Posted in 52 Books in 52 Weeks 2009

Since the year is half over, I thought I would do an update on my 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  In the first six months of this year, I read forty books.  I am completely behind on my goal to write a review of each book on this blog. I guess I read faster than I write!  So the reviews aren't going to happen, but I do make comments on the books I haven't reviewed in this post, and I have linked the reviews I did write.

I decided to go back over the books I have read and categorize them to see what that revealed.  I was surprised to see that the top category was fiction - I thought I mainly read non-fiction.  Most of the fiction was not terribly difficult or intelligent reading. 

Fiction

Endless Night by Agatha Christie

The Settlers and Last Letter Home by Vilhelm Moberg

The Princess Diaries and Princess in the Spotlight by Meg Cabot

Love Story and Oliver's Story by Erich Segal

Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare (One of my favorites from childhood.  I read it and then read it out loud to my daughters.)

Jess by Mary Casanova (An American Girl book that I enjoyed in about a half hour.)

Harlequin Romances: Crescendo and Fiancé for Christmas

and a few short stories by Sarah Orne Jewett, an author I just discovered and really like.

Education

The largest non-fiction category is books about education.  Is this shocking for a homeschool mom/language teacher? Not really.

I Learn Better By Teaching Myself by Agnes Leistico

Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius by Angeline Stoll Lillard (wonderful, incredible, fascinating book for anyone interested in education!)

Boys Adrift by Dr. Leonard Sax

The Secret Life of the Dyslexic Child by Robert Frank (really good and helpful)

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv (fascinating and gets a real thumbs up from me, because it made me happy to live where I live, which I haven't been happy about for a really long time)

Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education with or Without Schooling by Grace Llewellyn and Amy Silver (not worth reading)

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin (this book also could go under the upcoming parenting section, but since I read it more as an education book than a parenting advice book, I put it here)

The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer (review coming up soon)

Welcome to Lizard Motel: Children, Stories, and the Mystery of Making Things Up, A Memoir by Barbara Feinberg (I admit it, I really just skimmed this book.  Parts are really interesting; the rest, ugh. It talks about new young adult fiction and how it is focused on tragedies and problems.)

10 Days to a Less Distracted Child (a most unhelpful book)

History

1066: The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth

A Home on the Field by Paul Cuadros (very interesting book about how a group of Hispanics overcame prejudice and started a high school soccer team)

The Rise and Fall of the House of Windsor by A.N. Wilson (an interesting analysis of the state of the British monarchy)

The Scandinavian-American Family Album

The next four categories are all tied with three books apiece.  

Biography

Know Your Power by Nancy Pelosi

Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever by Judge Judy (ok, I admit it, I walked past this book in the library and couldn't resist.  It took me like 45 minutes to read it!)

Inside the Kingdom by Carmen Bin Laden (Carmen is the ex-wife of one of Osama Bin Laden's many brothers.  This was a fascinating look at a Western woman's descent into the insanity that is Saudi Arabia.  I did a lot of reading on this subject a few years back and saw this in the bookstore, so I wanted to read it.  Note to any woman considering marrying a Middle Eastern man: DON'T!)

Parenting

Sleeping with Your Baby: A Guide to Co-sleeping by James McKenna (This book was written in response to public health campaigns that demonize sleeping with your baby.  Instead of saying, "If you are going to do this, here are the safe ways to do it" and educating the public, they say, "DON'T DO IT! IT'S HORRIBLY UNSAFE AND MAY KILL YOUR BABY!" My oldest son pointed out that it's interesting that the exact opposite approach is taken with sex education.)

The Attachment Connection: Parenting a Secure and Confident Child Using the Science of Attachment Theory by Ruth P. Newton, Ph.D.

Mojo Mom by Amy Tiemann (This is loosely put here - it could also go in my general non-fiction category coming up.)

Organizing

Organizing Magic by Sandra Felton (I had read this before, but figured I would reread it. Nothing earth-shattering contained within!)

Mission: Organization (My sister gave me this for my birthday.  It's based on the show that was on HGTV about organizing your house and clearing up clutter.)

A Mother's Rule of Life by Holly Pierlot (Again, this book could go in a different category, but since I reread it mainly to consider the organizational aspects, I put it here.  I have never really reviewed this book although I have mentioned it several times, so I'll have to get to that someday!)

General Non-Fiction

Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber

Buy-ology by Martin Lindstrom (An interesting look at marketing and its effect on our brains. I didn't get the pun in the title until my husband pointed it out! I just thought, "Buy-ology: the study of buying.")

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck (I enjoyed this book so much I am rereading it.  Look for a review soon!)

Languages

Language Logic: Practical and Effective Techniques to Learn Any Foreign Language by Robyn Matthew

Doing Foreign Language: Bringing Concordia Language Villages into Language Classrooms (I love these Concordia Language Villages and hope to have my children participate in them someday.  This book gave me ideas to incorporate their style of teaching into my homeschool and teaching.)

Isn't it ironic that languages is the smallest category?