September 2022 Books

A lot was accomplished this month so I have a good number to share with you.

First up is Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery. I have read this a few times and enjoy it each time. The positivity that just exudes from Anne is somewhat contagious and I can’t help but be in a good mood anytime I read it. If you are unfamiliar, Anne is an orphan who goes to live with Matthew and Marilla (a brother and sister) on Prince Edward Island. She has such an outlook on life that she brightens everyones’ day, finds more trouble than everyone else combined, and brings hope to the community. It is a heartwarming story that everyone should read.

As a companion read to Anne for an online book club that I found, I read Dear Mr. Knightly by Katherine Reay. It is about Sam, another orphan who has grown up in the foster care system. After she became an adult, she lived in a home that helped her greatly and she has been given a scholarship. To keep the scholarship, she must write to the anonymous donor, keeping him updated on her life and schooling. She finds the anonymity helpful and opens up to him greatly in the letters. I really enjoyed learning about Sam, her difficulties, her insecurities, and seeing her grow so much through her time. Her relationships grow and change as she does. It was an enjoyable read.

I did a review of a sweet little book for children called Mama, Sing My Song by Amanda Seibert. You can read that here.

I am finishing up a review on Britfield & The Return of The Prince by Chad Stewart. I will post that, hopefully, in a few days. Here is the overview of it: One year later, the Committee has struck back with a vengeance, crippling the Resistance now scattered throughout Europe. When Devonbury Academy in Switzerland is attacked, Tom and Sarah’s only hope is to make it to a safe house in northern Italy by relying on their own experience and training. Overpowered and outnumbered, Tom and Sarah are ruthlessly hunted throughout Italy by the Black Nobility. Henry and Oliver discover a devastating truth, Detective Gowerstone is confronted by a dark secret from his past, and Inspector Fontaine is pushed to her limits. Will Tom and Sarah find the Britfields? Relationships will be challenged, and new friendships forged, culminating in an unparalleled finale of sacrifice, romance, revenge, and loss.

I am rereading The Creativity Crusade by Dr. Richard Shade and Patti Garrett Shade. I have found it quite interesting and refreshing. A couple of ideas that I have found helpful: by expecting a single right answer, we have taught the children that everything else is wrong and thus a failure; creative thinging and critical thinking are not the same thing and require quite different brain power; there are opposing characteristics for the way creative thinkers should be taught and the way a typical educational setting teach. There is so much packed into this book. Every educator should read it, which means every adult should read this or something very similar to it, because everyone teaches someone.

I enjoyed a nonfiction book titled More Ketchup Than Salsa by Joe Cawley. I found this account of two couples who moved to an island in order to buy and run a bar for tourists to be a unique travel read. So many people dream of moving to some exotic place and working to support themselves in a simple, relaxed lifestyle. Well, Joe is here to tell you that doesn’t really exist; at least, not in the way we might expect. Joe and his brother and their two ladies purchase a bar that is highly popular with tourists. They get about 24 hours of training after they arrive on the ins and outs of the business and then they are off. From power grid ups and downs, the mafia showing up on the bar stools, difficult yet helpful patrons, crazy cockroach infections, and many more incredible moments, we get to follow the adventures of owning a bar on Tenerife. Whether we believe the adventures or not, it is a fun way to read about how life could be (and not that it is likely much, much different than we could ever imagine).

I finished up a quick little bible study for review on Ezra and Nehemiah. It was a 10 week study and I’ll be sharing it soon.

Do you have any book titles to share with me? I’d love to have some more on to-be-read list.
Blessings,
Lori, At Home.

Tagged: books