56th Page Meme

I'm jumping on the bandwagon with this meme which I found at A Girl Walks into a Bookstore.

Here's the deal:

"open up the nearest book to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The CLOSEST book, not your favorite or most intellectual."

And here's my answer:

"'It'll be noisy and dusty. I didn't want to get started without showing you the drawings and explaining it all first. And I ned your signature on a couple of permits.'"

And the book is Sealed with a Kiss by Mae Nunn.

90. Pam Young & Peggy Jones - Get Your Act Together

The Slob Sisters present a more streamlined version of the card index system for housework and incorporate some ideas from The Happiness File in this, their most recent, book. They also provide chapters on storage, how to get the family working alongside you and health. As with their other books, I found this an easy read (although I confess to skipping the sections which had no relevancy for me - I'm single). There are lots of ideas that I'd like to come back to - at the moment, I'm working on getting Back in the Box!

89. Claire Bessant - The Secret Life of Cats

Bessant offers a comprehensive look at the domestic feline covering all aspects of its care and behaviour. Although some parts of the book were repetative (especially the A-Z of problems at the end) I enjoyed Bessant's writing which was friendly and confident.

88. Pam Young & Peggy Jones - The Sidetracked Sisters' Happiness File

It's difficult to review this book. I enjoyed reading it and left motivated to do the things I'm supposed to be doing but have neglected. Do I want to build a Happiness File? I want to adapt it but, yes.

Pam and Peggy begin this book five or six years since they 'got organised' using the 5x3 card system described in Sidetracked Home Executives. They are running seminars and making media appearances across the USA but are still disorganised in many ways. Realising that they're not walking the talk, they describe the steps they took to improve themselves and create their own Happiness Files. There are weekly and monthly themes and lessons for the reader but she is encouraged to make the system fit herself rather than the other way round.

The authors illustrate with lots of stories from their lives and, in parts, this book reads rather like a memoir rather than self-help. That said, the tone is engaging throughout and without the sugar that one has come to expect from FlyLady (who bases her system Pam & Peggy's).

I'd recommend this book to anyone who is securely using the original SHE system but wants to take it to the next level.

87. Laura Ingalls Wilder - By the Shores of Silver Lake

I am amazed at how much I have forgotten since I last read this book as a teen. Of course, my forgetfulness has meant I had to pleasure of reading it almost for the first time. Laura and her family leave Plum Creek in this book and make their last trip West to De Smet where Pa finds work for the railroad company. They spend winter in 'the surveyors' house' before Pa files their claim in the Spring and they move to the homestead. Their characters are becoming more defined in these, later books, and it is interesting to see the girls growing up and thinking about their futures.

86. Nancy Leigh DeMoss - Lies Women Believe

Going back to The Fall, DeMoss traces the deceptions Satan uses to bring women into bondage and asserts that only the Word of God can set them free. While the tone was sometimes preachy, she makes a lot of good points in this book which I will reserve for further study.

85. Elizabeth George - A Woman's High Calling

Elizabeth George presents a comprehensive examination of Titus 2. Although she tends to lists rather than narrative, I found this an interesting book.

84. Linda Gillard - Star Gazing

I found this an engaging read even though I didn’t always feel sympathetic towards to central character. The writing is rich and evocative although a lot of the musical references went right over my head. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys good writing, detailed characterisation and unpredictable romance.

83. Pam Young & Peggy Jones - Sidetracked Home Executives

Another re-read of one of my favourite non-fiction titles.

82. Kraybill et al - Amish Grace

I found this an interesting and educational look at Amish life with particular regard to forgiveness in extreme circumstances.