Cookbook Catch-up

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 26, 2012

Every year my mother-in-law gives me a big box of interesting cooking and decorating books and it’s always fun to look through them.  The beginning of the year is a time when I’m hurting for new ideas and inspiration in the kitchen anyway, so the timing is perfect!  In case you are looking for new ideas too, here are some short reviews:

I know, I know, you have New Years Resolutions and bathing suit season is just around the corner and whatnot, but I dare you to read this book and not want to eat each and every recipe it contains.  I can’t begin to describe how scrumptious everything sounds.  Desserts to Die For was written by the chef at The Trellis in Williamsburg who invented Death by Chocolate.  I ate Death By Chocolate a few years ago and did not perish, but then again I shared the dessert with three other people.  If you need a new dessert cookbook, or even if you don’t need it per se, I highly recommend this one.  The recipes can be a little involved, but they all look worth it.  Many could be adapted to be gluten-free.

Have you ever made a fruitcake/Christmas pudding?  Not those things with the nasty little cherries, but a real fruitcake that involves leaving baked goods soaked in liquor around in your cabinet for a couple of months?  I’m really fascinated by the concept, and if you are too, Classic Crafts and Recipes for the Holidays might interest you because it has a detailed section on fruitcakes, how they work, and various types to try.  Since it’s such an involved project I wish I could taste them first before giving it a go.  I also liked the section on how to propagate a Christmas cactus since I have one and inexplicably have not yet killed it.  Furthermore, the book contains good ornament ideas including some inventive ways to use pinecones.

Holiday Celebrations is a Williams-Sonoma book with creative twists on traditional holiday dishes.  I’m not one to monkey around too much with traditions when it comes to holiday cookery, but I did find several side dish recipes that I plan to try. The nice thing about a book like this is that if you can forget about the holiday thing, you can easily use the recipes at other times of year in different combinations and not feel as though you’re having an endless round of Thanksgiving or whatnot.

Williams-Sonoma Simple Classics Cookbook: The Best of Simple Italian, French & American Cooking has some great ideas like adding cardamom and orange peel to chocolate mousse and also contains a ton of basic how-to sections with pictures, like for zesting and roasting red peppers, and trussing a chicken and so forth.  If you need the basics, that would be helpful.  However, I felt like some of the recipes I read through sounded a little bland for my tastes.  For example, I would not describe a recipe that seasons two pounds of lamb with a mere 1/2 teaspoon each of coriander and cumin as “strong” like this book does.  But that’s a matter of personal tastes, and you may find that the less spicy route is better for your family.

If you’re interested in the history and trends of cooking, you might really enjoy Celebrating the Pleasures of Cooking: Chuck Williams Commemorates 40 Years of Cooking in America.  The book is a discussion and history of how cooking trends have developed over the past 40 years.  I found it pretty intriguing, especially since the book is from Williams-Sonoma so it also contains information about when different tools began to be imported and how that influenced cooking styles.  The book also contains recipes, primarily of the sort you read in French cooking books.  They are the recipes that apparently defined being a foodie in each decade, which could appeal to you if you are a certain type of person.  I would have been even more interested had the book gone back further, because I love reading really old cookbooks and marveling at what was thought the height of sophistication for dinner parties at different times, like the apparent 1950s craze of gelatinizing everything, like the cookbook I once reviewed that included a recipe for gelatinized tunafish.  The recipes in this book are more palatable, I promise.

Although it’s not a cookbook, Making Crafts from Your Kids’ Art has a lot of great ideas for creative ways to use the artwork that your kids (or your spouse or your coworkers or your dog or whoever) give you.  I think this could be especially helpful for people who need ideas for grandparent gift ideas or are unsure how best to display artwork in a non-refrigerator-front manner.

If you got any great cookbooks or other creative inspiration lately, let us know!  I’m sure I’m not the only one who is in a rut this time of year!

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Creativity, Reading, Week in Books 2012 | 2 Comments

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 23, 2012

If you ever feel like you could use some help with organization, goal setting, and just generally getting your life together, you will get a lot out of Crystal Paine’s new book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget.  If, in addition to all of those factors you also need some help getting your finances in order, you will really get a lot out of it.

I have been reading Crystal’s blog since before she started Money Saving Mom, and so I wondered if I would find anything new in the book, but this is not just a collection of blog posts.  I read an early draft of the book for Crystal and thought she had some great ideas for the book but when I read the actual copy I was really impressed with the way she had fleshed everything out.  Even as a long-time reader of hers, I learned new things and was challenged to think of her topics in new ways.

The book includes sections on goal setting, time management, organization, and contentment, in addition to the budgeting/couponing/frugal living information you would probably expect.  I think this approach to finances – of living your best life, contentedly, within your means – is far superior to a system that values frugality or wealth-building for it’s own sake.

Although the book is titled The Money Saving Mom’s Budget because that is Crystal’s brand, I think the book would be immensely helpful for anyone, male or female, parent or not, who has an interest in the topics.

Whether or not you read Money Saving Mom (which you should), I’d highly recommend The Money Saving Mom’s Budget.  It’s helpful and inspiring and flexible enough in its approach to appeal to a wide audience.

 

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher.  This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Reading, Week in Books 2012 | Leave a comment

Families Where Grace Is In Place

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 19, 2012

If you have ever struggled to figure out how to show grace to your children and help them learn to choose wisely rather than defaulting to just controlling their outward behavior you should read Families Where Grace Is in Place.

As a busy parent, it’s often so much easier to control behavior rather than getting to the root of why our children behave as they do and training them to make good choices without external control.  It takes a lot of time and effort to discipline thoughtfully and positively rather than punishing out of our own irritation and inconvenience.  But ultimately if we want our kids to be strong and mature rather than people-pleasers, we need to do this work.  (I’m preaching to myself here!)

In Families Where Grace Is in Place Jeff VanVonderen contrasts shame-based families with grace-full families and does a good job of balancing the theoretical/Biblical aspects of what he’s saying with concrete examples.  I find it’s important to have both, because without the theory you won’t be motivated to tackle the practical work, and without the practical example you can nod agreement without putting it into practice.  I liked how this book offered real explanations and examples.

Although I found I did not agree with the author on every point, I think overall this is a very helpful book and I would recommend it.

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Parenting, Week in Books 2012 | Leave a comment

Learn Our History DVD Review

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 16, 2012

A friend of mine from college started Learn Our History in partnership with former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee with a vision to “help kids realize that history is relevant” and to offer an un-biased view of history in a way that kids would find fun.

Learn Our History produced a series of cartoons called the Time Cycle Academy, each dealing with a different episode in American history.  The premise of the series involves a group of kids who made a time machine out of bikes, a laptop, and a trumpet and use it to travel back in time to help them do their history class assignments.  Learn Our History sells the episodes in a one-per-month subscription.

The series is not specifically for homeschoolers, and in fact it seems more geared to kids in traditional schools whose parents are concerned about the type or extent of history being covered.  I reviewed the Columbus, American Revolution, and September 11th DVDs for this post, but the company eventually plans to release around 70 different episodes.

Good things about the series:

  • The history is fairly accurate.  We do a lot of history around here, and while I would say that the cartoons are not as detailed as some other references, I didn’t find anything blatantly wrong or mischaracterized in the stories.
  • Given Huckabee’s involvement I was expecting a lot more right-wingery, but I didn’t find much of that, which was a relief.  There is quite a lot of patriotism, but not in a crazy or inaccurate way, and the series is pretty up front about being intended to promote patriotism (which I think is a good thing).  Some critics seem to have an issue with that, but as a person who is neither left-wing nor right-wing, I thought the series struck a comfortable balance.
  • The cartoons were really easy to follow.  Although the website states that “children age six and below may not be able to follow much of the historical content” I have a hard time believing that the average preschooler couldn’t follow this.  That said, I’m not going to have my kids watch the 9/11 DVD, because I don’t think they are old enough to handle it visually, and when they are I will prefer for them to see the actual footage.  Other families may not have the same reservations about a cartoon version.  Again, it’s not a content issue, just a personal preference.
  • Although it didn’t seem to be on the main website, with a subscription you have access to supplemental materials like games, quizzes, maps, and timelines to build on the history covered in each episode.

Questionable things about the series:

  • The biggest issue I have with the cartoons is the quality of the animation.  It’s very rough.  I am really careful about aesthetics for the kids; I think it’s important for them to be exposed to the best of all art forms.  Even in cartoon as a medium, there are variations in quality, and this series is not the highest.  If I didn’t know one of the owners of the company, I might not have tried the DVDs because of the quality of the pictures.  That said, given that the content is educational, you might be willing to overlook the artistic deficiencies.
  • Some critics online thought the cartoons were racist since the Native American characters all look the same – but having viewed three episodes I can say that ALL of the people in crowd scenes look the same – there just isn’t a lot of detail to the cartoons.  Again, it’s just a point of aesthetics, but since you’d probably google the series before buying, I thought I would mention my response to that common criticism.
  • The story lines involving the kids with the time machine are a little weak.  Sometimes the whole this-is-REAL-history-not-like-what-you-read-in-books thing seems overplayed and some of the dialog is clumsy, especially when it’s used to define vocabulary (ideally, that would be worked in more smoothly so the kids would understand it in context, but that’s probably asking a lot for a short cartoon).  Still, as Hannah pointed out, “the cartoon kids are just make-believe and the real story part is all right.”

Recommendations:

The Learn Our History episodes cost around $10 each.  If you would otherwise spend $10 a month buying random videos or renting video games from Redbox, I think you would get more out of the Learn Our History subscription.

If your kids watch TV or other DVDs pretty frequently and you’d rather them watch something educational that still seems sort of like a show or movie rather than a documentary, these cartoons would be a reasonable option.

If you have extra room in your educational materials budget and have visual learners or take a lot of car trips or just want to supplement what you’re already doing with educational cartoons, the Learn Our History set is worth your consideration.

If you don’t have wiggle room to buy supplemental movies and are interested in teaching your kids more history, or if you like the idea of DVDs but are also looking for comprehensive, detailed, literature-based history, here is what I would suggest:

  • Story of the World: This comprehensive history is geared toward elementary (ish) age kids, and ties in what was going on around the world at given times, so kids learn a lot and develop a more nuanced and globally integrated view of history.  We have the whole set in audiobook format and love it but it’s also available in book form.  Check your library for the book or audio versions.
  • D’Aulaire history books: The Learn Our History Columbus DVD covers the Vikings a little bit, but the D’Aulaire Leif the Lucky book does so with a lot more detail.  D’Aulaire’s Columbus is also good.  For the Revolutionary War era, we read the D’Aulaire George Washington and Benjamin Franklin books and got a lot out of them.  The D’Aulaire books have colorful and detailed illustrations but plenty of detail, which makes them great if you have preschoolers and elementary-age kids.
  • Read-aloud chapter books about American history abound, and are another great way to help kids really think about history and understand it better.  Check out books like Almost Home, Carry On Mr. Bowditch, Calico Captive, etc.  Reading classic, award-winning children’s literature is an excellent way to expose your kids to history.
  • Talking to your kids about history you witnessed:  Because of the work I was doing at the time, I pretty much lived, breathed, and dreamed 9/11 and related events for a couple of years and so I have strong opinions about terrorism and America’s response to it.  Unfortunately I have to be careful about how much detail I go into when I talk about the subject or I will have to go to prison for a very long time, but I still think it will be valuable to share some of my experiences and perspective with my kids.  So far we have talked about 9/11 in a limited way, because it’s covered in our Classical Conversations material.  As I mentioned, ultimately I will prefer for my kids to see the actual footage rather than cartoons about what happened.  However, if you were not closely involved with 9/11 and have more of a concerned citizen view, you might really like the way the cartoon handles the subject, and how it shows Americans otherwise unconnected to the event responding.

Overall, the Learn Our History DVDs may be a resource worth checking out.  If you’re local and want to borrow one to see if you like it first, let me know.

 

Disclosure: Learn Our History sent me review copies of three of their DVDs but I was not otherwise compensated for this review.  The links to other history resources in the post are Amazon affiliate links.

Posted in Homeschool, Reviews | 1 Comment

Spelling?

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 12, 2012

I am currently researching how to teach spelling.  Some methods say that if children are exposed to good literature eventually they will pick up spelling.  Others recommend copy work, so that students can learn spelling while practicing their handwriting.  Still others advocate lists of spelling words and weekly tests.  If you’ve followed my homeschooling efforts for long you can probably guess that I’m leaning toward using a little of all of those methods.

We already read a lot of books and Hannah does copy work, but I wanted to find a way to help her understand basic spelling.  Really, it’s mostly selfish, because she likes to write stories in her many notebooks and I get tired of her asking me how to spell things every three and a half seconds, especially when I’m working with the other kids.

So I decided to read The Writing Road to Reading because it describes how understanding basic phonemes and spelling rules can help kids spell the most common words in English and also help them to spell unusual words.  The method also purports to teach children to read and to appreciate literature, but we already have those under control so I mostly skimmed until I got to the spelling parts.  There is quite a lot of information on classroom teaching methods as well if you find that interesting.

I started Hannah and Jack out with the beginning of the phonograms list and the beginning of the word list.  Jack still has a difficult time writing, but he’s gotten much better at holding his pencil correctly and forming the letters properly, so I am happy with that progress.  Hannah already knows how to spell the beginning words so I’m trying to move her through until we get to words and rules she doesn’t know, but I wanted to start at the beginning to make sure we didn’t miss something.  Both kids like the lesson because they get to write in their notebooks.  Notebooks are a very big thing around here these days.  Jack took one to Sunday School this week in his blazer pocket and lost it, so if you find a small notebook with a red car on it filled with lowercase b’s and words like me, do, and, and go, please let us know.

While you can find lists of phonograms and word lists online, I do think the rule explanations attached to the extended Ayres word list in The Writing Road to Reading is helpful.  I found the book at our library, and it may be worth checking yours before you decide about purchasing it for yourself.

If you’ve taught your children spelling using this or some other method, would you let me know in the comments?  I’m always looking for new school ideas and book recommendations!

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Homeschool, Reading, Week in Books 2012 | 6 Comments

Bel Canto

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 9, 2012

I realized recently that for the past two years my “year in books” posts haven’t featured any fiction in my favorites list.  The good news is, 2012′s list is going to include at least one piece of fiction, because Ann Patchett’s novel Bel Canto is amazing.  It’s the sort of book that draws you in, makes you completely identify with the characters, and then surprises you at the ending.  Along the way I promise you will grow to love opera.  It’s a lovely, lovely book and you must read it.

The premise of the novel is a kidnapping in a South American country, and an exploration of Stockholm Syndrome, love, language, music, and identity.  It’s not a violent book, except for a few moments (which are not detailed, but rather shocking because you have become attached to the characters and are surprised), which may surprise you given the set-up.  However, the book is primarily concerned with the development of relationships and uses languages and music to illustrate the process of forming attachments.  Patchett does a masterful job at character development and quite rightly won the Pen/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize.

I took a seminar on opera in college and this book made me want to get back into it.  I love novels that draw me in to topics and subjects that I didn’t previously know much about.  If you don’t already love opera, I think you might at least understand how some people can after reading this novel.

I really enjoyed Bel Canto and would highly recommend it to you.

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Posted in Reading, Week in Books 2012 | 1 Comment

Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 6, 2012

In Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl, Sandra Beasley writes honestly (and often humorously) about navigating her life with multiple severe allergies.  For Beasley, even a kiss on the cheek from a well-meaning relative who just ate a piece of her birthday cake could bring on anaphylactic shock, so the title of the book, while based on a family joke, is not far off the mark.

This book made me grateful that Sarah’s allergy to gluten has not been severe so far, and that Josh’s allergy to everything (he has a disorder where his blood cells sometimes believe he is allergic to pretty much anything you can think of) is controllable.  I also found it oddly comforting that other families ask detailed questions at restaurants and have to find ways around common foods and products.

One point that really hit home for me was Beasley’s observation that rituals and traditions mark milestones in our lives and affirm our membership in groups.  Often people ask me why I bother with trying to figure out a gluten-free option for Sarah.  Sometimes I don’t – if the whole family can eat rice instead of bread, we have rice.  But we have it together.  I don’t think it’s fair or kind to ask Sarah to miss out on big things in life like a birthday cake or holiday traditions.  I want to make her feel special and like a part of our family.

As a side note for those who asked, I did make a gluten-free red velvet cake for Sarah’s birthday (and Jesus’s – I took it to Josh’s family Christmas celebration) just using my regular red velvet recipe but subbing in a gluten free flour mix and xanthan gum (note: real red velvet cake involves a step where you make a volcano with baking powder and vinegar.  If you skip that step you do not have red velvet cake).  It was not as tall as usual, but it tasted great.  I decorated it to look like a present.

But anyway back to the book.  I think if you have anyone in your family or close friend group that has food allergies, you would appreciate Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl.  And if you don’t, you would probably still find it interesting and perhaps it would help you to be more mindful of people who do have these issues.  I thought it was a well-done memoir, with a mix of coming-of-age and foodie angles, and would recommend it.

 

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

 

Posted in Reading, Week in Books 2012 | 6 Comments

Word of the Year: Brilliant

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 4, 2012

My word of the year for 2011 was RISK.  Upon reflection, I  was pleased to see that my year really was characterized by “risk, not rust.”  I stuck my neck out for a lot of things: I networked like crazy, took on freelance work in areas where I am not necessarily an expert (or wasn’t, I am now!), took a consulting job even though it was full-time, managed to swing working and homeschooling, started teaching in our homeschool co-op, took the GRE, contacted professors I hadn’t spoken to in a decade, and applied to graduate schools.

Pretty much every time I risked, it turned out great!  That’s not to say things turned out as planned, but they did work out.  My fears about taking risks wound up being totally unfounded.  God really is there to guide me and I don’t have to be fearful.

On my birthday a couple of weeks ago, my friend sent me an email that said “33 is going to be a brilliant year!”  She meant brilliant as in fabulous, but I liked the word and as I thought more about it, I thought brilliant would be a good word for me for 2012.  The dictionary definitions of BRILLIANT really touch on things I’d like to keep in mind this year:

1) Striking, distinctive

I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to be what I think other people want me to be, rather than being who God designed me to be.  I’m often afraid to just be myself, because I think that’s not what people want to see or hear and I want people to like me.  But really, the times when I have been myself I’ve been most happy and made my best friends.  This year I don’t want to spend a lot of time explaining and apologizing for who I am in   hopes of pleasing other people.  I just want to be myself and focus on pleasing God.  So maybe that will mean I fit in less, but I’ll try to bear in mind that being striking and distinctive can be a good thing.

2) Cut in a particular form with numerous facets

When I took risks in 2011 I often got feedback insinuating that you can’t work AND be a good mom, you can’t essentially leave the workforce for 5 years and then expect to get a flexible job, you can’t homeschool AND be successful in a career, you can’t be a mom AND be a writer, you can’t just up and decide you want to go back to school after a decade of doing other things, and so forth.  While those comments made me nervous at the time, I found in actual practice they were hogwash.  The fact is, God made me a multi-faceted person.  And I daresay He made you that way too.  When I try to focus only on one facet and neglect the rest, I’m not happy OR effective.  This year I want to keep in mind that all of my facets are there for a reason, and that the God who designed them for me can also work out a way for me to use them to reflect Him.

3) Bold, unusually alert

This is a year beginning with a lot of things up in the air.  I have just finished a consulting contract, I have applied to graduate schools, I have a novel in draft, and I have a  number of other options and scenarios in play, as does my husband.  We don’t really know what 2012 holds for our family.  For that reason, I want to be sure I’m being unusually alert.  I want to be alert to how changes are affecting my husband and our kids, alert to God’s leading for our family, and alert to other possibilities that might not have dawned on us yet.  I’m excited to see what this year holds for us, and I want to go forth boldly no matter what that means.

4) Very bright, glittering

Another thing I want to be mindful of is how my own attitudes and responses shape my perception and our family dynamic.  I do not want to fall into habits of discontentment or being critical.  I want to be constantly mindful of the blessings God has given us, the exciting ways I can see Him working in our lives, and the unique way He has called us.  I want to see exactly where I am – this age, this place, these callings, this stage of life – as a bright and marvelous gift.  That’s not to say that hard things won’t happen, because they almost certainly will.  But no matter what transpires in 2012, I want to be mindful of the good, the real, and the true working out in my circumstances.

So here’s to a brilliant 2012!  What’s your word of the year?

Posted in Contemplation | 3 Comments

Now We Are Six

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on January 2, 2012

This morning Hannah turned six and I was reminded of Gretchen Rubin’s observation about parenting that “the days are long but the years are short.”  It has really been fascinating to see Hannah grow over the past six years.  Six years!

Here are six things you should know about Hannah:

1) She is SUPER dramatic.  The slightest thing can send her into paroxysms of joy or cast her into a slough of despair.  We are still working on how to turn that power into a force for good – I am confident that her enthusiasm and gusto will be a huge asset to her when she is in control of it.  Life with Hannah is always exciting and humorous.

2) She has a willing spirit of helpfulness.  I am often amazed at how much I can rely on Hannah to help me out, and she rarely complains about it.  I really value her sweet spirit.

3) She can memorize anything.  Hannah has a great memory, which is helpful for doing school work but also keeps us on our toes because she’s also quite good at synthesis and application of what she’s learned.  Sometimes this comes in the form of a delightful ability to draw a connection between what we’re talking about and something she heard in her history lesson, and sometimes it’s a sort of alarming realization that she picked up some disturbing line from a song she heard at the grocery store one time.  But mostly it’s a good thing.  :)

4) She has a great imagination.  Hannah can play for hours staging elaborate games of make believe with her dolls, other toys, and bits of whatnot like random rocks and sequins and toothpaste caps.  This means her room is rarely clean, but I remember playing that way as a kid and loving it so we usually let it go until things get really out of hand.

5) She writes funny stories.  Recently Hannah wrote a story about a game she was playing in her room, and the end of the tragic tale was the line, “It wuz a bad seen.”  :)  Spelling is queued up for school next semester!

6) She has a sweet heart.  Hannah loves to give us shoulder massages, always (well, almost always) wants to hug and kiss her siblings, and often goes into rhapsodies of   affectionate exclamations about her various family members (see #1).  She has a great ability to pick up on other people’s emotions and tries to make them feel better.  That is a good quality to have.

We love you, Hannah-cakes!  Happy birthday!

Posted in Parenting | 2 Comments

The Year in Books 2011

by Catherine Gillespie@A Spirited Mind Posted on December 30, 2011

I read 93 books in 2011 from a pretty even mix of topics ranging from fiction to spiritual life to business to parenting to education to marriage to self improvement.  When I reviewed the list, I picked out the 10 I most enjoyed and would most highly recommend.  The links below are to my longer reviews.

The Meaning of Marriage – If you only have time to read one book on marriage in your entire life, you should make it this one.

Find Your Strongest Life – This approach to understanding your personality as a set of strengths and figuring out how to apply them to your work, your family, and your goals is really helpful and empowering.

Chasing Daylight - An end-of-life memoir by a CEO who determined to live well is not depressing as you might expect.  It’s inspiring and thought-provoking.

Knowing God - This is one of the best books I’ve read about the Christian life – deep and convicting and challenging.

Story Engineering – If you write at all, you won’t fail to get something out of this book.  If you write fiction, you REALLY need it.

168 Hours - I read a lot of time management books, and this is one of the best.  Transformative.

Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind - If you’ve ever thought about what it means to be a Christian and involved in intellectual life, you need to read this book.

Mindset – Understanding how mindset can impact your life, your relationships, your work, and your parenting will really help you to be more effective and compassionate.

The Latin-Centered Curriculum – This book about classical education is both an excellent apologetic for the method and a tremendously practical resource as you plan your children’s education, whether you homeschool or are just looking for supplemental enrichment.

Counterfeit Gods - This author has an amazing ability to pinpoint the blind spots of our culture and era.  I think most people would find this book illuminating and challenging.

If you’d like to read more book reviews check out what I read in 2011, or the year in books 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007.

What were the best books you read in 2011?  Have you put together a list of books you’d like to read in 2012?

Posted in Reading, Week in Books 2011 | 10 Comments