I love to read!  But with two small kids in the house, I don’t have a lot of time to read fiction any more  — so you’ll find most of the books I read these days have to do with parenting, organization, spirituality or something similar.  Although every once in a while I love to sneak in a good mystery or true crime novel.  I often start multiple books at the same time and keep them in different rooms.  If you have books you’d like to recommend, I’d love to hear about them!

Houseworks: Cut the Clutter, Speed Your Cleaning and Calm the Chaos by Cynthia Townely Ewer

This book has been tough to track down in local bookstores, so I have it on loan from the Loudoun County Library.  It’s written by the creator of www.organizedhome.com and www.organizedchristmas.com — so far it has some good tips.  What’s funny is how many of the tips are the opposite of the book I just finished reading, Organizing Solutions for People with Attention Deficit Disorder: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized by Susan Pinsky.  I don’t have ADD, but I find books written for people with ADD often have great tips for parents of people with small children (we are often interrupted and easily distracted by, say, a 2-year-old JavaGirl dropping eggs on the kitchen floor).  Both books have useful information and ideas, Houseworks seems to go into greater detail about actual cleaning, which I apparently need.  <blush>

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes… in You and Your Kids by Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller

I started reading this book as part of a women’s bible study and ended up getting a copy for myself so I could start marking it up.  It’s really a great family read — I’m still reading it and hope JavaDad will find time to read it as well.  There are some great, practical strategies for dealing with everyday family situations and for instilling a sense of honor in the family (both in kids AND parents).  While it is written from a Christian perspective and does include biblical references, it has enough in there to be useful even from a secular point of view.  It addresses issues ranging from very young children (the age of my children) up through teenagers (I’m taking notes!)

On my To Read List:
Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership)

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone.

Disclosure: Amazon Associates Program – Purchases made through Amazon affiliate links on this blog yield a small referral fee. This applies to all purchases made on Amazon regardless of whether the product the consumer purchased was mentioned by me or not. The consumer’s purchases are confidential; I don’t know who has purchased items using my blog’s Amazon Associate links. So far I have not heard of any Amazon Associate millionaires, I’m just hoping one day it will pay for my caffeine and book habit.