"Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." --The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, page 10 I love when things are a little out of the ordinary.
I've always loved sitting or lying down in places where people didn't normally sit or lie down. In a corner, under the dining room table, in a tree. I take great pleasure in little things. Vibrant rainbows, the cute little waddle of groundhogs or other creatures with large bellies, baby giggles, big hearty laughs. I especially love reading books that are a little out of the ordinary, whether that's due to how they were written, why they were written, or who wrote them. For this third book in the #yearof50books, I loved the non-traditional epistolary format. (I know there are many books in letter form, but there certainly aren't more than there are traditional novels!) Reading letters written between characters makes me feel like I'm right there with them, and yet leaves so much to question at the same time. It's certainly an exercise in inference, especially when letters don't explicitly connect. This book, the third in my year of reading, is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer. What a delightful--though sometimes heartbreaking--story! I loved every character and enjoyed reading their correspondence. This novel takes place in 1946 after the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War 2. It's rare for a novel to inspire me to do so much research, but I've thoroughly enjoyed my time spent checking Guernsey out on Google Maps! I would like to visit the island someday. The spunky female characters--Juliet, Isola, Elizabeth, Amelia, Kit, and more--made me chuckle often, but could break my heart in the next beat with something so meaningful and poignant. Although I've learned about World War 2 in school, I never knew about the occupation of the Channel Islands nor considered how such situations would affect the everyday people who lived there. I can't imagine going through what they did during that time--completely cut off from England, completely occupied by German soldiers. This is what books are supposed to do, right? Find their "perfect readers" and inspire them to learn more about this world of ours and the people who live in it. What a wonderful thing. Stories like this that demonstrate how necessary the arts are--creative writing, visual arts, performance arts--always tug at my heart. I love reading about how books bring people together and change the lives of people in the process. There is tremendous power in words..never forget that. Book four is already in progress..another non-fiction read! I'm looking forward to sharing it with you! Wonderfully Yours, Kristin
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Spring break, glorious spring break!
I love teaching, I do. I love working with my students and colleagues. I love books and folders and office supplies and discussing books with kids and teaching them to how to use technology and all of the things. I also love getting a break from teaching. I love having lunch with my husband and going shopping with my sister and being the manager of my own days. And, of course, I love having extra time to read! Since I had time that is not always as readily available to me, I finished my second book of the #yearof50books during spring break! This read, recommended by one of my favorite writers, is a non-fiction book about letting go of things that get in our way when it comes to serving God and the people He created. Book #2 is...Falling Free: Rescued From the Life I Always Wanted by Shannan Martin. The freedom of LESS is such a theme through the Martin family story. God does so much in our lives when we free ourselves from the world's MORE. I enjoyed reading about the risks they took as well as how they redefined their idea of family, downsized their "stuff", and gathered more often with people. The value of relationships cannot be diminished, and the Martins certainly value relationships over things. At the end of one chapter she says, "...the shortest routes to relationships are carved when everyone takes two giant steps past the gates of their comfort and toward each other." This concept is something I'm working out for myself. I value people and know I have so much to learn from others. Inviting people into my home is something I want to do often, but it makes me anxious: Are things clean enough? What do I fix? What if someone's allergic to something? What if I mess up? What do we talk about? On and ON my thoughts race. What's funny is that if someone else had these same concerns and told me, I know the advice I would give them: People aren't here to inspect how clean your house is. If you're not sure what to fix, ask your guests if they have any favorite things. Or make your favorite thing to introduce it to another family! Same for the allergies..just ask! If you mess up, handle it with grace and humor. It will make a good story! Talk about life. Conversation will flow. If not, there's always a family-friendly list of trending topics on Twitter. (Kidding.) As I continue to grow as a wife, I want to be a person that people feel comfortable coming to as a safe space. I want our home to be a place where others always feel welcome (even if the place is a mess). I love imagining the laughter and dishes clinking as everyone sits down to a cozy meal! --- Check out Shannan's blog here to learn more about her family, her life, her story, and her bathrooms. (Sounds strange, I know, but she's written blog posts about them and they are cute!) --- Book #3 is already in progress! This fiction novel is written in letters, so I'm enjoying the difference in style from my first two reads. Do you have any tips or stories for me as I work to be more intentional about inviting people into our home? Share them in the comments! Wonderfully Yours, Kristin Well, this is embarrassing.
Here we are about three months since I started this journey, and here I am finally finishing my FIRST BOOK for 2017. (Don't judge me.) --- My first book for this wonderful journey is a prequel to The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. I've read the first two books in that series, but haven't read the third one yet. After my sister's prodding, she told me that reading the whole series was not a prerequisite for reading this book, and that this one was her favorite! So, my first book for this #yearof50books is: The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart I'm not going to summarize the story for you. You can easily look that up for yourself. Instead, I'd like to share some of the things I noticed about and learned from Nicholas Benedict and his friends. 1. Nicholas is a noticer. He pays attention and recognizes things that no one else sees. Of course, this is what affords him so many opportunities in the story, and one of the reasons I love it so much. He's not magical, nor does he have any "special powers"...he just pays attention! (He's also a genius, but I mean. Whatev.) 2. The importance of friendship. Nicholas has always done things on his own, so it doesn't really bother him to be alone. BUT, in this story, he learns the true significance of what it means to have (and be!) a friend. 3. It's interesting to me, and might be to you, that very little in this story is actually about the literal "education" that Nicholas receives. The extraordinary education is not one in the classroom, but the life lessons he learns through his interactions with people, his adventures at (and around) the orphanage, and his time spent in the library reading book after book after book after... This book, and the series in general--even though I haven't read the last book yet--get my recommendation. I often recommend it to my middle school readers if they're looking for a page turner that is still quirky and creative, too. Trenton Lee Stewart has also written another book, The Secret Keepers, that I'm looking forward to reading eventually, too! If you want to check out the Benedict Society books, click here. I enjoyed reading about the characters and playing the strategy games there, too! --- Starting this journey has been an extraordinary education for me. I took an online class this winter, which of course became quite a hindrance to my reading goal for this year. HOWEVER. That class is over now, and spring break starts tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get through at least one more book, maybe two, during this next week! I've realized that if I say I value reading, then I need to spend more time doing that. I'm working on finding ways to incorporate more reading time into my daily routines, so if I come up with any extraordinary tips, I'll be sure to share them. I've started a non-fiction read that I plan to share with you next, but do you have any reading recommendations for me as I continue? Share them in the comments! In the meantime, be a Benedict. Be a noticer. The wonderful is happening all around! Wonderfully Yours, Kristin |
AuthorI'm Kristin. A Christian, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. Archives
October 2017
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