The Lonesome Gods

The next book in our family book club. I adored this book. Another coming of age story about a boy whose father is dying so he takes him out west in the hopes that his only living relative, a grandfather who has tried to kill the father, will have pity and take care of him.
My mother was a little astonished that I loved this book because she remembers L'Amour as being a very country/western writer. This book was one that not only Matt, Seri and I enjoyed but mother also enjoyed it once convinced to begin reading it.
Definitely one of those books that you do not want to put down once you have begun to read it.

the Chosen

Chaim Potok Our next book read in our "family" book club. The story of two Jewish boys who are raised by influential fathers. Fathers who are vastly different in their approaches. One boy is Hasidic while the other was just orthodox. The boys form a friendship that is tried by their different backgrounds. It was an insightful book, but one that I had a hard time with.
As I have gotten older and added more responsibilities my reading time has been limited. I think somewhere along the line I came to the conclusion that I can't read everything so I limited what I read to mostly non-fiction so that I would feel as if I hadn't waisted my time on mindless reading but rather that I had actually learned something. With Thomas Jefferson we are reading a lot more fiction than I am currently used to and I am finding myself having to break through that mental block to really enjoy the book.
Another component of TJ is that one actually studies as he reads. If you don't know a word or are not familiar with a phrase you underline it and look it up. If a certain passage strikes you and causes you to ponder, you write your thoughts in the margin to be discussed with others at a later time. Matt really enjoys this part, I not so much. The book was full of Jewish references and I know almost nothing about the Jewish religion. True to my public school upbringing I did not want to do this much research, or put in this much effort, I just wanted to read the book. At the end Matt really enjoyed the book whereas I did not. Maybe the amount of effort he put in was a reflection of this.
A third thing I have discovered is that I am a fast reader. I tend to not think to deep about the material and skip over minor details and descriptions. TJ encourages you to read books slowly, to ponder and think. I am so not used to this and find it incredibly frustrating! I have always considered myself a good reader, and now at 33 I am having to learn how to read all over again. How unfair! I am thankful however that I have learned these things while my children are still young so that I can teach them these principles and enrich their lives with learning rather than just mindless passing of time.

A Thomas Jefferson Education

A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century


Oliver Van DeMille
This is a book I have meaning to read for awhile. Finally had a chance to as it was the next book for bookclub. A lot of my friends use this educational approach with their children and I was curious about it.
The main points of the philosophy are for the children to be exposed to classic stories and great literature. For them to learn directly from the great minds through their original writings rather than through a watered-down approach that is presented through PS and other arenas. Then once they are exposed, to truly think.....not regurgitate. To see how the material applies to them in their lives.
Another huge portion is to have mentors who will lead them and guide them through the learning stages with support and love on an individual basis rather than an assembly line.
Matt read the book and we are both excited about the prospect of introducing this learning style to our children and learning more about it.