I’ve decided to start recording my readings on this blog as a way to finish processing what I read, and as a way to share good books. I’ve gotten lots of good book recommendations from other blogs, so I decided to try it too.
This month I read three nonfiction books and three children’s poem books. I like to keep up to date in the children’s literature so that whenever I decide to go back into teaching, I’ll be able to have the knowledge to help kids select books. Also, as a mom, I can help Elias choose books. After three nonfiction books, though, I am definitely ready for a fast paced fiction thriller, or something of the sort!
Here is what I read:
The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns
“Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.” – a prayer by Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision.
This book, written by the current president of World Vision seems to be launched from the above quote. The book will break your heart…but in a good way. It really is transformational in the way that it makes the reader see the world.
Stearns uses his own life experience to share how he came to see a hole in our gospel…the hole is basically the fact that the world’s richest do not help the world’s poorest as we are called. Think you’re not rich? Think again. An income of $50,000 makes you richer than more than 99% of the people in the world. (I don’t think I said that very well….but you get the idea…)
At the end he gives a list of ways to look further into helping the poor…which I think I will do. A great read….be ready to be changed.
Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
I have to admit that I tried reading this book once before about nine months ago. I abandoned it because I just didn’t know enough to really understand the book. All I knew about Cleopatra nine months ago was that she was an Egyptian Queen, and that she was for some reason connected with Mark Antony. I guess there was just a very large gap in my education there. The first time through I read to about the middle of the second chapter, and wasn’t retaining anything so I decided to come back to it another time.
After reading the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough, I had plenty of background information to read the Cleopatra biography. Cleopatra is a big character in the last two books of the series. Although the series is historical fiction, I learned a lot about that period by reading it. I decided to dive into the Cleopatra biography again.
I’m glad I gave this book a second chance! The author provides a lot of details about Cleopatra’s life as well as the people who surrounded her throughout her life. Schiff also talks about discrepancies between different ancient sources, and why one may be more correct than the other.
I am amazed at how influential and powerful Cleopatra became considering she was a woman sovereign in a world full of powerful men. Although she did eventually lose Egypt to Rome, she was for awhile ruling over a very large portion of land. (For awhile) she was loved by her people.
In the end it was her lust for power which undid her. Let us hope that does not become our country’s fate in this day and age.
Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein
When I saw that another book of Shel Silverstein poems was published, I was instantly interested. I once read that the most common book stolen from libraries is Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. For good reason! The poems are funny, serious, thought-provoking, a play on words, and much more. Luckily my mother-in-law kindly provided me with the book for Christmas!
This collection of poems was no different than the others. It was excellent. I had a few favorites…including one which jokes about toddlers making huge messes when they feed themselves. I have new perspective on that now since I am a mother. I can’t wait until Elias can enjoy poetry with me. (We read him poetry occasionally, but he doesn’t express much appreciation).
This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort Poems Selected by Georgia Heard
I like to read children’s books and poems to stay in the loop teaching-wise, and so that I will be able to share them with my son when he is ready. Georgia Heard is the author of the text I’ll be reading for my continuing education class so I thought I’d check out some of her other work at the library. I was drawn to this collection of poems because I thought it would have a wide variety of uses.
The book is a collection of poems chosen for the words and images of grief, comfort, and hope in memory of the September 11th attacks in New York City. They were chosen especially for the school children who witnessed terrifying events that day. Each poem is paired with an illustration which was inspired by that poem.
I would recommend this book for anyone grieving, or to share with someone who you know is grieving. I could also see myself using it with my child or with my students to teach them about different emotions….especially difficult emotions like anger and sadness.
Falling Down the Page ed. by Georgia Heard
Another fun book of poems. Most of them are list poems, which is a good way to get started writing poetry, I think. I’ll probably use this book the next time I teach a poetry unit.
Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters by N.T. Wright
I found out about this book through a different blog that I read. It sounded interesting, so I put it on hold at the library. I was not disappointed.
The book begins by trying to give the reader a bit more understanding about what it would have been like for Jesus to live where he did, when he did, and with the Romans, Herod, Jews, etc. The background/foundation he provides is very good, and it did help me understand why Jesus acted the way he did at certain times of his life.
Wright goes on to assert that Jesus ushered in the kingdom of heaven with his death and resurrection. Basically, the kingdom of heaven is not some far away land that we will get to some day. We are living in the kingdom of heaven now. God is the reigning king of earth now.
I would definitely recommend the book. It is a dense read, but worth it in the end. It definitely made me think.