A Mind at a Time by Mel Levine

Non-fiction. Hardcover from Simon & Schuster. Published 2002. Purchased at Amazon.com.

With a kid at home right now who learns differently from what is considered the norm, I'm always on the lookout for advice on how to improve his chances of actually learning something. This book has really been a help to me. It's all marked up and underlined. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with a kid who is struggling with learning.

Publisher's summary:
"Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Mel Levine, one of the best-known learning experts and pediatricians in America today. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all. Yet most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, many children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the way they are being taught.

In his #1 New York Times bestseller A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and those who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns, explaining how they can strengthen a child's abilities and either bypass or help overcome the child's weaknesses, producing positive results instead of repeated frustration and failure.

Consistent progress can result when we understand that not every child can do equally well in every type of learning and begin to pay more attention to individual learning patterns -- and individual minds -- so that we can maximize children's success and gratification in life. In A Mind at a Time Dr. Levine shows us how.

To buy from amazon.com, click here: A Mind at a Time
from amazon.co.uk, click here:A Mind at a Time

Giving up on James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet by Graham Lord

I'm having an awful time trying to get through the James Herriot biography I borrowed from the library, hence no new books reported here of late.

The biographer has spent a lot of time in the first couple of chapters saying things like this: "we don't know where his father worked. He might have worked at an iron works. Here's what someone else who worked in an iron works during that time says about it." and "Here's someone who went to his school. This person didn't really know him, but here's what they say about the school." and so on. It feels like hopping back and forth rather than staying with one subject. I think it would be easier for me to read if the information was presented with less personal details about the person who gave him information. I have not read a ton of biographies, so I am not sure if this method is a normal thing for a biography or not.

I may give it another try by skipping forward to the sections where there would be first hand information from Herriot. But, with other books waiting to be read, this one may just go back to the library unfinished.

From the bookshelf: Celtic Daily Prayer

Non-fiction. Hard cover from Northumbria Community. Published in 2000. Purchased at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, UK.

I come from a church tradition that does not use pre-written prayers (or at least has not in the past). So using prayers that were not "composed as I went along" was a new experience for me. It has been good to be able to choose from these prayers at different times of need. They've been especially helpful at times when I am not sure what to pray. I really like this one:

Circle (name), Lord.
Keep comfort near
and discouragement afar.
Keep peace within
and turmoil out.
Amen

The book also contains daily readings, which I have not looked at as much as the prayers. They seem like they would be ideal for a daily devotional reading though.

Publisher's summary:
This book combines the "Celtic Daily Prayer" and "Celtic Night Prayer" books, and adds to them fresh material born out of the further development of the Northumbria Community's ways of worship in the intervening years since these books were published. The main part of the book consists of thoughts, prayers and readings for the morning and the evening of every day of the year, as well as liturgies for both normal and special occasions. There is also clear guidance on how and when to use the material in imaginative ways, and on the benefits of utilising the imagery and themes of Celtic Christianity.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Celtic Daily Prayer
from amazon.com, click here: Celtic Daily Prayer

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Non-fiction. Paperback from Bantam Books. Published 1971. Reissued 1984. Purchased in Grand Rapids, MI, USA

I remember reading this many years ago and so bought it for the kids to read. It was brought over in a pile of WW2 books. I saw it on the shelf the other day and thought I would reread it. It didn't take long to read, but what an amazing book. In it you get people at their worst and people at their very best.

As an aside: In my rereading, I noticed for the first time that a Siemens plant near Ravensbruck used people from the concentration camps as forced labourers. A quick web search for companies associated with the Nazi regime turned up the names of several that I recognize. So, I'm sitting here wondering what one does with that type of information.

Publisher's summary:
Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron  beating a prisoner."Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried."Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that  it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed.

Both women had been sent to the camp for helping the Jews. Christ's spirit and words were their guide; it was His persecuted people they tried to save – at the risk of their own lives; it was His strength that sustained them through times of profound horror.

Here is a book aglow  with the glory of God and the courage of a quiet  Christian spinster whose life was transformed by  it. A story of Christ's message and the courageous  woman who listened and lived to pass it along --  with joy and triumph!

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Hiding Place
from amazon.com, click here: The Hiding Place

From the bookshelf: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Originally this was a BBC radio series that evolved into a book, and then eventually into a whole "trilogy" in five parts. Published in 1981, it is a book that I have read and enjoyed several times over the years. (In both book and audio form.)

Certain to give you a laugh, there are some profound tidbits to be found here as well, including the answer to "Life, the universe and everything"!

Publisher's summary:
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
from amazon.com, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Delicious Library

A couple of years ago I started cataloging my books with a program called Library. Though I started at it before our move to the UK, I have only recently come near to completing the process thanks to a barcode scanner. (The main reason it isn't done is a rather large ocean between me and that last shelf that I haven't tackled yet.) If you've ever toyed with the idea of cataloging your books I'd highly recommend a barcode scanner of some sort. It really sped up the whole process. We had a lot of fun with it and now have an almost complete list of our library.

Now there is a new version of Library, called Delicious Library, just released by a newly launched company called Delicious Monster. Here's what Mac Central has to say about the new software:

The software includes barcode scanning support through Apple's iSight Webcam, high-res 3D renderings of your media's covers, Address Book and iCal-coordinated checkout, automatic syncing with iPods, two-click purchases through Amazon.com, and native XML file format.

It looks like it is going to be a good program, though I'll admit I haven't had much time to play with it beyond importing my books and DVD's. My next goal will be to try syncing with my iPod. What fun!

Prostitute Writer?

"A writer discovers a workable plot and writes the same book over and over all his life to the immense satisfaction of his readers. The readers can feel literary without thinking or dealing with truth. Prostitute writer." Eugene Peterson in More than Words

This quote was written in the context of a discussion of the negativity of programs replacing the real work of the church – which is in my mind a valid point. Then I started to think about the implications of the quote as it relates to reading. (Thus it's inclusion here.)

So, my question is this: does all reading need to make you think and deal with truth? I certainly don't always read looking for deep thought or nuggets of truth. Sometimes I read just for enjoyment, to pass the time with a book that doesn't require much of me. It's fairly obvious that the Dan Brown books fit into the category of "writing the same book over and over again", as do the books by Brian Jacques that the kids enjoy. I don't think I feel particularly literary when reading that type of book. They're just for entertainment.

As I struggle with this quote, I'm having a hard time bringing myself to say that I think it's wrong to read books are not chock full of life changing insights. But, I am pretty sure that a reading diet of nothing but this type of book would be very off-balance. (Which may be more what he is trying to say. Not sure.)

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

From the bookshelf:7 Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences by Thomas Armstrong

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Plume Books. Published 1999. Purchased from amazon.com.

This book is a great reminder that there is more to being "smart" than just being good at book learning. Taking to heart that there are many types of intelligence is a great way to encourage the kids (and myself)! Being aware of something besides our mental intelligence is a good reminder to work on developing other areas as well. Remembering that there are many ways that intelligence expresses itself can also be a boost when those inevitable feelings of failure come along .

Publisher's summary:
Based on psychologist Howard Gardner's pioneering theory of "multiple intelligences," the original edition of 7 Kinds of Smart identified seven distinct ways of being smart, including "word smart," "music smart," "logic smart," and "people smart." Now, with the addition of two new kinds of smart--"naturalist" and "existential"--7 Kinds of Smart offers even more interesting information about how the human psyche functions. Complete with checklists for determining one's strongest and weakest intelligences, exercises, practical tips for developing each type of smart, a revised bibliography for further reading, and a guide to related Internet sites, this book continues to be an essential resource, offering cutting-edge research for general consumption.

"At last, thanks to Thomas Armstrong, we have a book that introduces the theory of multiple intelligences to the general public. As an extra dividend, it helps people to discover and unleash their own intellectual strengths."--Howard Gardner, Ph.D., author of Frames of Mind

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here:Seven Kinds of Smart
from amazon.com, here: 7 Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences