the books I'd like to read in 2010

Ah, yes, it's that glorious time of year when I think about the many, many books I want to read and the limited time I have to read, and, like a girl on a parent-imposed budget in a clothes store, pick and choose from the delectable offerings before me.

My book list for 2010, which you can see in the right hand column of this blog, is a little less ordered than my 2009 list. I've topped it with the books I'm reading (or would like to be reading) at the moment:

A book on the cross:
CJ Mahaney's Living the Cross-Centred Life

I haven't started this one yet, despite my good intentions! It's one of the books I should be reading, or would be reading if I wasn't feeling so exhausted and end-of-yearish, as part of my ongoing goal to read a book on the cross every year. I was about to read this a couple of months ago and discovered I'd lost it; I just bought a new copy.

A book on biblical womanhood:
Mark Chanski's Womanly Dominion: More Than a Gentle and Quiet Spirit

I have to admit that the title made me wonder. But this book was warmly recommended on girltalk and by my friend Sus, so this the next book on biblical womanhood I'm planning to read. There are many others I'd like to read, like Sharon James' God's Design for Women (I've dipped into this and it's excellent!) and Carolyn McCulley's Radical Womanhood.

Some Christian biography:
Naomi Reed's My Seventh Monsoon

I wanted to read this book in 2009 but didn't quite manage it. I'd love to read it this summer! The wonderful exchange on EQUIP book club between Naomi and Rachael whet my appetite. I enjoy Christian biography, and would like to read much more than I do.

A book on writing:
Mark Tredenick's The Little Green Grammar Book

Yes, I am reading this, and enjoying it, if you can enjoy a book which uses words like appositives and complements and prepositional phrases (and no, I don't know what they mean). I love books about writing, I love the way Mark makes grammar interesting, and I'd love to learn how to use a dash, semi-colon and comma correctly!

A Christian classic:
GK Chesterton's Orthodoxy

As I said last year (and didn't!) I'd like to read a classic Christian book every year. I'm taking Chesterton away with us this summer. Later in the year, I may also attempt John Owen's The Mortification of Sin and Overcoming sin and temptation because they're so often recommended, and because they might help me prepare my seminar on change. And I'd like to read CS Lewis's The Weight of Glory.

A novel (or six):
Marilynne Robinson's Home

The summer holidays are swiftly approaching, and this is one of the novels on my holiday list! I've listed them all together so you can see what I'll be reading during the hols: more Marilynne Robinson (I read Gilead and adored it), Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief, and Margaret Atwood's Surfacing, just for starters!

Some teen fiction:
Stephenie Meyer's Twilight

I'm only reading this so I can understand teen culture more deeply. I love teen fiction, especially teen fantasy (Tamora Pierce, Emily Rodda, J.K.Rowling). I read Twilight a couple of weeks ago, and I'm about to launch into the rest of the series. A treat I'm saving for the summer holidays - long, lazy days reading on the couch (and taking the kids on outings, and decluttering our home, and ...).

A book to read with my husband:
John Piper's This Momentary Marriage

Steve and I would like to start reading a chapter from a book on marriage together each week. We're starting with John Piper. I love the way Piper shows us how marriage has cosmic significance far beyond itself! Another book on marriage I'd like to read (or rather, finish) is Christopher Ash's Married for God.

A book on discipling my daughter:
Vicki Courtney's 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Daughter

This is from my unofficial list of "Books I started reading before writing for EQUIP books interrupted my reading plan". One of my projects for 2010 is to read lots of books about how to disciple your daughter (including Becky Freeman's Mom's Everything Book for Girls). I plan to start a new bloggy series called Resources for discipling your daughter in early 2010.

A book to read with my daughter:
Donna Miller's Growing Little Women for Younger Girls

My 11 year old daughter Lizzy and I started getting together weekly earlier this year to read the Bible and learn about godly womanhood. This is the first book we've sampled; we plan to sample more, like Carol Fiddler's A Girl of Beauty, as my book list shows. We're going to give each book a mother-daughter score for my series Resources for discipling your daughter - watch this space!

A book on women's sexuality:
Linda Dillow's Intimate Issues: 21 Questions Women Ask About Sex

I foolishly volunteered to write an article about women and sexual purity (gulp!) next year. Hence the large number of books I want to read on this topic: Ed Wheat's Love Life for Every Married Couple, Tony Payne and Philip Jensen's Pure Sex, and Tim Chester's yet-to-be-published Captured by a Better Vision: Living Porn-Free.

A book on change and Christian growth:
Jerry Bridges's The Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness

I loved the way Jerry Bridges' The Discipline of Grace gave me a more grace-centred and biblical perspective on the topic of spiritual disciplines when I was reading and writing about it earlier this year. I'm hoping he'll do the same as I think about the topic of change for a women's retreat I'm leading late next year. I suspect John Piper's Future Grace will be similarly helpful.

A book on biblical counselling and depression:
Ed Welch's Depression: A Stubborn Darkness

I'm a third of the way through this book, and I'm enjoying its sympathetic, biblical, wise and readable approach to depression. Reading this is part of my ongoing quest to read everything Ed Welch or any other biblical counsellor from CCEF has ever written! Hence the large number of books by Ed Welch and David Powlison on my list.

A book about childcare:
Steve Biddulph's Raising Babies: Why Your Love is Best

I started reading this a few months ago, but life got a little busy, so I've put it down for now. I'm reading this as part of my ongoing project to write about childcare on this blog. I'm half way through, and the book is fantastic so far. If you're thinking about childcare, this is a must-read. Expect a review soon(ish).

A book about teenagers:
Josh Harris's I Kissed Dating Goodbye

Steve and I are thinking about the ground rules we want to give our children for dating in their teen years. We're leaning towards Josh Harris' approach (we think!) but I'd like to read more about it first. This is a discussion I'd like to open up on in all honesty some time. Another book about teens which I can't wait to read is Paul David Tripp's Age of Opportunity.

So there you have it. Pretty much all the books I want to read in 2010 are about these topics, except for a few random Christian books like Paul Grimmond's Right Side Up and Colin Marshall's The Trellis and the Vine. I hope you enjoy browsing my list!

What are you planning to read in 2010? Have you got any other suggestions for me?

a question of childcare (4b) research - Peter Cook 's Mothering Denied - studies of childcare

A few weeks months ago I told you about Peter Cook's online book, Mothering Denied (yes, I did lose track of my series on childcare while I wrote for EQUIP books; and no, I haven't forgotten about my childcare series, although it looks like I'll be finishing it in the new year!).

My last post in this series was on what Peter Cook says about the ideologies underlying childcare. I was challenged by his comments on feminism and the pressure on women to return to the workforce.

But it's when it comes to studies of childcare that Peter Cook's arguments become uncomfortably compelling. Childcare, it seems, has negative effects proportionally related to the big three: too early, too much, too long. Here are some of the findings of respected studies (often government-sponsored studies sympathetic to childcare) as described in Mothering Denied.

• Affordable care is low-quality care. "High quality care" is often claimed by childcare centres, but in reality, is nearly unachievable. High quality care includes staff responsiveness, warmth and sensitivity to infants; a carer-infant ratio of 1:3 for children under 3 (1:5 is usual in Australian childcare); no more than one change of caregiver in a year (i.e. low staff turnover); and, preferably, the same carer continuing with a particular group of children from year to year. Which gives you some idea of what to look for in a childcare centre!
• You can't expect a childcare worker unrelated to your child to love and delight in your child. What is often lacking even in good childcare centres is the positive, joyful, spontaneous interactions which take place between a mother and child, because crying babies take attention from happy ones.
• Infants react to separations from their mother first with 'protest' (loud crying), then 'despair' (apathy and withdrawal), then 'detachment' (the child seems to settle but is emotionally distant from the mother). Evaluating a child's response to childcare needs to take all these into account, not just lack of crying.
• Studies show that increased hours of childcare during the early years leads to increased risk of insecure attachment between mother and child, and maternal insensitivity to the child's needs; aggression and disobedience or withdrawal and sadness during childhood; and abnormal levels of the stress hormone cortisol into the teen years. Too much early childcare may diminish a person's long-term ability to form relationships of intimacy and trust, and their ability to bond with their own children when they become parents.

• Some infants are tough and resilient and others are tender and vulnerable, so the impact of childcare will differ from child to child.
• Childcare may be preferable to mother-care for children of mothers with depression or mothers who don't prioritise motherhood; best quality care can also improve educational outcomes for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds
• Penelope Leach's anonymous study found that most infant mental health professionals privately believe that it's very important for infants to have their mothers available to them for most of every 24 hours, ideally until the child is over 2 years of age (although they are often unwilling to admit this publicly).
• Childcare workers are amongst the lowest paid in our society, leading to high staff turnover and inexperienced staff. But the childcare industry is powerful and wealthy, and unwilling to reduce profits by increasing quality of care, for example by increasing carer-infant ratios.

• By 2007 over 25% of babies in Australia were in childcare before they were 12 months old.
• Surveys from 24 countries show that the great majority of mothers believe that mothers should not undertake paid work that requires them to leave their children while they are of preschool age (in Australia 71% of mothers thought this; 27% favoured part-time work; and only a tiny minority favoured full-time work).
• The cost of subsidising childcare for under-2s is similar to the cost of generous parental leave for 2 years - in Sweden, either parent can take up to 3 years' parental leave, much of it paid; they can choose between high-quality childcare or a home-care allowance (which most parents prefer); and the right to work 6-hour days on reduced salary until the child is 8. I'm moving to Sweden! :)

What are the implications for you and me? I guess to take a close look at the facts before we consider putting our children in childcare (I'd suggest that you read Steve Biddulph's Raising Babies before you read Mothering Denied). Use childcare as little as possible, especially for children under 3 - at this age, infants' main need is consistent care from an attached carer who loves them. If you do use childcare, choose your centre very carefully (see the first point above); observe your child closely for ill-effects (not just crying, but also emotional withdrawal - see the third point); and avoid the big three: too early, too much, too long.

first image is from Mothering Denied; others are from Stephane Delbecque, swo_co, and CastleGonyea at flickr

One to One: book review

Earlier this year, a friend of mine started meeting one-to-one with a new Christian to encourage her in the faith. She'd never mentored anyone before, so she asked me for advice. If she asked me now, I'd give her Sophie de Witt's One-to-One: A Discipleship Handbook.

I feel like a bit of a dill telling you to read this book, because my friends have been telling me to read it for years, and I haven't. Well, I've finally got around to it. Now it's my turn to tell you: if you haven't read it by now, it's time to get a copy or take it off the shelf!

We're all called to encourage one another as Christians. Women have a particular calling to teach and train younger women (Titus 2:3-5). One of the best ways we can do this is to meet regularly with a younger Christian one-to-one. This kind of ministry doesn't look spectacular, but it's incredibly effective, and multiplies itself over time, as those we disciple go on to disciple others.

One-to-one ministry can feel very intimidating if you've never done it. Short of setting up a hidden camera, we can't observe people as they meet with others one-to-one, so it can be hard to know what to do. What Sophie De Witt does brilliantly is to de-mystify one-to-one. She breaks it down into three simple elements:

• pray for and with the person you're meeting with
• open the Bible together (there are some wonderful guidelines for how to prepare a Bible passage and learn from it together)
• build a friendship

Sophie de Witt writes from the context of uni ministry in the UK, which gives her great expertise in one-to-one ministry, so she's able to respond to many puzzling issues. How can I tell if I'm suited to mentoring someone? Who should I choose to meet with? How can I ask them to meet with me? What should we do during our first meeting? What's a good place to meet? How can I tell when someone needs professional help?

This is a very readable book. It deals with real issues in a biblical and informative way. It's not fancy and technical, but it's packed full of good, simple, practical advice. It would be a great book to read with someone you're training in one-to-one ministry. Whether you're experienced in mentoring, or whether you've never done it before, you'll benefit greatly from this book, and so will those you meet with one-to-one.

image is from jhall987 at flickr

a child's view of rain

We had the most delicious long day of heavy rain the other day. Only someone who's lived through many years of drought can understand how welcome it was.

We were running a little late in the morning because all the kids had to put on their raincoats before we left the house. As he was about to get out of the car and walk into school, Thomas looked outside and said,

"Look, Mummy, pregnant rain!"

A poet in the making.

how I exercise (2) restarted

Why do I exercise? Why does a Christian women try to exercise for half an hour every day?

The Bible says that "physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Tim 4:8). Now there's a verse which appeals to me. Love, service and obedience are far more important than exercise. Yes!

But the older I get, the clearer it becomes that when I don't exercise, it's these more important things that suffer. Lack of exercise hampers my joy, energy, and willingness to serve. I'm more tempted to irritability, laziness, and despondency. I'm no exercise-worshipper - far from it! - and I don't want to waste too much time and money on exercise. But when it's within my control, I want to keep my body suited to cheerfully serving God and my family.

So here it is: one busy woman's personal exercise program. Interrupted, restarted.

• I aim for half an hour's exercise most days, after the morning school run while Andy watches Playschool (the key, I've found, is to discover a time that works well in my day)
• when I can, I go for 30 minute's brisk walk (and have done so regularly for many, many years!). I let my thoughts drift, or pray and meditate on the Bible, or memorise a Bible passage, or listen to a talk on my iPod, or just enjoy God's world and allow it to catch up my thoughts to him.
• twice a week I get out my weights and do this set of exercises from Strong women, strong bones:
  Chair stand
  Biceps curl
  Upward row
  Overhead press
  Side arm raise
  Back extension
  Abdominal curl
  Pelvic tilt
  Push-up
• on the days when it's too wet for a walk, I get out Wii Fit and do some aerobic and balance training. (Shadow boxing and step are FUN! Jogging on the spot is not so fun, but good for the soul. Skiing down a virtual slalom course, and tipping virtual balls into holes with your feet, are definitely too much fun to be left to the kids.)*
• I'm also discovering that when exercise does get interrupted by illness or busyness, the key is to start again as soon as I can: starting slowly (after the flu, walking was all I could manage), then building up gradually.

Okay, that's enough from me. I'm going to brush the cobwebs off my box of weights. Playschool's nearly over (oops!) and I have some exercising to do. Now.

***

Done. And I really do feel better for it.

*I love swimming laps too - such a meditative experience, all in watery blue, and it leaves you so deliciously all-overly relaxed! But my hair and timetable don't like me doing it often.

images are from toughkidcst and Frodrig at flickr

how I exercise (1) interrupted

I got out my weights this morning, and there was a cobweb on the box. Not a good sign.

It's been a month - or is it 6 weeks? - since the weights left their box. A week of flu followed by a month's writing for EQUIP book club has left my arms feeling as floppy as overcooked spaghetti. By the end of a normal day I've been teary and grumpy from (physical) exhaustion. Where's the strength, woman?

The older I get, the more I need to exercise. W-a-a-a-y down the end of my 2009 reading list was Miriam Nelson's Strong Women Stay Young. It says that as you get older, your muscles and bones weaken if you don't do an increasing proportion of weight-bearing to aerobic exercise. I know this. Walking regularly no longer keeps me either trim or terrific.

Until this year, I'd never lifted weights just for exercise. It didn't seem necessary. Like most women, I can carry a 1o kg child on my left hip, and 12 litres of milk in my right hand, on top of 20kg extra weight when I'm pregnant. But in March I tentatively unpacked the arm and leg weights my mother had given me, and tried out some of the exercises from Strong Women Stay Young. I did them erratically for a few weeks. Then the weights stayed in their box for the middle 6 months of this year.

Surprisingly, it was buying a Wii for the kids' Christmas (a few months ago, on sale) that got me exercising again. Wii Fit sucked me in with its guilt-producing weighing sessions. If you've used it, you'll know how motivating it is to see the arrow rapidly rising to measure your BMI - not to mention the chubby little Mii alter-ego shaped to your body's proportions!

So there I was, a couple of months ago, and the crazy burnout-inducing part of my year was over. The weights were looking at me from their box. God's good world was asking me to go walking in it again. And the Wii was beckoning. I came up with an exercise program which was working beautifully, until illness and busyness intervened, and the cobwebs started gathering on my box of weights.

Until today.

Next time: how I exercise (2) restarted. The how and why of how I exercise.

images are from stock.xchng and Chung's blog.

of trees, trains and Christian growth

There's a stand of huge old oak trees in the park where I walk. They have a slightly surprised air, as if they've been transplanted from a genteel English landscape and are wondering how they ended up here, surrounded by scruffy wattle trees under a burning Australian sun, with graffiti tags on their trunks and white cockatoos squawking from their branches like rowdy antipodean visitors.

Like all oaks, they are firmly rooted, growing down and out as much as up, offering a dense, dark shade. Every year of their long lives, they have put out new growth in spring, watched it harden into summer's dusty green, lost dry brown leaves in autumn, and bared their twisted black limbs in winter.

There's a railway track running through the park. I watch the trains gleam and flash through the trees, humming and creaking over the heritage-listed timber bridge on its sturdy, numbered trestles. The trains are always in a hurry, tooting their horns, bustling self-importantly to the next station.

For over a century, the oaks have grown steadily as the trains have shed old fashions and adopted new ones—steam trains, red rattlers, blue trains, sleek silver trains, silver trains with green and gold, silver trains with blue and yellow stripes. (This is a Melbourne story; no doubt in your part of the world, the trains have different fashions.)

The trees and the trains bring to mind a Bible verse I read recently:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Col 2:6-7)

We don't grow as Christians by hurrying from place to place, taking on the colour of each year's new spiritual fad—second blessings, signs and wonders, slayings in the Spirit, guiding visions. We grow in the same way God's people have always grown: by sinking our roots deeper into Christ. Here, fed and nourished by the gospel, we gain an enduring wisdom. We give shelter. We stand firm through all the seasons and storms of life.

May God help us to be more like trees than trains.

This is reprinted from last Friday's post in The Sola Panel.

images are from formalfallacy and Mugofevil at flickr

12 things I remember about Canada

I lived in Kitchener, Ontario for 5 months when I was 9 years old (one of the advantages of having a father who was a (maths) academic who goes to conferences overseas!). Here, just for fun, are 12 things I remember about Canada.

1. the dreadful bowl haircut I got just before the trip, and the aeroplane stewardess who thought I was a boy

2. the boy called Ken who had a crush on the visiting Aussie girl, bowl haircut and all, and showed it by pushing me into snowdrifts

3. the fiery Autumn colours (how I long for those!) and trudging through thick, damp leaves

4. tasting real maple syrup for the first time

5. singing "O Canada" as we stood by our desks in class every morning, until I knew it better than my own national anthem

6. the overheated houses (overheated by Australian standards, anyway!) so that it always felt like a hot Summer day indoors even in the depths of Winter

7. the morning sun shining through the feathery ice pictures which Jack Frost painted on our bedroom windows every night

8. the glazed green clay dinosaur with the floppy neck I made at school

9. changing into - then out of - then into - then out of - then into - then out of - then into - then out of - increasingly damp coats, waterproof pants, boots, hats and scarves every time we went outside and inside during a school day

10. lying in the snow and making snow angels

11. my brother's red nose and fingers after he'd spent hours and hours in the snow, long after everyone else had escaped indoors

12. the guilt I felt, after we returned to Australia, whenever I forgot to write to Donna, my Canadian pen pal (she never forgot to write to me!)

image is from Ian Muttoo at flickr

the quotes that taught me how to read

I believe many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand. (CS Lewis' introduction to Athanasius' On the incarnation.)

Unless reading is your passion, you may need to be very deliberate about setting aside time to read. You may need to force yourself to do it. Set yourself a reasonable target ... and work towards it. Set aside time every day or every week and make sure you pick up the book during those times. Find a book dealing with a subject of particular interest to you. (Challies 10 tips to read more and read better)

It just a few years ago that I decided, mostly on a whim, that I would try to read a book each week for what I hoped would be the rest of my life. ... I read all the time, or most of it ... It is amazing how many ten and fifteen minute periods there are in life that can be used for reading ... a bathroom break is the perfect time to read a page or two of a book. ... I begin by giving the book a quick scan ... I read with a pencil in hand ... and highlight liberally. I also tend to jot short notes and questions in the margins or at the end of chapters. ... By doing all of this, I am making the book my own ... [W]ork on a system that works for you and stick with it. But don’t be afraid to mark your books. (Challies Random thoughts on reading)

It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books. (C.S. Lewis)

If you would like to become a disciplined reader, you probably need to make a plan. Make a list of books that you would like to read ... How many books would you like to read per month? How much time can you devote per day or per week? What time of the day is best for you? ... [A]lways carry a book. ... If possible, drink and read at the same time. ... There are few things in life better than settling down to a good book ... with a steaming cup of tea or coffee at hand. ... Start or join a reading group. ... Read with a pen in hand. (Bruce Ashford How should I read? from On disciplined reading).

Write in your books; mark them up and make them yours. Books are to be read and used, not collected and coddled. [Make an exception here for those rare antiquarian books that are treasured for their antiquity. Mark not thy pen on the ancient page, and highlight not upon the manuscript.] Invent your own system or borrow from another, but learn to have a conversation with the book, pen in hand. (Albert Mohler Some thoughts on the reading of books)

I would challenge you to throw off the notion that weighty books of doctrine are joy-squelching, while light devotional books are joy-producing ... Raking is easier than digging, but you only get leaves. If you dig you may get diamonds. ... It is a tragedy that hard thinking has come to be associated with cold hearts. (John Piper When I Don't Desire God 125-7)

My memory is not very good, so I don't remember what's in books if I don't make some effort to preserve the content ... So I do a lot of underlining and marginal commenting. ... I always use pencil instead of pen ... When I read some remarkable insight or illustration, I will chose a 1-3 word phrase that captures what it is about, write it in small print inside the flap, and then put the page number beside it. And I'll draw a line down the middle of the page so that I make two columns. And by the time I'm done I may have 100 or so of these references, filling 2-4 pages. (John Piper How do you remember what you read? and see Meet John Piper).

I feel what I read. ... I pick fruit and I pause and I eat it. (John Piper The Pastor as Scholar).

how I read Christian books

This one's left over from all those EQUIP book club posts last month - I couldn't quite fit it into my post on reading the Bible. So I thought I'd save it for this blog! Enjoy.

My guess is that most of us would like to read more Christian books than we do. Perhaps we'd like to read more books than we do! We know Christian books are good for us, but like 5 serves of veges, it's hard to fit them into our daily diet.

So how do you fit Christian books into your life? How do you choose which books to read? How do you remember what you read? Is it okay to scribble all over your books, or are books best left pristine and unadorned? These are the questions I'd like to chat about today.

How I read Christian books when I'm too busy for reading. I keep Piper's goal in mind. He says that if you read for 15 minutes a day, even if you read slowly, you'll get through 10 good books a year. When I first heard this I thought, "Piper really doesn't get how little time mums with young babies have." Now my kids are older, I aim for 15 minutes, although I often can't manage it. To keep my reading ticking over, I put a topical book, with a pencil inside, on a shelf near the loo (TMI!). At times, I've just aimed for 5 minutes a day after I read the Bible - see theological reading for mums and other busy people. I try to remember that something is better than nothing, and if it takes me months to get through a good Christian book, so be it.

How I stay disciplined about reading. The secret is to carve out a regular quiet time for reading. For me, on the days I manage it, this is after my kids get home from school: we chat about the day, I get them a snack, then I have a cuppa and read while they have their (limited!) screen time for the day, before the evening rush begins. I keep reading fun and comfortable: drinking, eating and reading go really well together! I have a few different books on the go to keep it interesting. I only read novels just before going to sleep (mainly!) or I'd never read anything else. One great way I've found to stay motivated about reading is to read a book with a couple of Christian friends and discuss it when we get together - like an informal EQUIP book club.

How I choose what to read. At the start of every year I create a reading plan (I depend a lot on recommendations*) - and get through just over half of it plus extras, if this year's list is any indication! I try to include something from these categories, chosen because they're helpful in themselves or important in my life: the cross, old Christian classics, biography, biblical womanhood, marriage, parenting, and household management. In reality, what happens is that I mainly read about topics I'm thinking and writing about, but the books on my list keep me reading more broadly. I've always got a novel on the go for variety and relaxation - some "worthy", but most fun! I'd love to read more poetry, but I'm not sure how. Any ideas?

How I remember what I read. I have a lousy memory, and can easily read a book then forget it all. The best method I've found is to write a short summary of each chapter at the head of the chapter as I finish it. This gets the book clear in my head and fixes it in my memory. When I come back to it I can see at a glance what's in each chapter, and the small space keeps my notes short. I also pencil significant points, or page numbers indicating significant passages and quotes, in the back of the book, and I'll often write a short review in the front as I read. The only problem is that I can no longer loan out my books or I'll lose my notes! - so I'll buy more books to give away. My friend takes notes and quotes down in a journal. It can also be helpful to read a book through twice: once quickly, once slowly.

What are your favourite ways to keep reading and remember what you read?

I've been encouraged and inspired by Piper's How do you remember what you read?, Meet John Piper and The Pastor as Scholar; Challies' 10 tips to read more and read better and Random thoughts on reading, and Bruce Ashford's On disciplined reading.

*For lists of good books to read, see my some books to read before you die and good books on biblical womanhood, Piper's What are some books that Desiring God recommends, Challies books I recommend, Titus2Talk Books for her, GirlTalk reading, and the books on EQUIP book club.

images are from megan.barton, db+photography, and mickiky at flickr