It's been several weeks since I've been able to share a Words on Wednesday post with you. In May I read so many great books that my commonplace book is just bursting with things I'd love to share with you. I had trouble deciding today, but I eventually went with this one:
Which was probably quoted by Nancy Pearcey. (I finished two of her books in May and back in March I finished another.)
I have thoroughly appreciated the books by Pearcey, not least because they seemed to pick up several threads that I heard repeatedly at the Great Homeschool Convention. I think it was Professor Carol who said something along the lines of, "Don't show up to a culture war without a culture."
And Russell Moore said in his book Onward (which I also finished early this year),
...the biggest problem is not that we lost the culture war; it's that we never really had one.
It's convicting, thought-provoking stuff. And it has implications for my life, particularly our homeschooling life.
Because I'm not just trying to give my children better academics than they'd get somewhere else: I'm trying to give them a better culture, a sound and healthy culture.
It's definitely bigger than academics, but that bigger purpose is also encouraging. Because that means, rather than sit around and lament the state of things, I can reassure that what we're doing matters. It MEANS something.
That's encouraging.
Recently Finished
Inspector of the Dead by David Morrell. Series mystery starring Thomas De Quincey. I didn't realize this was #2 in a series until I had already started the book. This is adequate historical fiction, although the author seems determined to stuff everything he learned about De Quincey and his times into one story. (I very much dislike clumsy exposition of era and customs. It's talking down to the reader to assume they don't know anything about the time when your story is set.) Bloody, graphic murders and high handed modern sensibilities also detracted from the story for me. Recommended only if you particularly love historical mysteries or De Quincey. (It was fairly enlightening to read this after reading Pearcey's Saving Leonardo. Examining De Quincey's worldview and logical fallacies was an interesting exercise.)
Finding Truth by Nancy Pearcey is the 2nd book by Pearcey that I finished in May. I'm definitely assigning this as required reading for our oldest, high-school age daughter. Highly recommended!
Recently Added
Totto-Chan by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi is a book that Professor Carol Reynolds recommended. Delightful stories about Kuroyanagi growing up in 1930s Japan. The school she attended and the schoolmaster who designed the school are incredibly inspirational.
Love and Friendship by Will Stillman is a finished version of Austen's Lady Susan and the basis of a new movie adaptation (which I am excited to see, although I most likely will not get to see it in the theater.) I haven't started this yet (so many books on my stack right now!) but I'm looking forward to it.
Current Read Aloud
Our schedule has been crazy but we finally finished The Wind in the Willows last night. Despite one of my listeners being probably too young, and despite the fact that I don't think this novel makes a great read aloud, the girls still enjoyed it. The last chapters are particularly action packed with Toad's antics, so that helped.
We haven't picked our next bedtime read aloud, although I'm leaning toward a book that I haven't read before (sometimes my motivation is greater when I'm not familiar with the story either).
In the mornings we've been reading:
The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths Retold. These are lyrical but sparse retellings.
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick. This has been fun: history, science, and math all in one great read aloud.
Famous Men of Rome. The girls are enjoying narrating this one: so much action!
Current Book to Review
Nothing currently.
Current Kindle Deals
The Green Ember is free again right now. You'll definitely want to order it, if you haven't already. My oldest daughter highly recommends it.
The Shakespeare Book from DK is $1.99 right now. I haven't seen this resource before but that seems like a good price to give it a chance.
What are you reading now?
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