Reading books that help you improve yourself -or I don't know what to title this thread.

[scrapbabe]

I read something on Pinterest about how few people actually read books. It was a whole lot of percentages and data and at the end it said something like "if you spent 1 hour a day reading a book about your particular field you'd be an international expert in 7 years." Now I don't know how true that is or not but it got me thinking. If I wanted to become an "expert" in what I do what should I be reading? First of all I don't have just one "field", so I don't want to narrow it down too much. But I was wondering if we could come up with a book list for homeschoolers/parents/housekeepers. Now it could be something that's just general personal growth, or it could be specific to a topic like writing, math, finances, parenting, organization, etc. I'm not expecting to become an expert in any of these things, but I'd like to add more "helpful" reading to my repertoire instead of just "fun" reading. Does that make sense? So if you'd like to contribute to a list of books I'd appreciate it. Even if you're not sure it fits in any of the categories I listed.

[Critterfixer]

As far as the books I've found the most helpful have been many of the great books I never got around to reading when I was "specializing."

I want a shirt with the Heinlein quote "Specialization is for insects."

Any book that makes me slow down and think about people and life has been good for me. Any book about things I never really thought about before has been good for me. Anything that forces me to evaluate and form my own opinion and wrestle with it has been good for me. 

And for the record, it has been kind of fun, too.

[athomeontheprairie]

I don't have any titles to recommend but I have read the article you are referencing. If you read about ANY subject for an hour a day for 7 years, of course you'll be an expert. Or at least extremely knowledgeable on it :-).

I would pick a topic I wanted to know more about, then I'd hit my library up for non fiction works. The works they have will cite others. Order them. Follow the bunny trails. Make notes.

For school, I really enjoy reading on different methodologies. "why students don't like school" and "the knowledge deficit" are my top two

recommendations.

Not what you asked for, but those are my thought s :-)

[Coco_Clark]

Homeschooling Books I Reccomend (be aware that I lean both classical and christian)

 

The Well Trained Mind by SWB (duh)

Home Education by Charlotte Mason

Tending the Heart of Virtue by Vigen Guroan

Beauty in the World by Stratford Caldecott

The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis

Desiring the Kingdom by James Smith

Norms and Nobility by David Hicks

Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen

The Lost Tools of Writing by Dorothy Sayers

 

I also read a lot that pertains more specifically to my faith. And I've read just about every parenting book out there. The only ones that have really made a lasting impression are Talk to Your Kids so They Really Listen and Listen so They Really Talk (or someting like that) and Simplicity Parenting. I dont read much on homemaking, self help.

 

Hope that helps a little!

[regentrude]

I read something on Pinterest about how few people actually read books. It was a whole lot of percentages and data and at the end it said something like "if you spent 1 hour a day reading a book about your particular field you'd be an international expert in 7 years."

 

No books suggestions, but I had to comment on this nonsensical statement.

1 hour per day for 7 years does not make you an "international expert". Not by far.

A person who studies a specific field for four years in college and six years in grad school, spending 8-10 hours a day (if he is serious) over 10 years is still far from being an "expert". That will take another couple of decades of actual work. (And besides, expertise is not gained from simply reading; expertise often involves a skill.)

 

Off my soap box. But claims like this really irritate me.

 

For self- education, I find it more beneficial to educate myself about actual content ( I find that I can read enough about homeschooling itself while perusing these boards.) We are using a lot of TC lectures, which we can listen to while driving, thus utilizing time that is not otherwise scheduled. I can highly recommend them, if you are not yet familiar with those.

[Critterfixer]

Amen.

[scrapbabe]

As far as the books I've found the most helpful have been many of the great books I never got around to reading when I was "specializing."

I want a shirt with the Heinlein quote "Specialization is for insects."

Any book that makes me slow down and think about people and life has been good for me. Any book about things I never really thought about before has been good for me. Anything that forces me to evaluate and form my own opinion and wrestle with it has been good for me.

And for the record, it has been kind of fun, too.

. For instance? ;)

[scrapbabe]

No books suggestions, but I had to comment on this nonsensical statement.

1 hour per day for 7 years does not make you an "international expert". Not by far.

A person who studies a specific field for four years in college and six years in grad school, spending 8-10 hours a day (if he is serious) over 10 years is still far from being an "expert". That will take another couple of decades of actual work. (And besides, expertise is not gained from simply reading; expertise often involves a skill.)

 

Off my soap box. But claims like this really irritate me.

 

For self- education, I find it more beneficial to educate myself about actual content ( I find that I can read enough about homeschooling itself while perusing these boards.) We are using a lot of TC lectures, which we can listen to while driving, thus utilizing time that is not otherwise scheduled. I can highly recommend them, if you are not yet familiar with those.

. No, I totally agree. I guess I was just hoping some people would have a good content book or otherwise to recommend. For instance, if someone read a good book that helped them teach writing better or helped form their ideas on how to teach writing. Bravewriter and IEW are that for me. But maybe we're all so well rounded and well read on these boards that there are too many books that have formed who we are and how we do things so it's hard to make a list. :). I just needed some inspiration and ideas for self educated reading, and I didn't want to narrow it down to just one topic so others could feel free to share anything that they loved.

[MerryAtHope]

I spend an hour every day reading forums so I'm a super expert in forumming.

 

 

LOL, snort! :lol:

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Agreeing with Regentrude...  I *love* randomly made up nonsensical statistics!  LOL.  This is similar to the 10,000 hours to expertise claim- absolutely no basis in any sort of study.  

 

Ahem, back to topic.  

 

For content area, I've enjoyed the following (so far):

 

Math:

- Having a good math teacher as a student many years ago

- Singaore HIGs, RightStart B manual

- Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, Liping Ma

  - Education Unboxed videos

 

Science

- Having a science degree helps a lot, though not as much as one might think when it comes to translating that to the elementary level

- Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding

- Charlotte Mason reading on nature study, various articles on how students need real-life experience as "hooks" to hang book knowledge on

 

History:

- WTM and SOTW audio- my first truly chronological look at history ever.  I learn as much as the kids do! 

- Threads here, mostly those featuring Mrs. Twain

- I need more for history.  I am really lacking both in knowledge and in motivation to gain knowledge in this subject area.  I am definitely planning on letting The Great Courses take over this subject as soon as possible.

 

Language Arts

- Most recently, the teacher training series from Logic of English, available free on youtube

- The Writer's Jungle- very inspiring for me

- The Complete Writer, SWB- a good framework for homemade copywork/narration/dictation

- Threads here involving 8Fillintheheart

- Previous good English teachers in my life

- The Read Aloud Handbook, the Readaloud Revival podcast, and many booklists online

- The guide book (free online) from Journey Through Bookland

- I'd really like to get Teaching the Classics seminar on DVD... waiting for my birthday on that one.  :-)  

 

As other have already mentioned, these are good books for overarching philosophy of education:

- Knowledge Deficit, Hirsch

- Why students don't like school, Willingham

- How Students Fail/How Students Learn, Holt

- Simplicity Parenting

- All the CIRCE stuff- threads on here, audio/video on CIRCE site, etc. 

- Charlotte Mason ideas from various well known websites explaining her methods, though I've fallen off the pure CM bandwagon now

- The Waldorf year at a glance planner videos on youtube- these have nothing to do with Waldorf, just a great "big picture" brainstorming method for the school year

 

I have lots more on my shelf, but these are the ones that I recommend to others the most often. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rosie_0801]

Not a book, but I have spent many enjoyable hours stickybeaking on Muslim websites like this one. 

[IsabelC]

Not a book, but I have spent many enjoyable hours stickybeaking on Muslim websites like this one. 

And there was me thinking I was the only person who checks out sites like that!

 

 

I think I am an unschooler, though. I have tried structured reading lists but occasionally, but usually I just order a ton of library books on whatever takes my fancy that week.

[scrapbabe]

Well this thread didn't turn out the way I had hoped, but thanks to those who responded. :). I did get a few ideas.

[Critterfixer]

For example:

The Gulag Archipelago. Grueling. Taxing. Written by a person who thinks in great detail and is very random. That book worked me over. By the time I read the section The Soul and the Barbed Wire I was far more convicted of sins in myself than any other time. I was literally weeping, and I don't weep over books. Ever. I still remember taking that second section copy to the front desk of the library and begging the librarian to tell me where part one was. She thought I was nuts.

 

War and Peace. Just getting through it was tough. But by the time I was done with it I had found an essential way that readers connect with books. That's a big deal, because it showed me just how a little knowledge (in this case, my beginning interest in bees) turned into a way to think with Tolstoy. 

 

That's probably why I would encourage a wide range of interests in reading, rather than to try to pick up books on a single topic in hopes of becoming an expert. At least for me, just knowing a little bit about some things helps me to read something that is hard to understand and to find a place where I can say, "Oh, I remember a little about that..." and suddenly my interest is increased and I pay attention.

 

I won't ever be an expert on Greek mythology--but I know a little bit. I did research for fiction on Greek gods, Egyptian gods, Mesoamerican gods and Sumerian gods. I'm hoping that will translate into "Oh, yeah!" moments with some of the works I've got on my list for this fall. A little bit can go a long way.

[Sahamamama]

I truly improve the most (as a person, as a parent, as a teacher) when I think, rather than when I follow another person's prescription for some aspect of my life. To that end, the best books are those that prompt me to think.

 

[scrapbabe]

For example:

The Gulag Archipelago. Grueling. Taxing. Written by a person who thinks in great detail and is very random. That book worked me over. By the time I read the section The Soul and the Barbed Wire I was far more convicted of sins in myself than any other time. I was literally weeping, and I don't weep over books. Ever. I still remember taking that second section copy to the front desk of the library and begging the librarian to tell me where part one was. She thought I was nuts.

 

War and Peace. Just getting through it was tough. But by the time I was done with it I had found an essential way that readers connect with books. That's a big deal, because it showed me just how a little knowledge (in this case, my beginning interest in bees) turned into a way to think with Tolstoy.

 

That's probably why I would encourage a wide range of interests in reading, rather than to try to pick up books on a single topic in hopes of becoming an expert. At least for me, just knowing a little bit about some things helps me to read something that is hard to understand and to find a place where I can say, "Oh, I remember a little about that..." and suddenly my interest is increased and I pay attention.

 

I won't ever be an expert on Greek mythology--but I know a little bit. I did research for fiction on Greek gods, Egyptian gods, Mesoamerican gods and Sumerian gods. I'm hoping that will translate into "Oh, yeah!" moments with some of the works I've got on my list for this fall. A little bit can go a long way.

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

[raptor_dad]

Agreeing with Regentrude...  I *love* randomly made up nonsensical statistics!  LOL.  This is similar to the 10,000 hours to expertise claim- absolutely no basis in any sort of study.  

 

Ahem, back to topic.  

 

 

Actually, I think this is illustrative of how I read for self improvement. The generic pop culture 10k hr claim is complete rubbish. Malcolm Gladwell's book is glib to the point of being meaningless... but it does have footnotes...

 

If you follow those footnotes, you might end up reading K Anders Ericsson's "Cambridge Handbook on Expertise" which is very interesting. It would also lead you to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book "Flow" and Benjamin Bloom's seminal book "Developing Talent in Young People". From there, depending on your interests you could end up reading some obscure monographs by Julian Stanley on developing math talent or Carol Dweck's book "Mindset". All of these books are worth reading. Afterwards you would have a rich, nuanced view of the 10k hr claim and really any other claim about expert knowledge in any field.

 

This is my model for reading for self improvement. Start at an arbitrary point but then relentlessly run down references and follow rabbit trails for as long as they are interesting.

 

As an interesting homeschooling aside... I am using Miquon with DS7. I didn't find this from WTM or elsewhere. I found it by running down a reference to "Lore Rasmussen's clever worksheets" in a John Holt book from the 60s. This also got me interested in Zed Dienes' "math lab" materials, which were way too obscure. However, years later when reading about CSMP, SMSG, and other vintage "new" math on this board it was all *very* familiar...

 

 

[Kareni]

Here are a few older threads that might offer some suggestions.

 

Life changing, awesome book suggestions, please!

 

Desperately seeking mind altering books

 

books about teaching writing

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angie in VA]

For example:

The Gulag Archipelago. Grueling. Taxing. Written by a person who thinks in great detail and is very random. That book worked me over. By the time I read the section The Soul and the Barbed Wire I was far more convicted of sins in myself than any other time. I was literally weeping, and I don't weep over books. Ever. I still remember taking that second section copy to the front desk of the library and begging the librarian to tell me where part one was. She thought I was nuts.

 

I once heard a kid give a speech on this book (and event). I was very moved. I haven't been brave enough to read it, but your post convicted me. 

[raptor_dad]

Apropos of my "footnote" post above, Hofstadter's "Goedel Escher Bach" is the most influential book I've *never* read.  Admittedly, I've read every word and am a wannabe lisp hacker and have solid cog sci background... but the *most* influential part of the book to me wasn't the content(which I still haven't really dealt with) but rather the extensive annotated bibliography.

 

I was a naive college freshman from rural NC. After a highschool experience reading Bailey's "American Pageant" and Palmer and Colton, reading McNeil's "People and Plagues" and the Braudel's Capitalism cycle was eye opening as to what history could be. Likewise, GEB introduced me to Smullyan's logic books. Lo these many years later, I am waiting for  his "Beginner's Guide to Mathematical Logic" to come out this summer. I could just as easily have mentioned Tarski, Boden, Minsky, or Nagel. The intellectual chain that these books and the further trails they led to was formative for me.

 

I'm not saying you should necessarily read GEB. You could read an academic art history book and get the same benefits. And within 2-3 hops end up reading the same books. I have followed similar paths from art history books, Jared Diamond books, and either Brian Butterworth or Stanislaw Deheane math cog sci books to academic tomes about neolithic culture. If you read primary or secondary sources and follow up on topics of interest, you are bound to end up reading interesting books.

[Catherine]

The 10,000 hours claim in Malcolm Gladwell'sbook, Outliers, is most definitely based on real research.  For some reason my computer is not letting me copy the link.  It's on the wikipedia K. Anders Ericsson page. 

 

And another non sequitor: my ds has been obsessed with the GEB book since he was 12 and has done some of the further reading from the bibliography like you are doing, raptor! 

 

 

[Ecclecticmum]

I have a fascination with teaching styles.

 

Basically my interest stems from there. So to take from your list, I would get interested in Montessori, which would lead me to the interesting way Math is presented in Montessori, so I would end up travelling further down that path. I use a lot of bunny trails. Montessori also has interesting crossovers with parenting especially in the modern day, quite a number of authors have approached this. So from my list there is Simplicity parenting, which stems from Montessori i Believe (that or a waldorf/montessori mix, its a bit late here and I seem to have fogged) also one I have forgotten is Montessori Parenting: Unveiling the Authentic Self. I also read a lot of websites and blogs, which I factor into my reading time. I like reading generally about a method from different websites, and personal thoughts from blogs, then usually having more of a thorough biography of the person who inspired the style themselves, as that, more than any book on the subject, helps me understand them, and why they thought and decided what they did.

 

So this doesn't really fit into your fields exactly, but these are books that got me off into different fields and ideas that I incorporate into my teaching.

 

Well Trained Mind (obviously)

Well Educated Mind

Dumbing us Down - Gatto

Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work by E.M. Standing

The Original Homeschooling Series - Charlotte Mason

Summerhill School: A New View of Childhod: A.S. Neill

Free Range Kids - Leonore Skanazy

50 Dangerous Things (You should let your child do)

John Holt book or Magazine (your choice)

Project Based Homeschooling: Lori Pickert

Discovery of the Child: Maria Montessori

You Are Your Childs First Teacher - Dancy

Kingdom of Childhood - Rudolph Steiner

Understanding Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out

Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius

Bringing Reggio Emilia Home - Cadwell

Simplicity Parenting- Payne & Ross

Montessori Madness: Eissler

Big Book of Unschooling - Sandra Dodd (or read her website, same info)

Complete Home Learning Sourcebook (not exactly a reader, but a good reference)

Better late than never - Raymond Moore

The Three R's - Ruth Beechick

Pocketful of Pinecones - Karen Andreola

Slow and Stady Get Me Ready - Oberlander (good if pregnant, a slow but brilliant curriculum from 0-5)

A Thomas Jefferson Education - DeMille

101 Reasons why I'm an Unschooler

Back to Basics: Raising Self- Sufficient Children

Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home - Elizabeth Foss

Latin Centred Curriculum

Managers of their Homes/Schools/Chores

 

[fraidycat]

I'll list some books I've read from different categories.

 

Books I've read and enjoyed about money:

 

Your Money the Missing Manual

The Millionaire Next Door

Your Money or Your Life

The Complete Tightwad Gazette

 

Marriage:

 

The 5 Love Languages

Project Happily Ever After

How to Improve your Marriage without talking about it (my DH recommends this one for guys)

 

Habits and Organization:

 

Switch: how to change when change is hard

Getting Things Done

Sidetracked Home Executives

The Happiness Project

 

Parenting:

 

Parenting with Love and Logic

How to Talk so Kids will listen and listen so kids will talk

Protecting the gift

 

Diet/health:

 

The Primal Blueprint

Grain Brain

Nourishing Traditions (still working on this one)

Kiss Your Dentist Goodbye

It's No Accident (about bedwetting)

 

Alternative Health:

 

Energy Medicine by Donna Eden

The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook

 

Newest crop I've received from Amazon but have not read yet:

 

Mindset

The Entitlement Trap

Smart but Scattered

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

[MrsH]

I also love The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown. She's all about addressing shame in our lives, very powerful. She's funny, too.

 

The Hiding Place is the super inspiring story of a woman's experience during the holocaust, and how she eventually came to forgive her captors.

 

The Highly Sensitive Person is great if that might be you or a family member. A book more focused on the value of introversion is Quiet.

 

Happy reading!

[Hunter]

The Artist's Way

A big chunk of the book is domestic abuse recovery cleverly disguised as creative recovery. That can be good or bad depending on your background, but this is an important book in general for all types of people, and includes a LOT more than just that. The part about "Morning Pages" is a must read. This is the book that started the term "crazymaker".

http://www.amazon.com/The-Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421464

 

I just Can't Get Over it

The part about "secondary wounding" is useful for everyone. Not just to know how to handle it when it's done to you, but how not to do it to others.

http://www.amazon.com/Cant-Get-Over-Handbook-Survivors/dp/157224058X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402323118&sr=1-1&keywords=i+just+cannot+get+over+it

Here is a quick overview of secondary wounding. Bad things happen to all of us. The basic principles apply to little bad things as well as big bad things.

http://fellednot.com/secondary-wounding/

 

How to Tutor

Sorry, I know some of you are tired of hearing about it.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Tutor-Samuel-L-Blumenfeld/dp/0941995011/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402322874&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+tutor

 

The Three R's

The Spelling and the rest of the language section is applicable to older students, too.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Three-Rs-Ruth-Beechick/dp/0880620749/ref=pd_sim_b_10?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WW9AJQZHWAXBP5V54E8

 

Train Up a Child

A book about Amish schools and education

http://books.google.com/books?id=1MSzboiBfrkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=train+up+a+child&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ZcCVU4GCFaXhsAS7pYC4Bg&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=train%20up%20a%20child&f=false

 

No Regrets

Homeschooling out of a box CAN work. This is the book I learned about American School from, and use of that school by my oldest son–well, it might just have saved his life.

http://www.amazon.com/Regrets-Homeschooling-Earned-Masters-Sixteen-ebook/dp/B003K16NCU/ref=sr_1_20?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402323322&sr=1-20&keywords=no+regrets

 

[mommymilkies]

I probably have some unorthodox choices. 

 

As a Parent:

How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen so Kids Will Talk
Protecting the Gift

Heaven on Earth

Upside Down Brilliance

The Out of Sync Child

The Waldorf Curriculum Overview for Homeschoolers by Donna Simmons

Summerhill

 

With Food:

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Price

Real Food by Nina Planck

 

 

 

My relationship with others and myself:

Matilda by Dahl

Wise Child by Furlong

The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Doyle

It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It by Fulghum

Les Miserables

The Red Tent

[omd21]

A Course In Miracles

The War of Art

[Mystie]

I'll list some books I've read from different categories.

 

[snip]

Habits and Organization:

 

Switch: how to change when change is hard

Getting Things Done

Sidetracked Home Executives

The Happiness Project

 

[snip]

 

 

I love all those, too! I also like 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think.

 

I also try to "follow the bibliographic trail" - when reading a book, look for the books they mention; when reading an article, look up the book they might mention. Thus, I have shelves of books I *want* to read, and add to it faster than I actually read them. :)

[Mom-ninja.]

I read something on Pinterest about how few people actually read books. It was a whole lot of percentages and data and at the end it said something like "if you spent 1 hour a day reading a book about your particular field you'd be an international expert in 7 years."

 

If this is true then I should be an expert on dinosaurs in about 2 years. Not by choice. :lol:

 

[JadeOrchidSong]

Critterfixer,

Can you please link the book The Gulag Archipelago? I tried to find it in the library and I am not sure which one is the one. Thanks!