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July Titles // 2019

I literally can't believe I read this many books in July. Now, mind you, I probably finished three the first week that I had been reading for some time, so that feels like cheating a bit, but I found myself very busy, with a lot of restless energy, and very little desire to read especially towards the end of the month. My brain is feeling overloaded from so much. I'm specifically not planning any outings for myself or the kids the last two weeks in August because hoo-boy do I need to actually start planning our homeschool year. 

The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy - This is a memoir from a co-host of the popcast, which isn't a podcast I listen to, but a friend of mine does and she loaned me the book because hello! 80s and 90s pop culture references! It was funny and I enjoyed it but the Christianese message at the end of most chapters I found to be a bit corny.

Start From the Heart by Kathy Koch - This was a book I got from my mother-in-law at the beginning of the summer and …
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June Titles // 2019

Been waiting a loooong time to read this one!
I really had no idea how many books I had actually read in June (I thought it was half of this!) until I started this blog post and realized the four I thought were from May were actually this month. What?! That might be an example why my brain feels so slow these days.  I am fully into the book, but time is passing quickly and I just can't remember when I finished what. Thank goodness for Pinterest, where I keep track of the books I want to read and those I have finished. 
*No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco - My best girl Ani finally wrote a memoir! It only covers her first 30 years (she's close to 50 now), but it was just as good and rife with feminism and weirdness as I expected it to be. I first started listening to Ani Difranco's music in high school and I am so glad I found her, her uncontrollable guitar, and her penchant for fierce political poetical lyrics early in life. Loved this; 100% biased. 
*A Beaut…
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Lukka's 12th Birthday Interview

science experiment with friends
What is your favorite color? Blue--sky or navy

Who are some of your friends? the Imoo family, the Hieberts, Zack + Dillion, Cole, Ethan, Daniel, the Goheens, Kellan
What do you want to do when you grow up? car designer and car company owner, or something to do with cars

What is your favorite animal? tigers, dogs, turtles, cats, horses

Lukka interviews a family friend in front of his co-op friends
What is your favorite thing to do with Anikka?  play chess
What is your favorite thing to do with your friends?  play video games, go swimming, play games 
Lukka loves covering himself in mud + clay at the Fraser river
What do you like to do outside?  bike ride, swim, skiing, frisbee, go to the beach

What do you like to do inside?  xbox, watch Family Matters, read, play my piano
posing for a pic at Mt. Seymour
What is your favorite food?  mac n' cheese, pizza, hot dogs, burgers, cereal, fries

What is your favorite drink?  Dr. Pepper

barely making a dent in a massive bowl…
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May Titles // 2019

just a few of this month's reads!

This month was sort of a red letter one--I can't believe all that I got to read in just 31 days. Thankfully, a few of these reads were very short (I'm looking at you Juliet and Mary Ventura), but mostly I just plodded on through one chapter per day with the others (so many holds all at once!) to finish them all in a timely manner. That worked very well, especially as most of these wouldn't be page turners or ones I could sit with for long. It's a long list so let's get to it!
*Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - I LOVE Rowell's work and always sneak one of her super fun YA page turners in when I'm downright tired. This was a funny and interesting little love story that I connceted with because I know the place. Rowell is from Omaha and so I can see in my mind's eye exactly where she's talking about even if she isn't 'talking about it' with real names. The bands playing at the Sokol? I've been there …
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April Titles // 2019

slow mornings; a Mast favorite!
April was a pretty decent reading month, considering it was a full month. The kids had their Destination Imagination tournament (1st place in both categories!), a few field trips, wrapping up of the kids' co-op with Celebration Day, horse camp each week, planting our garden, Easter Celebrations and the like. Phew! We squeezed in finishing a couple good read-alouds, too. Here's my list:
*True You by Michelle DeRusha - This was another book that felt right in line with books I've been reading relating to spirituality and the Christian faith; but really, the breaking down of the false self (see The Gift of Becoming Yourself and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality). I love DeRusha's metaphor of pruning a tree that shows up in section breaks. The author lives in my hometown, and so I felt a bit more context with what she was noticing throughout the seasons (and relating them to the context of a faith journey) becuase I've been to all those p…
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March Titles // 2019

Surprisingly, I read more in the blips of the month before and after my trip than I did in all of February!

*Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero - This was a book I was going through with my small group, and boy was it good. It's a book that, upon finishing the first time, you shake your head a bit, wonder at what you just read, and realize you need to immediately start over to absorb more. Highly recommend for just about everyone.

*Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd - This was a mother-daughter travel memoir intermixed with changing life seasons and gorgeous scenery...pretty much right up my alley. A bit melancholy at times, but the writing, oy. Monk Kidd talks about the beginnings of her bestseller--The Secret Life of Bees, while simultaneously coming to grips with mothering her daughter in a new way. Loved it! It was an unexpected book club pick and I was here for it.

*Prairie Suite by Twyla Hansen - This is a short book of poetry about the Spring Creek…
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February Titles // 2019

the hopefuls
Februrary wasa  slower book month, but unfortunately because of this month's fewer days, there are 2 books that won't make this list that I will probably complete in that time period. Harumph. Only two of the above books were completed, and one wasn't even started. That, I'm assuming, will also be our March read-alouds fate, barely any output this month, but partway through a number that we'll finish by the end of next.
*China Rich Girlfriendby Kevin Kwan - This is the second book in the Crazy Rich Asians series, and it did not disappoint. It clocked in just under 500 pages and was again, my favorite read of the month with the humor, cultural context, and ridiculous storyline. I have now gotten to the end of each of these books with the thought, "dangit! Now I'm going to have to read the next one" because I don't like spending time with a 450+ page book. These are worth it, however, and I fully intend to read the last in the series so…
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