So I recently bought the book above and finished it in one day. I found it very fascinating, refreshingly honest, and not what I expected (in a good way). I bought the book because while I gag at the sugary sweetness that this family apparently has on the show, I wanted to know how they were so organized and well-behaved, since three is definitely going to cause some chaos for me. I expected lots of preachiness, trite Biblical references and general strictness.

What I did find was a family that doesn't use rules to manage their household, but instead had concrete and applicable tips for communicating effectively with your children, and surprising opinions from their teenage children that made me think that they are going to turn out fine (despite what appears to be brainwashing, lol). I also was really interested in how they've stayed debt free, and the tale of struggle to start businesses, live frugally, save up cash and do the things they've been able to do was extremely helpful and informative. Any young couple should read that story and learn some valuable lessons, because it gives a basic formula on how to find opportunities, stay out of debt, and get involved in investing in real estate.

I was also impressed that Michelle gave so many personal details about birth control, that she has nursed her babies for at least 6-8 months for almost all of them, she's had a couple of home births, and other nitty-gritty details about dealing with cracked nipples and problems that she is in expert at.

I will be re-reading it again, which I tend to do because I read quickly and don't absorb everything, and using it as a great idea book (minus the frilly dresses and big hair, lol). I have only one complaint.... the food they eat is awful. Every recipe was indeed very frugal and probably extremely tasty, but each had cheese as a main staple (which we can't eat), and came out of a can. It was fascinating to see how much it takes in a recipe to feed that many people, but we can't live off tater-tot casserole without have extreme digestive and behavioral problems, lol. Maybe these hardy souls can, but not us, lol.

Other than that, I surprisingly really enjoyed it. One thing I really appreciated was Jim Bob's opinions on being a Dad and what those responsibilities are. He really puts a lot of effort into it, and I respect that. I think some people assume that here is a woman who is allowing some guy to take advantage of her, but he really is in this for the right reasons and does a good job of it.

Did I need to buy the book if it was in the library? Maybe not. But I'm sick of trying to get books at my very sad island library, so I just buy them now, lol. You could probably borrow it and be satisfied.