How to Read When You Don't Feel Like Reading

We know that we should be reading more. It's always a New Year's goal of mine! Even my husband, who spends each vacation day reading for at least 8 hours, wants to be reading more. But how do you get yourself to read when you really don't feel like it (which is often the case for me, despite the book lists from 2021 and 2022 of what I did finish reading)? I hope to offer some tips and useful advice, for myself first and then you, readers, in this post.

How to Read More

My mother was a reading specialist before she retired. She especially enjoyed working with kids with dyslexia, or those for whom English was not their first language. Whomever she was working with, she realized that the powerful benefits of reading lie in a combination of the quantity and quality of what one reads.

So, one ingredient of the more-reading recipe is quantity: reading more begets more reading. It takes time and sustained, repeated effort to form a habit, and a reading-habit is no different in this respect from any other habit. For me, the first month is the hardest, but then it becomes second nature.

Also, the momentum I developed from just writing down and numbering the titles I had read for the last few years is a huge confidence booster. Before I took that step, I read maybe 5-10 books per year, outside of work. As someone who grew up reading constantly, I wanted to continue that as an adult but let it slide for too many years.

Related to the book lists, the other part of the quantity side, for me, was setting an ambitious but achievable goal. Because I wanted to increase my reading but actually achieve it, I chose 20 as the target number of books because it translated to (1) much more than what I had been completing and (2) along the lines of 1-2 books per month, which I felt I could certainly do.

What about quality? I think this ingredient is equally important because what we put into our minds will eventually make its way out in thoughts, words, and actions, for better or for worse. For my 2021 and 2022 goals, this meant that I was choosing nonfiction before fiction, higher before lower reading level, and consistent versus inconsistent with my moral values.

Many people may think of nonfiction as "boring" - but what could be more interesting than some aspect of real life, well told and expressively written? Plus, nonfiction fills the mind with what is real, and the way in which it is written and the motives behind its authorship can have a distinct influence on the reader's thought process. I'm not talking about just history or textbooks here, but expanding my mental conception of "nonfiction" to include things like poetry about the design of tree branches and snowflakes, ideas for outdoor time (like 1000 Hours Outside), and the varied styles of the biblical canon.

Reading level can be tricky. Most of the U. S. population reads at a 7th or 8th grade level. Some examples of books written at this level, as 2022, are The Hobbit, Little Women, most novels by Jules Verne, and The Secret Garden. (I had a hard time finding nonfiction written at this level...perhaps more on that in a future post.)

The reading-muscle rises to the challenge of a higher level when that level is just above where you're at now. This also depends on the subject matter you're engaging with. My interests include physical therapy, nature, and education. Give me something at a very high grade reading level in those areas, and I can handle it easily. Something like modal logic or knitting patterns? Not so much.

As for the last criterion, values/ethics, that is something I could talk about for a much longer series of posts. My husband might, too, if I can get him to guest contribute at some point. My very brief thought on this, however, is that everyone has a value system, even if they don't think they do. Figure out what yours is, and the implications of those values (which can be a long process sometimes), and choose reading material in line with that.

Why You Might Not Enjoy Reading (Why You Might Struggle to Read)

Short answer: it's hard!

Longer answer: what I mean by "hard" is "harder than other things I could be doing." Some distractions I think many of us can identify with include our phones, our children, our news feeds, and our jobs. I am blessed to have grown up in and currently live in a setting where reading is valued . . . but it's still hard. To make the habit of reading a little easier to resume, I found this the concept of dopamine fasting helpful.

How You Can Grow to Enjoy Reading More (Again)

These are five things that have helped me to get back into a pleasurable reading habit:

• Decide that reading is worth it!
• Keep a stack of varied books-in-progress on my TV table on my side of the sofa.
• Write down the books I finish (even if I don't really enjoy them) to keep myself accountable.
• Maintain friendships with reading folks like Beth.
• Put the TV in the basement, keep the phone on silent and in my pocket.

What are your other tips? Feel free to put them in the comments below.

2022: Books I’ve read

Lots of people have New Year's goals. My goal for this 2022 was to read 20 “fun” books (any not required for my job!). Feel free to peruse the list below of books that I read this year, with my mini-reviews. I hope you find some that you have enjoyed or are curious about reading yourself!

Books I Read Before my Baby was Born

1. Thinking, Fast and Slow (D. Kahneman). Finished 1/8/22. Daniel won the 2002 Nobel prize in economics and waxes autobiographical in this explanation of his research career. The central idea is that our two “selves” (automatic, stereotyping System 1 and fatigable, more logical System 2) interact to guide our reactions to and conceptions of the world. System 1 dominates most of the time, but System 2 can be trained to work more consistently to allow true critical thinking.

2. Babywise (R. Bucknam and G. Ezzo). Finished 1/9/22, probably reading a second time this year. The parent-directed feeding approach described is a middle ground between on-demand and scheduled infant feeding. Retrospective studies referenced indicate equal or better weight gain outcomes and nighttime sleep of at least 7 hours by 6-8 weeks of age. Some typos near the end but otherwise an easy, informational read.

3. I Love Jesus, but I Want to Die (S. Robinson). Finished 1/11/22, worth a second read and a spot in my office. Sarah deals with chronic and recurrent depression and anxiety, and offers this book as a "walk alongside" people, especially fellow Christians, who may feel guilt and shame that faith alone does not heal them. Chapters are autobiographical, with comprehensive resource recommendations throughout as well as in an appendix.

4. Mother and Baby Care in Pictures (L. Zabriskie, 1941). Finished 1/12/22, a fun picture-based book. My mother gifted me this book last year after receiving it from her mother-in-law. It’s interesting to see how recommendations and customs for prenatal care through toilet training have changed over the years.

5. What Does This Mean: Principles of Biblical Interpretation in the Post-Modern World (J. W. Voelz). Finished 2/2/22, a decent reference text but not one for a second round of pleasure reading! My husband and I are attending an apologetics class at our church, and this Lutheran (Missouri Synod) text describes how sound interpretation, the foundation of sound doctrine that can be defended, has been done, spanning the postmodern era but incorporating older sources as well.

6. Mama Bear Apologetics (edited by H. M. Ferrer). Finished 2/7/22, a great introduction to worldview apologetics for the Christian, focused on mothers/mother figures. I will read this again in the future as needed. Worldviews include rationalism, progressive Christianity, feminism, and Marxism. The text acknowledges the strengths of each worldview while walking the reader through the “chew and spit” discernment process.

7. The Peter Principle (L. J. Peter & R. Hull). Finished 2/11/22, a satirical inspection of promotion-to-incompetence, the effects thereof, and strategies to avoid this otherwise inescapable phenomenon. My husband and I have had supervisors of varying competence through our careers so far, and my decision to read this book was inspired by one in particular.

What Books I Read in the Newborn Stage

8. Grasping God's Word (J. S. Duvall & J. D. Hays). Finished 3/9/22 after my baby was born. This unexpected good find of a college-level textbook was accessible at a trained lay level as an introduction to exegesis of the Scriptures. I intend to reference it, share it, and use it in education and study.

9. Someone to Walk With: a Woman's Guide to Christian Mentoring (D. Paape). Finished 3/17/22, a practical guide to mentoring intergenerationally within a Christian institutional context. Using many biblical narratives including John’s account of the Samaritan woman at the well, Darcy brings the reader along in conversation about aspects of mentor relationships.

10. Single Case Experimental Designs: Strategies for Studying Behavior Change (D. H. Barlow, M. K. Nock, M. Hersen). Finished 3/26/22, an older edition of a classic textbook on experimental methods using one case at a time as opposed to groups in a randomized controlled trial design. This text expands on the basics that I already knew from teaching evidence-based practice courses and taking PhD-level statistics.

11. Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible (M. F. Bird). Finished 3/30/22, a surprisingly dense and engaging read by comedic theologian, priest, and seminary professor. Because I enjoy providing theological content, here is the summary (cited from the back cover and appendix)!

• How the Bible was put together
• What "inspiration" means
• How the Bible is true
• Why the Bible needs to be rooted in history
• Why literal interpretation is not always the best interpretation
• How the Bible gives us knowledge, faith, love, and hope
• How Jesus Christ is the center of the Bible

Appendix of key Old Testament scriptures with which to preach the Gospel:

• Psalm 118:22-26
• Leviticus 19:18
• Psalm 110:1, 4
• Daniel 7:13
• Psalm 2:7

What Books I Read Returning to Work

12. Teach Students How to Learn (S. Y. McGuire). Finished 4/3/22, a simple yet effectively profound take on learning strategies for the college and graduate classroom. McGuire combines metacognition, motivation, and Bloom’s taxonomy in a way that can be presented in a single classroom lecture and, once applied, can increase test grades by 1-2 letter grades.

13. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today (N. T. Wright). Finished 4/6/22, a lay-level exploration of one aspect of Wright's theology that is explored at a higher level in his ongoing 5-volume project. I find it easier to understand Wright when I listen to him rather than read his work, which is apparently typical for many would-be readers.

14. Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What we can Do (C. M. Steele). Finished 4/14/22, a popular-level summary of the results and implications of Dr. Steele's research career related to why minority groups underperform in academia and other societal endeavors. Stereotype threat is a major factor impacting physiology and cognition, effectively making any person in a stereotyped group dual-task unless the threat is reduced by (1) emphasis on learning, (2) mentorship style communicating confident high standards and belief in one's ability to meet them, and (3) information emphasizing the aspects of a challenging experience that are common to all regardless of group status.

15. Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed.) (E. M. Rogers). Finished 4/14/22 (sort of), Rogers' classic text provides detailed examples and explanation of the concept of an innovation adoption curve. The total number of adopters of an innovation, over time, forms a slanted S shape, and the breakdown of how many adopters are in each category (early, middle, late, nonadopters) forms a skewed bell curve. I read this because a PhD colleague focused her dissertation on innovation in nursing.

16. To Be a Christian: an Anglican Catechism (ACNA, 2020). Finished 4/21/22, this official catechism of the Anglican Church in North America is a document both of us are reading as we investigate the teachings of this denomination

17. Family Cycles (W. L. Carter). Finished 5/2/22, this popular-level text by a marriage and family therapist discusses reasons and practical solutions for generational problems in communication among family members, specifically parents and children.

18. The Heritage of Anglican Theology (J. I. Packer). Finished 5/15/22, this posthumously published historical survey traces the history of Anglicanism in an easy-to-understand way. My husband will be reading this book once he finishes the 4 or 5 he's working through, as we learn more about the ACNA.

19. Anglicanism: a Reformed Catholic Tradition (G. Bray). Finished 5/30/22, this short explanation of the Anglican statement of faith (the 39 Articles) traces the rationale for each article through the history of the Anglican Church.

20. The Empowered Wife: Six Surprising Secrets for Attracting your Husband's Time, Attention, and Affection (L. Doyle). Finished 6/4/22 (goal MET for this year!), this self-help book on relationships is surprisingly helpful and reasonably evidence-based, aimed at wives. Mrs. Midwest recommended the book on her blog. The "secrets" are to

• focus on self-care (what makes you, the wife, happy in the moment)
• restore or increased verbalized respect for your husband (even if you disagree!) and his autonomy
• give up controlling your husband (again, because he is his own person)
• receive gifts - simply say "Thank you!" and leave it at that
• learn vulnerability with your husband
• refocus on expressing gratitude for the little and big things. GOAL MET!

What Books I Read Beyond my Goal

21. M is for Mama: A Rebellion against Mediocre Motherhood (A. Halberstadt). Finished 7/8/22, this long-in-the-making book gives practical, Christ- and Scripture-centered advice for navigating motherhood centered on faith and the fruits of the Spirit. Abbie also has a website with more frequently updated content.

22. Hermeneutics: An Introduction (A. Thiselton). Finished 7/23/22, this introductory textbook traces the history of the discipline of how to study the Scriptures, based on philosophical and linguistic traditions. Admittedly, I did not retain much of what I read (because I wasn't taking notes or slowing down enough!). However, Thiselton is one of the bigger names in the discipline, so is worth becoming familiar with.

23. The Anglican Way (T. McKenzie). Finished 8/1/22, this easy read outlines the essentials of the historic Anglican tradition and its closest adherents today, members of the Anglican Church in North America. 

24. The Well-Trained Mind (J. Wise and S. Wise Bauer). Finished 8/21/22, this updated resource (1982 then 1999) provides a thorough explanation and outline for completing up to 12 years of a classical education curriculum at home. As someone who was homeschooled through high school, I found the text balanced, albeit dated with some information toward the end on college admissions and internet-based resources.

25. Breaking the Social Media Prism (C. Bail). Finished 8/27/22, this book summarizes several social science studies that the author designed for social media users. Surprising (and debatable, according to my husband) findings include the need for real-life or anonymous online conversations to help people understand others' political views and moderate their own.

26. When Strivings Cease (R. Simons). Finished 9/17/22, this Reformed perspective on the individual understanding of the grace of God and its outworking on the Christian mind and life was an artistic read. Ruth is mother to 6 boys, with a Chinese-American background, both of which inform how she discusses grace.

27. The Lost World of Genesis One (J. Walton). Finished 9/17/22, this short read lays out Walton's cosmic-temple interpretation of Genesis 1 incorporating historical context of the ancient Near East, a knowledge of Hebrew lexicons, and a high view of God and Scripture. I had not heard of this perspective until less than a year ago.

28. Systematic Theology (A. Thiselton). Finished 9/24/22, this concise introduction to systematics from an Anglican perspective with 15 equal-length chapters. It is meant to spur curiosity and help the student/reader see the broad range of historical perspectives on important theological topics, while being short enough to complete in one semester.

29. Won by Love (N. McCorvey). Finished 9/27/22, this quick autobiographical read is by "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade. It tells how she was involved in the abortion industry almost by accident, then was brought kicking and screaming to Jesus Christ and started her own pro-life ministry.

30. Teaching What You Don’t Know (T. Huston). Finished 9/30/22, this was recommended to me by a slightly newer colleague. As someone with less than 2 years of full time teaching experience in an academic setting, I greatly appreciated Therese’s practical strategies and reassurance. 

31. The Mother’s Almanac (M. Kelly & E. Parsons). Finished 10/31/22, this sassy 1970s book gives age-appropriate, from-scratch ideas for thriving in and enjoying the child-rearing years. 

32. Nervous Energy (C. Carmichael). Finished 11/2/22, this self-help book is unfortunately based more on an explicitly Eastern mindset than I would like, but the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy tools described for harnessing anxiety are supported by adequate research evidence. I am already incorporating the techniques with my students. 

33. Intimate Allies (D. Allender & T. Longman). Finished 11/4/22, this mix of psychology and theological commentary explains five core issues/questions for married couples in light of Genesis 1-3 and other key passages. 

34. Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, 2nd Ed (S. McCutcheon). Finished 11/13/22, this classic explanation of the Bradley Method of unmedicated childbirth has additional references to and interpretation of clinical trials, evidence syntheses, and a layman’s distinction between the layers and types of evidence-based practice. 

35. The Trivium (M. Joseph). Finished 11/22/22, this classic by Sister Miriam Joseph uses a Thomist approach to describe and give examples of the components of the three parts of classical-education liberal arts: logic, grammar, and rhetoric. 

36. The Coddling of the American Mind (G. Lukianoff & J. Haidt). Finished 11/30/22, this book-club book documents causes, effects, and possible solutions for the culture of safetyism most commonly seen in Generation Z.

37. Reading Romans Backwards (S. McKnight). Finished 12/12/22, this book that engages with scholarship without actually quoting any (by the author's own description) communicates a rationale and method for reading the early chapters of Romans in light of the later chapters. I plan to read it again when I come to Romans in my daily Bible reading.

38. Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (C. Trueman). Finished 12/21/22, this book traces the historical development of the modern concept of therapeutic/psychological/sexually politicized selfhood, its natural expression in the transgender and LGBTQ+ movements, and implications for Christians. It has a shorter summary in the book Strange New World, also by Trueman.

39. Irreversible Damage (A. Shrier). Finished 12/25/22, this highly contested book describes the author's exploration of the separate but related phenomena of transgenderism related to (1) lifelong gender dysphoria and (2) adolescent-onset (and usually temporary) dysphoria precipitated by prolonged social media use and peer group exposure to influencing ideas.

40. Little Women (L. M. Alcott). Finished 12/23/22 on the nth re-read, this classic 1800s fiction novel (in two parts!) has been a long-time favorite of mine. I wrote a separate post (12/24/22) about reflections on books 38-40 on this list.

What books did you read and enjoy this year? Feel free to share below in the comments!

Little Women Re-read: Identifying with Jo March in a Cultural Transition

I have been routinely reading through three or four books at a time, this year. My husband encouraged me to do this rather than sticking to one book at a time, and now I can see why. The biggest advantage of this method is that I always have a book that fits my mood to turn to, no matter what mood I'm in.  

This month, the books were Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman (2020), Little Women (Louisa May Alcott, 1868-1869), and Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier (2020). Themes of concurrent reads don't often line up as closely as they did, so this was a fascinating experience.

Book Summaries

Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

I would like to summarize the books from longest to shortest. At 400+ pages, Rise and Triumph has first place in this category. It is actually a middle-length historical synthesis of several thinkers including Phillip Rieff and Alasdair MacIntyre. Although this book is highly accessible in terms of writing style to someone able to read at a 12th-ish grade level, it is still very long for the busy pastor or interested lay person. If you'd like a shorter, 8th-10th grade level summary, I recommend Trueman's Strange New World, with chapters written in parallel, and even including study/discussion questions.

A great summary (aimed at pastors and priests) of Rise and Triumph is over at 9marks. This book compares modern-day Christians to Rip Van Winkle--unaware that they are part of the culture around them and are not actually the anticulture. The book's historical threads bring them up to speed; because of cultural change, although most Christians have absorbed many aspects of the culture, they as a group are thought of as harmful. So, what history is relevant? Over the last 3-4 centuries, certain key thinkers have influenced and marked a "death of God" in the larger Western culture.

Central concepts and theories that link the key thinkers' ideas together are (1) mimesis versus poiesis and (2) Rieff's three-worlds concept. Mimesis refers to imitating an existing order extra nos (outside of us)--whatever the source of that order. Poiesis, by contrast, refers to humans creating their own order or reality. The three "worlds" of Phillip Rieff refer to three attitudes or worldviews. The first "world" is that of a pagan, whose morality is based on widely accepted myths. The second "world" is that of a believer, whose morality is based on faith in God. The third "world" is actually an anticulture, because it is essentially secular and based on rejecting the notion of a god.

Now, we get to the path of the concept of the "self." Rosseau, in the 1700s, explained the concept of the "psychological self" which led to expressive individualism (i.e., the individual's self-exaltation and self-fulfillment is the most important). Next, the poets Wordsworth, Shelley, and Blake, in the late 1700s-1800s, popularized Rousseau's ideas into the "romantic self" and the idea of a therapeutic culture (i.e., an individual's surroundings should focus on supporting his or her mental world which is more important than a potentially contradictory physical reality). 

Nietsche, Marx, and Darwin, in the 1800s, built on these same ideas to produce the idea of the "plastic self" (i.e., each person can remake his or her own identity at will). Finally, Freud, in the early 1900s, put forth the idea of the "sexual self" (i.e., each human is fundamentally a sexual/sexualized being from infancy onward). Based on this train of historical thought, Marcuse, in the mid-1900s, developed the "sexually politicized self" (i.e., sexuality is used politically, and nothing less than active support of a person's sexual identity is tolerable).

Little Women

This is actually a pair of novels, the first published in 1868 and the next in 1869. The story traces the lives of four March girls, Meg, Jo (Josephine), Amy, and Beth in decreasing age order. Meg's marriage marks the beginning of the second novel (Part 2). Meg has a "proper" personality, Jo a "boyish," Amy an "artistic," and Beth a "mousy" temperament, if I had to pick a single adjective for each. Part 1 sees the girls in early- to mid-adolescence (12-16 years old), and all are adults (with the exception of the late Beth) by the end of Part 2. Through varied adventures, each girl grows into a woman and marries with children.

Irreversible Damage

I am not all the way through this book, but do know enough to say that the Wikipedia article about it currently misrepresents the theme. As someone with a decent amount of research training, including a PhD in health sciences, I can say that she has done due diligence to investigate multiple angles and interpret the extant literature (or lack thereof) on the phenomenon of what Lisa Littman's 2018 article in PLoS One (a prominent general science journal) called Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD). (Side note: a conference on that topic is documented here.) 

Shrier correctly notes that the recent surge in cases of adolescent girls suddenly declaring themselves trans and insisting on hormone/Lupron administration is distinct from cases of classically defined, life-long gender dysphoria in both presentation and clinical course.

Common Themes

Perhaps not surprisingly from the summaries above, common themes of the three books encompass gender manifestations and gender identity in a given cultural and historical context. Little Women portrays the dominant United States and western European cultures of the late 1800s, where most women married young, raised their children or other's children (as governesses or school teachers), and ruled peaceful homes so that their husbands could pursue fulfilling careers in ministry, business, or service. Traditional Christian morality pervaded the culture, reinforcing standards of conduct and traditional virtues of "prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice . . . faith, hope, and love." Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self traces how this type of culture became displaced by Rieff's "third world" anticulture, and Irreversible Damage shows the tail end of a manifestation of this anticulture.

Additional Reflections on Rise and Triumph

The 9marks summary highlights salient questions for Christians and others to consider:

• How is it possible (logically and/or practically) possible, if at all, to have the inner (psychological) self actually be more real than the biological self?
• What is the source of dignity and authenticity--God or the self?
• Should Christians use the world's categories for sexuality in their own thinking, writing, and reasoning? "To concede the categories can concede the argument."
• Given the history leading up to the psychological, sexually politicized self, is there any logical barrier to concluding (from the anticulture's rhetoric and documents) that pedophilia, polygamy, and incest are okay?

More points and quotes from the summary:

• According to the anticulture, "who you think you are is your real identity . . . However, for one's identity to flourish, it must be acknowledged by others. The technical term for that identity is dialogical; in other words, it relies on language which is only developed through interaction with others."
• "The Bible draws lines where current secular ideology wants no lines."
• Interestingly, as a consequence of the history summarized in the background above, even the legal system reasons based on aesthetic appearance and emotional supremacy. Additionally, pornography is widely accepted because of the changed societal view of sex.
• Highly recommend reading Alasdair MacIntyre's After Virtue after this.
• The LGBTQ+ alliance is by exclusion of cis/hetero norms. No two categories "fit" together naturally.

Concluding Personal Reflections

I started this post referring to re-reading Little Women. For readers who haven't read that book in a while or at all, here is a summary of Jo's character development. As an early adolescent (15 years old), she did things that were not "proper" for girls in her era to do, such as lie on the rug at home and persist in boyish habits and mannerisms. She was not happy at the prospect of growing up into a young lady, and was disappointed in being born a girl. Perpetually outspoken and frank, in the awkward phase of adolescence, she spent years learning how to control her tongue and temper. Her mother allowed or encouraged her to develop practical "non-girl" skills including carpentry.

Her early training was in serving her Aunt March, which worked on her rough edges. As a girl and young lady, she had a short, hot temper and excess self-efficacy in her cooking skills. Her friendship with Laurie (Theodore Laurence, around her age) was always platonic--she was sure she could never love him romantically, though he grew into infatuation over time. Most of her friends and relatives were girls, so she especially treasured the friendship with Laurie. 

Through adolescence, she worked hard to master her temper and imitate good character models, although she was at times taken up in secular philosophy and money-making by writing "trash" below her level of morality. She learned when to speak and when to hold her tongue from several personal mistakes, and continued to be frank with Laurie and others. Once married to the older Professor Bhaer, she singlehandedly developed a boarding school for boys in her late aunt's estate. She matured, yet always preferred the chaos of being surrounded by boys and young men whose character she and the Professor shaped.

As a tomboy, I always identified with Jo March. A Millennial child of Gen X parents (and without social media by choice until I went to college), I had only brothers growing up and, while I preferred spending time with female friends more, I don't know what I would have done with a sister in the family. Also, I enjoyed writing and coming up with improbable/dramatic stories, as Jo did. My favorite forms of physical activity were/are walking, tree climbing, ice skating, and otherwise outdoorsy, level-surface activities. 

Also, like Jo, I didn't particularly enjoy being a girl or woman, at times well into my twenties. This was due to the privilege I saw afforded to my brothers by my parents, and after puberty the facts of cyclical soreness and other changes. Connecting this to Irreversible Damage, I can see that I was spared the mental health issues so prevalent among teenage girls today, due to my peer group selection and my late, practical entrance into social media.

What do you think of these books? Feel free to engage with their ideas in the comments!

Upcoming blog content: What would you like to see?

Hello, loyal readers! I would like to get more regular in posting to this page again. After some life changes, I've narrowed and changed the direction of what I'm knowledgeable enough and interested enough in to write blog posts about. What content would you be interested in, from the below or similar topics?

• Physical therapy (geriatrics specifically)
• Babies and infant development
• University education
• Christian/classical education
• Books to read
• Writing nonfiction and research
• Quality improvement, quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI)
• Psychosocial aspects of health care
• Frugal home decorating and homemaking
• Tales from the nursing home and home health agency
• Walking anywhere and everywhere
• Life in southeastern Wisconsin