the one we read in the car.

I'm slowly coming out from under my library stack.  Thus, the rather obscene number of postings on non-fiction children's topics will soon end.  I was pleasantly surprised by the pages of my latest book.  Matt and I read it together aloud on the drive up to the cabin and learned a thing or two.

Notably . . .
Praise can undermine the motivation of young ones, unless it is specific and intermittent.
Sleep is not for wusses when it comes to kids.  Every hour that they lose costs 10 pts on an IQ test.
Fighting is OK but taking it to the bedroom is not.  Kids need to hear that it has been resolved.
Lying is a developmental milestone.  96% of kids do lie AND on average once every hour.  OMG.

Nurtureshock was a great book.  The last 40 odd pages source the research that backs up the findings.

Loved.  It.

the one that demonizes obgyns.

Who knew that I could be so affected by Ricki Lake?  Having just watched The Business of Being Born, a documentary that exposes birthing practices in the United States, I was drawn to her book.  I'm left utterly confused now when, in fact, I thought I had it all planned out.  The book talks about the ridiculously high c-section rate of 31% in America compared to other countries and shares stories of powerless mothers whose instincts have been replaced by drugs and other unnecessary interventions. 

And then, the book discusses another way . . . the way to be a birth goddess.  The way not to be cut open and shot up with needles.

Unfortunately, I think this book had an unintended effect on me.   I was so affected by the statistics and comparisons of other health care systems that I'm not sure what's best anymore.  I was feeling more powerful and confident before Ricki Lake's influence. 

I think I better go back to summer chick lit and Pulitzer Prize books before I lose my perspective.

the one about Alice Walker's daughter.

So this book is written by Rebecca Walker who happens to dislike her famous author mother a great deal.  The book is almost sad because of the level of dysfunction in the author's family.  I mean, no wonder she had so much ambivalence about being a mother when the hatred runs thick for her own.

This book was funny in parts and terribly easy to digest.  I loved the story about the waiting room and the "It won't come out" woman.  My favorite part of the book was this quote: "I am not saying a girl can't have it all, because I am all for making life expand to meet your limitless vision, but I am saying that, first, said girl has to know what "all" really is. 

The quote made me think of the movie Up in the Air and how Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick have completely different world views despite their age difference only spanning 15 years.  I distinctly remember a conversation with a good friend of mine about "having it all: work and family."  That friend ended up quitting her job a few years after our conversation.  I can only imagine her definition changed as most all definitions do.  And maybe, all = more than work + family.  Maybe the work/family balance oversimplifies the whole conversation about what really makes up a full life.

I need to stop reading baby books.  I'm sure this is normal but I feel a little off track.

the one that was supposed to inspire cooking.

I haven't been this enmeshed with the library since I was a teenager.  Currently, I have 10 books checked out from Washington County.  I am there almost daily.  I couple my visits with a mini ice cream cone from Cups and Scoops (located in the same building).  I needed to restrain from ice cream on Saturday b/c I was afraid the cashier might think I actually have a problem.

I do have a problem.  I keep reading blogger books.  This one, The Art of Eating In: How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove, sounded inspiring.  And the beginning really was.  I think I could save a bundle of money by cooking at home.  I do have a desire to bake bread and raise chickens.  But, she really lost me about a hundred pages in.  There wasn't any meat in the book (figuratively, that is.)

A much better book is Molly Wizenburg's A Homemade Life.

And yet, I'll probably still keep listening to Cathy Erway's podcast b/c I'm awed by anyone that can write a book at the age of 24.  And I really need to learn how to cook.  Nightly.  More power to her.

the one about caritas.

Reading this novel marks a significant departure for me in three ways:

1) I am embracing the Washington County Library and a new book budget of $15/month.  Really.

2) It makes me want to explore more deeply the beliefs of the Unitarian church.

Did you know, for example, that it was the Unitarian Julia Ward Howe whom established Mother's Day?  It was originally a call for peace and disarmament so that mothers could have a day without worry for their sons in battle. 

2) I am departing from the book 2666.  I shall return, perhaps.

The book Marriage and Other Acts of Charity is written by Kate Braestrup.  I think I offended Matt by the title of this book.  But, really this is a book about caritas (the Latin word for charity).  A word that describes a kind of love that is unconditional, selfless and self-giving.  The author lost this kind of love in her first marriage but found it again through reflection and acts of charity.

And then tragically, Kate lost her husband in a traffic accident.  She is now a Unitarian Universalist minister and game warden for the Maine warden service.   The novel reads like the funniest, most intelligent sermon on love and God that you've ever heard.  It's a book that I could pick up again and again for its insight, charm and perspective. 

But, unfortunately, I'll have to buy it first - within my $15 budget for the month of May.

My favorite quote:
If your heart breaks, let it break open.  Love more.