Restlessness, Blogging and The Sinner’s Guide to NFP, (aka What I Read This Past Month)

As I reviewed my reading list from this past month, I realized I had only read three books, which is on the low side as of late.

My first reaction was shame, thinking, “How could I have read so little!  There are so many books on my to-be-read list!”  There was a time ten years ago when I could to polish off a book every day or two.

Then I realized that during this same period last year I had probably read about 1/3 of one book, and remembered that my reading resolution for this year was to read one book every two months.

Suddenly, I feel pretty good about my reading habits this past month.  Ah, life with two toddlers.

But I digress  . . . Here is what I have been reading this month:

 

1.  Restless: Because You Were Made for More                                 by Jennie Allen 

A fantastic book about examining all of the different threads in your life (talents, circumstances, people, places, etc.) to prayerfully determine the unique way you are called to serve God in your life.  I really need to give this book a post of its own to give it the treatment that it deserves.

This is not a book to read quickly, this is a book to ponder and slowly reflect on its themes.  I LOVE the author’s writing style, in many regards it is how I hope to evolve my style over time.  The only critique I would give is that she uses short sentences more frequently for emphasis, and this makes the last few chapters feel a hair staccato.

Letter Grade: A

 

2.  How to Blog for Profit Without Selling Your Soul                        by Ruth Soukup

I feel that I should first clear the air by saying: I have no intention of blogging for profit.  Someday I could see myself offering ad space to businesses that I feel strongly about or joining Amazon’s affiliate program to defray my costs, but that would be about it.  I have no illusions of making this a profitable business.

That being said, this book has lots of helpful suggestions for improving navigation, site design, and networking, which are all goals that I do have for this little blog home of mine.

The author clearly knows what she is talking about; the book is chock full of information, but is an easy read.

I read the book for free from Amazon’s Lending Library for Prime members, but am considering buying it so that I can have it on hand to refer to.

Letter Grade: A-

 

3.  The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning                           by Simcha Fisher

Can I just start by saying a big THANK YOU to Simcha for writing an intelligent, balanced, orthodox and even hilarious book on NFP.  (For those who haven’t heard of NFP, it is a fertility awareness based method of family planning that uses knowledge of the woman’s body and cycles to empower the couple with information that can be used to achieve or avoid pregnancy.)

My parents are NFP teachers and I focused on modesty, human sexuality, and human dignity during my theology studies in college, so I have had a great deal of exposure to literature and presentations on the topic.  Simcha’s is the best book on the topic that I have read yet.  She acknowledges how difficult it can be and doesn’t sugar coat things in order to better “sell” it.  This book doesn’t teach the method, or delve deeply into sexual morality; what it does do is provide a reminder for those who have chosen this path about the true benefits that it does bring to relationships, and encouragement on how to carry the cross of the sufferings that practicing NFP and periodic abstinence presents.  I highly recommend this book to Catholic married couples.

Letter Grade: A-

Well there you have it.  My reading list may have been small, but I enjoyed each of the books on it.  Will be linking up with the lovely Anne of modernmrsdarcy.com for Twitterature tomorrow.  (Side note I found out about the first two books through her blog which has notifications for kindle daily deals, and Prime lending library recommendations.  Go check her blog out!)

 

Any of the above books look interesting or relevant to you?  Do you ever longingly remember the days of your youth when there was more time to read?  Tell me about it in the comments!

 

 

7 thoughts on “Restlessness, Blogging and The Sinner’s Guide to NFP, (aka What I Read This Past Month)

  1. Anne

    I read Sinner’s Guide a few months back and wrote about it for Twitterature, too! I really liked it. The other two sound good, as well. Fun to read the reviews today!

    Reply
  2. Steph

    Restless looks really good! I know what you mean about reading with small kiddos around! Last year I hardly read anything. This year I’ve been averaging 2ish books a month which is way less than I used to read. But hey, at least I’m back doing something I so greatly enjoy!

    Reply

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