Who else is baffled that we’re somehow halfway through January already? I’m not sure what happened to the start of the year. I finally got around to changing my letterboard from a Christmas quote to one about turning the corner to a new year. The new quote is from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, “What we call the beginning is often the end / And to make and end is to make a beginning.” Here’s to making beginnings–even halfway through the first month of a new year.

Around the Web

Did I Read That? Tracking Books with Notecards

Janie at Redeemed Reader has a great system for keeping track of the books she’s read. Great for you, or to help your kids comprehend and remember what they’re reading.

• Even before we started Redeemed Reader, I read a lot of books.  Sometimes I reviewed them for my own blog and sometimes I just wanted to jot down my own thoughts as a response to what I read.  The best books encourage pushback!  With some nonfiction, I would take notes or write summaries, especially if the information was good for professional development or spiritual growth.
  Read more

When You Don’t Measure Up

Laura Hardin wrestles with what it feels like to not meet the expectations we place on ourselves.

• I’ll never forget the day I resigned from the admin job I worked during my children’s naps. I knew this was the best decision for my family, but I felt incredible shame for not measuring up to the kind of mother I wanted to be, the kind of mother who “believed she could so she did,” the kind of mother who seemed to be able to do it all.
  And even after the decision was final, something ugly began to sprout in my heart: a subtle contempt for women who made different choices.
  It hurts even to admit this.
  Read more

New Middle Grade Books (Ages 8 – 12)

Melissa Taylor at Imagination Soup reports on the books she’s been reading lately.

• Ready to see what I’ve been reading? Here’s what’s new in middle-grade books from realistic to sci-fi to historical fiction.
  Read more

the tooth fairy, the elf and the good mom

Rachel at Finding Joy explores what it means to be a “good mom.”

• Every morning, for the past three days, my son, Elijah, has come into my room and told me that the tooth fairy must have forgotten again to retrieve his tooth from under his pillow.
  So, mom, that tooth is still under the pillow, just so you know.
  I’ve told him that I’ve been emailing this tooth fairy and that the glitch is me and that this night I am sure it will be resolved.
  Read more

Around the Warren

Providing Anchors

Jessica Deagle shares what she’s learned about providing anchors for her family.

• We used to live in a small town in Virginia just off the Chesapeake Bay. Many a day when William got home from work we would be ready with bathing suits on and lifejackets in hand. Taking along dip nets and pails, we would jump into our little john boat and head out the mouth of Horn Harbor to a little strip of beach just at the cusp of the Bay. We dubbed it Turtle Beach because of the turtle eggs and shells we would often find there.
  Read more

Review: The Last Archer

Josh Bishop tells us what he loves about S.D. Smith’s The Last Archer.

• If I were to tell a young person about The Last Archer by S.D. Smith, I’d probably say something like this: It’s the story of an archer named Jo Shanks who wants to earn his place among a group of elite bowmen (bowrabbits? bowbucks?) from Halfwind Citadel. He goes through various trials and battles in his quest to prove himself as he gets caught up in the wider war for Natalia.
  Read more

Something to Do with Your Kids

Looking for something to do with the whole family during this month of January? The folks at The Spruce have a good list!

Something to Watch

This Rube Goldberg machine gets you to dessert right when you need it.

Thanks for reading. We’re on your side.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Carolyn Clare Givens

Carolyn Clare Givens is displaced Northerner exploring the foreign ways of the South. She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her two literary cats, Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. She's the author of The King's Messenger and Rosefire and in her free time helps run Bandersnatch Books.

You can find her at carolyncgivens.com or on Facebook or Instagram at @carolyncgivens.

Latest posts by Carolyn Clare Givens (see all)

• The Warren & The World Vol 11, Issue 30 - September 16, 2023
• The Warren & The World Vol 11, Issue 29 - September 2, 2023
• The Warren & The World Vol 11, Issue 28 - August 19, 2023