Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
More than once I’ve blogged about classic novels that bring me happy memories, so this time around I’m going to focus on books I’ve read more recently.
1.Phases by Brandy
One of my favourite things about her memoir were the explanations of the origins of some of her early hit songs like “Best Friend.” It reminded me of how excited I was to listen to her earlier albums as they were among the first pieces of secular music my parents allowed me to buy. (I was a preacher’s kid who was also homeschooled for several years, so most of the music I heard for the first dozen or so years of my life was Christian).
2.First-Time Fostering: A Practical Guide for Supporting Kids in Foster Care by Laura the Foster Parent Partner
While I’ve never been a foster or adoptive parent, I have multiple relatives who have done this over the years. Many of their foster kids were able to be successfully reunited with their birth families, but some foster kids ended up joining our extended family on a permanent basis. My definition of normal includes the joy of welcoming new kids into the family, whether it’s for a few months or forever. Of course it’s hard for a foster family to say goodbye, but I’m also incredibly proud of my relatives who gave all of those kids a safe place to stay for a while.
3. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel by Jean M. Auel
My interest in prehistory and Neanderthals started as a kid when a teacher did some lessons on those subjects, but this was the first full-length novel I read about them. It’s become a lifelong interest at this point, and I’m still waiting for someone to invent a Time Machine so I can go back and see how many of my theories about the past are true. I will always have a soft spot for Auel because of this.
4. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
These were among the first chapter books I ever read that made me feel like the author really understood what it’s like to be a kid, especially when it comes to the weird stuff children sometimes do that makes sense to them but befuddles older kids and grownups.
I felt so seen and understood when I read the first few books in this series. (My school library didn’t have all of them, unfortunately, but I did get to finally finish this series as an adult a few years ago!)
Unless you want to hear stories about me reading encyclopedias from the 1960s at my grandmother’s house when I was a child, I’ll have to tweak this topic a little in order to participate. 
