More Than We Could Ask or Imagine: Summer Reading

Summer Reading...a concept I was not introduced to in middle or high school. I don't ever remember having to scour libraries or bookstores to find obscure or classic titles. But today is a different story. For the last few years, Alex has had required summer reading. He never jumps at the chance to read but he is pretty good at getting it done. So this year he is reading away on Shane and The adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I am so glad he is being challenged to be more open to reading and the knowledge that comes from books.

Now, having sung the praises of school reading lists and summer challenges...here is my summer reading choices.... The Inspired Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln, Quiet Hero and Spoken from the Heart. Never heard of them? Well that is probably because they are all works of Non-fiction... some of my friends just gasped in dismay :). That's right, I do not read fiction. I choose non-fiction titles to expand my horizons, challenge my thoughts and comfort my soul. My opinion is that there is so much real life to explore, why should I waste time in someone else's made up stories. My sister in law and most of my friends feel the exact opposite...life is so real why shouldn't we escape to a make believe world. That makes perfect sense but I just can't get into fiction. I have a policy that if someone really pushes me I will begin reading a work of fiction. That particular book has one chapter to capture my attention and draw me in. At the end of that chapter if I am not completely smitten and intrigued, I am out. I was recently reminded that one chapter is not enough to fully develop characters and plot lines. Be that as it may, my policy remains unchanged :)

I am reminded of a great line from my favorite movie, Steel Magnolias... "I don't go to plays cause I can nap at home and I don't read books cause if they are any good they'll make em into a mini series" You know you can't live life as a southern women without seeing the women in that movie and hearing their lines in your everyday world. But anyway, I digress....

The books I have been reading this summer are not sending masses of people to read about vampires or imagine worlds of boy wizards but they are incredible works. The Inspired Words of Abraham Lincoln details the biblical base for most of his speeches and essays. You can follow his career and thought processes that led him up to and through the most tumultuous era in our history. Yeah, it is not exactly the quintessential beach read but it is a wonderful glimpse into the man who held our country together.

Quiet Hero is written by Rita Cosby, former FoxNews anchor.

Only after her mother's death did she uncover the truth about her father. He had long before abandoned their family. She discovered the secrets of his past in an old suitcase hidden in storage among her mother's boxes. This book will draw you into a world which few of us can even imagine...Warsaw in the late 1930's. Her father had been a young teen at the time of the invasion. He would later join the resistance and fight in the Warsaw Uprising. From hiding in bombed out buildings to escaping in sewers to life in a Nazi prison camp, his story is riveting. And to accompany his story is the story of this daughter rediscovering her father. This is a GREAT read!

The last of my summer reading choices is the one I have been dying to read since it was released. Spoken from the Heart is Laura Bush's memoir.

You know I love the Bushes so I couldn't wait to read it. I borrowed it from my mother in law and headed to the beach... yes, I read biographies at the beach :) LOVED, LOVED, LOVED this book. In fact, reading it only grew my respect and admiration for our former First Lady. Want to know the inside world of the White House? Read this book. I was captured by the intense security risks they faced each day after 9-11. Her grace and dignity are matched only be her devotion to her family.