Monday Reading, New Year's Edition (Minus the Resolutions)

Happy Monday. As Ann Voskamp said of this Monday in her post earlier today, “the first Monday of the first month of a new year, the first Monday of a brand new decade…”

Yes, indeed. Lots of firsts today.

Surprisingly (at least to me), I feel some of that newness today. I didn’t yesterday. I certainly didn’t on Saturday, the FIRST DAY of the New Year. So why today? I don’t know.

Perhaps because today has been solid day of progress. And happy attitudes. Whoa. Homeschool work was completed quickly, without complaint (WOW!! I mean seriously, WOW!!), naptime was relatively easy. And now the girls are at the park next door, screeching happily and playing, where they’ve been for the last HOUR. Can we say, Double WOW?? I think I may need to sit down, all the compliance and the noticeable lack of arguing are making my brain swell.

Maybe I even need to get back in bed, because I obviously didn’t wake up this morning and am still dreaming.

Dear God… I hope not.

I’m not one to bargain with God, but I’ll be honest – happiness and cooperation have been such that I’m tempted to do something foolish and offer God something He probably doesn’t really want anyway, like my left leg or something, just to keep it happy around here on a CONSISTANT basis for a while longer. 

But I digress.

You’re not here to read about my happy perfect life (BWAHAHAHAHA! You know that’s a lie!), are you? You just wanna know what I’ve been reading, right? So let’s jump right in.

Books

My book reading list is a bit shorter this week than usual. That’s because one book in particular has captured all my attention and REFUSED to let it go.

That book is Defiance, by Nechama Tec.

This is the same book that the 2008 movie (of the same name) featuring Daniel Craig was based on. I haven’t seen the movie (surprising, I know), YET. But when I passed the book while looking for another at the library recently, I had to pick it up.

I’m not going to lie – the writing of the book is not so great. Not great at all, actually. Not truly awful, but she definitely needed a good editor to help clarify and condense. Nechama Tec, while a obviously a dedicated historian who took great pains to interview and research her work, definitely bounced around A LOT in the telling of the Beilski Otriad. That created a lot of confusion during the reading, and I didn’t discover the glossary and list of key players at the end of the book until the very last chapter! If I had, it probably would have made the reading a bit easier. And there is also quite a bit of repetition in the book, which, by the end, did get rather old.

BUT… The story. What a story! Just wow. The story centers on three of the Beilski brothers, namely Tuvia Beilski, who ended up being the leaders of the only fighting group in the woods of Western Belorussia (Poland) that dedicated itself to saving Jews from the Nazis. By the end of the war, there were over 1200 people in the group, most of which were unarmed and unable to fight – women, children, the elderly and the infirm. But the story of how these brothers accomplished this is simply unbelievable. In that respect, it was a joy to read.

It’s not an easy read, it’s often not a fun read, and honestly, the ending was rather depressing… But once I picked it up, I was completely absorbed. It went everywhere with me – doctor’s appointments, riding in the car, everywhere. I read the entirety of it in a week, which is unusual for me to do these days! And additionally, for non-fiction to grab and keep my imagination for that long – let’s just say that’s a feat. I typically don’t read much non-fiction (unless, as in this case, it’s Holocaust-related, but as I’ve gotten older, I have come to appreciate it more in other areas, too).

I can’t wait to watch the movie!

That’s pretty much it for this week, although I did pick up Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear during the same library trip. I have literally just picked it up (last night) and am about twenty pages into it (which isn’t saying much considering it’s just over SIX HUNDRED PAGES LONG. It vibrates the whole nightstand if I put it down too hard. I’m surprised the bed doesn’t vibrate. Talk about heft, that’s MY kinda book right there.), but so far I like it. It reads more like a novel than a biography, so it already appeals. That and I’ve always loved Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-duck. Mostly for the adorable illustrations, but still.

But I’ll admit I’m a little intimidated by its length. I mean seriously, SIX HUNDRED PAGES.

That having been said, though… Honestly, it’s not that long. I guess it’s just that it’s a six-hundred page biography. Again, though, it reads appealingly, so I have hope.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I do have some new children’s and intermediate books that I’ll be working through in upcoming weeks as well, so pester me about those, will you?

Oh! Before I forget (and move on), next week there may not be a Monday Reading entry. We are leaving for Florida for two weeks that morning, and although I’ll try to get something ready the day before, there is no guarantee that I’ll actually remember AND DO what needs doing to get that done. Amidst packing for myself, the two monkeys and the multitude of other things that need doing before then. So yeah. 


ANYWAY.

Links

As usual, there are 37 bajillion links that I’ve been reading, and I want to share them ALL. But I’m not going to, because then we’d all be here for WAY TOO LONG. So here are some of the best from this last week.

Philosophy of a Hang Nail, Resolutions Part 1: Strawberry Freckles. Wow, great read. I really identified with this post about allowing one’s anger at being mistreated to color your whole life. I have dealt with a couple of similar situations, and it hasn’t been until recently that I’ve been able to start putting those experiences into their proper places without serious anger about them. Even still, sometimes it’s a struggle.

Why I Can’t Not Be Shy: Perpetual Chaos of a Wandering Mind. The background on this blog is a little distracting for me, but it’s an excellent read. I can only pray that my life is such that I am as honored as Lorraine was when it is my time. On an unrelated note, I misread the title of the blog as Perpetual Wanderings of a Chaotic Mind. Freudian slip? Perhaps! Sounds a whole lot like my daily life! And like an awesome title for a book. Hmmm…  

Five Things That Will Make You Happier: LiveScience. This is a very interesting article… I need to practice ALL of these things, although I’m generally never short on optimism!

Couples Grow Old, Happy and Sad Together: LiveScience. Another very interesting article. I love how it highlights how couples become more alike as they grow old together.

A New Year… Time for Me to Focus: Whimsyway. Although I talked about resolutions and goal-setting yesterday, I still really liked this post by the author of Whimsyway. She is *very* ambitious (at least in my opinion!), but her goals are ones that I can identify with and appreciate. I love that she wants to continue educating herself while she educates her child.

In Our House, There’s No Santa Claus: Babble. I think I posted a link similar to this a week or two ago, but I’ve found yet another good read (with good reasoning) about moving away from Santa. We don’t particularly “celebrate” Santa, so to speak, but we don’t altogether ignore him, either. I still struggle with this, because there is something special about the magic of Santa Claus, but at the same time, I completely agree with this author’s assessment of the whole thing. *Sigh* I’ll figure it out one day, hopefully before the children are grown and have to deal with it themselves.

The Five Obstacles to Eating Right: Clean Plate (Slate). A friend shared this with me on Facebook, and it’s a great read. I am working on a post about eating (not necessarily what’s categorized as “eating right”) and food, and I *may* include some of quotes from this post, because it really hit something with me that resonated.

New Word for the Year: SmallNotebook. Every time, every *single* time I go to her blog, I find something that inspires me. What is my word for 2011? Do I HAVE to choose just one? Man, that’s hard (and this being me, at least four times as hard as it would be for a normal person)… I guess I would choose Blessed. Or perhaps, Better. Or some other “B” word.

How To Select Good Picture Books: Ohdeedoh. So much good information in this article! And lots of wonderful links! What’s not to love??

Homeschool Mama, Self-Care for the Teacher: Beauty That Moves. This is a very good post about taking time for ourselves as mothers AND teachers.

Choosing Purposeful Words for Your Family in 2011: Simple Homeschool. Hmmmm, I'm thinking Rachel from SmallNotebook may have gotten her inspiration from here... But THIS POST doesn't limit you to only one word. Yay for wordy-word people like me! 

Enjoy, friends! And seriously, happy Monday! (The lack of complaint has continued even to now, I’m feeling kind of shell-shocked. There was only ONE WORD of moaning about dinner – leftovers – usually there’s at least 20 minutes of whining for this particular dinner!! WHOA.)