The Homegrown Preschooler by Kathy H. Lee and Leslie Richards

Genre: Child Development
Rating: 5/5
I stumbled across the Facebook page for "The Homegrown Preschooler" and thought it looked like a great book. I discovered that they have a year-long curriculum called "A Year of Playing Skillfully." I checked out "The Homegrown Preschooler" to examine the philosophy before investing in the curriculum, and I am so glad I did! Not only will I be buying myself a copy of "The Homegrown Preschooler," I will be getting the full curriculum plus the summer curriculum.
This educational philosophy reminds me of John Holt's books -- his main message is that little children are simply little people. (Seems stupidly obvious, but somehow as parents we tend to focus on what our children CAN'T do.) They want to be involved in everyday aspects of life. While playing, making messes, and even acting out they are learning how to live in this big, wide world. The authors of this book provide tons of examples of ways to include children in everyday activities (for example: allow them to help scoop coffee grounds for your morning coffee or give them their very own spray bottle and rag to help clean around the house). They also explain areas where your children need to develop every day: fine motor, gross motor, language, social skills, etc. There are TONS and TONS of activities listed in the book along with explanations of the areas they will help develop in a preschooler. There are also recipes for play materials and food and instructions on how to build things like a plexiglass easel and a sensory table.

I would recommend this book to ANYONE with a preschooler or anyone who has a baby (who will someday be a preschooler!) Even if you do not intend to homeschool, these ideas can help you understand how to prepare your child for school and life. AWESOME book!

The Great Passage by Shion Miura

Genre: Japanese Literary Fiction/Humor
Rating: 4.5/5

The Dictionary Editorial Department of Gembu Publishing is working on a brand new dictionary, a project that will end up taking them fifteen years to complete. At the beginning of the book, the heads of the project, Professor Matsumoto and Araki, are looking for a young person to take over the project since they will only be working part time as supervisors. One of the employees of the department, Nishioka, suggests a young man named Majime, a true oddball who works in sales but seems like he might have a knack for dictionary editorial work. Majime is soon hired, and they all get busy working on the dictionary, getting sidetracked by other projects as the company seems not to value the new dictionary as much as the people working in the department. Nishioka soon leaves to work in another department, and a young woman comes to work in his place. Over the course of fifteen years, relationships are forged, and the commitment and devotion of the people working in the department is poured out into the pages of The Great Passage.

This book is quite unlike anything I have ever read. It has been translated from Japanese (very beautifully I might add -- I actually couldn't tell.) The Japanese culture is strikingly different than the American culture in a lot of ways. For example: the character Nishioka is presented as a goofball who isn't serious about much, but he seems like the most "normal" character in the whole book. The other characters are intensely serious people who work on the dictionary with such a passion that it almost makes me feel like a slacker--no, it does make me feel like a slacker. I won't lie and say that this book made me fascinated by the dictionary-making process. I can admit that it is important work, but they seem so obsessive about it, it is hard to understand why they love it so much. I am so used looking up words online that I forget there are actually physical dictionaries anymore. That being said, I became drawn in by their extreme passion. I think anyone would be lucky to discover something to be this passionate about, and that is what makes this book beautiful. The characters are all a little strange, but they are fascinating to read about.

The main drawback to this book is that it is a little dull. As in, it's not conventionally "exciting." The pace is slow, and there isn't anything really mind-blowingly amazing that happens. (There is also some very odd social commentary that seems out of place.) This book is simply a snapshot of a group of people who come together and do what they love. It's not about the technicalities of making a dictionary. And while there are some minor discussions about how words can mean all sorts of different things, that's not this book's aim either. This book resonates with me because of the total devotion, love, passion, and commitment these people have for what they do. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light read and loves books and words. This book is calm and peaceful, poignant, and charming in its own way.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovitch

Genre: Mystery/Humorous
Rating: 5/5

I remember seeing the movie "One For the Money" come out a few years ago and then seeing that it was based off a rather popular book series. At the time I was a busy college student, so I never looked into it. For the last few years, I have seen the books at thrift stores and library sales. I was finally convinced to give the series a try after three separate people told me the series was "so funny/hilarious." Truly humorous books are difficult to find, it seems. I rarely laugh at anything. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong books. This series seems so odd at first glance. A young skip-tracing woman in the ghetto of New Jersey? It seemed at first like it might be a bit trashy or something. I went ahead and started out with the audiobook version. I am glad I gave this series a chance! It was delightfully wonderful! I may try to read the second one to see if the books come across the same without the wonderful narration by C.J. Critt.

First of all, this book was just FUN! It is one of the most  entertaining books I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. I will admit that I didn't belly laugh as often as I wished, but the situations were truly amusing and entertaining. The main character, like Harry Dresden in the Dresden Files series, is a hot mess--totally broke, witty and sarcastic, unfiltered, kind of hotheaded at times, and really fun to follow along. She tries her hand at skip tracing out of desperation, attracted by the possibility of earning $10,000. It's such an absurd idea, since she is going after a man accused of murder, but she's a native of the area, so I suppose she is used to the culture and the danger, etc. The situations she finds herself in are pretty funny, and the narration makes the story bright and lighthearted even though there is a lot of violence and sleaze in the book. There's a ton of language and talk of sex (though there are no actual sex scenes). I have no idea why I love this book so much. The writing makes it fun, and the narration made it irresistible!
I love the Joe Morelli character, and I also love Ranger. Heck, I loved all the characters! I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in this series! :-)

The Librarian by Christy Sloat

Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5

Emmeline Bailey is a nineteen-year-old college student living in California with big plans to move to England and teach. She's never been one for commitment in relationships--wanting nothing to tie her down. When her grandmother falls seriously ill, Emme must return to her hometown in Maine. Her grandmother dies, leaving a library to Emme...and a secret. Emmeline is part of a line of women who can travel in books as a preserver of history. She does so accidentally one day and meets a handsome man named Jack. She quickly develops a strong attachment to him and wonders if she could leave everything behind to stay with him...

This book was heavily advertised on my Facebook feed for a while, and I finally gave in and bought it because it sounded totally amazing (I LOVE time travel in general) and the cover is phenomenally beautiful. The concept is sort of mind-blowing and has endless possibilities. Who wouldn't want to travel inside books or travel through time? However, the execution of the story was ultimately poor.
First of all, the main character is shallow. While she has "big dreams" to move to another country, her behavior is irritating and childish. She was constantly talking about how, before the events of this book, she only wanted to make out and hook up with guys. She and her friends casually go drinking at a bar with fake IDs, not batting an eye. She had only one close friendship and was willing to throw that away after one fight. She would fly off the handle about things emotionally and then become alarmed when others did the same. She fell in love instantly with the man in the book and then took things way too far, causing lots of trouble and heartache. And this plot relies heavily on her not being told anything about the book/time travel process, which does create conflict, but it's a super lazy way of doing so. The ending was also patched up quickly and unrealistically.
I also found the book predictable, especially the part about JR Builders.
The other reason this book was difficult for me to get through was the writing--mainly the misuse of tenses. I don't think this author or her editor (if there was one) knows anything about the past perfect tense, which made the book quite confusing in many areas.

There are a few areas that gave this book a glimmer of hope. The overall concept, of course, is totally fascinating. Some of the explanations and discussions about the actual process were interesting. The love story, while at first irritating and unbelievable, did sort of start to grow on me after a while. I did feel sad for her when things fell apart and for what she had to do to fix it at the end.

Overall, this book held promise, but I ultimately wouldn't recommend it.

Spark by John J Ratney

Genre: Cognitive Psychology/Physical Fitness
Rating: 4.5/5
Audio Version review

I have exercised intermittently throughout my life, but I have had a lot of difficulty in recent years sticking to anything because I have attended college and had several children. When I found myself at my heaviest ever last year, I decided to get serious about weight loss. I chose this book to listen to because I was hoping it would inspire me to exercise, and not only for the weight loss potential. It was an excellent choice! The book's focus is, in fact, not on weight loss at all. This book focuses on the myriad of ways cardio exercise helps the brain and therefore the whole body. This book has definitely succeeded in helping inspire me to remain active. Even a little bit of exercise has tremendous effects on the brain and body.

The book starts out talking in-depth about a case study of a school in Illinois - Naperville. They instituted a new exercise program and managed to get some surprising results. Only three percent of their student body is overweight, AND they were at one point number one in the entire world on the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study). They even had students wanting to work out before taking important exams like the SATs. The book goes on to discuss exercise's effect on certain conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, addiction, aging, and hormonal changes. This was all fascinating information, of course. It was particularly interesting to me how these conditions are connected though levels of certain hormones and proteins in the brain (dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, GABA, BDNF, and others.) There were some shocking things too -- like how brain damage caused by drinking, the negative effects of depression, and general brain shrinkage can be fixed by cardiovascular exercise (like, at a certain point it levels out to where you might not be able to tell there was damage at all. It's apparently a myth that you can't grow new brain cells.) I was honestly blown away by how many ways the brain is able to compensate and fix itself with just a little exercise.

This author comes at this from an evolutionary standpoint. That is, he explains the way the brain works in terms of how we "evolved" to hunt and gather, and how our fight-or-flight responses, stress responses, and "state of emergency" comes into play in a modern society. This helps the information make more sense. Even if you believe humans were created rather than evolved, this STILL makes sense. Our bodies were designed to work in a certain way, and moving is an essential part of that!

Yes, this book does come across as repetitive. For me, however, that was a good thing. There are a lot of jargon (scientific) terms used, but I was actually reasonably familiar with all of them. It took a few times hearing them for it to really sink in what they were/what they meant in the context of this book. And since I was listening to the audio version, it was helpful for him to keep repeating and emphasizing what each of the hormones of proteins does in the body and the brain. I know I will remember them better because of the way this book was written. So (unlike a lot of other reviewers) I actually thought the repetitive nature of this book was helpful.

Purchase here!

On Writing by Stephen King

Genre: Nonfiction - Reference: Writing Skills
Rating: 5/5

I'll admit I have never actually read a novel by Stephen King, but I constantly (like, almost every day it seems) hear someone mention his name, see a meme with him or one of his stories or characters, or see people talking about one of his books or a movie made from it. He is ubiquitous in the book world. I started collecting his books to read when I have time, but I thought this one would be a good one to start with. I'm not actually a writer, and I don't believe I have the talent to become one (and I really don't have a desire to write either). However, I am a freelance editor, so I have been attempting to "get into the head of the writer" as it were. At this point in my life, I have a real need to understand literature from every perspective to be a better editor. I chose this as one of the first since it is also a memoir and I wanted to learn more about Stephen King.
I am glad I read this, and I really have almost nothing negative to say about it other than the fact that I wish he would have labelled the chapter sections a little better for easier reference. I have had to dog-ear, highlight, and put little sticky notes on the pages of interest to come back to later.

His advice on writing (which starts about halfway into the actual book) is, as promised, concise and to the point. LOVE that. He covers most aspects writers are interested in: how to create good characters, what to do about plotting, how to approach theme, etc. He also talks a lot about his more global views on writing. For example, he suggests setting aside a certain amount of time each day and having a word goal; doing the first draft quickly and then setting it aside for a few weeks before tackling the revisions; putting together a team of friends to give you advice and opinions on the story after the second draft is completed, etc. I found all of that fascinating from an objective standpoint, since of course I will likely not be doing that. But it is truly interesting to see how his mind works.

One thing in particular I was surprised to read was that he believes plotting makes for an artificial book. Again, my mind is not that of a writer, but I always imagine writers making all these detailed plans and outlines about their book to make sure that they can stay on track. I cannot IMAGINE sitting down to write and just letting the characters go where they want to go. This is foreign to me! I actually did a quick poll on my editing Facebook page and discovered that the majority of my writing followers are in fact "pantsters," which is to say that they do not plot. Anyway, this was a learning experience for me in many ways. All of what he had to say was valuable to me because I am at the point where I need to soak up as much of this as possible. It was all relevant.
The sections on his personal life I found entertaining and interesting. At first, I thought I might be a little bored and was eager to get to the "meat" of the book, but I found myself wanting to read more and more about his life and experiences as a young writer. He is, of course, a talented writer and knows how to draw you in, even in a non-fiction book! The section about getting hit by a car was also interesting.

I appreciate the fact that he included a section of self edits at the end. It will be helpful to look over and study because edits from an author are definitely different from edits from an editor.
I am also looking forward to making my way through his list of books he has read recently (at least, the books he read in and around 1999). There were quite a few unfamiliar authors as well as quite a few that I recognized. If those books are worthy of his time, they are worthy of mine, so I look forward to reading them.

I would recommend this book to anyone in the writing world, not just authors. I think it can help editors and teachers too. And honestly, if people who aren't in the writing world want to read it, I am sure they would find the information interesting as well.

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

Genre: "Christian" Personal Growth/Self Help
Rating: 3/5 stars

*The following review is quite long and will likely ruffle feathers. This is my brutally honest opinion about this book. I mostly liked this book but would only recommend with caution for my Christian friends or my stay-at-home mom friends.

This book is fascinatingly frustrating. I started out loving it and understanding why it is a bestseller. As the book went on, I became more and more irritated and then frankly upset. The good chapters are interspersed with the frustrating chapters.

There were a couple of concepts early on that stuck out to me and seemed helpful:
(1) We should keep the promises we make to ourselves. This chapter really spoke to me because it is a concept that has literally never occurred to me (and I am what most people would consider a "go-getter." If I want/need something, I usually make it happen. But I began to realize while listening to this chapter that lately I truly haven't been prioritizing the promises and commitments that I make to myself, big or small. When you constantly break even small promises to yourself, it trains you that this is acceptable behavior and it damages your ability to commit and follow through on anything! At first it seems selfish that you would prioritize what you need. However, what it really does is help you be wiser about the kinds of commitments you are making.
(2) It's a lie that you are only worth something if you are producing. I'm not an extreme workaholic like the author explains that she is, although if I had a job outside the home, I can certainly see myself having this issue. This chapter hit hard because I definitely feel like I always have to be doing something. If I am sitting down, I can't just BE.

Later on, I also truly enjoyed the chapter on weight and the chapter on alcohol. Lately, there has been a lot of uproar about people who say that being obese isn't healthy. (They are pretty much crucified on social media as "attacking women.") While the attitude to accept yourself no matter what might be okay for our mental health, it's not healthy for us physically. The author makes it a point to emphasize that our weight and appearance aren't the things that matter most: how we take of our bodies is what matters most. I appreciate this immensely, and it somehow seems to be a little bit of a unique message in our society. We have one camp saying there's no problem being 600 pounds, while the other condemns women who don't meet their standard of beauty. Hollis's message on weight and taking care of yourself is solid (although I personally don't agree when she says that it's a "very simple" matter of calories in vs. calories out. It's absolutely more complicated in many cases. Metabolism and the human body are necessarily complicated. But that's a minor quibble in an otherwise great chapter.
What she says about alcohol is also insightful. We sometimes don't even realize how much we are relying on it until it is too late. Drinking is SO societally acceptable, and we don't realize we are using alcohol as a crutch, and then it starts to do more and more damage. This chapter is a good one.

While there is much wonderful insight to be gleaned from this book, there are some things that I wholeheartedly disagree with and did not care for about this book. When I got to the chapter "Loving Him is Enough for Me," I thought it was going to be a great chapter for all those women who allow themselves to be mistreated because they just can't let go of that one toxic relationship, that one person they love so much they can't even stand it. Then she told a story about a person who treated her terribly and about how she stood up to him... and then took him back (that person was her husband). Now, it's great that she and her husband are happy together. That's wonderful. But she undermined her entire point (the chapter wasn't about mercy or forgiveness, either of which would have been a totally fine theme.) So this chapter was really just confusing and irritating. The chapter on sex was needlessly awkward and not at all helpful to me personally, although I am sure it could be helpful to others.

As I continued on in this book, it became clear to me that she is using MANY of her chapters to justify her choice to be not only a working mom but be a working mom who is largely absent from the home. She brings up "her media company with millions of followers" in nearly every chapter and talks about "following her dreams" almost as much. She even says at one point that she knows her children will understand and essentially forgive her absence when they are older because they will know that she was setting an example to "follow her dreams." No. Just no.
Children know that you are absent because your job is more important. When they get older, they will know that you were absent because your job was more important. That's how it works.
In the chapter about "making yourself smaller," she goes on and on about how she spent years struggling with "mom guilt" about not being there like other moms. And she essentially equates "being small" with "limiting yourself" and staying home and taking care of kids. She pretty much mocks the working moms that say that being a mother is their main job (she says they are so much MORE than just a mother, like it's somehow BAD to believe that motherhood is your main calling?) AND (this made me almost want to stop reading) she throws out the line "men never get asked if they are guilty for not being home" and talks about the "patriarchy." Gag. Then she said something about how the world will tell her sons that their possibilities are endless, but it will tell her daughter something different. Again, NO. That's false, and I'm honestly pretty ticked off that I got most of the way into the book without realizing that she was going to be throwing out the feminist agenda.

There are some really great chapters, some very insightful and profound words of wisdom in this book (For example, I was almost clapping when she said that writing was a divine gift from God. Onw thing she didn't say but that I believe is that it is a divine pursuit because it is an actual aspect of God's character. We love creating because HE is the ultimate creator!) but they are almost overwhelmed by a clear message of justification for being mostly absent from the home and pursuing her own goals with abandon. She is very confident and says she has made peace with her decisions in her life, but it's a little too much whining and lamenting followed by justification for me to believe that. ***Please don't misunderstand me, I don't think that working moms are doing ANYTHING wrong by being working moms. But this author in particular makes it very clear that her career (her "dream") is THE most important thing. It comes across like the kids are an accessory. That, I do disagree with. There is a difference between being confident and empowered and being selfish. The Bible verses and biblical concepts that are at first thrown out seemingly randomly become very trite as the book goes on because she is using them (again) to justify how she wants to live her life. And the "judge not" messages that are thrown in at every opportunity are shallow, especially when you understand that MOST people use that message to make themselves feel better about how they are living their life.
Women DO need to understand concepts like "You are not measured by your productivity" or "Don't let people push you around." So some of what she has to say is spot on and uplifting. However, women don't need to be fed the feminist LIE that they are somehow victims that have to overcome a patriarchal society, and that being at "home in the kitchen" makes you LESS. Women DON'T need to be told that staying at home makes them less worthwhile than someone who is "pursuing their dream."  Selfishness is not godly.

It is my opinion that sometimes being "liberated" isn't the best thing. Sometimes we need to be grounded. Sometimes we don't need to have our heads in the clouds. Sometimes we can't have it all. Sacrifices have to be made. No one should have to live life full of guilt, but we can't delude ourselves into thinking that if we are pursuing our own personal "dream" all day every day, that's not going to have consequences. I think that's where this book misses the mark. Women (people in general) should be happy, fulfilled, and confident in themselves, and I am happy to have heard the concepts of this book, BUT we have to be realistic and realize that humility and selflessness do not make us less!

Overall, I think this book has the potential to help a lot of women (and, based on reviews, it HAS helped a lot of people.) So many of the concepts are incredibly powerful and positive. The author clearly has a passion for empowering women, and she is confident, intelligent, and has a reasonably good head on her shoulders. Just because I intensely disagree with her on several key things doesn't make this a bad book. However, women should approach this book with caution.