More than Parenting Books

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” – Annie Dillard

What books have most shaped your adult life? Some people have a “desert island” list of books that they’d take with them if they were forced to narrow down their reading. Sometimes Christians start by saying, “yes, we know you’d take your Bible. What other books would you take?” It is one of the primary ways we readers get to know each other.

My life as a woman, and more specifically as a mother, has been deeply shaped by what I’ve read. My favorite books have come to me, without fail, by word of mouth. Someone I trusted recommended the title and happily gabbed to me about it, and I found it to be just as helpful as they said.

When you subscribed to this little newsletter, you should have received our Mended Wood Home Library Guide. If you missed that download, you can snag a copy right here. It’s simply a collection of book titles that we feel would make great additions to your home library—or, if you’re just getting started, it’s a great starter list.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

One of my favorite pages in that little PDF is the one called “Parenting Books (That You Won’t Find in the Parenting Section).” That list contains titles from folks like O. Alan Noble, Wendell Berry, and Andi Ashworth. They are books that are not explicitly about parenting, but they can play a part in laying a great groundwork for raising kids. More than tips and tricks for child-rearing, these books talk more about a view of the world.

This summer we’re going to take these titles a week at a time and chat about them. I’ll tell you a little more about why I selected each one. Of course I’ll encourage you to read them if you haven’t. Maybe you’ll encounter a title you haven’t read yet, and you’ll dip your toe into something new.

We all love a great summer reading suggestion, so we’ll spend a good part of June and July talking books. I’m looking forward to it!

P. S. If your kids need some encouragement or accountability with reading this summer, you can find our Green Ember reading challenge right here, and a broader reading tracker right here. Have fun!

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Kelly Keller

Kelly Keller is the managing editor of Story Warren. She has her BS in Elementary Education from Messiah University and has taught various ages, but her favorite was worldview and literature with high school students. The “gap” in her resume is actually a window of eighteen years of homeschooling, which she recommends as an effective, though demanding, way of expanding one’s home library.

When she’s not behind her laptop, Kelly enjoys live music, baseball, reading great books, and traveling with her husband, David. Kelly hails from beautiful snowy New England, but after two decades in North Carolina, she feels right at home.

She invites you to subscribe to her newsletter, On the Common, or to follow her on Instagram.

Latest posts by Kelly Keller (see all)

• Story Warren Weekend, Vol. 14, Issue 25 - July 11, 2026
• Pearls Before Breakfast - July 6, 2026
• The Stories We Hear - July 6, 2026