C: Personal Finance for Dummies
This is the third finance-related "Dummies" book C has read since after Christmas--all, I believe, by the same author. He likes the guy's sense of humor and gets nerdy for the topic. He does say, repeatedly, that the author comes across as pretty arrogant, but it doesn't seem to bother him because he keeps reading his stuff. When I asked him what he's gotten out of this one so far, he said it was a decent introduction to basic personal finance, but he learned more from the author's book on mutual funds.
Me: The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything
I'm about a third of the way through this and am completely loving it. I am very interested in Ignatian spirituality, and I feel like this is a good, basic introduction. The weird thing is that author takes an, um, interesting approach--he often seems to be encouraging people to separate the faith from the spirituality, which in this case makes zero sense. (Example, an atheist using some of the prayer techniques... sure, by why would they? What good is a prayer method without God to pray to?) Maybe I'm just misinterpreting him somehow. And aside from that, it's great. It came highly recommended by several women in the Blessed Is She group, and it hasn't disappointed in the least. It's practical and approachable, my favorite sort of spiritual book.
I got this book thinking it would be a little more advanced than it is. Still, it's a sweet addition to our routine, and I like that it shows E how the bible is more than just a story.
Each spread has a short bible verse, a line or two that explains the verse from God's perspective, and a short prayer. For example:
Verse: "I will be with you always." -Matthew 28:20
Explanation: Little one, if you believe in Me, I will never leave your side.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for being with me all day, all night, all the time. Amen.
You could always simply read the text to your kid, of course. This would work for the youngest bunch. Or a parent could look up the verse in a bible with a slightly older child, talk through and possibly expand a bit on the explanation, and then pray the prayer with the child. The book could also be used as a way to introduce a child to the idea of a daily devotion. The text is short enough that a beginner reader could make it through a day's devotion on his/her own (probably with parent help on a few words). This makes it flexible for a variety of ages. That being said, this IS a board book with a small number of pages--an older child would quickly be ready for more.
The text of this board book is simple and short enough to be read to a baby (who, let's be honest, has no idea what I'm saying), while the counting theme means it's still beneficial for E (3) to listen in. (I couldn't shake her if I wanted to, anyway.) On each page, one additional star is counted while an animal tot goes through a step of the nighttime routine (brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, crawling into bed, etc.) There are--you guessed it--ten stars, so the book counts from one to ten. The text rhymes (good for those little brains!), and it's a good-sized board book with the typical sturdy pages. My only beef here is that the illustrations are pretty lackluster--digital images with no special artistic appeal to them. They're not bad, just not that great.
P.S. I received the children's books mentioned for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I would be very careful about reading anything by Fr. James Martin. He's one of those Jesuits who's always toeing the line between being in communion with the Church and being a full-on heretic. Discernment of Spirits (and others) by Fr. Timothy Gallagher is widely considered to be the classic introduction to Ignatian spirituality...I'm sure Mom could give you more recommendations since she has been doing Ignatian retreats for years now. Also, C is a nerd.
ReplyDeleteYea, I know his reputation. This is pretty basic, though--there's not a lot of room for controversy when you're just listing the types of prayer Ignatius promoted. And I have copies of two or three of Gallagher's books and have listened to a few of his podcasts--but for an introduction I definitely prefer Martin's book. Gallagher is too much all at once for someone who is starting from zero--I'd say he's more like step two.
DeleteNerd? Yes, yes he is.
Of course, there's the comments I mentioned in the post itself--I suppose you could consider that a controversial statement. But they're a very small portion of this and are simple to skip and/or ignore.
DeleteFair enough. I'm glad you were already aware of his reputation. I've never read anything bad against the book in question, just other books and theological positions. St. Ignatius himself is great.
DeleteYea, he has a few, shall we say, "questionable" positions for sure. This one was recommended several times in the BIS group and by a few people I trust, so I feel like it's OK (though to be fair I haven't, obviously, finished it yet).
Delete