I have to admit that February was a hot mess of ZERO motivation to read. I had a 2025 goal of reading 3 books each month. I was hoping to read to 3 books in February. I did not. I failed on that goal for this month. It was not because I didn’t have time, it was because I did not prioritize that goal. What I read in February was very good, but I wish I had devoted more time to reading last month.
I read 1.5 books in February. As a result of this, my review of what I read is going to be very short. It’s especially funny that the only book I did manage to read was literally 66 pages long. Yikes!
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Successful Fathers by James B. Stenson
This book was tiny, but so good.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is:
“It’s a well-known fact that men have an almost irresistible urge to play vigorously with their small children: tickling them, bouncing them, whirling them in the air, making faces, anything to make the child smile and laugh. This seems to be an instinct to strengthen the bond between father and infant; it shows the child that Dad is both loving and powerful, a man of affection and competent strength.”
I think this is one of my favorite quotes because it is the perfect depiction of my husband and how he interacts with our kids. I love it so much.
This book was very insightful on how to be a Successful Father. It had a really great chapter that discussed how before the industrial revolution the fathers generally worked in/at the home. They brought their children into the work that they did every day. Their kids the hard work they did and what it meant to work hard. Fast forward to now adays and the father comes home and 90% of their time spent at home is “leisure time”. This means that our children have a hard time conceptualizing what hard work looks like because they no longer see it emulated at home.
Although the majority of it is about how success means that your child keeps the Catholic Faith, it focused too on how success is also measured on the character of your child as well.
If you aren’t Catholic, I think you would still get a lot out of the book.
I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars
Raising Boys to Men: A Simple, Mercifully short book on Raising & Homeschooling Boys by Durenda Wilson
So I’m a little over half way through this book. It is really good so far. I can’t give a full review, but so far I’m enjoying it.
I have four, soon-to-be five boys. I do have a beautiful little girl as well. I’m really into reading books about raising boys because some days they just seem like foreign animals to me as a woman. I don’t understand how their brains work or their motivation and I feel like half the time we speak different languages.
Durenda Wilson has given some really great tips and insights into my personal pain points.
If you are raising boys, you should definitely read this book.
So far, I would give this book a 4 our of 5 stars. I will give a more thorough review in my March post after I’ve fully finished the book.
As far as quantity of books is concerned, what I read in February was a little disappointing. When it comes to quality, however, both books were very good.
What I hope to Read in March
So the majority of March also coincides with Lent and I usually give myself a lot of reading to do in Lent outside of the 3 books for my resolution, but this is my list:
- Finish Raising Boys to Men
- Preparing for Peer Pressure by James B. Stenson
- The Young Man of Character by Bishop Tihamer Toth
- A Sing for Nagasaki by Paul Glynn
Here are the books I’m reading for Lent:
- Toward Easter by Fr. Patrick Troadec
- Lent and Easter Wisdom from Fulton J. Sheen by Fr. John Mudd
- The Books of Matthew and Mark in the Bible
Each of the Lenten Devotionals have a small amount of reading each day in Lent. I am also reading two chapters of the Bible a day as well.
Here are some other posts you might enjoy:
I hope that I am able to stick to my 3 book goal for March, but we will see. Check back in March if you are curious to find out. Follow me on Pinterest and Instagram so you know when I post a new blog article.