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November 2020 Reading Recap

Thank you, 2020.

If nothing else, it’s been a great year to READ!

When people ask me why I read so much I tell them it’s good therapy. No matter what is going on in the world around me, I can jump into a book and learn something, escape, laugh, cry - essentially lose myself for a bit.

Looking back, since May of this year I’ve been able to diversify and expand my reading selections.

I got a bit distracted in November - reading more fiction than I would normally like, but I think I have a few good suggestions for you anyway!

November 2020 Reading Recap at Homegrown Learners

Best Books of November

Hands down, Memorial Drive was my favorite this month.

This is a memoir - telling the story of a young woman whose mother was killed in 1985 on Memorial Drive in Atlanta. (especially significant for me because my first job interview in Atlanta was on Memorial Drive, for a teaching position in the school system where this author attended school). My husband also grew up in Atlanta.

Even without an Atlanta connection, however, I think you will find this book poignant, eye-opening, challenging, and thought-provoking.

The author, Natasha Trethewey, is a former Poet Laureate of the United States. Her writing is simply beautiful. From the very first page I was drawn in by her writing style - and I didn’t put the book down until I finished it three hours later.

A Book That Surprised Me

Our in-person book club chose Dracula in October. I must admit, I was less than thrilled, but thought I would give it a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised! I learned quite a lot and found that it made great companion reading for Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice (which are part of my son’s curriculum this year).

I love it when a book provides insight into cultural references we have now, and there were many of those in Dracula. When I finished the book I felt as if I had really accomplished something!

Put this book on your TBR because I think you’ll enjoy it very much.

Love That Historical Fiction

Before The Crown was also a great read (listen) for me this month.

If you are a fan of Queen Elizabeth, definitely check this one out. It chronicles the relationship of Elizabeth and Philipp before they are married - very interesting!

I think coupling this with The Gown would be much fun.

You Can Skip This Book

I had heard so much about this book, and the premise was intriguing to me.

This was an audiobook, and usually, a good narrator can somewhat redeem a bad story, but not in this case.

The Midnight Library fell flat for me. I was put off by the main character’s suicide attempt in the beginning, and her searching for the “perfect life” throughout the book felt self-indulgent and petty.

A Reading Observation

Increasingly I am finding that books on the “bestseller list” or ones that are recommended by large mainstream media outlets just don’t appeal to me. And, as I was posting about this on my Bookstagram account I found that I wasn’t alone.

Last month (November) it struck me that many of the books I had read did not align with my worldview. This has never bothered me quite as much in the past, but as I feel more assaulted by media in 2020 I don’t want to feel assaulted by my books, too.

One of the books I read - The Love Story of Missy Carmichael - was a sweet book that I was tempted to fall in love with, but then one of the main characters chose to have an abortion and it was so normalized in the storyline. This is disappointing to me.

I appreciate authors like Carla Laureano - the author of a book I read this month and loved - The Solid Grounds Coffee Company - because she is a Christian author who writes lovely romances, but the characters are making choices consistent with my values.


If you’d like to see more detailed reviews of all of these, come visit my Bookstagram - I usually write a couple of paragraphs about each book.



Do you have a favorite book to recommend to me?

I’d love to hear what you’re reading, too!

United States Geography and LEGO Bricks

For many years of our homeschool journey, I saw learning through the lens of a LEGO lover.

This is NOT an exaggeration.

We integrated LEGO bricks with nearly every subject. We built LEGO animal cells, LEGO landmarks, LEGO continents. My son spent several years building simple (and more complex!) machines with LEGO. We learned about rhythms in music with LEGO. Multiplication was learned with LEGO.

You get the picture. (And, you can see the journey for yourself at the LEGO Learning page!)

When I received this United States Geography/LEGO Brick building kit in the mail, I knew I had to share it with you… we received it on our doorstep at 6:30 p.m. and it was built by 9 p.m. (That’s how much my 15 year-old loved it!)

Learn About United States Geography with LEGO Bricks

(I received this product in exchange for my honest review. There has been no other compensation provided. I am simply sharing this with you because we loved it and think your LEGO lover will, too!)

United States Map Building Kit

Designed by Paul Bacio Custom Brick Sculptures, this kit comes with the following:

  • 1,395 new LEGO bricks to build the US Map (and yes, they are LEGO bricks, not an off-brand)

  • Digital Download (175 pg. PDF) with the building instructions AND facts about each state

  • Finished creation is 32x17 inches

The box is very well organized. The bricks for each state come in a labeled bag (see the video I made below).

The directions for me to access the instructions were in the box and I quickly downloaded the PDF and sent it to my son so he could access it on his Chromebook.

As you can see, my son squirreled the set up to his room and laid everything out on his desk.

I did not hear from him for the next few hours!

A few quick checks allowed me to see that he put the map together exactly as shown in the instructions. He would find the labeled bag, and complete the state.

He did keep telling me, “What a cool idea this guy has!”.

We also remarked that our friends in Classical Conversations Cycle 3 (American History) and Challenge A (drawing the continents) would really like this resource.

Here is the finished product. It’s impressive when you look at it.

Our Thoughts About the United States Map Building Kit

My son and I are very impressed with Paul Bacio’s creativity and think there is a much-needed place for this type of LEGO learning product.

I encourage you to check out his entire site for even more ideas and resources.

My wheels are still turning with ideas on how you could use this with younger children - focusing on just a specific geographic region at a time and going deeper with individual state studies.

The price is $175, but with the code HGL10OFF, you receive 10% off this kit, which makes it comparable to any LEGO kit out there. This code is good for anything on the site, too.

Offer expires 12/31/20.


Leave a comment below if your child adores creating with LEGO bricks.

Have you discovered any fun ways to learn with them recently?