Jinjer 31: Books, Books, and More Books

[AprilQuilt]

I don't know if the thread has drifted too far for me to return to this, but I'm glad to hear Ben didn't vote Trump. I'm willing to take it as a sign he applied a bit of critical thinking.

I've kind of got hopes for Ben. I wouldn't go so far as to call the guy woke, but he seems aware of his ignorance and interested in expanding his own horizons/creating learning opportunities. I'm glad he didn't follow the herd on the Trump issue.

My brother in law is a rural Midwestern evangelical Christian, and a vehemently 'Never Trump' Republican. He finds Trump morally repugnant and against all his Christian principles: he wouldn't vote for him even if it meant sacrificing a win for the republicans. 

Maybe I'm asking too much, but I kind of hope that Ben has come to a similar conclusion. If he's inspected the principles he purports to live by, and model for others, he should have noted that Trump is utterly at odds with them. I'd love to think Ben had gone through that thought process. He's young enough to have stringent ideals and hold others to them, so I hope he applied that where it matters. 

[MarbleRainbow]

Regarding Gus for a baby name, I recently babysat for toddler twin boys named Gus and Bear. Their names fit them to a tee. Gus is short for Augustine (the dad really likes theology). When I first heard the name I thought it was an "old person" name. But it fits the kid and he and his brother are so cute, now I think of Gus as a cute kid name!

[LuckyShot]

1 hour ago, of_the_lioness said:

@ThunderRolls - I know two baby Guses very close to my son's age (18 monthsish.) One is Augustus, I believe, and the other is an August who has a twin brother Isaac - Gus and Ike. These two are pretty much the actual cutest babies ever and I totally LOVE little old man names (my own is Solomon/Sol.) They are definitely stylish right now. 

I know a Gus who is around two years old, full name Augustus. I think it's a cute name and suits him. I also know a two year old named Stanley. Now that's an old man name that just hasn't grown on me. I see him fairly often and it still feels weird to call him Stan or Stanley. 

[motelmum]

With regards to names, please, please, please take into consideration the initials you will be giving your child. Mine spelt NAG. Yes I was able to change it when I got married ( I chose to take my husbands last name) but my new initials are not really that much better. When choosing names for motelsons 1 & 2 that was uppermost in my mind. 

I shared my name with 5 others when I was in grade 4. That made it very confusing as there are really only 2 nicknames for my name. I also detest one of the nicknames. In my husbands group of friends there is another wife who prefers that nickname. I grit my teeth every time I hear it or have to call her by it.  I do prefer to have my full name used but will answer to the other of the 2 nicknames (the less infantile  in my opinion) Family and primary school friends are the most likely to call me by  my nickname and that's fine. 


I would be horrified if reading was used as a punishment.  I imagine that Jinger is just reading "suitable" material and mostly non-fiction.  I do hope though that she does fall in love with reading and  that reading "suitable" literature  slowly blossoms out to *fiction because a certain fictional book was mentioned in something she was reading. Then whilst reading that book she saw a different book by the author and gave that one a go too. That is the magic of reading.

*  Of course I am in no way implying that fiction is better than non fiction. 

[rainbowbabycakes]

i have a 7 month old Harvey at work... He is the cutest thing!

[PainfullyAware]

I guess reading could either reinforce your echo chamber or could broaden your horizons. But at least if you are reading the opportunity for even accidentally being exposed to new ideas is way more likely than if you don't read! 

There's also a lot to be said for developing an imagination, something obviously repressed at the TTH. 

And even if Jinger mostly had photography books or cook books, exploring hobbies is good for self development, another thing seriously lacking in the Duggar fam (I know they all had instruments and stuff but it seemed mandatory not out of interest).

[candygirl200413]

I also hate my initials but really because when we first learned about triangles and naming each angle I could never be one cause my first and last name have the same initial.

[Jenn The Heathen]

Jinger should read "The Handmaid's Tale."

(Kidding.  I know that'll never happen.)

[laPapessaGiovanna]

3 hours ago, JesusCampSongs said:

While I doubt she'll ever read Harry Potter or 50 Shades or anything that's come out of modern literature, there's  still the whole of the classics and most of them would probably pass muster with her current beliefs. 

I wouldn't put 50 Shades and literature in the same sentence. 

[Destiny]

Just now, laPapessaGiovanna said:

I wouldn't put 50 Shades and literature in the same sentence. 

PREACH IT MY SISTER!

Those books are a nightmare, and weren't even good back when they were fan fiction. 

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

2 hours ago, MarbleRainbow said:

Regarding Gus for a baby name, I recently babysat for toddler twin boys named Gus and Bear. Their names fit them to a tee. Gus is short for Augustine (the dad really likes theology). When I first heard the name I thought it was an "old person" name. But it fits the kid and he and his brother are so cute, now I think of Gus as a cute kid name!

Is Bear short for anything, or is that the name on his/her birth certificate? Either way, that's pretty cute!

[Percy]

When my girls were little we had sticker charts for when they did something above and beyond my expectations, like doing a poo in the toilet( we had some potty training issues) or helping with dinner without being asked.

When they got to 20 stickers they got a treat, generally a book.

Now I have one avid reader and one who does not read books at all.

You win some, you lose some. 

[HereticHick]

11 hours ago, rainbowbabycakes said:

i have a 7 month old Harvey at work... He is the cutest thing!

What is his job?  [just kidding]

 

Have we ever seen any sort of bookshelf in the Duggar house?

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

10 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

I also hate my initials but really because when we first learned about triangles and naming each angle I could never be one cause my first and last name have the same initial.

Try having your initials be PMS and using said initials for work sign ons and such, or your mother buys you a monogram wool sweater for Christmas forgetting 1. that you are allergic to wool and 2. forgetting how horrible your initials are and 3 insisting you wear it at least once every few weeks.  Bitch even had spies at school so she knew if I took the sweater off, she even saw the rash I got every time I took it.  I finally got around it when I "accidentally" spilled spaghetti on it and "forgot" to tell her until the stain was set in.  I was grounded for as long as it took to pay for the God awful sweater. which cost her like $20 back in 1982.  Bitch still buys me wool, everyone else in the family even my idiot step mother (who didn't become my step mother until I was 31 years old) remember this, but not my own mother.

2 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Have we ever seen any sort of bookshelf in the Duggar house?

 bookshelf, yeah, in the laundry room it holds all the clothes in the family closet.

[MissKnowItAll]

My ultimate goal for Jinger: to read 1984 by George Orwell.

Probability of that happening: 0%

[IrishCarrie]

I think some historical biographies - not even fiction - would be fantastic for Jinger. She could totally justify it on the basis that she has an interest in that period in history, but really, as some of those books are saucy AF, it'd open her up to some majorly verboten topics chez Duggarville!!

[nickelodeon]

Theology books are cool, but it's not like Jeremy is reading Simone Weil - the books that Jinger is getting from him seem to be sermons and self-help and super vanilla pop apologetics.

I would be really interested to find out if JinJer read fiction... I can't imagine what their taste would be.

[Carm_88]

I hope Jinger is reading something that Jinger wants to read. It's all well and good to expand your horizons, but to expand YOUR horizons; you have to read things that you want. It's good that Jeremy is encouraging her to read. Reading is a great thing, it can take you anywhere in this world and beyond. If all you're reading is sermons and different interpretations of theology, you're just spinning around and around. There's so much more out there!  

[SassyPants]

Too bad J.  can't love books just because she loves books. That statement about loving what Jeremy loves is sad- Girl needs to learn how to develop her own interests. I hope Jeremy is not just a substitute for JB and Duggar group think.

[EmmieJ]

7 hours ago, Percy said:

When my girls were little we had sticker charts for when they did something above and beyond my expectations, like doing a poo in the toilet( we had some potty training issues) or helping with dinner without being asked.

When they got to 20 stickers they got a treat, generally a book.

Now I have one avid reader and one who does not read books at all.

You win some, you lose some. 

I used this method to reward certain behavior or choices for my child.  I much preferred using a carrot rather than a stick.   I also read to my child every night before bed.  I heard that would encourage a love for reading.  My son did like being read to, and eventually would read to himself at night, but at some point, lost that enjoyment  I hope one day, that changes.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

18 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Too bad J.  can't love books just because she loves books. That statement about loving what Jeremy loves is sad- Girl needs to learn how to develop her own interests. I hope Jeremy is not just a substitute for JB and Duggar group think.

I just took that to mean that his love for books has rubbed off on her.

[SassyPants]

I may have shared this before. My daughter (first kid) read at 4. At 30, she likes to read. My son (second/last kid) didn't independently read until 6.5. He started off reading chapter books, not easy readers. He is a voracious reader and writer, actually  works in the field. I'd say he reads 2-3 books a week. You just never know.

[JordynDarby5]

7 hours ago, Percy said:

When my girls were little we had sticker charts for when they did something above and beyond my expectations, like doing a poo in the toilet( we had some potty training issues) or helping with dinner without being asked.

When they got to 20 stickers they got a treat, generally a book.

Now I have one avid reader and one who does not read books at all.

You win some, you lose some. 

I would have loved that sticker chart system growing up. I'd have been doing chores like crazy to get free books, Not that I didn't do them I was just never one to rush into doing them. I was usually busy reading.

[sawasdee]

I have great peripheral vision from the years (since the age of about 6) walking along reading. My friends said they would walk past me in the street if I didn't have an open book in my hands.

They even designed me a coat of arms. It was a shield with an open book, with beer mug supporters, and crossed cigarettes above.(I've stopped smoking, but the beer...it's hot here!)

[SuffolkNWhat]

14 hours ago, LuckyShot said:

I know a Gus who is around two years old, full name Augustus. I think it's a cute name and suits him. I also know a two year old named Stanley. Now that's an old man name that just hasn't grown on me. I see him fairly often and it still feels weird to call him Stan or Stanley. 

Stanley is incredibly popular in the UK for the under 5s. It's had a massive revival.