RAR #32: Q&A with Sarah and Kortney

BySarah Mackenzie Common Problems, Home Librarian, Podcast

In today’s episode of the Read-Aloud Revival, Kortney and I chat up the questions you’re asking most.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • our favorite religious book recommendations
  • how to keep your kids from getting distracted on your iPad when they’re “supposed” to be listening to an audiobook
  • what it’s like to be working and homeschooling, and a whoooole lot more.

It’s a good one.

(psssst…. you want this.)

Click the play button below:

Books from this episode:

(All links are affiliate links.)

The Family Under the Bridge
The Read-Aloud Handbook: Seventh Edition
Navigating Early
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Life of Our Lord for Children, A
Around the Year Once upon a Time Saints
More Once upon a Time Saints
Once Upon a Time Saints
Sky Raiders (Five Kingdoms Book 1)
St. Patrick’s Summer: A Children’s Adventure Catechism
Roses in the Snow: A Tale of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Saint Felix and the Spider
The First Christians: The Acts of the Apostles for Children
The Weight of a Mass: A Tale of Faith
Take It to the Queen: A Tale of Hope
The Loyola Treasury of Saints
Our Only World

92 Comments

  15. You’re so awesome! I don’t believe I have read a single thing like that before. So great to find someone with some original thoughts on this topic. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality!

    Reply

  46. naturally like your web site however you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. A number of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to tell the truth on the other hand I will surely come again again.

    Reply

  48. Hi Ladies. Always great podcadts. Thank you. Which is the link to the one hour education. Thanks so much.
    Wendy

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  49. If you truly believe that Education in An Hour is such a powerful tool for homeschool families, why isn’t it more accessible? I understand (and support!) paid access. But you’ve locked it up in exclusive membership (when I only want this video) AND there’s a waiting list for that, too?

    This is digital media so it’s not a matter of limited quantities, so I don’t understand why there are so many hurdles.

    I’m trying to phrase these objections graciously but honestly? This is pretty frustrating.

    Reply

  50. Hi Sarah,
    Thanks for the excellent podcast.I absolutely love it. It is my primary source for good books to read as a family.
    I was trying to download the pdf but the link seems not working.

    Reply

  51. As you can see from the date, I am enjoying some old podcasts.

    When I was growing up I shared a bedroom with one of my sisters. We used to borrow fairy and folk tale books from different countries from the library and read them to each other when we went to bed at night. We still talk about those times now.

    When I got married I thought it would be a fun thing to do with my husband and he somewhat reluctantly agreed. It wasn’t long before he enjoyed it, too. These days we have kids in our room, which makes it more difficult, but maybe one day we can start up again.

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  52. Hi, I just listened to this episode and wanted to let you know, first, that your mission here is very admirable and inspiring.

    I also wanted to let you know that my husband and I have read-aloud to each other and started when we were in high school together. It was actually the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan that we started with because I would read and giggle out loud and he would ask what exactly was so funny. Fast forward 6 years later we are now reading Old Yeller.

    We are in the car a lot, and live in the country which means we have at least a half hour drive anywhere, so when we journey together, I read aloud and he drives (how we prefer it!)

    I feel that it is so valuable for us, when there are such distractions as television and the tasks of everyday life. We laugh together and learn together and discuss new ideas. It’s one of the best ways to never run out of new things to talk about, as many married couples sadly encounter.

    Reply

  53. Hi. I was just able to listen to this podcast yesterday (while doing dishes!) It’s great having the ability to go back and listen. Thank you. I was curious about Adam Andrews Master Class. When I clicked the link there was an error message. Was this something special at that time? Thanks for any information.

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  54. My husband and I do read to each other. We read marriage books, parenting books, the Bible, and Christian books. I would like to add, listening to podcasts together too of RAR and many preachers like Ravi Zacharias. The when….., my husband reads to me while I clean. He follows me around and reads to me. When I get tired, we switch (he cleans and I read). When we are in a season of not doing this, we make time to read to each other while we’re getting ready, driving in the car, and while my husband plays video games :) We buy a new marriage book every year on our anniversary too. It is a fun way to celebrate our marriage and make it stronger.

    Reply

    1. Sorry forgot a big one, we read to each other while we cook dinner too :) Right now we are reading the 7 principles of marriage by John Gottman too. Some others we’ve read are Becoming a family that heals, The Smart Step Family, Scream Free parenting, Championship Fatherhood, She calls me Daddy, The Excellent Wife, 4 Pillars of a Man’s Heart, also a Song of Solomon book that I can’t remember the title etc…. Many others if you add in all the Christian books we’ve read. For Bible passages, we’ve read so many, we usually like reading the Bible by topic or by story. The Action Bible has been fun for stories and will bring us back to the text to dig in deeper.

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  55. Hi there. I may be a day late and a dollar short because it’s now Oct. 27th and I’m just now getting to listening to this podcast…But I just had to comment on Sarah’s request for suggestions in traversing the murky waters of fantasy literature for children and teens. I stumbled upon Michael O’Brien’s “Landscape with Dragons” several years ago and it was incredibly helpful to me in discerning fantasy literature in general. Then he wrote, “Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture” which gives an in-depth look at the famed book series’ main characters as compared to Christian fantasy writers of old, such as Tolkien and Lewis. It’s good stuff. I wouldn’t read another fantasy book without first looking at what O’Brien, a prolific writer and artist in his own right, has to say about fantasy literature.

    Reply

    1. Well, it’s Nov 12 and I’m responding…so we’re a match! Thanks for mentioning the O’Brien book, Krista.

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  56. Thank you SO much for this wonderful resource. I came upon your podcasts reciently and have been thouroughly enjoying them ALL. I tried following the private Facebook link you posted above and it didn’t work for me. I’m so bummed. If you could add me somehow that would be wonderful!!! You can find me here:https://www.facebook.com/Janellybelly

    So thankful to have found you!

    Blessings,
    Janell

    Reply

  57. I so enjoyed this podcast! I rarely have time to comment, but the topic of reading aloud with your spouse hit me right where I live. :) My husband and I love to read aloud to each other. We actually spent a great deal of our honeymoon reading C. S. Lewis’ space trilogy aloud while relaxing on the Oregon Coast. (Don’t laugh!) I once read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to him, and he read Mere Christianity to me. 10 years and 5 kids later, we’re generally reduced to reading interesting articles to one another. ;) But it’s something we love. And someday I’m determined to read Jane Eyre aloud with my beloved. :)

    Reply

    1. I can imagine that a honeymoon on the coast with books would be very sweet indeed! Thanks for sharing your story with us, Rachel!

      Reply

  58. Librivox app (Loyal Books) on my iPad is awesome! I am able to enjoy a lot more books than I otherwise would. I can also enjoy books that I don’t have energy to read on my own at this stage of life, 3 kids 4-years to baby in a rather stressful life abroad.

    The app makes it super easy to just choose the book you want from “my books” and pick up right where you left off, even mid-chapter.

    Reply

  59. Chuck Black is a very good (and prolific! ) Christian fantasy writer. I personally haven’t read any of his books yet, but I started buying them for my nephew when he was 8 or 9 for birthdays and Christmases and he read all of them and said he loved them!

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  60. Hi there! I absolutely love all of your podcasts, thank you for all the encouragement and resources that you share! I wanted to comment about reading with your spouse… At the moment, it’s not something we regularly do, but we have “seasons” of it. For example, I used to try to get some ironing done in the evenings after the kids were in bed (so exciting, I know!), but then, my husband and I decided to use that time to read…He would read to me while I ironed, and then I actually really enjoyed that time, instead of hating the task! We started reading through C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy (we’ve made it through the second book so far), and honestly, I don’t know that I would have pick it up to read on my own, but having someone else read it to me has been so enjoyable and has given us lots of interesting conversation afterward! And on occasion I have read to him, and it has really stretched my capacity for and enjoyment of science fiction…I never thought I would enjoy it until he suggested we read it!

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  61. When my husband and I got married, I knew that he wasn’t a reader. In fact, he’d only read one complete novel in his whole life! But it didn’t hit me what a big deal that was until a few months into our marriage–you know, that point where you realize that the two of you don’t really see the world in the same way like you thought you did. :) I had chalked it up to the fact that we are from different cultures (he’s from South America), but one day it dawned on me that, since I was such a voracious reader as a kid, I was strongly shaped by influences that he had never experienced!
    So we started reading aloud to each other on car trips: Narnia, My Side of the Mountain, Agatha Christie mysteries, Ender’s Game, and tons of other stuff. As strange as it sounds, doing this really helped us understand each other better. He’s an enthusiastic reader now; actually, he’s knee-deep in a thick Wilkie Collins mystery that I’ve never heard of before. And I think our breakfast read-aloud time with our kids every morning is his favorite time of day. Reading aloud together made a huge difference in our young marriage.

    Reply

    1. My oldest and I really enjoy The Chronicles of Prydain, The Wingfeather Saga, and The Dark is Rising Series. The latter is little darker, so for older children, just FYI. :)

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    2. Ivy, Thanks for taking the time to write in! I loved hearing that reading together with your husband helped you to understand each other more. What a gift!

      Reply

  62. The children of John White asked him to write a series for them that was similar to Narnia.His response was the Chronicles of Anthropos;six books beginning with The Sword Bearer.

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  63. We are reading St. Patrick’s Summer right now, and my almost seven year old daughter was in the kitchen when she heard you mentioning it. She got all excited because we love that book, too! We read The Life of our Lord last Advent and were immediately hooked on Marigold Hunt’s style of writing. My church had her Angels book sitting in its book rack a few months ago, so I grabbed that one right up!

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  64. I was too nervous to tune in to your podcast because I feel guilty about not reading aloud enough. I have listened to the last two and LOVED them. We have so much in common even though we are more audiobook than read-aloud. Thanks for your hard work and for setting aside the time to podcast.

    We have solved the “sneaky Minecraft at audiobook time” issue by buying Bluetooth speakers. The iPad can be on the top of the cupboard way out of reach. So far we have just had one speaker for the sneakiest device user, but my husband just indulged in a set of speakers in each bedroom that can be controlled from my laptop. Just setting them up now. Very excited.

    Reply

    1. I love the bluetooth speaker idea! Very smart :)

      And around here we are guilt-free readers/listeners. Every time you read to your littles, every time they are immersed in an audio book–it’s a win!

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  65. You asked in the podcast about adults that read to one another and my husband and I began to read to each other just within the last year and really enjoy it. We started with non-fiction but who knows where that will lead :) We have read Love After Marriage by Barry and Lori Bryne. We are now reading The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman. We take turns reading to one another and try to do it once a week, usually on Sunday nights, with a little night snack and some mood lighting :) It has become a great ‘date’ night in our home. My husband did this willingly (I picked the books) and said that even he was surprised at how enjoyable it is to read to one another! That’s my 2 cents!

    Reply

    1. I read the Gottman book a few years ago and really liked it. Maybe it’s time for a re-read! Thanks for sharing your story.

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        1. Thank you Kortney. I’ll have to check out My Path to Heaven. I’ve been trying to decide on both a Saints book and a catechism book and it’s nice to hear from others their recommendations of books they’ve used. :)

          Reply

          1. Annual Lent reading traditions in our house include My Path to Heaven and King of the Golden City – perfect for all ages – – – and they always go well with the preparation for the sacraments, too. I get more out of both of these myself each year!

  67. When you guys started talking about fantasy, I couldn’t wait to give some recommendations! Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series and Megan Whalen Turner’s The Queen’s Thief series are beautiful, well written, timeless fantasy series. They are not Christian allegories, and the Le Guin in particular can be a little dark, but they both feature pre-Christian type religions that could be catalysts for some interesting conversations about faith and the distinctives of Christianity. I found Megan Whalen Turner’s protagonist to be a fascinating portrait of an unlikely boy chosen by the “gods” and ultimately driven by his faith. There are definite echoes of David in that character. And the second book in that series (The Queen of Attolia) has an unconventional (clean, of course) love story, which this mama always appreciates in a novel!

    Reply

    1. I love the anthropological side of LeGuin. I read her as an adult. I wonder what age she might be good for? I just finished Searoad by her. Not fantasy, and a little dark, like you said. But so good.

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  68. Sarah,

    I am not even finished with the episode today, but heard your plea for the best fantasy books for Christian kids, and if I don’t respond now I probably won’t remember to later. My husband (a literature major in college, now teaches homeschool English classes) and I spent the better part of the last two years reading aloud to one another children’s fantasy series. Our very favorite was Harry Potter, and we are both very opinionated about that! The christological themes are unmissable, and besides being very well-written, there are so many subtle and not-so-subtle gems in those. Our second favorite series was the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander–The Book of Three, the Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and the High King. We are also enjoying N.D. Wilson’s Ashtown Burials series (which is not finished, hooray, more books to look forward to) but I don’t know if those entirely qualify as fantasy–though they probably do more than any other genre, and I would give those to mature readers.

    (I would also recommend all of those for your own reading, not just your kids!)

    Enjoy!

    Emily

    Reply

    1. Hmmm. Children’s books that aren’t just for children. Sounds a lot like Sarah’s favorite C.S. Lewis quote! “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”

      Thanks for sharing your favorites, Emily!

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  69. Sarah, I LOVE fantasy! I read a lot of it as a child, and still love reading middle-grade fantasy. It is such a great genre for expressing spiritual truths, just like fairy tales did for past generations. I have a booklist on my blog that probably skews toward fantasy as well. My favorite fantasy books for Christian kids include The Wingfeather Saga (don’t miss this one as a read aloud–it is soooo rich), The 100 Cupboards series, The Archives of Anthropos, and The Dragon King Trilogy. I’m sure I could think up a longer list of books your kids would enjoy. :)

    Reply

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