Apr 7 2016

Adler on DVD

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Last month, I came across this wonderful DVD with talk-style seminars by Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren about how to read a book. This DVD was produced by Encyclopedia Britannica probably as a companion to How To Read A Book – the actual book by that title. But it got lost and found only in recent years.

How to Read A Book DVD

Walking while watching Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren

You can watch a clip here or here so you get an idea what to expect. Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren are sitting at a table discussing how to tackle books and why. If you read the book you should also get the DVD. If you have not read the book, you should get the DVD, especially if you are not 150% psyched about reading a book about how to read books. The DVD contains the same information as the book, but it reinforces it in conversational style.

The two men discuss the reasons for reading and explain how to read The Great Books – the best collections of ideas produced by Western civilization. They break down the types of reading a person can do: for pleasure, information, fun, entertainment, or for a challenge etc.

The books that are tough for you to read, those that are above your level, those that make you scratch your head – you should be happy when you find something like that. If you only read what you can grasp, how can you grow? How can you stretch and reach higher than where you are? This is a great point especially for home educators. Continue reading »

Apr 5 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 14 – About Grace

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About Grace by Anthony Doerr is really not just about a girl name Grace. It is about fathers and daughters, runaway fathers, separation and psychology, precognition, dreams, Alaska, and the Grenadines. And, mostly, it is about snowflakes and insects.

This is Doerr’s first novel and critics agree that it is something special. Personally, when I read it, I felt transported and enlightened. I felt inspired even more to invest in family.

About Grace

David Winkler, the main character, learns the hard way that family is not so much what you are given but what you are able to keep. He also said something that touched me so much, I put the book down and went to a different place to cry. He said that grandfathers are successful fathers who have been promoted to the next level.  Continue reading »

Mar 29 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 13 – Four Seasons in Rome

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Anthony Doerr is quickly becoming my favorite writer. Last year, I read “All The Light We Cannot See” and was really touched by it. Now I know it was not just the plot, it was also the way Doerr writes. Because “Four Seasons in Rome” is very different from “All the Light…” You see, “Four Seasons…” is a travel memoir, while “All the Light…” is a work of fiction, a novel.

Two very different pieces, connected by the same author. It is clearly his writing that can turn any story, true or fictional, into an experience that enriches life. His writing grips me and haunts me and helps me see life differently. It inspires, energizes, and changes my perspective on the banal details of life. No wonder Doerr has received several literary awards, including the Pulitzer for “All the Light…” and no wonder he was named one of the 20 best young American novelists by Granta. He is that good.

Four Seasons in Rome

The subtitle of “Four Seasons in Rome” is “On twins, insomnia, and the biggest funeral in the history of the world.” So what is going on? The day Doerr’s wife gave birth to twins, they received an envelope in the mail, offering him a fellowship to live in Rome for one year and write something. Anything. The offer came from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. How could they say no?  Continue reading »

Mar 22 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 12 – Ability Development

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Ability Development from Age Zero by Shinichi Suzuki is required reading for Suzuki parents, those of us who put our children through music lessons with a Suzuki-certified teacher. My children take violin lessons from a Suzuki teacher and so I read this book as part of my preparation to support the teacher in her goals and methods.

Suzuki Method principles for parents

The Bible of Suzuki parents, this book should be read once a year.

First off, this is a short book – only 96 pages. Even if you read only 14 pages per day (that’s turning the page only seven times, friends!) you should be able to cover it in one week. By the way, when a book gets boring, I tell myself I have to turn the page only five more times and then I will put it down. Or something similar. Because motivation to finish something does not come easy, but if I can focus on a short-term goal, that does not seem daunting, I feel better about the task at hand.

Ability Development From Age Zero

This book does not get boring very often though. There are stories and anecdotes about different parents and children who are using the Suzuki method. There is some repetition in it, but I suppose it is a good thing. I know I need some concepts drilled into me and it only happens by hearing them over and over again.

Here are some powerful concepts from this book:  Continue reading »

Mar 16 2016

Protons and Neutrons

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Protons and Neutrons is a great book for your budding chemist. Written by Mary Wissinger, this can qualify as a “my first science textbook” without being all boring and fact-focused, produced by Genius Games.

It is a picture book which introduces small children to the concept of protons, neutrons, and electrons. More specifically, what they do, what their charges are and how they are attracted to each other. Also, how chemical elements are defined through the number of protons they possess.

Protons and Neutrons book for children

One of the pages inside the book

Pete is the Proton, Ned is the Neutron, and the electron does not get a name, but one can tell it is a girl. My six-year-old daughter loved the electron because she loves to see girls and feminine details everywhere.

The first question I got from the kids after I finished reading the book was, “Can we read it again?” The second question was, “Is there another book?” meaning “Is there a sequel to this book?” I answered, “Not yet.”  Continue reading »

Mar 15 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 11 – Good Talk, Dad

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Like I said last week, I needed a funny book after Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Enter Good Talk, Dad, the Anna Porter Public Library Book Group selection for the month of March. We will discuss this in a couple of weeks, so I will only share here my impression of this book.

First off, it is written by liberal journalists Bill Geist and Willie Geist, father and son who work at CBS and MSNBC respectively. As such, the book presents liberal ideas and concepts. It bashes the Vietnam war and wars in general, states that lenient parenting can produce good results and glamorizes choices that go against a biblical lifestyle.

Good Talk, Dad

I don’t even want to start arguing the reverse position of the above, – where WOULD I start? – but I disagree with the values espoused by these two journalists with every fiber of my being. In fact, the first day I started reading it, I wrote inside the front cover “funny book and the reason I reject American public schools.” Continue reading »

Mar 13 2016

Scratch and Code

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Which would you rather have: a son who plays video games or a son who makes video games? The latter, of course. I agree. The same goes for daughters.

So we started our son on coding. A boy who reads well, our son has no problem walking himself through a book like Super Scratch Programming Adventure. He was really excited about all the things he could do with Scratchy, the cat on the screen.

Book on how to learn coding

The perfect book to start learning how to code

The book itself contains nine stages, each with a page of comics-style adventures and then the exercises which should be done on the computer to continue the adventure.  Continue reading »

Mar 8 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 10 – Uncle Tom’s Cabin

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Reading The Scarlet Letter followed by Uncle Tom’s Cabin is like going from a lake to a deep well. If you don’t get this metaphor, it simply means you are not Romanian. In English, the equivalent would be “going from bad to worse.” I am referring to the atmosphere of the book, the subject matter, the darkness portrayed. I sure do need a funny book after these two.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

My biggest revelation with Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the fact that they used to separate family members. I cannot imagine any bigger torture than to take a child from her mother, or to separate husband and wife. That was the toughest part in the book for me.  Continue reading »

Mar 3 2016

Buy Local

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About ten years ago, I became aware that the US was going green. It was a recycling revolution. Words like “going green,” “sustainability,” and “recycling” entered the every day banter in mass media. Then, of course, “buy local” followed closely behind.

Well, we have been travelling to Knoxville for four different activities for the past three years. We are getting tired of the drive. It is two hours both ways, but, of course, you have to also consider driving between the activities once we are there.

Anna Porter Public Library Story Time

We have been attending Story Time at our local library for seven years now.

It’s not the gas money. It’s my emotional fuel. I get tired and then I bring the kids home late in the evening, around 9pm, and by the time we get to bed it is 10pm. The next day, we are dragging and it takes us another 24 hours to recover and get back on schedule.  Continue reading »

Mar 1 2016

Tuesday Tome Week 9 – The Scarlet Letter

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece is set in Puritan New England. If you, like me, have only seen the movie, you should really consider reading the book. I have said this before and I will say it again: there is no comparison between immersing yourself in a book and watching a movie adaptation thereof.

The Scarlet Letter

 

This is only 272 pages, so it’s not as intimidating as Don Quixote or Anna Karenina, so really there should be no problem from that standpoint. If you are familiar with King James Bible language, again, the dialogues in this book should not pose a problem. It is actually very neat to read something in that kind of English which is not the Bible – though Scriptural references are peppered throughout.  Continue reading »