"But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philipians 3:13b,14

Monday, May 9, 2011

A Few Good Reads....

I love to read.

It's one of the things that gets squeezed out of my life when I allow myself to get over committed. I hate that.

So one of the things I have decided recently is that I am going to carve out some time in the evening or late afternoon to read. I have several books already going...now I just need to finish them!

Here's what I'm reading right now.

Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson. I've read this book before, it's full of great reasons why your life shouldn't be scheduled and planned to the very edges of your time. (hence the title- you need "margin" so that you have some wiggle room if things don't go EXACTLY  as planned...) I know that I struggle with this constantly, and I have to be purposeful about not allowing myself to be completely overbooked.


Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon This is a book that contains over 40 personal stories of runners who have completed Ultramarathons. It is inspiring and motivating, and gives me something to dream about! An Ultramarathon is any distance over 26.2 miles (most commonly a 50k is the next recognized distance, which is 31 miles) and often these races will take place on beautiful trails in scenic areas. One of my not-too-distant goals is to run a 100 mile race, so reading this book makes me even more excited about realizing that goal!


The High School Handbook: For Junior High, Too This is a book I've read back and forth, but now that Christopher is nearly a senior, I am reviewing it yet again. It has a lot of helpful tips for planning to homeschool through the high school years.

I can't wait for summer!! I would love to get a summer reading list going- do you have any favorite reads, or books that are on your shelf waiting to be read? Comment with your top picks!!

7 comments:

  1. Ooooh one of my favorite topics!!! I've been trying to read some notable/ award winner/ classic literature. One of my goals this year is to actually get through anything by Dickens (okay, I've read "A Christmas Carol." I'm talking "Great Expectations"). I like rereading "The Well Trained Mind" every year for homeschool philosophy and support.

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  2. Are you in Susan's book club? YOu know, I've never read "The Well Trained Mind" cover to cover, just bits here and there... maybe I will tackle that over the summer! I have one getting ready to graduate, but the other one is only 7.... :)

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  3. I too am trying to find time to read. My sister and I are trying to get through news weeks top 100 books of all time. currently I'm reading "wind and the willow". I've got "the affluent society" waiting. Of the top 100 I've read about 5. Not on the list is "freakonomics". I love that book. It's along the line of Gladwell, if you've read his stuff. My dad is reading the follow up to "freakonomics", "superfreakonomics". I'll start that one when he's done.

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  4. I've read "Freakonomics" and liked it, I think the only Gladwell book I've read cover to cover is "Blink"..... have you read "Outliers"? Been thinking about borrowing that one from a friend.....

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  5. Hey-I know a number of memoirs have been outed as fakes in the past few years, but one that I believe is verifiable and is an AMAZING book is The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Seriously, I couldn't put it down.

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  6. I read that one too Aim- (I think maybe on your suggestion) and I agree, couldn't put it down. Sad and frustrating at times..... when the mom had the chocolate bar...ugh.

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  7. Ha! The chocolate bar infuriated me, too!

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