The books are coming!

I've been on a sort of book binge lately. I received a generous Amazon gift card from my previous employer when I moved on to other adventures at the end of June. To me Amazon equates books, even though I could order so many other items,  and so I began loading up my cart, looking for both new and used good reads. I finally clicked on 'checkout' and now I'm happily awaiting the mail carrier each day to see if there's another package to open.

Here is one I received this past week. The Power of a Praying Grandparent by Stormie Omartian is  a book of encouragement and prayers to remind me to pray consistently for my grandchildren (one dear little boy and one on the way so far!). It reminds me to focus on encouraging my son and his wife as they start out their parenting adventure. I remember how exhausting it can be with little ones and it's such a huge responsibility (and a privilege) to raise children. These days there are so many more waters to navigate with our ever changing times, including the explosion of the internet. It seems we had an easier time in some ways.

Becoming a grandparent was one of the happiest days of my entire life, and I want to be the best I can be and a force for good in my grandchildren's lives. My mom has been a great role model, of which I am so thankful!

We are promised that our prayers won't return void. God is always working, even though we may not see it or feel it. And so I will continue to pray!

"Having a grandchild is to forever have your heart walk around outside your body" 

Book Review: Growing Up Social

The average American child and teenager spends at least 53 hours a week with technology, directly in front of screens. That's a lot more time than they spend interacting with parents and other people. This world of constant digital distraction and attention (screens are everywhere!) means that children aren't growing up the way we did. Memories of playing in back yards, bushes, and other 'wild places' might be absent from today's childhood. Curling up with a good book, being read to, and participating in family discussions are not part of many of today's children's experiences.

Gary Chapman. and Arlene Pellicane have written Growing Up Social to empower parents to make positive changes, away from an over-dependence on screens. They include how to teach skills that every healthy person needs to master: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention. Love languages are also covered. This book helps parents set a healthy balance so that their family can live with screen time, not for it. This will not happen unless there is intentionality and this book is the ticket to practical help.

In many ways, this is much more than a book about living with technology today. It's about how to have a healthy family in a world where varied distractions take us away from the relationships we value the most. I'm sure we have all experienced times when we haven't felt valued by those we love. This book includes practical ideas, quizzes, and discussion questions to help families focus on  and show respect to each other.

This book is relevant to anyone who values their relationships with those closest to them and is willing to take steps to improve communication, resulting in a healthy balance between digital and face to face communications.

This would be a great gift for those with young children. In this ever changing, challenging world, parents need all the help they can get in raising healthy, well adjusted, happy children.

I received this book free from Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

It's Never Just One

Earlier this year I had lamented the fact that I had SO many books on my 'to read' stack and never seemed to get to the bottom of them. So, I implemented some ruthless steps to keep myself on track.

 One of these was to refrain from purchasing ANY books this year (unless I was given a gift card). I did really well... until the day I didn't. In a moment of weakness, I clicked on my Amazon Kindle 'one click' order button and a new book appeared.

It's just one, I comforted myself, Chin up! It's not like this is a slippery slope or anything. 

But it was.

I have failed. Miserably. I have not focused well on my List of 21 Books to Read in 2016. 

How did this happen? Sometimes resolve melts away. It is similar to telling yourself you are only going to 'eat one' delectable piece of chocolate from the jumbo bar you've just purchased and then in less than 3 minutes, you find yourself crumpling up the empty wrapper and swallowing hard, having eaten every. single. piece. alone in your car. And you wonder what happened to your self discipline. Yes, it's like that with books, too. Especially one click ordering on Kindle Deals!

Looking back, I should have never allowed myself to borrow from the library or (confession) resubscribed to the  What Should I Read Next? podcast. Or freely browsed through GoodReads. Then I might have actually focused on those 21 books.

But that would be harsh.. much too harsh.

So, how did I actually fare in whittling down my self imposed 'list?

 I finished  nine of them and am currently working through another five (Yes, I multi-read). And the others I haven't touched. I should get honest with myself and look for a good home for a few of those. When one says 'working through' in relation to reading, it's probably not a good sign.

The good news is I've enjoyed some really great books these past months... I was successful in reading more fiction than I usually do. Several I really enjoyed were:
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Wonder by R.J. Palacia
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

How do you manage your 'to read' list? Is yours becoming unmanageable?

The Book Stack July 2015 Edition

So, it's officially summer break for me, which could translate into lots of time for summer reading. And I'm well prepared...

As you can see, true to form, there aren't a lot of fiction books in this stack. In fact, there is only one. Hello, my name is Aneta and I'm a nonfiction junkie. Always have been. Probably always will be. I'm hopeless.

BUT, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy some good fiction.  I've purchased some for my Kindle recently and I'm looking forward to more bedtime, poolside, or beach reading. I'll let you know if I hit the jackpot with any of them.

Have you read any of these?:

The Curious Case of the Missing Figurehead by Diane Noble

Blue Hole Back Home: A Novel by Joy Jordan-Lake

A Heart Deceived: A Novel by Michelle Griep

How Sweet the Sound: A Novel by Amy K. Sorrells

And if you look closely at this photo, you'll see what's really been keeping me in my cozy chair.  It's not the books..

He's called a lap dog for good reason!