Booking It: May Update

I accomplished my goal of reading three non-fiction books in May. I read Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen, Stop Acting Rich by Thomas J. Stanley, and Bringing Up Girls by James Dobson.

In April I tried to read The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley and just couldn't get into it. In contrast, I really enjoyed Stop Acting Rich. I finished it several weeks ago and am still telling my husband about things I read in it. I think I'm probably driving him crazy. This book caught my attention because it began with a story about the author's father delivering newspapers while The Millionaire Mind started with pages and pages of statistics. The information in The Millionaire Mind is probably just as interesting but I was so bored by the first chapter that I just couldn't keep reading. If you aren't familiar with Thomas J. Stanley, he conducts surveys of very wealthy people and has learned that most are millionaires because they've worked hard, lived frugally, and saved. In this book, he examines the lifestyle and consumption habits of millionaires. He talks about what they drive, where they buy clothes, what type of watch they wear, what brand of liquor they drink, etc. The reality is very different than what Hollywood portrays.

I was disappointed in Bringing Up Girls. I was so excited that this book was coming out this spring since our daughter was due this summer. I had read Bringing Up Boys before my son was born two years ago and loved it. In Bringing Up Girls Dr. Dobson mainly focuses on protecting our daughters from the sexually explicit culture that we live in. While that is extremely important, I had hoped it would be more about building a relationship with your daughter and the day-to-day life of raising a daughter.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read in June. Currently I'm reading Faith and Freedom: The Christian Roots of American Liberty by Benjamin Hart, a book I found on my father-in-law's bookshelf. I'm currently staying with my in-laws because our daughter arrived six-weeks early and they live significantly closer to the NICU and can help with our son while I'm there. I have plenty of time to read between feedings in the NICU, but limited access to books.

If you would like to see what others have been reading, check out the links on Fish Mama's June Booking It Update.