What I’ve been reading lately:
I have been reading a ton of books lately. Most of them have been 3 out of 4 stars for me so that is a big plus. How do I rate my books? 1 star are books that I did not finish because they were poorly written, too graphic, too sad, or just boring (too many books, not enough time!) 2 star books are well-written books that I finished but did not enjoy (meaning I had to really pay attention to stay in the book) 3 star books are really good books that I thoroughly enjoyed, but will not read again (I just know what I like!) 4 star books are books that I love so much that I tell everyone about them or stay up way too late reading them or plan on rereading them again in the near future.
My favorite books that I have read recently were The Book of Lost Names, The Victory Garden, and The Willows.
I really enjoyed The Book of Lost Names. It tells a story based on real events of a Jewish woman who became a forger and saved hundreds of children’s lives during WWII by secreting them out of France. In hopes of eventually reuniting the children with their families, Eva Traube invents a code with a fellow forger, Remy, and hides the children’s true identities in an old book. This book has a ton of historical facts, suspense, romance, and a ton of twists to keep you interested along the way as well as an amazing ending. **My 16 yr. old daughter Emma really enjoyed this book as well.
This was a WWI novel set in Britain. This story follows a young woman named Emily Bryce as she navigates her way towards becoming more independent from her overbearing family in a really tough time period. Most of the war novels I have read are more mystery/suspense based books, but this book is much more sedate. I enjoyed learning about Land Girls, herbs, and WWI facts while reading this book.
The Willows was a tad bit suspenseful but an overall good read. It follows two men who are sailing down a river, when they encounter a storm. Having to seek refuge on a small island that is full of willows, the men’s imaginations begin to get the best of them and soon they realize they are not alone. I have to be honest, I was not really scared until I got to the end and then once I realized that they were not imagining everything……wow……
Things I am loving lately:
- The Lazy Genius Podcast Kendra is hilarious and gives great tips on how to excel at the important things in your life and then releasing the stuff that isn’t worth the struggle.
- Pistachios. Yum.
- Kindle Unlimited. I signed up for a trial period for Kindle Unlimited and have been enjoying reading so many ebooks for free. **I remembered to promptly cancel my membership, but I still have a few weeks to read as many books as I can. Challenge accepted!
Things I checked off my to-do list:
- I finally got the tag to my daughter’s car….which has been sitting in our yard for the past year. Whew, that felt good.
- I decluttered and organized over half of my house this week.
- I finally got back on a household cleaning schedule. Who am I??
- Printed off some practice math tests to prepare my daughter for her math entrance exam (This has been on my to do list for two months…clearly I am a procrastinator)
Goals for next week:
- Make a dermatologist appointment
- Plan something fun to do for our summer kick off for youth group
- Declutter our utility room and homeschool shelves
Something I learned this week:
Hatshepsut was one of the first female pharaohs and proudly claimed the title as King of Egypt for herself, instead of settling as mother of the future king . She ordered six sphinxes to be built to guard her tomb and was a real firebrand of a woman. In a weird twist of events, after her death, her nephew tried to erase evidence of her rule and had the sphinxes destroyed and buried. Surprisingly, this act actually protected the remnants from the weather (unlike so many other architectural feats of that time period) and archaeologists were able to reassemble the sphinxes and send them to museums around the world. This was a really cool article about this amazing story.
Epic fail of the week:
I tried a new recipe and it was terrible. It was supposed to be a Thai chicken skewer recipe, but the chicken did not have any flavor and it tasted like every piece of grilled chicken I have ever made. I had such high hopes.
Something I loved on social media:
We wrapped up our homeschool co-ops, college classes, and finished all of our homeschool curriculum two weeks ago….but I totally get these memes….
I feel ya Gary…I really do….
Hang in there and keep on smiling!
The Thrifty Educator 