when we lived in the jungle, every month or so,we’d take a dug-out canoe down the Suriname River to the end of the road.  there we’d catch a ride in the back of a semi truck headed into the capital city of Paramaribo.  we would be looking forward to taking (cold) showers, picking up our mail, sending a few emails, and raiding the Peace Corps library.  this was a hodge podge collection of all the books other volunteers had brought to the jungle, read, and then donated to the common cause.  i’d fill up a 5 gallon bucket with books and head back up river.

i’ve always read books, but it wasn’t till we lived in Tutubuka that i started to keep a list.  for the last few years, i’ve kept track of my reading life over at goodreads.  this list is a bit more high tech, but it does the job!  if you happen to be there too, i’d love to see what’s been catching your eye.

…and we’ve also started down the delight-filled Alphabet Path.

: : 2009 : :

January

• *Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris
• *A Little House of Their Own by Celia Wilkins
• *The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
• *The World of Little House by Collins and Eriksson
• *Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler
• *Bringing Reggio Emilia Home by Louise Cadwell
• *Laura Ingalls Wilder: a Writer’s Life by Pamela Hill
• *Authentic Childhood: Exploring Reggio Emilia by Fraser and Gestwicki

February

• *At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman
• *The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
• *Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois
• *The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamillton
• *The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
• *Very Far from Anywhere Else by Ursula LeGuin
• *Old Town in the Green Groves by Cynthia Rylant
• *On Tide Mill Lane by Melissa Wiley
• *The Latehomecomer: a Hmong family memoir by Kao Kalia Yang

March

• *Teach and Learning: Collaborative Exploration of the Reggio Emilia Approach by Fu, Hill, and Stremmel
• *The Hundred Languages of Children by Edwards, Gandini, and Forman
• *Trust the Children by Anna Kealoha
• *A Life Worth Living: the Selected Letters of John Holt
• *Birthing from Within by England andHorowitz
• *Drawing from Life: the Journal as Art by Jennifer New
• *Laboring On by Simonds, Rothman, and Norman
• *After the Baby’s Born by Robin Lim
• *The Vaccine Book by Bob Sears
• *Lincoln’s Daughter by Tony Wolk
• *March by Geraldine Brooks
• *Angels and Ages by Adam Gopnik

April

• *Celebrating the Church Year with Children by Joan Halmo
• *A Handmade Life by WMS Coperthwaite
• *The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg
• *Everyday Matters by Danny Gregory
• *New and Selected Essays by Denise Levertov
• *Fundamentals of Homeschooling: Notes on Successful Family Living by Ann Lahrson-Fisher

May

• *Dewey in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern
• *What Now? by Ann Patchett
• *All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant
• *How to Be an Explorer of the World by Keri Smith
• * Eat Your Heart Out Martha: the Education Issue by Candyce
• *The Blue Jay’s Dance by Louise Erdrich
• *Tesserae by Denise Levertov
• *The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand

June

• *Teach Your Own by John Holt
• *A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on the Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola
• *Blueberry Girl by Neil Gaiman
• *Sister, Outsider by Audre Lorde
• *Design Like You Give a Damn edited by Architecture for Humanity
• *Mama’s Milk by Michael Elsohn Ross

July

• *Homeschooling Book of Answers edited by Linda Dobson
• *Charles and Emma: the Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman
• *Illustrated Flag Handbook by Maria Costantino
• *Hope on a Tightrope by Cornel West
• *The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale

August

• *DIY: Design It Yourself edited by Ellen Lpton
• *Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
• *When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
• *Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Christ’s Teaching about Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness introduced by Wendell Berry
• *Finding Susie by Sandra Day O’Connor

September

• * This Must Be the Place by Anna Winger
• * Crow Planet by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
• * Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber
• * The Dispossessed by Ursula K LeGuin
• * Cheek by Jowl by Ursula K LeGuin
• * Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson
• * Doodle-stitching by Aimee Ray

October

• * Naming Nature by Carol Kaesuk Yoon
• * Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
• * The Inland Whale by Theodora Kroeber
• * The Mind Map Book by Tony Buzan
• * Abe Lincoln: the Boy who Loved Books by Kay Winters
• * Paperwhite by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

November

• *Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka
• *Educating the Wholehearted Child by Clay and Sally Clarkson
• *Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs
• *The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles
• *Coop: a Year of Poultry, Pigs and Parenting by Michael Perry

December

• *Handmade Home by Amanda Soule
• *Letters to Jane by Hayden Carruth
• *The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt
• *The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker
• *Scoot! by Cathryn Falwell
• *Hallowed Be This House by Thomas Howard