My Top 5 Books of 2019

I will be honest, this was a hard list to make this year.  When I looked back at what I have read only a couple really stood out.  I hit my reading goal for the year but I just didn't read great books.  Due to that I'm changing up my reading goals this year.  Look for a post about that later.


The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers  by Maxwell King

If you have talked to me at all about books this year I have mentioned this book.  I grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.  I really knew nothing about the man behind the show. It was a great read about educating children.   We read it for book club and not everyone grew up with Mr. Rogers.  They read the book differently than me but still enjoyed it.  It was a good discussion about television,  religion, childhood and education.   If you're not much of a reader, the audio book is read by Lavare Burton and is exceptional.

My favorite quote:  "Our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is - that each of us has something that no one else has - or ever will have - something inside which is unique to all time.  It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness, and to provide ways of developing its expression."


Resistance Women  by Jennifer Chiaverini

I had read a few of this author's books in the past.  I enjoy her style of writing.  Once again this historical fiction book opened my eyes to a part of history I was unfamiliar with.  It is about what is going on in Germany before and during WWII and follows the lives of several different women with much different backgrounds.  The one thing they all have in common is fighting the Nazi's within the country.  It is an amazing look at what is going on within the country and how Germans fought Hitler with propaganda and leaking information to the allies.   The core characters in the story are women!



Book Girl A Journey through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life

This book made my TBR pile grow rapidly.  I love a good book about books.  She really shares her love of reading and how to fall in love with reading yourself.  There are tons of book lists throughout the book.  I checked this out at the library but it now has a permanent spot on my book shelf.

One of my favorite quotes: "  Reading, rather is a journey.  Reading is the road you walk to discover yourself and your world, to see with renewed vision as you encounter the vision of another."



Manalive by G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton is Trevor's favorite author.  I have never read any of this books.  Trevor has read Orthodoxy to me.  This novel we listened to in the van on vacation.  It was hilarious.  It is fiction so not as theological as Chesterton's other books.  The kids enjoyed it.  I can't say if it's as good reading it yourself but the audio version is excellent.




The Call of the Wild +Free Reclaiming Wonder in your Child's Education by Ainsley Arment

As a homeschool veteran I can honestly said I did not get any new information from this book.  What I did get was a lot of encouragement.  I read it just as we were starting our school year.  My education philosophy has changed so much since we started.   This book was the shot of praise I needed as we started our year.  My homeschool will not look like your homeschool and that's ok.

Favorite quote:  "I am weird. You are weird. Our children are weird. And we wouldn't have it any other way because weirdness births dreamers and artists, authors and poets, mathematicians and scientists, and those who see the world through a different lens. Weird, as it turns out, is wonderful." 

I love books so much I'm giving one away!  Comment on the blog with which one of my favorites you would like to add to your TBR (to be read) pile!