Two-Part Invention by Madeleine L’Engle

This is the fourth and final of L’Engle’s Crosswick Journals. I skipped the third one (The Irrational Season) because it focuses on L’Engle’s relationship to Christianity, and I’m just not interested in that topic, even if it is L’Engle writing.

Published: 1988

Genre: nonfiction memoir

Length: 232 pages

Setting: Crosswicks in 1987, NYC in the 1960s

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise

This book has been on my radar for a while since I’m always looking for inspiration for homeschooling. A recent post on books about books and reading from The Modern Mrs. Darcy pushed it to the top of my reading list.

Subtitle: A Guide to Classical Education at Home

Published: originally in 1999. I read the second edition published in 2004. The newest (the fourth) edition was published in 2016.

Genre: nonfiction education

Length: 710 pages of text (but probably 1/4 of that is book lists), 810 pages total

What I Will Be Reading #32: Keep Them Coming

I’ve been working down my reading list, but I always manage to add books faster than I take them off. Here’s some new ones I’ve got:

GeekDad is always a good source of books. They had a post recently about space opera series. Just what I need, more series to read, but I do so love a good space opera. I’ve already read the Old Man’s War series, so that cuts six books off the list. I’m most intrigued by the Lost Fleet Series by Jack Campbell, starting with Dauntless, and the Antares series by Michael McCollum, starting with Antares Dawn.

My other big source for books is the Modern Mrs. Darcy. I’ve got two from her this time. I’m in the planning stages for a new year of homeschooling, so my attention went right to The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise in her post on Books About Books. It’s been on my radar before, but I never got around to it. This time, I requested it right away from the library and I’m reading it right now. It’s quite interesting and I’m thinking about changing things up for homeschooling this year. We’ll see. The other book came from episode 83 of her podcast, and is called How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas Foster. Mr. Curiosity is at the high school level, and I’d like to be able to discuss some literature with him. I’m terrible at finding symbolism or themes or anything like that from books, so I’m hoping this book will help.

My final book addition is more of an author addition, and he’s also useful for homeschooling. I’m always on the lookout for Fun Math activities, and nicoleandmaggie posted some details on how to keep a gifted kid challenged. In that post, they mentioned puzzle books by Martin Gardner. He’s published a number of books, and they should provide me some inspiration for the year!

And those are the books I’m adding to my reading list. Anything look good to you?

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, you can click on the cover image or title to follow an Amazon affiliate link to the book and thanks for supporting my blog!

The Physics of Everyday Things by James Kakalios

I must have seen this reviewed somewhere recently (it is a new book) and thought it would be interesting. I was in the mood for a science book and requested this.

Published: 2017

Genre: nonfiction science

Length: 206 pages of text, 245 pages total

The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson

This is a classic biology book I picked up to fill a nonfiction slot in a summer reading program. Plus, Wilson has won two Pulitzer Prizes so the writing must be pretty good.

Published: 1992

Genre: nonfiction science

Length: 424 pages

Recommended Science books

I like to read science nonfiction books – they feed my inner scientist. Sometimes it’s hard to pick out the really interesting books from the “you’ll only love it if you’re already a fan of the topic.” Today, I thought I’d put together a post of some of my favorite science books. All these books fall into the “fascinating” category. Be careful  – you’ll want to share random bits of information with your nearest friends and relatives.

If you click on the title, you’ll be taken to my original review. If you click on the cover photo, you’ll be taken to an Amazon page where you can buy the book yourself (and thanks for supporting my blog!).

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean

Here’s your first book full of tidbits. In this case, it’s all about the periodic table of the elements. You get everything from how the periodic table was put together to the discovery of elements, both natural and synthetic. My favorite part was discussing the origin of element names.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

I like pretty much every book Mary Roach has written. In this case, she’s writing about long-term stays in space. This is even more appropriate now since there are several organizations working on sending people to Mars. A trip to Mars will involve a new series of issues, and Roach discusses many of those issues in this book. She’s not afraid to discuss any bodily function, either, so don’t be surprised by the topics covered!

A Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

Let’s bring the books back to Earth, but still stay timely. This is the oldest book in the list, and it was inspired by the anthrax attacks in 2001. The book is all about smallpox. While smallpox has been eradicated from the wild, it still exists in at least a couple of labs and could be used to create a biological weapon if the wrong group gets a hold of it.

Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle by Thor Hanson

This is my submission for the single topic science book. You know what you’re going to get when you pick up the book – it’s all about feathers. However, the author does a great job of alternating between how birds and humans use feathers. There’s also a bit on the evolution of feathers, that probably needs an update by now, but is still interesting.

Anything sound good to you? Anything you think I should add to the list? Let me know in the comments!

If you’re interested in purchasing the book, you can click on the cover image to follow an Amazon affiliate link to the book and thanks for supporting my blog!

Mission Control, This Is Apollo by Andrew Chaikin

Tomorrow is our last meeting of American History Club for the school year. We’re doing a second session on the space program. It’s surprisingly difficult to find a YA level book about astronauts/the space program/space race. I ended up choosing a nonfiction book instead of our usual fiction or narrative-driven nonfiction book because that’s all I could find in our library system.

Subtitle: The Story of the First Voyages to the Moon

Published: 2009

Genre: nonfiction history

Length: 105 pages of text, 114 pages total