My Top Books of 2009!

Ah, the joyous part of having a blog is once in a while getting to talk about books! I love books, fiction, non-fiction, biography, mystery, historical, you name it. Historical biography is my favorite but I don't come across a good one very often. Here is my list but not necessarily in a ranking order. It would be like choosing a favorite child, I just can't do it.

The Aunt Dimity Series
The Aunt Dimity Series by Nancy Atherton is a wonderful escapist mystery series. My dear friend Laurie takes credit for starting me on these books. It starts with Aunt Dimity's Death and progresses to Aunt Dimity slays the Dragon. 14 books in all at the moment. Despite the titles the books are very cozy reads, much like a modern fairytale. There is nothing predictable about these mysteries that usually span two generations a little history. The main character takes up residence in a quaint village in England in the first book. That is what perhaps adds so much to the charm. I spent many a late night reading "just one more chapter!" The only caution I would give is that these books dabble in the paranormal and the main character has a wondering eye.

1776 The Illustrated Edition

David McCullough is probably my favorite author. He is a unbiased historian who writes history the way we all wished our high school text books had been written, as stories. Not facts, dates or isolated situations but stories with real characters and real life. In 2006 he replaced 1776 a book covering the year 1776 in American History. More recently he came out with 1776 The Illustrated Edition. The illustrated edition includes paintings, drawings, letters and maps in with an abbreviated text from the original book. Also included are large parchment type envelopes with even more documents that are beautiful copies of the originals complete with torn edges and the occasional hole. It is not a cheap book and not one you want to leave lying around, but a fantastic treasure trove. Keep all history geek jokes to yourselves please.

Potatoes Not Prozac

This one came recommended by my friend Sarah. It is Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons. She also published another book with a very similar message and program called,
The Sugar Addicts Total Recovery Program. I recommend either book. The gist is that the author after studying recovering alcoholics for years came to understand that sugars can also cause addictions in people. In stead of pouring over the obvious fact of how bad sugar is for us she gives a step program for overcoming it and tips to help along the way. She treats it as seriously as one would a rehabbing druggie while explaining things simply. I read the book and will wholeheartedly admit I'm an addict. Don't think you are? Starting taking note of how often you eat sugar (even in the form of white bread). The beginning of the book the author provides a way to quiz/test yourself. Did it change my life? No, but only because I'm too weak to win at the moment. Will this book change my life some day, I sure hope so.

"Don't' Make Me Count to Three!"

This book falls under the parenting category and is by Ginger Plowman. I heard her speak at a conference a while back and got around to picking up her book this year. For those of you who are familiar with Tedd Tripp and Shepherding a Child's Heart this is the same message but much more digestible and practical! Ginger communicates the idea that children shouldn't be punished for action but for intent or heart as she calls it. A child trying to steal a toy should be disciplined the same was he would be if he truly stole the toy. The flip side of the coin is that there should be no punishment if the child somehow obtains the toy but was not intending to steal. Sounds simple doesn't it? Where is gets hard is in addressing the child and teaching him/her to understand why they did what they did. Teaching children to analyze their actions and use that to make wise decisions.

Pioneer Woman Cooks - Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

A cookbook! What would a book list from me be like without a cookbook? I only buy (or ask for Christmas in this case) cook books that I can learn from. If it only has recipes I just get it from the library and copy out recipes I want to try but lately people have come to realize that cookbooks can be so...much...more. And this cookbook is so much more! Every recipe has step-by-step pictures of how it should look. WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE THINK OF THIS BEFORE!

Also included are pictures of the daily life on a cattle ranch. Pioneer Woman is a city girl who married a cattle rancher and overnight became an isolated ranch wife. Now some-teen years later she has a popular blog http://thepioneerwoman.com/ where she shares her photography, ranch stories, homeschooling tips and recipes. I could be this women! Except for the ranch, I must tell Chad to get working on that. Her funny and heartwarming stories along with lots of pictures are spread throughout the cookbook to break things up a bit. No lie when I say I have caught grown men reading this book. Grown men who don't cook, or read. This book is THAT interesting.

America's Providential History

The title explains this book well. I found it very interesting and worthwhile. It resembles a textbook and some schools and homeschoolers use it as such. Beginning with ancient history, the book presents a providential view of significant events leading to the establishment of America. Examines the Reformation, the Pilgrims, the role of the clergy and church, the Christian foundations of education and economics, and the development of liberty. Cites primary source documents that show our nation grew from Christian principles and reveals how to bring them back into the nation today.

Already Gone
by Ken Ham & Britt Beemer
Already Gone is the published results of a study done of adults who had left church after being raised in it and their reasons for doing so. The study found that 2/3rd of children who were raised in church leave and do not return. The study also found that the more a child participates in Church activities the more likely they are to leave. The book gives the results of the study, theorizes why and gives solutions. This book is a must read for anyone concerned with the next generation or involved in children's ministry.

1491 New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

by Charles Mann

1491 covers a part of history that our High School textbooks misrepresented and skipped over. That of the Native Americans (North and South America) before the arrival of Columbus. We are raised through school and movies to believe the Native Americans were few, primitive, and "one with the land". This book disputes that myth and explains what most experts now believe. That is that the population was much larger, extensive and advanced than we were taught. They were also heavily involved in managing the land and did not just leave it to nature. An example is that the Amazon Rain Forest is very infertile soil but areas have been found that are very fertile where the Natives used compost to improve the soil to grow crops. And that some experts believe that a vast part of the Amazon was agricultural land. The soil is still fertile hundreds of years later. The books sites many original writings from the early explorers.