Year In Review

This is my completed reading list of 2013.  Though I did not read everything I initially set out to read, I read far more than what my goal was, for that I feel accomplished.  It is because of the unexpected changing of the seasons of life and my desire to grow in knowledge, understanding, and to prepare for the future.  I plan to continue my reading goal of one book per month... possibly for the rest of my life. (:  There are so many books I want to read and it is amazing how simply setting a goal and organizing my reading ever so slightly, has greatly helped me to read more.  This has been a year of learning to be more organized.  From simply meal planning, to planning for the future, keeping our home orderly, etc. it has been well worth it.

A scale of 1-5 (Subject to change upon my own whim and will).

1) being, complete waste. Why did I finish it?
2) being, minimally thought provoking/entertaining. Won’t read it again.
3) being, borderline useful, mild usefulness in instruction about the faults in it/mildly entertaining; Enough good to be challenged, grow a little in thought. Might read it again.
4) being, a really great book, useful to instruct, thought provoking/good entertainment, very challenging, growth as a reader, way more good than bad, would recommend. Worth reading again.
5) being, found enjoyable, challenging, useful in many ways, would highly recommend with no holding back, over all EXCELLENT book. Need to read again!
A 3 1/2 star is not as harsh as a 3, but not quite deserving of a 4 (a really great book), but a good book none the less.


And without further ado, the completed reading list of this Housewife (and momma!!):

1. How to Read a Book, Mortimer J. Adler  4 Stars
2. The Bondage of the Will, Dr. Martin Luther  5 Stars
3. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin  3 Stars
4. Easy Chairs, Hard Words, Doug Wilson  5 Stars
5. The Last Disciple, Hank Hanegraaff  4 Stars
6. The Revolution: A Manifesto, Dr. Ron Paul  4 Stars
7. Beautiful Babies, Kristen Michaelis  4 Stars
8. The Last Sacrifice, Hank Hanegraaff  4 Stars
9. The Harsh Truth About Public Schools, Bruce Shortt  4 Stars
10. Heroes of the Holocaust: True Stories of Rescues by Teens, Allan Zullo  4 Stars
11. The Reward of Childhood Truth  5 Stars
12. IndoctriNation, Colin Gunn  5 Stars
13. Dollar NonCents, Peter Allison  5 Stars
14. Duncan's War, Douglas Bond  5 Stars
15. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Ina May Gaskin  4 Stars
16. Maternal Fitness, Julie Tupler  3 Stars
17. Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, Susan McCutcheon-Rosegg  4 Stars
18. Birth in Four Cultures, Brigitte Jordan 3 1/2 Stars
19. Changing Diapers, Kelly Wels  4 Stars
20. Gentle Birth Choices, Barbara Harper  3 1/2 Stars
21. Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, R. C. Sproul Sr.  4 Stars
22. Christ-Centered Childbirth, Kelly Townsend  4 Stars
23. Husband Coached Childbirth, Dr. Robert Bradley 4 Stars
24. The Power of Prayer Handbook, Peter Hammond  5 Stars
25. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, Rosaria Champagne Butterfield  5 Stars
26. Blood Money: The Civil War & The Federal Reserve, John Remington Graham  4 Stars
27. Breastfeeding & Fertility, Jenny Silliman  4 Stars
28. Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in Trenches, Rachel Jankovic 3 1/2 Stars
29. Apostate, Kevin Swanson  5 Stars
30. Breastfeeding: A Parents Guide, Amy Spanger  5 Stars
31. On Becoming BabyWise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nigh Time Sleep, Gary Ezzo 3 1/2 - 4 Stars
32. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Le Leche League International  3 1/2 Stars

You can go through the archives of my blog to read the reviews, or click here to view my GoodReads profile.

Currently I am reading The Cure of Souls, R.J. Rushdoony, The Other Baby Book, Megan McGrory Massaro as well slowly going through the Westminster Confession Study Guide by G.I. Williamson.  That is more of a long term reading, since I am using it in more of a "devotional" way, reading small bits.  Before II Samuel was born I read it with my bible reading.  Now I just read it occasionally while nursing my precious baby boy, even reading aloud to him so he benefits from the rich systematic teaching of my beloved bible!  I'm also reading through The Institutes of Biblical Law by Rushdoony as the book to go with a ladies bible study I recently joined (and after one week, already loving both the time to discuss & learn with other ladies, but to be extremely challenged by such a book as this!).

Also, what could be more fitting than drinking a cup of tea as I plink away at updating this post?  This is a delicious and exotically interesting tea blend called, "Sweet Cinnamon Spice" of the Tazo brand.  Yum!  A dear friend gave me a lot of teas when she came and visited II Samuel and I.  She knows I love tea!  Very rarely do I find a tea that doesn't need anything added to it.  Maybe I should do tea reviews too?  Haha, just kidding. (:

Here is my original book list:
How to Read a Book, Adler & Doren - 346 (11 pages a day)
The Bondage of the Will, Dr. Martin Luther - 260 (9 pages a day)
Nullification, Tom Woods -  266 (8 1/2 pages a day)
Last Days Madness, Gary Demar - 442 (15 pages a day)
Dollar Noncents, Peter Allison - 155 (5 pages a day)
The Excellent Wife, Martha Peace - 249 (8 1/2 pages a day)
The Creature from Jekyll Island, G. Edward Griffin - 588 (19 pages a day)
Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, R.C. Sproul (Sr.) - 287 (9 pages a day)
The Revolution a Manifesto, Dr. Ron Paul - 167 (5 1/2 pages a day)
The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, John Owen - 309 (10 pages a day)

I find it interesting that I finished exactly half of what I intended to read.  I still want to read these titles, and perhaps I will finish them in 2014.  As for kicking off my reading goal, I did stay the course of reading X amount of pages each day for the first few months.  Then I found out I was pregnant.  Then I started reading multiple books, sigh.  That nasty habit weasled its way back into my reading regime.  But even so, I accomplished far more reading than I set out to do, and wanting to learn as much about labor/pregnancy/birth/postpartum really motivated me!  For that I count it as a blessing, even if I did not stick to my original plan rigidly.  But part of finishing so many books was being flexible, and part of having a rigid regime enabled me to begin at all.  Both styles of reading were beneficial to me this year.

There is no way I can pick one favorite.  I enjoyed them all, though I did like some better than others.  I am hard-pressed to choose a "favorite" and instead point to my ratings as a guess as to which ones I liked better than others. (;

I thank the Lord for giving me the perseverance to accomplish my 12 book reading goal, and go even further beyond what I thought I could finish.  I have grown mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually as a result of reading this vast array of book titles!  They all impacted me in very different ways, yet I'm grateful to have read them all.