Table Talk by John and Tina Bushman – Blog Tour

Table Talk

Authors: John and Tina Bushman

Publisher: Plain Sight Publishing/Cedar Fort, Inc.

Published Date: February 12, 2013

Softcover; 210 pages

Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN# 978-1-4621-1146-6

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a free review PDF in exchange for an honest review

Summary

Nothing has a greater or more lasting impact on children than their parents, yet our society tries to weaken that influence. Talking and teaching are two things best done at home. Using hundreds of fun questions and quotes from this book, watch as your family comes together to discuss the most important issues of life—patriotism, values, fun, faith, and more.

Review

Dinnertime in my family often includes passing around the “conversation jar,” an old glass peanut butter jar full of strips of paper with questions and trivia designed to start family discussion. When the opportunity came to review Table Talk, I jumped at the chance, curious to see how the questions compared to our usual verbal dinnertime fare.

I was delighted to find a wide variety of subjects covered, from civil issues and practical matters (like emergency preparedness) to more personal and spiritual questions designed to explore deeper issues. I like the related quotes on each page, some of which are humorous. The day I received the review PDF I presented some of the new material to my family. The second question in the book (“Have you ever had someone close to you die?”) as well as the follow-up questions (“What were your feelings at the time? What do you believe happens to a person’s soul when they die?”) gave my husband and I the opportunity to check in with our children and discuss how they were feeling about Grandma passing away now that some time has gone by. We had a great conversation with our older daughters that went beyond the scope of those initial three questions.

The next night’s question (“My most embarrassing moment was when _______.”) provided a welcome change from the heavy discussion of the night before. My older kids had a good laugh at my expense. And, no, I’m not going to share my most embarrassing moment in this post. Let’s just say both my pride and my hands and knees were bruised that night.

I appreciate the open-ended format, especially about topics that I hadn’t considered asking my kids. “What responsibilities do individual states have?” and “If you could ask God one question, what would your question be?” are just two examples. With some questions I will have to do some research online beforehand, especially in regard to the more political and academic subjects. (Hey, it’s been a while since high school AP Government class. I’m a little rusty.)

I am excited to continue our nightly dinnertime conversations with Table Talk. I highly recommend it to families of all shapes and sizes.

Find Table Talk:  AMAZON | BARNS & NOBLE | DESERET BOOK | GOODREADS