I borrowed Please Understand Me II from a friend with every intention of mailing it back to her after I finished it, but because I found it so helpful and filled it with about 2712 tabs to remember where good … Continue reading
I’m normally a huge fan of Alison Weir’s books, both the straight history and the historical fiction, but I didn’t enjoy her latest book, Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine, as much as her others. Eleanor of Acquitaine was … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life is a short book about building people up by “filling their buckets” with thoughtful and appropriate encouragement and praise. You could probably read the book in about 20 minutes, … Continue reading
As I said the first time I reviewed Daniel Gilbert’s book, Magi is “an entertaining story of how the Three Wise Men might have undertaken the journey to present gifts to Jesus. Informed by research into historical sources, Gilbert’s novel … Continue reading
Hi, I'm Catherine Gillespie and A Spirited Mind is where I post about reading, writing, and parenting and the lessons I'm learning as a result. Thanks for stopping by!
