More Books....

  These are our bookcases. 

The kids also have books in their rooms, probably about 100 between the two rooms.  They have many of the books that I read as a child plus additional ones they've been given or bought over the years. 
I also have bookcases in my office with maybe about 75 more.  
And oh ya, there's my nightstand with about 15 more.
We also have a set of Encylopedias that Paul used when he was a kid.  Now we use them often to look up any question that comes up at the dinner table.  We also keep a 18inch thick dictionary by the dinner table, courtesy of Paul's late grandmother.
And a set of Jacques Cousteau Ocean World Encyclopedias.
Us Chouinards have a lot of books. 
Many of them have to do with our ministry studies so I don't feel so bad about our collection, after all, they're for Jesus! Smile!
I am always lending them out or just plain giving away the ones that I'm done with so I feel like I get a lot of use out of them.   I will usually do a big purge about twice a year.  I'm needing to do another soon.
We also use our library, probably at least twice a month but we keep those books in one special spot so that they do not get mixed up or "lost".

     I have been working on a list of "required reading" for my children, either to read on their own or my reading to them.  My hope is that they read them before they move out, but with my list growing and growing over the years, they may not get to finish until their early adulthood! And by then I may only be able to "suggest"!     The Books that mean the most to me are those that have somehow stuck in my head even years after reading them.

Ones that have "struck a chord" in either my imagination, faith or understanding.   

Below are  4  more that I've been thinking of a lot lately.  I recently bought used copies of the two I don't already have because I want my children to read them and would rather save the 5 or more trips to the library I'll need to take when it comes their time to read them! 

"Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc" by Mark Twain
Mark Twain had an amazing way of telling this story that we've all heard time and time again.  The writing style is unique and truly a piece of art!  Joan of Arc is a lesson of endurance, steadfastness, faith and ultimately, martyrdom.  She is a hero for anyone, and I especially look forward to reading this book to my little girls.

"Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
I had seen the movie several years ago, but then my Dad gave me this book and said "read this".  I read anything my dad says too. He is always right-on.   I still cry when I think about this book.  As I was reading it a few years ago, I told my children a lot of the stories so that they would get what it really is to be dirt poor.  Especialy when they complained about dinner.  This book is full of lessons about poverty, desperation, family, addiction, depravity and much more!  There are still a lot of ""adult" only situations in this  book, so I would recommend it only for 16/17+.   

"Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt
I read this book in 7th grade and loved every minute of it.  This is quite an imagination book and is good for any age although I think older kids follow it easier.  It is full of wonderment and adventure! 

"Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand
I need to be upfront here and tell you that I found this book very difficult to "warm up" too.  I didn't really get into it until about page 100 or so, but  after that.... I was hooked!  This book is thought provoking to say the least.  I think this should be required reading for every highschooler, maybe then there would be more common sense in our government and collective public thinking!  Even though this book is not "Christian" and niether is the author who was a self proclaimed atheist (I'm sure she's not anymore, poor thing), reading it reinforced my own understanding of personal responsibility given and expected by God.