Eating and Sleeping With the Enemy: How to Be the Last Person a Divorced Spouse Wants to See. What’s Your Ex’s Number? Can a Psychic Reading Ruin Your Marriage? How to Win Your Wife Back from Another Man. The Woman Who Knew Too Much: A Psychological Thriller. The Man She Married: A Psychological Thriller. When You Want Love — The Most Powerful Force in the Universe I think the best books for kids have to do with friendship and the power of good friendship, in this case it’s the power of girls having friendships with other girls. It’s still empowering to see these girls help each other and help themselves. Most of my favorite books have something to do with friendship or family and the importance of family. I love both. The Power of Three: Three Girls, Three Miracles, and One Extraordinary Teacher Who Expanded My Universe by Kelly DiPucchio with Lorie Ann Grover – this is really one of the best children’s book I’ve read in years, a really simple story of self love, it resonated with me. How to Win Your Wife Back from Another Man is a good one, too. The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale – this book can be a little hokey sometimes but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it. I was thinking about it lately because of the things that have happened to me and how positive thinking is such a useful tool in dealing with difficult situations. Positive Thinking: The Classic Guide to Defeating Fear and Winning Over Self-Doubt by Norman Vincent Peale – this book was a favorite growing up. It doesn’t seem to be in print anymore, but I’m sure it’s easy enough to find a copy. It’s great for children or adults of all ages. If I had known back when I was dating I would be divorced, I would have done this book! Positive Thinking for Young Children by Joan Walsh Anglund & G. Richard Fisher – I love this book! I have copies of the second and third editions and have recommended them so much. (I love any books that are about kids and positive thinking!) The Power of Mindfulness: A Guide to Managing Life’s Challenges by Pema Chödrön – this was recommended to me by a couple of people, and it really has changed my life. It was first recommended to me by a friend and I borrowed it and tried it, it was so different from anything I’d read before that I decided I needed to read it again. I’ve lent it out so many times since I got it and it’s given me so much understanding about living well and in the moment. My kids love it. The first couple of times we tried to read it they weren’t interested, but they love it now, and we keep reading it as a family to try and keep it more positive in our home! My boys LOVE this book. I love it! And of course Pema Chödrön is fantastic! Her book for dealing with the death of someone we love is another great one. They’re recommended above, too. The Buddha in Your Backpack: Access to Awakening is right there in a handbag. How to Make Your Bed a Safe Place to Pray and Meditate is right there on my bed. I love these books because it’s a reminder that I can access inner peace no matter what is going on around me. And that it’s easier than I think. All of these books are easy reads – I’m an elementary school librarian, so reading the entire time I have my children is a part of what I do, so easy reading is important for me! I Am Not My Story: A Guide to Getting out of Victim Mode and into Empowered Action by Karen Casey, Ph.D. I love Dr. Karen Casey, I’ve read her books and articles before and I read them again and again. She’s a smart woman with many good ideas. I didn’t read this particular book when it first came out but I think it’s important for everyone. I think that there is so much truth in the way she looks at self-worth and how we find that true worth. How to Make an Earthquake in an Orange Juice Bottle and Other Impossible Things by Brian Larson – there is so much wisdom and helpful advice in this book, it’s full of so many tips. A great book about life. I love the cover as well. You’re Not Crazy, You’re Just in Recovery from Western Civilization by James Hillman – my first introduction to the man who started a revolution and influenced people like Pema Chodron and me so much. I really enjoyed this book and plan to re-read it again. It’s interesting that his books are not about recovery from insanity, but from Western Civilization. Still a great book! The Wisdom of Menopause: The Secret Guide to the Miraculous Change of Life by Christiane Northrup – this is a great book for helping a woman to understand menopause, and to live well through the transition. Again, a book about women understanding their womanhood and learning how to work with their female body. Walking On Eggshells: Taking Risks and Standing Up for What You Believe by Brené Brown – all I can say is, this is good stuff. Brené Brown has been doing her own work and research into vulnerability, which I think is very important for people to know about. She has some great ideas for how to handle all of the crap that life throws our way. Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love – this is a favorite, I feel like everyone in America has heard of this book. Maybe because so many people speak to her, maybe because it’s also a very interesting book. She’s a great speaker and a wonderful person, I love her. Andrea Dworkin’s Right Wing Women: the Politics of Domesticity from the Puritans to the Present – this book made me have to stop and think about my own life as a woman, as a person, as a woman who thinks and feels and believes that I know something about sex and human sexuality that no one else knows. This book was excellent and very thought provoking and interesting to read. Cheryl Richardson’s I Don’t Want To Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression – this is a book I really liked. It’s a little different than other books on the subject but I think it’s important to know. That’s enough reading for now, I have books I still need to read that are waiting for me. I like reading this much more than I used to and it’s important for me to keep up with it. I really hope that I can find ways to keep reading more and thinking more. This blog has been a place for me to share with people the things I read – I want to share this passion for reading. My other passions are my kids, writing, my husband, my friends and family, and my country, and I love books about women. I read an article about the difference between an intellectual vs. a life learner, and I wonder about my status as a life learner and also wonder if my status as a life learner can be passed along to my sons and daughters. Or my students. My dad’s a PhD and he’s the kind of life learner I am. My husband’s a PhD and he’s the kind of life learner I am. I have my dad to thank for teaching me how to think, at least, how to think analytically. When my parents started the college program in 1970 I went off to university while he finished up at university. He was taking the same degree program that I am now – a BS in education. My mom has had me for twenty years and she still lets me study for fun – she hasn’t stopped supporting my education the way she did then. She was also my first teacher (she’s the teacher most of you guys know.) I started first grade before I went off to university and my dad has always supported my learning. I also grew up in church where learning about God was a regular part of my life. A lot of what I know about myself, about God, about morality and