"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4, New Living Translation) If I waited for the perfect conditions to develop my writing life, I'd still be waiting. Back in the early 1990s, I did manage to explore writing as my work, as a way of life. I wrote and submitted a few magazine articles and met with … [Read more...]
Festival of Faith & Writing 2010: Friday Highlights
The Festival is over. I've returned home to laundry and lunches. I've also typed e-mails with numerous typos due to the blur of fatigue. Dare I continue the story even though the fun is fading into quotidian reality? I'll try...let's see how it goes.After Eugene Peterson's talk on Friday, my anonymous friend headed off to visit a friend while Leslie Leyland Fields and I … [Read more...]
Explore the Classics: The Red Badge of Courage
I've discovered a website called Shmoop.com, a place every lifelong learner, autodidact and home educator should explore. I'm particularly grateful for the literature guides they've created for lots of famous novels. As they guide readers through challenging material, they do so in a conversational and comfortable tone, making the books seem intriguing and … [Read more...]
Food on Fridays: Go Greek with L.L. Barkat
(smaller button below)Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—your link could be a recipe like your favorite Colts blue Superbowl party dip, but it does not have to be a recipe. If it’s about shopping at Trader Joe's or your review of "Julie & Julia," go ahead and link up! Think of it as a virtual pitch-in where you can sample … [Read more...]
Listen in on my chat with L.L. Barkat
L.L. Barkat of Seedlings in Stone and Green Inventions Central interviewed me about Not So Fast.It's appropriate that the title of this post rhymes, as L.L. is a poet. A book of her poetry, entitled Inside Out, was recently published and she hosts the poetry posts (ha! more rhyme!) at HighCallingBlogs.com and Random Acts of Poetry/Poetry Friday at her Seedlings in Stone … [Read more...]
Explore the Classics: The Scarlet Letter
This school year, I'm immersed in some classics of American literature, like: The Scarlet Letter Billy Budd The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Uncle Tom's Cabin The Red Badge of Courage ...just to name a few from this semester. Once a week I meet with a class of ten students, leading them through discussions about American books, stories, and the … [Read more...]
Meet Henry!
The "Name That Boy" contest is officially over.Garnering 31 percent of the votes, we have a winner.The "not so fast" boy's name is...Henry!More than one person suggested Henry, so the names went into the box lid to be drawn by my flesh-and-blood boy.Who won the second complimentary copy of Not So Fast?Jane Anne, of Gravity of Motion!Congratulations, Jane Anne, and thanks … [Read more...]
"Name That Boy" Poll
A lot of really great names were proposed (with a few repeats). Some were sweet little boy names, some were symbolic, and a few sounded like names that the little boy inherited from a high-achieving great-grandpa.After a grueling evaluation, I narrowed them down to just a few.By the way, a friend dipped into his creative juices to come up with (among others) Loaded-Down … [Read more...]
"Name That Boy" Book Giveaway Contest
You've seen the cute boy on the book cover loaded down with activities, right?If not, here he is:People frequently ask me if that boy is "The Boy"; that is, my son.I'd like to clear things up here and now:Nope. He's not my son. He's not "The Boy."The Not So Fast boy is, however, going to be a big part of my life. He'll travel with me to various speaking events. He'll grace … [Read more...]
A First Look
David C. Cook Publishing made sure I received a copy of Not So Fast to have, hold, hug, smell, flip through, gape at, and blog about.The official release date is just a few days away: August 1st.Ask your local bookstore to order it for you!Don’t miss a word:Subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July! … [Read more...]
American Lit on the Beach
Probably not typical beach reads; nevertheless, this is what I mentally consumed while sitting on the beach under an umbrella:I'm finishing The Crucible today.This fall I'm planning to present an American Literature course for high school home-schooled students. There are many books I've never read (or I read them so long ago that I don't remember anything about them). … [Read more...]
Simplicity & Slowing: Decluttering
[Update: Books offered at bottom of post are no longer available]A friend said the other day, "I don't know how you do all that you do, Ann.""The only way I do all that I do," I replied, "is by not doing it all."What I meant was—and I expanded on this with her—is that I cannot do it all. I don't do it all. I have limits and make choices accordingly.But writing and speaking … [Read more...]
Sneak Peek
I've been working on my forthcoming book, Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families, for years. Much of that time, I wasn't sure what I could say about it here on the blog.In fact, for quite some time, I was evasive. I didn't know how long it would be before the book's release, so I didn't want to post searchable text that described what it was … [Read more...]
New Book, Old Book
"It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between." (C.S. Lewis, On the Reading of Old Books)I found that quote in a magazine, but was curious to see it in context. Online, I found that it came from the introduction to a translation of St. Athanasius' "The Incarnation of the Word of God." I … [Read more...]
Book Report
Found a few books at Half Price Books while looking for a copy of my own book, The Contemplative Mom. My search took me to the "Religion" section:The Contemplative MomThey had one copy, so I snatched it up. Since my book is out-of-print, it's fairly scarce. People often ask to buy it from me, so it's good to have a few on hand.Each New Day This is a daily devotional book … [Read more...]