Soon after we signed Landon up for soccer this summer, they changed practice times so that they started right at Porter's bedtime. We worried for a bit, but then decided I'd just take Landon on my own, and Jordan could put Porter to bed and have some quiet evenings with Owen and Ellie at home. Once games got started, it was still usually easier for me to just take Landon so we've mostly done that. And it has been so fun for me! I've taken my kindle or a book and had such a great time sitting outside on lovely evenings, reading fun books during warmups and drills, and watching Landon play his scrimmages and games. Such a treat! Here are my latest soccer-time and other time books --
How we got to Now I loved this. It was full of so many interesting connections in history and made me want to learn more about lots of things. Lots of unexpected connections -- some were a bit of a jump but still so fun to follow, like how did the Gutttenberg press lead to the invention of the miscroscope? Quick interview here.
Penny from Heaven A quick kids book about an Italian family after WWII. I'd never heard anything about Italian Internment during the war, so that was a surprise to me.
Heartbeat I love Sharon Creech, and I loved this quick read -- and oh! how she had just perfect the wonder of that first little baby heartbeat sound you hear!
The Wright Brothers I'm excited to read more of David McCullough's books - this was so fun. (I wrote more about it here)
The Boys in the Boat This was a perfect soccer time book because I could mostly just put it down for a few days between practices and pick it up again without it driving me crazy. (Except near the end, then I just had to see how everything was going to work out). And I loved it. It had one of my favorite kinds of stories of overcoming obstacles and doing amazing things, along with a super interesting perspective on what was happening in Germany at the time.
The Well-Rested Mother A friend in our ward wrote these sweet, funny little stories of every day life as a mom - very fun.
The Romney Family Table I read/skimmed the first half of this one morning while the boys played on the slide at the North Logan Library after story time. I like the Romneys so it was just a fun little glimpse into what there (very normal) life was like, especially when their children were young.
Outliers Another interesting book! I liked his general idea that individuals who go on to do amazing things with their lives typically aren't doing it on their own -- that they have people and circumstances and culture all helping them along the way.
Leadership and Self-deception A friend recommended this. I had a hard time getting past the kind of cheesy wording ("are you in-the-box or out-of-the-box"?) but it had a good message about considering our motivations and why we do certain things.
Jane Eyre This was September's book club book. I'd put it off for a while and then when I finally started it, I was hooked and probably neglected my family more than I should have until I finished it. (What's the solution to that? I love good stories, but haven't yet found how to break away from them without just going crazy till I finish. I have the same problem with sewing projects!)
Being Mortal Oh my goodness. I just finished this today and probably need a few more days to just think about it. It was kind of terrifying. And also fascinating. And so sad, but also just very insightful and even hopeful... A surgeon's (developing) view on death and the process of dying and what the best ways are to approach mortality as doctors and individuals and as a society. Such interesting but hard things to think about!
