SS #42: Carpe Librum (Seize the Booklist)

If you’ve ever stood in front of your bookshelves wondering what to read next—or felt overwhelmed trying to “educate yourself” while also homeschooling your kids—this episode will help you breathe easier and think clearer.

Join Brandy, Pam, and Mystie as they revisit their live GHC talk, Carpe Librum, and share the books that have shaped their minds and methods. With categories ranging from foundational educational philosophy to laugh-out-loud fiction, you’ll walk away not only with a curated reading list but with renewed motivation to read for delight, not just duty.

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What every homeschool mom should read

Today’s Hosts and Source

Scholé Every Day: Commonplacing!

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• Celeste on Instagram

Carpe Librum — Our Official Booklist!

Homeschooling moms are often buried under lesson plans, library due dates, and never-ending checklists. We read picture books aloud, skim science chapters to prep for tomorrow, and scroll Instagram for ideas we’ll probably forget.

But when was the last time we read a book just because it intrigued us? Not because it promised to “fix” something in our home or homeschool—but simply because it delighted, challenged, or inspired us?

During the episode, Brandy shared Charlotte Mason’s advice to teachers: always have at least one subject going that’s just for you. Something unrelated to your daily teaching grind. Why? Because when you nourish your own mind, your teaching overflows with insight and interest.

Too often we chase productivity, thinking rest comes only after the work is done. But in truth, rest—what the classical tradition calls leisure—is the foundation. It’s how we connect to beauty and meaning. Reading in this spirit isn’t self-indulgent. It’s soul care.

The trio categorized their top picks into Educational Philosophy 101, 201, and 301—helping moms of all experience levels choose the right level of challenge. Whether you begin with Teaching from Rest or The Abolition of Man, the goal is not to check a box, but to deepen your understanding of the work you’re doing as a homeschool parent.

The books they recommend remind us: education is about persons, not programs. Relationships, not results. Living ideas, not lifeless facts.

Don’t Forget Fiction

Fiction reminds us how to laugh, feel, and live with others. Pam chose Lonesome Gods for its themes of growth and self-education. Mystie picked P.G. Wodehouse because sometimes what you need most is to laugh out loud. Brandy leaned into Anne of Green Gables, noting that fiction can embody educational principles in a way that sticks.

Fiction isn’t an escape from the real work—it’s often the best training for it.

Practical Advice: Read Like a Mother

1. Keep a commonplace book. Just one quote at a time. You don’t need watercolor pens or washi tape.
2. Read what draws you in. Not what you feel you “should” read.
3. Let fiction feed your affections. What you love shapes what you teach.
4. Keep a book going just for you. It doesn’t have to be about education—but it might be about California history or architecture or hospitality.
5. Laugh on purpose. Humor is a form of sanity, and we need more of it.

You’re a Person, Too

The education of your children matters—but so does yours. What you read this year will shape not just what you teach, but how you teach it, how you live it, and how you carry yourself through the hard days.

The good news? You don’t need to read every book. You just need to read one.

So shop your own shelves. Pick one book. Copy down one quote. Start again. Seize the book. Carpe Librum.

Download the Carpe Librum Book List –

This version was updated in 2024 and contains slight variations from that mentioned in this episode.

Mentioned in the Episode

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