Library Loot 22.3

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Sharlene from Real Life Reading that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week.

Books

Turtle in Paradise: The Graphic Novel by Jennifer L. Holm Historical Juvenile Fiction

Life isn’t like the movies. But then again, 11-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple.

She’s smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it’s 1935 and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle’s mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn’t like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to live with relatives she’s never met. Florida’s like nothing Turtle’s ever seen before though. It’s hot and strange, full of ragtag boy cousins, family secrets, scams, and even buried pirate treasure! Before she knows what’s happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she’s spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.

The Other Alcott by Elise Hooper Historical Fiction

We all know the story of the March sisters, heroines of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. But while everyone cheers on Jo March, based on Louisa herself, Amy March is often the least favorite sister. Now, it’s time to learn the truth about the real “Amy”, Louisa’s sister, May.

Stylish, outgoing, creative, May Alcott grows up longing to experience the wide world beyond Concord, Massachusetts. While her sister Louisa crafts stories, May herself is a talented and dedicated artist, taking lessons in Boston, turning down a marriage proposal from a well-off suitor, and facing scorn for entering what is very much a man’s profession.

Life for the Alcott family has never been easy, so when Louisa’s Little Women is published, its success eases the financial burdens they’d faced for so many years. Everyone agrees the novel is charming, but May is struck to the core by the portrayal of selfish, spoiled “Amy March.” Is this what her beloved sister really thinks of her?

So May embarks on a quest to discover her own true identity, as an artist and a woman. From Boston to Rome, London, and Paris, this brave, talented, and determined woman forges an amazing life of her own, making her so much more than merely The Other Alcott.

You Are Not Your Own by Alan Noble Nonfiction

“You are your own, and you belong to yourself.” This is the fundamental assumption of modern life. And if we are our own, then it’s up to us to forge our own identities and to make our lives significant. But while that may sound empowering, it turns out to be a crushing responsibility–one that never actually delivers on its promise of a free and fulfilled life, but instead leaves us burned out, depressed, anxious, and alone. This phenomenon is mapped out onto the very structures of our society, and helps explain our society’s underlying disorder. But the Christian gospel offers a strikingly different vision. As the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, “I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.” In You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble explores how this simple truth reframes the way we understand ourselves, our families, our society, and God. Contrasting these two visions of life, he invites us past the sickness of contemporary life into a better understanding of who we are and to whom we belong.

Joyful Sorrow by Julie Busler Nonfiction

Depression and suicide cases are rising at an alarming rate, with suicide being a leading cause of death in the United States. For Christians, particularly those in vocational ministry, the stigma surrounding mental illness and mental health often creates an atmosphere of secrecy where the enemy’s lies reign. But when science and religion mingle in the recovery of a believer, not only are minds stabilized but true hope is found. Julie Busler understands the pain of mental illness and has learned that trials not only humanize us but increase our capacity to be used by God. In Joyful Sorrow, she invites us into her own journey where a mental breakdown took her from being a missionary to a suicidal patient in a Turkish psychiatric hospital. With vulnerability and grace, Julie walks us through how to find help and hope and demonstrates that even in the sorrow of mental illness, joy can coexist.

Running on Air by Budd Coates Nonfiction

Renowned running coach Budd Coates presents a revolutionary yet simple training method based on rhythmic breathing to help runners at all experience levels improve their performance, prevent injury, and experience the joy of running. Validating his method through a mix of accessible science, Eastern philosophy, and the experiences of test subjects, Coates shows readers how focusing on their breathing brings their minds and bodies into harmony and helps them run stronger, faster, and more comfortably.

Rhythmic breathing increases lung volume; improves awareness and control; helps prevent injury and side stitches; improves running for those with asthma; allows runners to quickly set a pace for quality training and racing; and helps athletes manage muscle cramps. This book reviews the basics of rhythmic breathing, teaching readers how to perform it while walking and, eventually, while running. Weeklong sample schedules from different programs shows readers how to apply the rhythmic breathing scale to any workout. Coates also touches on the importance of stretching, cross-training, and core training and provides detailed training plans and schedules.

Before They Read by Cathy Puett Miller Nonfiction

Preschool and kindergarten educators know that strong oral language skills must be in place before children can learn to read. In Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-alouds, and Listening Games, Cathy Puett Miller helps educators teach those early literacy skills with engaging games and activities that are based on her three big ideas for early literacy development: great conversations, good listening skills, and interactive read-alouds. Developed from Miller’s successful work with families and early childhood educators around the country, Before They Read makes it easy to help every child move through the stages of literacy development at their own pace. Early childhood educators learn how to: Take advantage of the learn-through-play style of the preschool and kindergarten child; Play simple and effective games and activities that build core early literacy skills; and Engage a child in the experience of reading a picture book to target essential concepts. An essential guide for childcare professionals and preschool and kindergarten teachers, Before They Read supports educators from the first word games throughout the journey to reading from playing with sounds through advanced phonemic awareness skills.

Other Media

The Sound of Silence (2019) DVD

A successful “house tuner” in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people’s homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can’t solve.

My season of nonfiction reading appears to be continuing! I’m surprised, but not upset. I haven’t actually started The Other Alcott or Running on Air, so I hope to get to those very soon, but with my capstone wrapping up the next few weeks probably will not have much time for fun reading.

When was the last time you visited your local library?

Until the next chapter,

Jana