book because I have been trying to make it through Middlemarch and am really struggling to enjoy it. So I thought it would be nice to take a brake from the older classics and read a more recent book.
At first I struggled to understand why this book was award winning. It was kind of boring and I was confused as to why any of the information given had any point. Then the second part of the book commenced and I couldnt put the book down. What a tale of adventure!
I would recommend this book to anyone. The beginning is a bit hard to read because it is all about religion and has some ideas in it that I dont agree with or enjoy, but they are real and still a bit interesting to hear about.

An indian boy, a tiger, hyena zebra and oran-utan... can you get more currious? Read it. Its good.

Emma

On starting this book I was really worried I would not be able to get through it. Chapters worth of conversations that would normally take a person two seconds to exchange and they just kept going and going. Wordier and wordier...

However, every time I put the book down, i looked forward to picking it up again to see just how close th emovie was to the book. Maybe not the best way to read a book but it worked.

Something that I really enjoyed was escaping into that time period. The formality of it, the language and the ways they enjoyed themselves... I just found I wanted to escape into that historical time and be in their loves instead of mine.

In the end, I have to say I enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable to pick up and put down again. I won't say that it was a "cant put it down" kind of book but I always did want to pick it up again.

Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

What a strange story. I knew the story but had never read it. Boy does it get even wierder when it is read. One really does have to wonder what was wrong with the author when he wrote this story. Sure it is very imaginative and... different but was it written without substance abuse? I really doubt it.

Dont get me wrong, I really enjoyed reading it and have even watched a version of it as a movie and thought it quite enjoyable (my sister thought it was much to creepy). It just goes to prove that reading the real thing is always different and usually better.

One thing that I was expecting and didnt see was Tweedle dee and Tweedle dum. I wonder if they are in Through the Looking Glass instead...