Six Books that I’ve Been Reading

We recently took a trip to Texas.  While our van has a DVD player, it isn’t currently working, so we listened through a couple of books from Audible.  Every now and again, I can grab several hours to work on through a book.  These books help feed my brain and soul and oftentimes speak practical wisdom into my life or my children’s lives.

We often will listen to books together as a family.  The first part of this list are books we’ve read/listened to together.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (Free for Kindle on Amazon)

This book also appears on my list of 10 Books to Read to Your Children This Summer.  This has long been one of my favorite books.  Even before I was into preparedness, I loved the preparedness aspects of this book.  I also loved the action/adventure and discovery aspects of this book.  There really isn’t anything to love about this book.  My children really loved listening to this book as well.  While we went back and forth between Audible books on this trip and CD’s, the vast majority of my children preferred listening to the books.

The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Free for Kindle on Amazon)

This is a swashbuckling tale of convincing disguise combined with scheming, romance, and daring.  During the Reign of Terror in France, an English nobleman, who is only known as The Scarlett Pimpernel, disguises himself and steals French aristocrats out from under the noses of the Committee of Public Safety.  Sir Percy Blakney, aka the Scarlett Pimpernel, has married a former French actress.  He cannot trust her to keep his secret, and she believes that he no longer cares for her.  The story is about how he helps aristocrats escape while evading capture and how he wins his wife’s love again.

Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem

While the first two books were geared toward my older four children, this one was geared specifically toward my youngest child.  It’s a fun tale of a mouse village and several of the significant events during their year.  My six year old loves this book and asks for it to be read to him often.  Even one of the stories in this book is geared very much toward preparedness.  It’s a perfect way to introduce younger readers to the topic of preparedness with no fuss and no fright.

While those first three are books I’ve listened to or read to my children, these next three are books (or series) that I’ve read on my own for my own enjoyment or edification.

One Second After, One Year After, and The Final Day by William R Forstchen

These three books are a series.  I didn’t read them all at once.  Over the course of the last six months, I’d read one for a week.  Then a couple of months later, I’d read another, and do it again.  These are by far my most favorite prepper fiction I’ve ever read.  This is the story about a town in the mountains of North Carolina after the US is hit by an EMP.  The story, throughout the three books, takes place over the course of 2-3 years.  It’s a riveting tale of survival, conflict, resolution, and overcoming.  There are some adult themes (violence and implied, not explicit, sex), but my two oldest children (fifteen at the time) both read it without having issues with the themes, and we’re generally a conservative family.  If you’ve never read these three, I would highly recommend them!

You Can’t Make Me (But I Can Be Persuaded): Strategies for Bringing Out the Best in Your Strong-Willed Child by Cynthia Tobias

I will be the first to admit to you, I am a strong-willed adult, so my (numerous) strong-willed children come by it naturally – unfortunately.  A friend of mine recommended this to me YEARS ago, but because I was told I NEEDED to read it, I didn’t?  Am I the only one like that?  This book is chalked full of great wisdom and advice in dealing with the strong-willed child (or adult) in your life.  A definite read.  Good ideas to keep in mind if you’re working on a preparedness group too.

The Lifegiving Home by Sally and Sarah Clarkson

Your home should be a place of refuge for everyone who enters.  This book expounds on how to create a home that does exactly that.  Sally and Sarah are a mother-daughter duo who wrote this book together over the course of several years.  Are you looking for practical tips on how to make your home a place that people want to come because they feel cared for and loved?  I couldn’t recommend this book more highly.

There you have it – a look into my book life.  I’m not a bibliophile, but I enjoy some books and read others because they are good for me.  The books that are on my docket to read next are Pandemic by A.G. Riddle, The Obesity Code by Jason Fung (this is something I’m determined to conquer in my life), Reformation Women by Rebecca VanDoordewaard, and The Suburban Microfarm by Amy Stross.  I already own each of these books, so it’s just a matter of finding time to read them.

What About You?

What books have you been reading?  Do you have any books that you’ve been reading to your children?  What books are sitting on your bookshelf just begging you to pick them up?  I’d love to hear!  Leave a comment and let us know.

Remember, knowledge isn’t knowing something, it’s living it!

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