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October 2020 Reading Recap

October was a month of highs and low in my reading.

There were a couple of absolutely wonderful books, and then there was actually one book that I wrote “NO” by in my reading journal!

My son and I finished a classic together (big win!), and I also read a take-off on that classic that infuriated me!

My faith grew, as did my passion for homeschooling.

I’m extremely thankful for time to read, and an Instagram community where I can share and learn about books.

Reading Recap/October 2020 - Homegrown Learners

All of the reading recaps for this year can be found here.

A well read mother brings depth and knowledge to her homeschool. She also prepares herself for beautiful conversations, a broader world, and creativity that comes from immersing herself in other worlds.

I hope you can find a recommendation or two from my October booklist.

Best Books of October 2020

In my book journal I give books a star rating. I like to keep track of the five star books so that when people ask me for a recommendation I can easily give them one. Here are my five star recommendations for you from October:

  • Awaking Wonder - this beautiful book from Sally Clarkson had me in tears in so many spots. No matter where you are on your homeschool journey, Sally will have encouragement and inspiration for you. Go get this book - take notes in it and love it. Then, buy a copy for a friend and give them an unexpected gift.

  • Pride & Prejudice - need I say more? My son and I read this aloud and while I’m not sure he would give it five stars, it definitely is one of my all time favorite books. I purchased a box set of Jane Austen books and lots of people on Instagram wondered where I got the cute book… so here is the link.

  • Sky Full of Stars - This book is the story of a mom (who also happens to be a homeschooling mom) with a medically fragile child - and how she ultimately learned to surrender all of her children to God’s will - and not her own. This is another one that will require a box of tissues.

  • Classic Christianity - Recommended by dear friends to my husband and me, this will be a book I recommend to anyone who will listen. It gives you a different and beautiful take on Christianity - that I’m pretty sure you haven’t thought of before.

  • Everything Beautiful in Its Time - Jenna Bush Hager writes about losing three of her grandparents in a very short period of time. I listened to the audio, and she’s a fantastic narrator! She also reflects a lot on the beauty and fragility of life. She shares her family’s tradition of letter writing with us, too. This is another moving book.

Skip These Two Books!

The Heiress: The Revelation of Anne de Bourgh (A Pride & Prejudice Novel) - this book (which will not be published until Jan. 2021, tells the story of Lady Katherine de Bourgh’s feeble daughter, Anne.

In this story Anne has been addicted to laudanum for most of her life, and when she comes of age she gains the courage to break her addiction and flee to London. Through her growing independence, she discovers a lot about herself, including her attraction to other women. I understand what the author was trying to do, but it just didn’t deserve the title “A Pride & Prejudice Novel” in my opinion!

Leave The World Behind - This book has been raved about by many respected book critics. It is a dystopian novel - where the entire world is collapsing. We see this collapse through two families just outside of New York City who don’t know what is happening. They just know there are many strange things occurring. The book fell completely flat for me and I gave it two stars.

The other books read this month received four stars from me, so I would recommend them to you. Scroll down and click on the book cover to find out more about the books.

I always want to know what YOU are reading.

Leave me a comment below and tell me your favorite book from October!

October 2020 Reading Recap @ Homegrown Learners

June 2020 Reading Recap

Reading as escape is a real thing, isn’t it?

There are many days in the past month where I’ve truly felt that reading a good book was the perfect way to salvage the day - or to just see some good in the world that sometimes is difficult to see (especially if you turn on the news!).

In last month’s recap, I talked to you about reading widely and well. I’m always striving for that… I hope you see some of that this month.

This month’s selections were fueled by a need for fun summer reading, some research for the SQUILT music curriculum, reading aloud to my 15-year-old, and also a need to know about some personal and family stories I’d been hearing about.

June 2020 Reading Recap @ Homegrown Learners

June 2020 Books

Each book this month received a 4 or 5-star rating from me.

There was one book I put into the DNF stack this month - The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. It just wasn’t for me, and I could tell that after approximately 75 pages. I have learned that life is too short to hold out to see if books I don’t initially like will get better - so I am feeling less and less guilt about just setting them aside.

Highlights from the month:

  • Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment: I read this because we are studying J.S. Bach in July in SQUILT LIVE!. I couldn’t have asked for a better biography about Bach and his contemporary (and total opposite!) Frederick the Great.

    This pulled together a lot of history and gave me a true picture of how Bach influenced the ENTIRE course of Western music. VERY interesting!

  • Lovely War: I had no idea this was a YA book until after I had finished it and was watching the author, Julie Berry, on an author chat with Modern Mrs. Darcy. This book was just READABLE - it even incorporated some mythology (which doesn’t usually interest me) and I loved it! It is a work of historical fiction taking place during WWI.

    I ordered The Passion of Dolssa (another book by Berry) when I finished this one. These are great books for your high school girls!

  • Hidden Valley Road: This is the true story of a family from Colorado. Twelve children are born into the family, and when it is all said and done SIX of them are diagnosed with Schizophrenia. If you are easily triggered by mental illness, suicide, physical and sexual abuse, or abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest, you might want to steer away from this one.

    I found it a fascinating look at mental illness and the strides we have made in treating and diagnosing schizophrenia in particular. I found myself at many points wondering how in the world this mother survived life with 6 Schizophrenic sons. Truly astounding.

  • Nory Ryan’s Song: We read this one aloud - and promptly got the other two books that will round out the series. Set during the “Great Hunger” (potato famine) in Ireland, it is the story of Nory Ryan, a determined, tenacious young girl who gives us insight into what true hunger, suffering, and triumph are. I can’t recommend this one enough!

    This book goes beautifully with our study of Irish music in July in SQUILT LIVE!

Tweet Cute, Love Lettering, and 28 Summers were all fun (fluffier) reads.

This Must be the Place was one that has been on my TBR for ages, and I very much enjoyed the writing of Maggie O’Farrell - I will be reading more by her in the future!

A.W. Tozer was also new to me - The Dangers of a Shallow Faith was a wake-up call. My husband is listening to it now and getting a lot from it as well. It is packed full of practical Christian wisdom - which rings just as true now as it did in Tozer’s lifetime over 50 years ago.

Finally, while I’m not a big fan of Trevor Noah now, I had heard that Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood was a must-read. I agree. It was laugh out loud funny, but also gravely serious in many parts. The insight into Apartheid - as told by someone now living in America who enjoys great celebrity, was very interesting. I was thinking of giving this to my son to read, but there was way too much cursing. I haven’t read the young reader’s edition - but I imagine it would be good for your kids to read especially now.

Did you have a favorite book you read in June?

Let me know about it in the comments below!

June 2020 Reading Recap @ Homegrown Learners