Living Books about Space for Mother Culture

I am wrapping up my series on space books that we read last year for our homeschool year studying space. We read books about the sun, the moon, the stars, the planets, other ideas in astrophysics, the history of space travel, the technology behind space travel, space-themed novels and graphic novels.

This is all well and good – but what about what I read? In addition to reading all of these books with my kids (and learning an awful lot in the process!), I made sure to carve out some specific reading for myself.

One challenging thing about being a homeschool mom is balancing caring for and educating your family, and taking care of yourself and your own intellectual, social, and physical needs. As my kids get older it is easier to converse with them about interesting things, but when they were younger – there were only so many conversations I could handle about tnumbers 1-10 and the names of the farm animals before my brain felt like it might atrophy. This is about the time that I made space in my day for Mother Culture.

Mother Culture is just learning new things for the sake of learning new things. It means keeping our minds sharp so that when our kids ask “Why is the sky blue?” we could actually have an answer (not that you always want to have an answer, there is value in long-term pondering for children…but more on that another week). If education is like sitting down to a great feast of ideas, that there are some dishes on the table that are appealing to you and not just your children.

I have found wisdom in much of Charlotte Mason’s writings, but I’m going to share one of my favourite passages with you:

“Is there not some need for ‘mother culture’? But how is the state of things to be altered? So many mothers say, ‘I simply have no time for myself!’ ‘I never read a book!’ Or else, ‘I don’t think it is right to think of myself!’ They not only starve their minds, but they do it deliberately, and with a sense of self-sacrifice which seems to supply ample justification.

Mother must have time to herself. And we must not say ‘I cannot.’ Can any of us say till we have tried, not for one week, but for one whole year, day after day, that we ‘cannot’ get one half-hour out of the twenty-four for ‘Mother Culture?’–one half-hour in which we can read, think, or ‘remember.’

The habit of reading is so easily lost; not so much, perhaps, the power of enjoying books as the actual power of reading at all. It is incredible how, after not being able to use the eyes for a time, the habit of reading fast has to be painfully regained…

The wisest woman I ever knew–the best wife, the best mother, the best mistress, the best friend–told me once, when I asked her how, with her weak health and many calls upon her time, she managed to read so much, ‘I always keep three books going–a stiff book, a moderately easy book, and a novel, and I always take up the one I feel fit for!’ That is the secret; always have something ‘going’ to grow by. If we mothers were all ‘growing’ there would be less going astray among our boys, less separation in mind from our girls…

A brisk walk will help. But, if we would do our best for our children, grow we must; and on our power of growth surely depends, not only our future happiness, but our future usefulness.

Is there, then, not need for more ‘Mother Culture’?”

–Volume III, no. 2 The Parents’ Review

As we embarked on our space-learning journey last year, I set aside some adult-level books that I might enjoy that intersected with our topic. This was a stretch for me because I typically do not enjoy science fiction, nor do I enjoy man vs. nature stories – especially if they are set in space. However, I did find some books I enjoyed immensely.

Mother Culture Living Books about Space

Astronaut Wives’ Club by Lily Koppel

I am more of a historical fiction and biography kind of girl. As we dove into learning about space, I learned about the space race and the wives that supported the first astronauts in space. As a wife myself to a security engineer making sure our systems are safe from hackers and AI escaping its cage…I feel a sort of kinship with the type of woman who marries smart, driven, engineering-minded, introverted man – like many of the astronauts in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs.

I also loved the limited series show. I purchased it for viewing on Amazon Prime video. It launched me into my 60s era and after this show I also watched all of Mad Men and Palm Royale. I love the stories and culture of the 60s!

The Woman and Her Stars by Penny Haw

I picked this one up randomly at a Barnes and Noble just because of the title and I figured it would have something to do with space. I loved this historical fiction novel about Caroline Herschel, sister to William Herschel who was King George the 3rd’s royal astronomer. She began as William’s assistant, but became a well respected scientist in her own right. Caroline Herschel was the first woman to be paid as a professional astronomer. If you enjoy stories of strong, independent female thinkers in the late 1700s & early 1800s- think Bridgerton and Jane Austen,: you will likely enjoy this novel!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Considering I usually do not enjoy science fiction or stories of survival, I inhaled Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. He is a wonderful writer. I could not put this book down, and after finishing it – I started it again, reading it outlout to my 10 year old son.

There’s also a movie starring Ryan Gosling, which was great – but, the old adage holds true: the book was better than the movie.

Galileo’s Daughter – Dava Sobel

True confession: I am still making my way through Galileo’s Daughter. It is interesting, but it is not a page-turner in the same way of the others listed here. It is a denser, more difficult read, but I am enjoying learning more about Galileo through the eyes of his daughter and what it was like for Galileo to go against the teachings of the church and become a pariah.

Have you read any great books that are set in or are related to space exploration or astronomy? I’d love to hear your recommendations!

I hope you find time to carve out a little Mother Culture in your life and stretch yourself intellectually, just because it’s good for you. We homeschool moms need inspiration too!

Warmly,

-Heather

ps: This post contains Amazon affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog! I am a real person and I really did read these books. No part of this list or this post was AI-generated.

Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other recent writing!

• Living Books about Space for Mother Culture
• Space-Themed Graphic Novels for Kids
• Space-Themed Novels for Kids
• In Honor of Dolly Parton – A Modern Composer Study Curriculum
• Living Books for Kids about Space Technology

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