Lulu: WOW

I wholeheartedly and strongly recommend reading Confronting the Myth of Self-Esteem: Twelve Keys to Finding Peace (by Ester Rasband). The author is LDS and bases her findings (about self-esteem and confidence) around gospel truth. It is perspective-changing, necessary.

Lynness: biographies

I wasn't sure who I wanted to read about, so I just browsed at the library a bit.  (For some reason, I'm hyper-aware that the first phrase of that sentence is so wrong, grammatically, but saying "I wasn't sure about whom I wanted to read" sound too stiff.)  I ended up taking home a few books I couldn't get into, but I also brought home and enjoyed a ?middle-school? grade level book about the Candy Bomber (and realized he was LDS and lives in Utah) and a book called The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind about a young teen in Malawi who was forced to drop out of school for economic reasons but, aided by some textbooks he found at a small donated library, built windmills from junkyard scraps to power lights and eventually water pumps for his family's home.  This is not something that happened decades ago- he's only 22 or 23 now.  I really enjoyed his story.  Check him out on Wikipedia.

Lulu: A great link!

http://bookyap.com/

Lulu: My addition to what Annie's read--

Though I'm not sure I'll be going "by the book" and reading a biography this month, I figured I'd follow in Annie's footsteps and list some of what I've read/am reading--it's a lot, or at least more than usual, which I'm happy about.

HAVE READ: The Mysterious Benedict Society (oh man, I LOVED this, and the kids are loving it--I finished it ahead of them because I couldn't stop myself from reading onward each night after reading to them...)
Gregor the Overlander, books 1 & 2. I love Suzanne Collins. Simple and straightforward writing style but always a good story to back it up!
The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me. I realized just how many Roald Dahl books have slipped under our radar. We're (me and the kids are) happy to find there are several we haven't read yet! This one was short and sweet.

READING:
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey
The Lacuna (the latest Barbara Kingsolver book; much about this book is new for me; I feel like it's one of those books that I read where I finish and feel like I was MEANT to read it and NEEDED to read it)

GOING TO READ:
Confronting the Myth of Self-Esteem - a recommendation from my therapist (no joke). The author uses gospel truths to take on the whole idea of self-esteem, etc.
Gregory the Overlander, book 3
Peace Like a River
These Is My Words
Mockingjay (again, love that Suzanne Collins...)

What's been read... or discarded since May

Read:
Catch Me If You Can, by Frank W. Abagnale *****

A Is For Alibi, by Sue Grafton *****

Junie B Jones Books 1-8, by Barbara Park (We listened to these on CD while riding in the car! Even LV would ask questions about what he was hearing! We had a great time with these!!!) *****

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
(Yes I FINALLY read it, and LOVED it!! I have a total crush on Edward!! ;D)*****

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway (I enjoyed the story but I didn't GET IT, if there WAS anything to GET....) ***

Eat The Cookie Buy The Shoes, by Joyce Meyer (LOVED this book!! I finished it in one day!!) *****

Discarded:
Desires Captive, Just not into that mushy love stuff LOL

A Journal For Jordan by, Dana Canedy I really wanted to read this, got half way don't and could have cared less, so I took it of my night stand!!

August Reading

I checked our old posts and it's been a while since we've read a biography. So, do it. Read about someone. Report.

(I'm making this easy for myself. I'm just starting Laura Bush's autobiography for another book group...)

Happy reading!

Lynness- recent reads

Peace Like a River- I enjoyed it, am requesting the author's 2nd novel (not a series).  Went very quickly.

Confucious Lives Next Door: What living in the East can teach us about living in the West- I found it interesting, but it probably doesn't have wide reader appeal.  Really wonder how Mim and Blake's experience compares.  This was written about 10 years before they lived in Japan.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek- Read a chapter and returned it. I've started this sentence 3 times to try to describe it and I can't.  It wasn't bad, just didn't strike a chord with me and ended up being just page after page of blah, blah, blah, blah....

The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment- AJ Jacobs is always interesting and entertaining and you learn things you never knew (maybe some that you never wanted too, as well.)