Caveat about a Book Mentioned Earlier

Earlier today I shared the books I'm currently reading. There is something I want to add: Writing from Personal Experience is not a book I would recommend for your high school writers!

It's a library book that I am in the process of reading, so even as I was posting today, I hadn't seen some of the content that I read later this evening. Personally, for someone of my middle-age years, I don't see it as a problem; it's in much better taste -in my opinion - than some books I've found on the subject of writing (some of which I put down unread, even at my age).

However, in this current book, there are things mentioned, regarding "lifestyles" and such, that I would not necessarily want to infer to young people as acceptable writing - or reading - topics.

Book Meme

I love those bloggers who say so much in so few words. Too bad I'm not one of them. As I prepare to share with you what I've been currently reading, it is with trepidation. How am I going to do this briefly? Gulp. Deep breath. Here goes...

Yesterday, Esther of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii "tagged me for a meme" (I think that's the proper way to say that). I get the joy of sharing with you the books I'm reading.

Writing from Personal Experience, by Nancy Davidoff Kelton, is my current read that I picked up at the library the other day. I love that I can read it in snippets, picking any chapter. She even gives permission for the reader to do this. I love that she has sentences that I ooh and ahh over. Like this, "One does not notice the words. They are there to create a world and evoke the reader's response." Or this, "...not only reveal something to the readers about who you are and what you think and feel, but who they are as well."

Note regarding the above book: (Added later on.) As I have now read more of this book since posting this, I must add that I don't recommend this for your young people. Please remember that it's a library book that I hadn't finished reading yet. I have more to say about it in my subsequent post.

Another book I've been grazing recently is an old one that my husband's great aunt gave us many years ago when she found out that I'm distantly related to Abraham Lincoln. It's called The Inner Life of Abraham Lincoln, Six Months at the White House, by F. B. Carpenter. The copyright is 1866! (But it's not worth anything in a monetary way, which is good, so I won't be tempted to sell.) Mr. Carpenter lived at the White House while painting a portrait of the cabinet gathered to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. It's neat to see what someone has to way who was living right there, right then. And I'm re-inspired by his admiration of the president.

Besides the Bible, my book companion recently has been The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White. If you are interested, you can read my review of this book here. This book is a gem full of gems. I am hoping that if I read a little here and a little there, it will rub off on me, especially White's ability to be concise. Keep your fingers crossed.

Speaking of companions, the other book I keep by my bed and keep re-visiting is The Catholic Homeschool Companion, edited by Maureen Wittmann and Rachel Mackson. It's a compendium of inspiring viewpoints and experiences, as well as a great resource. And I just discovered while writing this that Maureen is offering the book at a discounted price right now as part of a 4-H fund-raising effort! You can read my reviews here and here.
Catholic Homeschool Companion is Now Being Sold for $5 Off
To buy the book at the current discount price, you can go here.

I was happy to see the other day, at someone else's blog, that I'm not the only one who reads as many as four books at a time. I don't know if I have A.D.D. or if it's just a symptom of being a writer.

Now I'm supposed to tag some other people. Although I didn't see any number regarding books (I'll bet some people are focused and read ONE book at a time!), somewhere I saw the number five for people, so I guess that's how many I'm supposed to "tag". There are people whose blogs I recommend whom I won't tag because I think they're already just about in over their heads with stuff to do...book deadlines, house-hunting, fund-raising, you name it. Or in one case, what she mostly DOES is review books, so this seems superfluous. So...that made it easier to narrow it down to five. Here are my picks:

Holly of A Woman Seeking Grace
Lissa of Here in the Bonny Glen
Alice of Cottage Blessings
Alexandra of Happy Hearts at Home
Maria of Tater Tots and Ladybug Love

Escape to Prosperity (A Book Review)

Here is a little gem that is selling on Amazon for a penny. You read that right. One cent...although, of course, you have to pay shipping.

This is a fun book to read - unless you want to continue to do the things that keep you broke. This is a book about money principles, which is written in an always interesting and sometimes humorous way.

Wes Beavis talks about paying off your mortgage, making tax-paying more pleasant, the cost of owning a car. He also talks about getting out of debt. But most of all, he talks about how to go about these things, all in a story-telling way. This book has become required reading in my high school curriculum.

Neat Little Booklets about Cars

We might be ready to look for a "new" heap that can take me on the freeway! And then maybe we will pass mine down to our son, since a putt-putt car is better than no car, and can be driven to the store or to the subway. But how we go about that gets tricky as far as title transfer...or not, vehicle inspection certification on my ailing heap...or not, maybe we just let him use it, but then there's the insurance and they want to insure him for Ed's car, too, which has comprehensive coverage. So there's a lot of "homework" to do here. But first things first, and the first thing is to find the "right car" for me for a very little bit of money.

So Ed suggested we buy these little books he heard about on the radio. As I was reading them, I knew I had to share these little gems with you! They ARE "little", only a little over twenty pages each, even though each book costs $4.75. But when I think of what we might save, it definitely seems worth it. And who wants to spend hours poring over long books about the mechanics and economics of a car, when you can get it in nuggets?

Even if you're not in the market for a heap (or any other new-to-you car), you might benefit from Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It! The Click and Clack brothers, Tom and Ray Magliozzi, say that they named the book first; then they made a list of fifteen items. By paying attention, we may be able to add years to the lives of our cars. (Now we just need to fix our diets so we can live as long as the car. This, by the way, is my humor, not theirs; although their books are filled with humor.)

The next book is Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car? (Incidentally, they don't even address the stealing idea. It's just part of their humor and a catchy title. And if you can't shrug off an occasional in-law joke, these books aren't for you. I never had a problem with my in-laws but I know it's a common area for jokes.) The sub-heading of this book is "How to Save Tens of Thousands of Dollars On Your Cars Over the Next 20 Years". If you drive a heap, like I do, the previous book might be more helpful for saving money. But even if you're a cheapskate like me, you might want to share the information in this book with your children and others. I like that they explain car leasing (which seems so shrouded in mystery to many people...not a recommended option, by the way). I especially like that they give options for different possible strategies that you can use in buying a car, depending on how old or new a car you want, and that they have charts showing how much you can save by using one option over another.

How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows is the next book. In addition to the usual tips, this book has a chart you can copy and give to your mechanic to check out a potential used car before you make an offer.

I'd just like to add that I don't make a penny if you buy these books. I am only sharing them because:
A) I want to have something to write about every day. (I'm too honest this morning.)
B) I think they are enlightening and helpful! (I even wonder if I could still be driving my 14 year old car on the freeway today, if I had read the Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car... years ago.)
C) And I would like to ask you to please say a prayer that we make the best decisions regarding the cars, insurance, and so forth. Thank you!

Fort McHenry

The War of 1812 was precipitated by British ships capturing Americans to help sail her ships in her war with France, and conflicts over the Northwest Territories and the Canadian border.

In 1814, British troops attacked Washington D.C., burning important buildings. Americans frantically moved documents to safe places. Then the British troops moved up the Chesapeake Bay, where their next target was the important city of Baltimore. American troops were ready at Ft. McHenry, the water entrance to Baltimore. Infantrymen and sailors exchanged cannon fire through the night of September 13, 1814.

An American lawyer, Francis Scott Key, had been on a British warship when the battle started, trying to effect the release of an American doctor. Dawn brought him the moving sight of our flag flying over the Fort. The American troops had triumphed. Key jotted the Star Spangled Banner on an envelope, and passed it around later that month as a handbill.

We got a feel for this era of our country, during our visit to Fort McHenry, where we saw canons similar to the ones that had been used, and visited the barracks where the soldiers had lived and worked.

The Battle for Baltimore had been the turning point of the War of 1812. Our young nation had once again proven our liberty from Great Britain as a separate country, so we could then move on to become allies. Today we can work side by side; and learn from one another's literature and other contributions to society.

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers

Book Review of
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers,
By Maria Augusta Trapp

Until I first read this book (many years ago), The Sound of Music was my favorite movie (many years ago). It’s always interesting to see how Hollywood can take a book and change it into a movie. Come to find out (from another, later book), Maria wasn’t happy with how they portrayed Captain Von Trapp in the movie…not the Georg she knew and loved. And there were other discrepancies between the original book and the movie. However, I “got over it” and learned to just enjoy both: the book and the movie, as two somewhat different stories. After all, the movie had helped me come to love Catholicism when I was a non-Catholic youth.

While Georg was not portrayed accurately in the movie, Maria herself was definitely the strong-willed, vivacious personality, similar to the way she was portrayed in the movie. The book also covers a wider range of time than the movie, telling all about their lives in America. It chronicles the Trapp family's love of their Catholic faith, their family and their music, as they escaped Nazi-occupied Austria, emigrated across the sea, and sang their way across America. Sometimes sad, sometimes hilariously funny, it’s a good read for adults and teens alike. And if you haven't seen the movie, The Sound of Music, I highly recommend that too.

Our Mutual Friend

My "love affair" with the writings of Charles Dickens was definitely not "love at first sight"! In high school, when I HAD to read A Tale of Two Cities, I hated it. (It's still not my favorite, although I appreciate the theme very much.) When my oldest child was a baby, I checked out books from the library to read while nursing...and decided that Dickens was a socialist and I didn't like him. Probably about ten years later, I decided to read a Dickens' book again. I don't remember which one it was, probably David Copperfield, but I do remember that I liked it. Not bad. Good characterizations. And he effected great social change by his writings. I read another one. And another one. His writing got better with each reading. I was hooked. Learning to like Dickens' writing was, for me, a slow ponderous process (like his writing; like my writing).

Even if you haven't read Dickens' books, you've probably heard of A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations, and David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. And I'm sure everyone is familiar with A Christmas Carol in some form. But when I discovered Our Mutual Friend, I had never heard of it. It quickly became my favorite!

As usual, there are multiple plots and subplots, and a whole parade of characters who all inevitably come to know each other or to have an effect on each other. As usual, his characters are larger than life. There are the same dark places, the same sinister types of people. There are those "bad characters" who are rushing slowly toward what you would expect them to "achieve". (Yes, I said "rushing slowly".) As usual, there are those characters who are shallow, as well as those who are selfish.

So why is this book any different? Through it all there are a great number of characters who are refreshingly gallant; primary characters who are already "good", but who grow -- and, best of all, who come to happy...I won't say endings but "continuings" at the end of the book. While this book does show some ponderously melancholy examples of the darkest side of human nature, it is also - in contrast - the "happiest" Dickens' book I have read.

If you can read a book in parts, if you can devote some hours on the weekend, or give up a few evenings, head on over to your library or bookstore... And when you're all done, please come back and let me know what you think.

Can You Believe...Sulfur?

Before you begin reading this post, let me say that I do not give medical advice, and nothing in here should be misconstrued as medical advice. (I hope that's a good enough disclaimer. :) ). I am not in any medical profession, nor do I have any interest in any vitamin or food supplement company. I just want to share with you something that's been a terrific help in my life. And it came about almost "by accident"...well, I didn't plan it, but maybe God did.

Sulfur! That's what comes up from those springs at Yellowstone Park, isn't it? That's what you read about being in the bowels of the earth..and what some authors use to represent hell. Sulfur. The smell of rotten eggs. When someone recommended that I take MSM, a sulfur compound, I remembered DMSO. A couple decades earlier, I knew someone who was taking DMSO and smelled of sulfur at public meetings. Uh, uh; no way was I taking this stuff!

But somehow I found out that MSM is formulated differently from DMSO and it doesn't make you smell like sulfur at all. And the capsules don't smell like anything; they go down easy. Okay, so far I've told you what it's not: smelly. Now I should tell you why I'm talking about it.

One day, several years ago, I woke up with my toe hurting so badly I could hardly walk. I was sure I had fractured it. The doctor examined it and said, "Gout." Hmm, I hadn't done any of the dietary "things" that might cause it, but who knows about nature and disease. But when the x-rays came back, the office staff called me and said, "It's not gout. It's just arthritis." I said, "Just?" She said yes, arthritis can be very painful. Oh yeah. "Just" simply meant it's nothing to worry about or treat. A friend said to me, "PLEASE try taking MSM." Okay, if you put it that way.

I began taking one capsule every day. Of course, my acute flare-up with my toe subsided, and of course, being a skeptic, I figured it would have anyway (and quite possibly it would). But I just kept taking my capsule of MSM each day.

Suddenly one day something dawned on me! I hadn't had a cough for months! I hadn't had a cough since I began taking the MSM! From childhood I could set the calendar by my annual coughs, that later turned into semi-annual. More recently I had begun having them at least four times a year, usually lasting about six weeks each. Sometimes I'd go to the doctor: no bronchitis or pneumonia or anything, "just a cold". But then I'd go to the grocery store and begin hacking and gagging so much that people would avoid me or ask me WHAT I was going to give them; why I was there and not at home or in the hospital. (I kid you not. People asked me that.) When I was diagnosed with dust allergy, I began taking allergy shots, but quit taking them... long story. After stopping the shots, the four-times-a-year prolonged coughs had resumed. But now they were gone.

So why would sulfur, "an important component of joint cartilage and other body tissues", according to my bottle from GNC, have anything to do with allergies? It was the only thing I had done differently, the only thing in my life that had changed. And then I remembered that allergies were one of the topics in the book I'd borrowed from the library, The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain, by Stanley W. Jacob, M.D.

I'm not sure how I would have gotten through the other stresses of the past four years - while coughing (and hence, not sleeping). Who would have thought that I could keep my allergies at bay for about ten cents a day? I am SO grateful to God, and to my friend, for introducing me to MSM. So I decided that I really ought to share my story. If you have arthritis or allergies, or know someone who does, I suggest you get this book and read it.

Two cautions I would like to mention. First of all, if I had a medical condition that required checking before taking drugs, I would also check before taking a new mineral supplement. Also, I remember reading in The Miracle of MSM that if you are on a blood thinner, you shouldn't take MSM on a regular basis...or was it in the higher doses the author recommends? I would have to read the book again. (And I have now requested it from the library again.) You see, I am not recommending that you run out and buy the bottle and start taking MSM. I am recommending that you get the book and read it. :) (You may be able to get it from your public library.) Then decide for yourself what you think is best.

Appendix of The Catholic Homeschool Companion

Last night I discovered something about the appendix of this wonderful book, The Catholic Homeschool Companion: There is a listing of many Catholic home-study schools. You might wonder, “What’s so significant about that?” Oh, but it IS very significant, because the editors wrote to each of the schools and asked them to describe their own program.

This makes this section a wonderful way for a new homeschooler who wants to use a ready-made curriculum to decide which one fits her family’s lifestyle and values, rather than just going with what a friend recommends, or spending time and money experimenting. Veteran homeschoolers who want to change programs can also get insight this way.

For those who want to teach without a prepared curriculum…or to supplement, there is also an appendix of “Catholic Publishers”. I counted fifteen publishers in this list, before even getting to the list of a dozen “Homeschool Publishers”, as well as additional “Curriculum Mail Order” and “General Mail Order” resources.

For someone who remembers the early days of homeschooling when there were two Catholic homeschool programs and very few supplementary books being published, these lists are totally amazing. I remember – decades ago - thumbing through non-Catholic homeschool catalogs, dreaming of the day when Catholics would have something comparable. The reality has exceeded my wildest dreams.

Back to the Appendix itself, it also includes listings of magazines and websites, as well as resources for homeschooling children with learning and physical disabilities, foreign language resources, and a list of Catholic colleges that homeschool families particularly like. The Appendix, as you can see, is almost a book in itself.

Mama's Bank Account

Mama’s Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes, 1943

Pleasant surprises abound for the reader, beginning with the first chapter. At first glance, you might think this book is primarily about how the author’s mother managed the family’s finances. But Mama’s practical psychology and everyday wisdom are perhaps even more important than her thrift and planning.

Even though the book is about an era nearly a hundred years ago, the way Mama dealt with life offers us invaluable lessons that we can use in our twenty-first century lives.

Laugh, cry, and nod in approval and amazement as you enjoy this tale.

The Catholic Homeschool Companion in Review

Have you ever thought of doing a book review of the Bible? Surely not, because once you got past “It’s the inspired, infallible Word of God,” how would you then describe it? It’s history; it’s poetry; it’s law. It’s about Our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s about a faithful shepherd boy overcoming a giant. It’s about a reluctant prophet being swallowed by a whale. And you’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what the Bible is about.

I got excited when I thought of sharing with you, my readers and friends, The Catholic Homeschool Companion, Selected and Edited by Maureen Wittmann and Rachel Mackson. But what pops into my head now is that “Fools rush in where angels dare not tread.” How do you review a book that is an entire library? It's about Catholic homeschooling, but how else would I describe it? It’s stories; it’s inspiration; it’s advice. It’s about an inspiring woman who homeschools her children while suffering from a serious illness. It’s about managing our homes while we homeschool. It’s about homeschool graduates who are happy young adults. But we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what this book is about.

As a homeschooling Mom of twenty-plus years, who has read every magazine, catalog, and website that I could get my hands on, I have found something new that is just chock-full of inspiration and encouragement. Each of the articles in this book is written with the depth and beauty of a “good book”, only shorter. You can pick it up, read an article, go back to your work, and read another article another time. The many articles are very readable, written by Catholic homeschool mothers, fathers, students and graduates…just for you.

Book Review of "Down to the Bonny Glen"

Refreshingly delightful and inspiring, this book about Laura Ingalls Wilder's great-grandmother portrays the culture of eighteenth century Scotland.

Melissa Wiley brings her characters to life with warmth, humor and love. Although the book is primarily character-driven, it includes plenty of drama, suspense and excitement.

As with the parables, messages come unobtrusively through the story line. What messages? Respect for all, an appreciation of beauty and nature, the power of prayer and courage, and more.

I highly recommend a mother reading this to her daughter. Both will enjoy.

Margaret Mary Myers