A Life Lived in Books

I just finished the book "I'd Rather Be Reading," by Anne Bogel. It was a QUICK read, but I enjoyed it. She writes a blog and has a podcast focused on reading, and this was a memoir-ish retrospective about reading and the reading life. I liked it, and it made me think about my journey as a reader. This would be much better as a thought-out, drafted and edited piece, but this can just be my initial, quick reactions because NaBloPoMo content doesn't write itself, you know?!

For one, I was SUPER jealous that for a time she lived in a house next door to a library. What a great real estate perk! I am an avid library user, but as time goes on I mainly do my reading on my Kindle. So in a way it's like the library is even closer since it's always in my house! For the girls' books of course we visit the library weekly, and we are on first-name basis with our librarians. We are working our way through the children's picture book section, and Jane is graduating to chapter books. But I'm realizing that all the series we loved with Jane (Elephant and Piggie, Biscuit, Fancy Nancy, Olivia, etc.) we need to revisit for Livia. And I get confused about which books we've read recently and which we read once-upon-a-time when Jane was Liv's age. Keeps things interesting!

Bogel had a chapter (they're really stand alone essays collected in a book, but they're all on the theme of reading and the reading life) about wishing she could see her library check out history. I agree that it would be a trip down memory lane. I have a Swiss cheese memory, as those close to me can attest, and I don't remember most of what I read I'm sure. But being able to see the title and date would bring at least some of the content and messages back to me. Of course there ARE books that stick (Ramona will forever be tied now to Jane's early elementary days, and I re-read Anne of Green Gables and ALL its sequels while I was pregnant with her), but being able to review my history back to childhood would be amazing.

I realize there are privacy concerns of course, and we don't ACTUALLY want libraries to keep that intel (because it could theoretically then be used against us in a court of law?!). Bogel recommends -- strongly recommends -- keeping track of what you read, and I do that via GoodReads. Since I do most of my reading on the Kindle I can just click a button (add to shelf or something like that) at the end of the book and it's auto-magically added to my GoodReads shelf on the correct date. I add any books that I read in hard copy manually to the site. I've got a few years of data this way, but I certainly don't have my reading logs from my 20s or childhood. It's probably the best that's lost to history?! I like the idea of a beautiful reading journal, but I would be less likely to fill it out (as both girls' hard copy baby books can attest!)

I have a whole slew of books to add to my To Be Read list, because Bogel wrote about some of her favorites or things that really touched her. Some things I had read (like Anne of Green Gables), but others were new recommendations that I'd like to check out.

One thing I just realized is anything I highlight in my Kindle shows up on GoodReads. Thankfully it's private/not shared with my friends on there, but that's great to know. I knew they were still available to me because I get a daily email from Readwise with a couple highlighted passages from books past. It's nice to unearth things that were important, and again I wish I had that data/info going back longer than just a couple years. Anyway, in the book I highlighted every book she mentioned that I wanted to read too, so that's an easy way to capture them.

Two baskets of Advent books
waiting for Dec. 1-24

One quote that I highlighted was that "taking those photos are a gift I give my future self," and I so believe that's true. (This was part of her argument for documenting what you read -- the parallels to taking photos to capture and re-remember events down the line.) I absolutely am on board with both those things, and I appreciate my past self's gifts very much.

One concrete - and very relevant - example isn't photos but books. Advent books wrapped for this season, which I did late last year when I was packing up the Christmas stuff before our sabbatical move. I wrapped 48 Christmas-themed books in tissue paper. One for each girl for each day of the Advent season.

Waiting is hard, but a good book ALWAYS makes the waiting go faster.

Ramona Forever!

(I wonder if Johnny Depp got his Winona Forever tattoo because of it sounding like Ramona Forever? LOL, just kidding. And now it's "Wino Forever.")

One of Jane's birthday gifts was the complete set of Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. We've listened to the entire series on audio from the library (oh, how we love Overdrive!). Stockard Channing is the narrator and she is AMAZING. I would listen to anything she read, but sadly this is the only audiobook I could find that she has ever narrated. She doesn't even have a celebrity memoir! C'mon, Stockard, get on that! I tell everyone about the audio when it comes up -- it is really that good.

We have also worked our way through reading the series via the library. We've found there are different illustrators for different versions of the books. They were written over a span of 40 years or so (1950s until 1990s), but they keep being re-released with new illustrations. Jane likes the most recent illustrations best, probably because those are the main ones we've been reading. The set she got for her birthday has different/probably older illustrations, so when she re-reads them she'll get to see new-to-her pictures! (Livia is also "reading" them, which is pretty funny. She calls them "Mona" books.)

As a treat we checked out the Ramona & Beezus movie that came out a few years ago - we checked it out at the library. It was full of somewhat famous people, but it wasn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination. They tried to cram in too many of the stories from the book into the movie, and do it within a month or so of Ramona's life onscreen. It was still fun to see some of our favorite stories acted out, and I think Jane liked it more than I did. Was a little disappointing.

I remember a Ramona movie or series or something that starred Sarah Polley when I was a kid. I may be mis-remembering, but the Ramona journal I had as a kid had her picture on it -- whether it was Sarah or a different actress. Aha! Wikipedia for the win, it was Sarah Polley! It looks like you can buy the series for $30 on an unknown-to-me website.

Jane and I are almost finished with Ramona's World, the final book in the series that came out in 1999 (!). We read a chapter or two each night before bed. After that we have plenty else to read, but Ramona will always, always, always have a special place in my heart. And I guess I'll get to read through them at least once more with my baby girl Livia!

Mortality in a Kids Book

A Special Trade

Livia picked out this book when we were at the main library on Saturday. There was no reason to get it other than it was at her eye level and was small. She pulled it off the shelf and said "I want this one." So we checked it out.

It's pretty long/wordy, but a nice story. I was not prepared though because it's about a girl and her old man neighbor, their friendship and how it changes as she grows up and he gets even older. I started crying while reading it out loud for the first time.

[Spoiler] The old man doesn't die in the book, which was what I was expecting/why I was crying. He has to start using a wheelchair, so their roles reverse from when he pushed her around in her stroller to now her pushing his wheelchair. It was still pretty emotional, at least to me. There's nothing like being a snotty mess while your kids look at you like you're a lunatic!

Jane's reading progress now is about fluency and looking for messages in the books she reads. What was the author trying to say and do you have a personal connection to the story? Jane started talking about her personal connection about her Popeye and his recent health things. (He fell in an open manhole and had a kidney stone, both of which have worried Jane terribly -- he is on the mend now from both things!)

But then as that sat with me I started thinking about loss and explaining that to a kid. I was lucky enough that all four of my grandparents lived until I graduated high school. When I graduated college I was down to two living grandparents, and when I finished grad school I had only my Gran left. She died when Jane was 3, so she got to directly know and love the person who made me a mama. I know she loves/loved/will love Livia too.

I recently read a couple great books about death -- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and From Here to Eternity, both by Caitlin Doughty -- so it's been on my mind, at least the back of my mind. But this was my first time really connecting the idea that my daughters will EXPERIENCE loss like that and it shook me a little bit. It's just the nature of life, and how things go. But it wasn't something I was expecting to be confronted with when reading to my girls from a random, 1978 library book.

Review: Stretched Too Thin

Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica N. Turner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Although I'm not a "working" mom like Jessica I did get a part-time job the day I received the book. This book is geared for "working" moms, and it has lots of good insight and tips. I think stay-at-home and part-time working moms would find value in it too. We can ALL get stretched too thin even without outside employment being one of the stretchers!

I've been a follower of Jessica's blog and online channels for several years, probably since my first daughter was born more than six years ago. I like The Mom Creative, her blog, and think Jessica is an inspiration in the mommy blogging world as she's transitioned as the Internet has changed and her children have grown. She's still got a full-time, regular day job and three kids, so she's definitely the right person to write this book!

Stretched Too Thin is not overly religious, although there are some comments about prayer and faith plus the social aspects and benefits of attending church. I share Jessica's faith, but I don't think someone of another faith would be put off by it. The book is written from a place of privilege and wealth, so some might not relate to that.

I liked the organization of the book and the helpful information and empowering phrases. As a nosy person who loves the voyeurism of blogs/online personas I especially liked the memoir-ish parts of the book and learning how Jessica and her husband met. It's not heavily memoir at all, but she does include anecdotes from her own life plus those from other women who responded to her survey. (I can't remember if I responded to the survey since I'm not "working," but I probably did back when she asked people to.)

I listened to this audio book via an ARC. I rarely listen to books because I don't have much occasion to be on my own in the car and headphones while around my kids don't work especially well either. But I liked making the time to listen and hearing Jessica's voice, which I know from her videos. I don't know if I'll do the journaling exercises, but I will go download the resources once available.

View all my reviews

Read: Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A new book from Rachel Held Evans? I'm in! I've read all her previous work, and I can't remember quite how I first heard of her writing. Probably through her blog.

This book approaches a lot of questions I wrestle with about the Bible (genocide, slavery and submissiveness for women to name a few). There are answers and more questions, but I'm especially drawn to the memoir parts, where Rachel writes about her life and faith journey. This book is so much more than that with lots of research and sources that could keep a person reading for ages! (Relate-able line in the book: "I know I can’t read my way out of this dilemma, but that won’t keep me from trying.")

"Inspired" is organized around different Bible story types, including familiar stories rewritten from various perspectives that are really engaging. The final chapter addressing Paul and his writings was particularly meaningful to me, but they're all, well, inspiring.

I would recommend "Inspired" to anyone wondering about the many contradictions in the Christian Bible and how to hold those while maintaining faith in a loving, good Creator. The Bible is a collection of stories that together point to an overarching story, a story that I cannot quit or dismiss. A story around which I try to build my life and in which I'm raising my girls.

I finished the book in tears (maybe because of the dedication to her family and son), and looking back at my blog about reading her previous books it seems that's a theme: crying my contacts out when I finish an RHE book! (Still waiting for a truly motherhood-focused book, although I'm sure I'd cry the entire way through that one!)

I received an Advance Reader Copy of the book from the publisher. The book will be released June 12. (I also bought myself a hard copy that will come next month!) You can pre-order here: https://rachelheldevans.com/inspired.

View all my reviews

Book Notes: Selfish, Shallow, And Self-Absorbed

I read a book of sixteen essays on the choice to not have children. It was pretty interesting, although some of the voices kind of blended together. I obviously made the opposite choice, and I'd bristle at the identity of "breeder" or that having a family is my way of perpetuating the white race (!!). It's a biological imprint and a social construct that really works for me. But man, I'm so tired and some of the arguments laid out for why these writers chose to remain child-free had me nodding my head. (But never doubting my decision for a second of course!)

Anyway, here are few things I highlighted in the Kindle book -- getting them out before I return the e-book to the library.

Perhaps I was kind of a human geode: sparkly and hollow. - Courtney Hodell, "Babes in the Woods" (I just liked this.)

There is nothing more boring for an intelligent woman than to spend endless amounts of time with small children. -Sigrid Nunez, "The Most Important Thing" (I think it might be more boring to spend endless amounts of time with mansplainers, but I certainly get the point!)

I suspect that my commitment to and delight in parenting would be so formidable that it would take precedence over anything and everything else in my life; that my mastery of motherhood would eclipse my need for -- or ability to achieve -- success in any other arena. Basically, I'm afraid of my own competence. -Anna Holmes, "Mommy Fearest" (I've copied down previous Anna Holmes quotes -- she founded Jezebel -- and I think this is true for my approach to motherhood. It's all consuming, and I'm not ALWAYS sure that's a good thing.)

...while life may not have a purpose, it certainly has consequences, one of which is the accumulation of a vast, coastal shelf of uncut, 100-percent-pure regret. -Geoff Dyer, "Over and Out" (a super valid response to the idea that "you'll regret it later" if you don't have kids now/when you're young/whatever)

Read: Murder in the Bayou

Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8? by Ethan Brown

This book is kind of terrifying, chronicling the unchecked power held by parish sheriffs. I'm sure not all are corrupt, but the author has revealed illegal actions in this parish's department. This isn't close to where I live in Louisiana, but then it's not a very big state.

As far as the book itself I could have used more details about the victims. I read another reviewer say something similar. There was just nothing personal about them. So they were drug users and sex workers, that was certainly repeated frequently. But what else? In most cases we didn't even know their races. I found this troubling throughout the book to not know the races of most of the people being discussed. Pictures of the victims would have been helpful too. And thinking about some of them left children behind ... maybe a count of how many motherless children there now are thanks to the criminal enterprise that, if not run by was at least condoned by the law enforcement of the parish. Just because the killings have stopped doesn't mean the illegal behavior has -- dope for sex, etc.

And woah, Boustany's involvement. I'm so glad he didn't make the run off, although I'm none too thrilled about creepy John Neely Kennedy. I'm a Foster Campbell voter, even though he doesn't align with my political ideals perfectly either. The allegation of Boustany's visits to prostitutes who were later killed was damning. I'm not sure I heard anything about it while he was in the primary. But I tuned out a lot of it. Yuck.

Anyway, a timely read even if it did make me feel bad.

View all my reviews

Edit to add: wow, this is my 1600th post.  

Book: Bad Feminism

I read this book last month, but I keep thinking about it and wanted to record the things I highlighted.

When I read the title I start singing "Bad Medicine" in my head, but of course with Feminism.

I loved most of this book, and the parts that weren't my favorites were just because I'd never read or heard of the material she was talking about so it was less relevant to me. (I am not an English Lit person, so while I'm fairly well read I am not as well read as the author!)

From my Kindle Notebook, which I learned about with this book. I can highlight things in an ebook (even a library ebook) and then export and email the notebook with the highlights.

"The notion that I should be fine with the status quo even if I am not wholly affected by the status quo is repulsive"

"To have privilege in one or more areas does not mean you are wholly privileged. Surrendering to the acceptance of privilege is difficult, but it is really all that is expected. What I remind myself, regularly, is this: the acknowledgment of my privilege is not a denial of the ways I have been and am marginalized, the ways I have suffered"

"Men invented nepotism and practically live by it. It’s okay for women to do it too."

Can't wait for Roxane Gay's next book to come out! I'm certainly a bad feminist but getting better all the time...

Read: I'm Judging You

We were at a party this weekend and someone was talking about how much he hates ebooks and prefer paper books. I actually have come to love ebooks, although I enjoy paper books too. One of his gripes was that you can't highlight ebooks or keep notes. Uh... that's untrue, although it takes some figuring out. My Kindle allows highlights and then you can export a "notebook" of those highlighted parts at the end. (Although I agree that for note taking and school purposes I'd much prefer paper to digital books.)

These were my highlighted parts of "I'm Judging You: The Do-Better Manual" by Luvvie Ajayi:

 

The red stripes on the flag are really the blood of Black and brown people, and many centuries after the country’s creation, these stains still have not faded.

Racism is not a byproduct as much as it’s the foundational stock in the American soup.

Black people actually have to PROVE their humanity, instead of having it accepted as a given.

We’re saying that white people benefit from an automatic position of privilege because of their skin color in a larger racist society.

We know all lives should matter, but ALL lives cannot matter until Black lives matter, too.

Words used within a marginalized group are not always appropriate when used by an outsider.

Rape culture is the prevailing attitude that women exist primarily to please men, and therefore are not equal human beings with agency over their own bodies.

The questionable personal decisions we sometimes make do not excuse the bad decisions others make, especially when it comes to how they interact with us.

Believing that people should make their own choices about their own lives is ultimately what I think it means to be a feminist.

Wanting equal rights for women is not synonymous with wanting fewer rights for men,

Organized religion, practiced fundamentally and literally, is a strong tool of control. So I understand why people do not believe in it or a higher power. 

 

(I really liked the book and would recommend it.)

Tell Me I'm Fat

Last week I finally listened to the This American Life episode "Tell Me I'm Fat." It was put together around the release of Lindy West's book "Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman," which I pre-ordered and read when it was published earlier this year. I've loved West's writing since Jezebel, and I really liked the book. I loaned it to my sister before I could go back and make notes for this post, but I checked it out from the library electronically and copied out some of what I wanted to remember/share.

I am fat, but like Roxane Gay says in the TAL episode I'm "Lane Bryant fat," meaning I can still move about in the world and there are places I can buy clothes. In Shrill West talks about that too --

"I’ve always been fat, but I was the fat person that still mostly fit. While I couldn’t fit into regular-lady clothes (more bejeweled tunics covered with skulls, cherries, and antique postage stamps, please!), and I had to be careful with butt safety (I once Godzilla’d an entire lunch setting while trying to sidle through a Parisian cafe), I was still the kind of fat person who could move through the straight-sized world without causing too many ripples. Until I couldn’t."

I'm the kind of fat person who can move through the straight-sized world without causing too many ripples. I want to be OK with my body as it is without giving that body license to break down (or something). I want to remember this, also from Shrill:

"Please don’t forget: I am my body. When my body gets smaller, it is still me. When my body gets bigger, it is still me. There is not a thin woman inside me, awaiting excavation. I am one piece."

And I want my girls to know that too. My value, their value is so much more than our bodies. Women don't have to be a certain size to be worthy of love and respect. Another of the acts in the TAL episode was about a woman who lost a significant amount of weight and got everything she ever wanted (relationship, acting jobs, etc.) once she was thin. I feel like I have everything I ever wanted, although perhaps I'm missing something???

My daughters are also an impetus for wanting to be less fat -- mainly to be able to move through the world more easily (socially as well as just literally moving more easily). And ideally to stay in this world longer. (I say that not that fat equals unhealthy, but I am a heavier weight when I'm not taking care of myself -- less exercise, more sugar, etc.)

Lots to think about and remember for discussions down the line.

No more affiliate links via Amazon, since Louisiana changed its law to require taxes be paid up front Amazon just shut down the affiliates program for anyone living in the state. So there's that...

Christmas Books

I told a friend about our tradition to open a Christmas book every night of December (until Christmas) as part of our Advent celebration. She has two kids but said they don't have that many Christmas books. We have WAY more than 24 because we acquire more every year and started from more than zero since my mom had saved a LOT of books from my childhood. There may have been more too if my sister took some (first crack since her kid is 7 years older than Jane -- can you believe Owen is ELEVEN?!?!) -- or maybe I got them all. In any case, we've got a ton. I offered to make a list of some of our favorites, so I thought I'd repurpose that list as a blog post too in case you're looking for some kid Christmas books (or just have an interest in what Jane is reading in December).

• Little Golden Book - Sesame Street: I Can't Wait Until Christmas
  This is a vintage book (that's a nice way to say old right?) featuring Big Bird. It's long, so not a favorite for me and Shawn to read, but Jane likes it. No overt Santa message - just Big Bird corresponding with his Grandma and making her a special present.
• Little Golden Book - The Night Before Christmas
  We actually have two copies -- one that came with a cassette tape of the story. Don't have the cassette and should probably just get rid of one of the older one. The other I am pretty sure I bought before Jane's first Christmas for a photo op.
• Who Is Coming to Our House? Joseph Slate & Ashley Wolff
  Board book, short and cute about the animals in the stable getting ready for the Holy Family's visit.
• Where is Baby's Christmas Present? Karen Katz
  Lift-the-flap board book, short and easy to read. A little babyish for Jane this year but she still likes it.
• Five Little Christmas Trees
  Small book with these button-like Christmas trees cut out of the book. Short, rhyming and probably old. Weird, and Jane likes it a lot.
• Little Golden Book - Thomas' Night Before Christmas
  Long but Jane loves Thomas!
• Winnie the Pooh: The Merry Christmas Mystery
  One of the first ones she opened this year and she loves it. She likes to tell the story, assign roles and act it out. The mystery is that Santa delivers presents to the wrong houses and they have to sort that out.
• Little Golden Book - The Animals' Christmas Eve
  Animals on a farm tell the Christmas story with a focus on the animals' roles. Short and easy to read.
• The Christmas Story - Patricia A. Pingry & Wendy Edelson
  Paraphrase of the Bible story with cute pictures. Has a Borders tag on it so maybe we got it on sale when it was closing?
• Little Golden Book - Pooh: The Sweetest Christmas
  No Santa in this one - it's about Pooh giving away his honey as gifts for his friends. And he gets honey from them in return -- hence the sweetness. Jane likes this one a lot too, although the mystery book gets more retellings.
• Tinsel Tots - Tom Arma
  Board book that's just pictures of babies dressed up with brief captions. Pretty sure I got this at a garage sale.
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
  Old copy from my childhood. We read it for the first time this year (this one hasn't been wrapped so far).
• Little Golden Book - The Cat that Climbed the Christmas Tree
  Jane loves this one, and it's random and seems old. I don't remember it from being a kid so could be a garage sale find or just something my mom picked up along the way. Or my Swiss cheese memory could apply to childhood books. It's about a cat who climbs a Christmas tree and talks to ornaments along the way. Weird and long.
• Little Scholastic - How to Build a Snowman
  Babyish book that I got at a Scholastic outlet store one year when a friend took me. It's in Baton Rouge on the outskirts somewhere and parents who volunteer at book fairs and teachers get to go shop the overstock. It was really fun. I haven't been back though -- that friend has much older kids (there were books for all ages) and I haven't pestered her about it again.
• The Small One
  A Disney book about the donkey who carried Mary to Bethlehem and his life before that. It's a movie that we watched every year as a kid, so it's sentimental. The book is old, but I'm not sure where we got it because I don't remember having a book version when we were kids. Maybe I found it at a sale and got it (or my sister did).
• Little Golden Book - ABC is for Christmas
  Easy to read, rhyming alphabet book. Definitely vintage.
• Listen to the Silent Night - Dandi Daley Mackall, Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
  This was a gift - about the night Jesus was born.
• Little Golden Book - The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas
  I love Poky and bought this for Jane probably her first Christmas. Shawn hates this book and was glad it was the last one she happened to open this year.
• The First Christmas, a Changing Picture Book - illustrated by Sophy Williams
  This was a gift and is beautifully illustrated. Lots of text.
• Frosty the Snowman
  We have a couple versions of this - I think both from when I was a kid.
• The Polar Express - Chris van Allsburg
  Looks like this copy was from a school library in Lawton so probably bought by my mom at a sale or something like that. I'm very lukewarm on this one, as it's long and really believe-in-Santa propaganda. Jane likes it and we watched the movie with her this year. (I do love that hot chocolate song.)
• Five Christmas Penguins - Steven Lenton
  I definitely bought this one, and it's short with a padded cover and sturdy pages. Not quite a board book but good for littles. Lots of shiny stuff on the pages too (but no glitter).
• The Spirit of Christmas - Nancy Tillman
  A gift and can be a tear-jerker. (She wrote On the Night You Were Born, which we were given just before Jane was born with the inscription "I've got my dancing shoes on..." and I cried at that.)
• The Snow Must Go On: A Way, Way Off-Broadway Adventure - Molly Wigand and Mike Esberg
  Hallmark book, so probably was a gift or a hand-me-down. Lots of text - about penguins and snowmen putting on a play.
• Humphrey's First Christmas - Carol Heyer
  Beautiful pictures. About a camel carrying the wise men's gifts and then also giving a gift himself. Love it (not many wise men-themed books really) but they meet the baby in the manger, which is not how the Bible story goes. Otherwise good one, and I think it must have been a gift because it's a nice, big book.
• Christmas Candy Canes - Nancy Parent and Adam Devaney
  Old, has a music feature that barely works anymore. Rhyming and short board book.
• Christmas Lift-the-Flap Shadow Book
  Sparkly with sturdy pages but not a board book. Was a gift and doesn't have many words.
• One Mitten - Kristine O'Connell George and Maggie Smith
  Not really Christmas but lives with our holiday books (doesn't get wrapped). Got it from Jane's teacher last year.
• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
  Paperback Little Golden Book originally came with a cassette. A lot of text and more than the song - but it doesn't follow the movie either. I should probably get a new version because Jane likes Rudolph a lot (but that kind of goes against my no Santa myth stance).
• The Snowman Storybook - Raymond Briggs
  Garage sale or hand-me-down find. Story about boy making a snowman that comes to life at night and they fly around the world.
• Llama Llama Jingle Bells - Anna Dewdney
  Board book, easy to read. Love the characters and her paintings.
• The Twelve Days of Christmas
  We have a couple versions of this -- gag me. I guess it's the length that I don't like? The nicer copy was a gift and the other copy is a random one from when I was a kid.
• Clifford - The Little Red Sled
  Definitely garage sale or my sister clearing out her classroom book. This isn't a Christmas book either, so doesn't get wrapped but does live with the holiday books.
• Biscuit's Pet & Play Christmas - Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
  Board book with things to feel.
• Llama Llama Holiday Drama - Anna Dewdney
  Soft cover from Scholastic book order I think. Rhythmic and rhyming text with good illustrations. About Llama Llama melting down from all the holiday stuff and getting a cuddle from his mama to make things better.
• Usborne Little Children's Music Book - Elisa Squillace
  Has buttons to push to hear music, and it's about a group of animals doing a Christmas concert and getting ready by practicing at their homes. Push the buttons to hear individual instruments (named in the text) and then the last button is all the instruments together. Not recognizable Christmas music, but not annoying or tinny either. We really like it.
• First Snow in the Woods - Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
  Photos of a deer family as the season changes and made up text about what the baby deer is thinking about with his first experience of snow. Pretty pictures, but not my favorite. Also not Christmassy so just one that lives with the holiday books.
• Jingle Bells
  Paperback Little Golden Book definitely from my childhood. Story about a group of animals going on a sleigh ride and they pick up more animals and sing Jingle Bells. Meh.
• A Sesame Street Christmas - Pat Tornborg and Tom Cooke
  Raining on Sesame Street for Christmas so the friends tell different stories. Lots of text - way too much. I think this is from the 80s.
• Hobo Dog's Christmas Treet - Thacher Hurd
  Funny little story about a dog who lives in a junk yard and gets a Christmas tree and decorates it with trash. Not sure where it came from, but it seems old.
• Little Golden Book - Tom & Jerry's Merry Christmas
  Definitely vintage and kind of long. They give each other gifts at the end.

Amazon affiliate links used. If you click on one and make a purchase (of anything) on Amazon I theoretically get a small payment at no cost to you. I saw theoretically because I've never received any income.

Reading Maniac

2015 Reading Challenge

Mari has completed her goal of reading 100 books in 2015!

hide

105 of 100 (100%)

view books

I made a goal this year to read 100 books. I met the goal in late September, and since then my reading has slowed to a glacial pace. And I haven't been doing anything to make up for the time -- it's not like I have a huge crochet project, work or something.

I read mostly on my Kindle Fire, and almost exclusively with library books. I love our library system full stop, and the Overdrive system is great. If there's a book I'd like that they don't have I can request it. I've only done it two or three times, but every time I'm reading what I want within a few days with no direct cost to me. It's a great way to spend our taxes, in my opinion. And there's no digital or physical detritus building up because the LIBRARY keeps all that. (There are very few books I feel like I need my own copies of, despite owning way too many physical books myself.)

Before you think this reading challenge was intellectual, let me say that a good chunk were fast reading brainless things, including the entire Sookie Stackhouse series -- my favorite was Dead in the Family because I *loved* Eric, probably because I also watched the first few seasons of True Blood via Amazon Prime and a couple more via DVD checkout at the library. I could only watch them while Shawn was out of town (he is NOT a fan) so I never finished seasons 6 and 7 -- it was getting really ridiculous anyway. Hubba, hubba Alexander Skarsgård.

Not sure if I'll do a reading challenge next year, although I did like the accountability and tracking of adding the books into Good Reads as I finished them. I still have a few books on my list to finish before the year is up -- and some Christmas-y type books that I read every year I'm not sure I should count.

What have you been reading lately?

Reactions

In April I read Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans. I cried my contacts out when I finished it, and I took some notes as a response at the time, thinking I would blog about it sometime. NaBloPoMo is a perfect opportunity, right?

My favorite parts were the personal stories - I am nosy and will read minutiae about almost anyone's life. I loved the honesty. I've read Evans' other books and regularly read her blog. She writes some great stuff. I admire her and wish I could be as bold and clear in writing about my faith, not to mention so articulate. She's a great writer.

Although my core beliefs haven't changed the way hers did I can identify with Evans' journey and story so much. I am still United Methodist, but my political leanings have done a 180 as my faith has developed, deepened and my understanding grown. I am so lucky to have grown up in my open denomination and to have had such role models of faith - especially my mom and Gran.

I also read Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Erhman around the same time, so my notes are on the same page.

A lot of that book was kind of duh, big red truck stuff -- obviously the way manuscripts of any kind are passed down and copied down will introduce errors. But I don't doubt that Scripture has God's word. How else would we have it so many years later? God is big enough to speak even through errors and using fallible people.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am having another type of reaction -- to mosquito bites. The weather here is humid beyond belief, which is expected in Louisiana but not necessarily in late November. It's also warm -- yesterday we neared 80. After a bunch of rain a couple weeks ago while were in Tulsa tons of dormant mosquitoes rose up from hibernation in the ground and are EVERYWHERE. They're fat and slow but require constant vigilance to kill them if you stand outside at all.

On Sunday afternoon we went to a preschool friend's back yard birthday party. It was fun, and we had gorgeous weather. But I was chewed alive by the bugs (oh, and Jane got quite the shiner/skin abrasion under her eye on the bouncy house -- she's fine though). Two days later and the itching is unbearable at times -- mainly on my arms and hands, but there's also some bites on my B00Bs! The bites flare up -- itch and swell -- and then die down and cycle around. I've been using After Bite (kind of like this), which is basically a baking soda solution, It stings a little but helps. It's just ugh, and certainly sends me back to the bedbug era - oh-em-gee.

(Affiliate links used)

1K Before K

Colorful Books Stacked (Blender)
by FutUndBeidl, on Flickr

We read Jane 1,000 books this summer. Starting in mid-March our library began a program called "1,000 Books Before Kindergarten," in an effort to get parents to read more to their kids. We signed up and didn't change our reading habits, other than writing down every-single-book as we read them.

We finished up in late June, so 1,000 books in less than four months. Woah.

Extrapolating we are probably averaging 3,000 books per year, so we should definitely read 10,000 books before she actually starts Kindergarten (in two years). She loves books -- not sure if it's because we've always read to her or if it just worked out that way.

She wasn't the first kid to complete the log -- not by a long shot. Some people with younger kids were able to finish 1,000 books in two months or so. That makes sense, as board books tend to have less than 20 words in them! That will definitely rack up the titles quickly.

We read a mix of book lengths, although I think most tended toward longer picture books and a few "readers" (which usually have fewer words than picture books). Sometimes a board book would sneak in too, although they aren't her favorites anymore.

Here are some book series we have loved: Ladybug Girl, Fancy Nancy, Pinkalicious, Amelia Bedelia and Freckleface Strawberry. I'm always looking for more strong female character books. Jane also loves Arthur, Curious George, Thomas the Tank Engine and Franklin books. (Not girl characters but still good stories.) Oh and George and Martha books are the BEST. I wish there were more of them, and I want to get Jane the complete set of her own, although we've checked out the library's copies at least three times each. So good -- not too long and charmingly goofy.

The prizes for our hard work were a drawstring backpack (at 250 books read), a decal/sticker (at 500 books read), a poster (at 750 books read) and a book (at 1000 books read). She also got her picture on the library's kid Facebook page as having completed the program. Apparently there will also be a party for all who finish, but they haven't decided when that will be.

Read on...

Review: Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves

Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort

I read this book after seeing it recommended on a message board thread, which I found after googling something like "I'm so mean to my kid!" (Our bathroom battles have been epic.)

I like some of the book's advice and think treating your child as an individual and with respect is solid. But some of the other advice seemed unrealistic and like it would get out of hand quickly -- not that the child would manipulate or take advantage of the parent but that they'd never learn how to be part of a family unit, do their part of things, etc. Also you would NEVER get anywhere on time because her advice seems to suggest the kids can do anything they want, never interrupt them or redirect their activity.

There are more complete reviews on Goodreads that better describe what I mean/why I didn't love this book. (And they also link to a series debunking the author's credentials and an entire site about people who have been hurt by crunchy parenting.)

I didn't completely hate the book either though, and I've found myself trying to be more mindful with Jane and practice some of the S.A.L.V.E. method, which stands for Separate yourself from your child's behavior with a silent self-talk, Attention on your child, Listen to what your child is saying or what actions may be indicating, Validate your child's feelings, and Empower your child to resolve her own upset. I still probably help Jane solve problems more than she needs, but I also know we're securely attached and believe she knows how deeply she's loved even when I lose my temper.

View all my reviews

Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy?

Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy by Louise Bates Ames

I didn't actually write a review on Goodreads, but I'm stealing their formatting for links and the cover image. This book wasn't that helpful, but I was drawn in by the funny title. I was looking at parenting books at the library and saw this one. I am such a frustrated parent much of the time now. It's like I am the tantrum-prone toddler with trouble controlling my emotions (or at least I have my moments, with and without Jane around).

The book was published in 1985 and the advice is funny. There are several sections that talk about Father not understanding -- expecting too much of his children's table manners so better for the 3-year-old to eat supper alone in the kitchen before the family meal. LOLOL.

A running theme is: PUT YOUR CHILD IN NURSERY SCHOOL FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. They write a lot about how people who are not the child's mother can get better results with a 3-year-old so take advantage of that. Also they say several times to find a local high school girl to babysit. (I don't think that flies now since high school girls are probably overscheduled with after school activities, college prep and dates.)

For us Jane is in preschool a couple mornings a week, and we love it. I was very resistant to it at first, but she's really liked getting to make friends, which is something that I am so bad at. It's also given me a little time to work on projects myself. BUT I also respect the choice to keep kids home for as long as possible (or even home schooled). I have fears of her picking up bad behaviors from other kids, but for us I think that's a trade off we're willing to accept for the socialization aspect (since I'm lacking in that area -- or something like that). She's also learning a lot and having experiences that don't include me, which have to happen eventually, no matter how weird it seems to me.

The book also advises against feeding your kid food dyes, since they've been linked to behavioral changes in kids. They say if you and your kid are reasonably happy with their behavior you don't need to change anything, but if there's "deviant" behavior that you can't figure out look to the diet and eliminate foods with dyes. That's not to blame for Jane's behavior (none of which is deviant, all of which is typical 3-year-old stuff, however much I dislike it in the moment), but I will still do my best to keep food dyes out of her body. (That's another mark against going to school because she's fed crap on a somewhat regular basis ... although they say they're "treats" it doesn't seem so much because it's so regular. I'm especially not happy with the King Cake that will be part of next week's lessons -- green, yellow and purple food dye are the main ingredients in the frosting ... not to mention the sugar, which is another thing we really limit in Jane's diet.)

There's got to be an up-to-date parenting book for preschoolers, and maybe I'll stumble across it or seek it out. (If you have a recommendation, let me know!) For now this was fun enough to read and probably gave me some insight into child development, at least as understood in the 80s (which is when I happened to be a 3-year-old myself, and my mom said it was the worst age!). I'm going to keep on loving my girl and do my best to keep my own emotions in check.

Reading Lately: The Goldfinch, American Pastoral & The Racketeer

I stayed up way too late a couple nights ago finishing The Racketeer -- a John Grisham novel. It isn't high-quality literature, but it was a story that made me want to know what was going to happen and it was written in an easy-to-read way that wasn't trying to show off. It also wasn't a typical Southern lawyer facing big business in a huge trial storyline. But it was a satisfying read, and I liked it. I have tried recently to read a couple Pulitzer Prize-winning books, and neither really floated my boat. I'm not sure what that says about me, but I thought I'd record it here anyway.

I actually read all of The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, and I didn't like it much at all. It wasn't necessarily hard to get through, but it just didn't interest me. I was more interested in the beginning half of the book, which seems to be a theme running through other reviews that have shown up in my feed reader. But a lot of the time I didn't like the main character and thought every single decision he made was ridiculous. It wasn't as bad at the beginning because he was an adolescent in a tragic situation. But by the end it was just "AH, WTF" kind of stuff. Anyway, I don't recommend it, unless you like different things than me, which you might, so make your own choices. Amirite?

I did NOT make it through the entire American Pastoral book, a 1990s Pulitzer winner by Philip Roth, that I'd seen on several "must read to be a well-read person" kind of lists. I never got into the story, never cared about the characters and found myself slogging through and forcing it. I made it to the halfway point (and this was a paper book I checked out of the library). After keeping the book for six weeks I finally decided "ain't nobody got time for this" and gave myself a pass, returning the book with no intention of ever completing it.

I'm trying to read another Donna Tartt book -- someone who wrote about The Goldfinch (and hated it) said that she loves The Secret History, so I decided to give it a try. So far it's a little weird, and definitely not beach reading/chick lit, but I don't hate it as much as The Goldfinch, so that's a plus.

At the beginning of this year I had a string of great choices books and was devouring several each week. Things have slowed down now that I've hit on a few duds. I've been crocheting a bit more to fill the time I guess? I think I might need to reboot and read some chick lit or similar to shake out my cobwebs. I've got a Nicholas Sparks novel on my bookshelf calling my name...

Note: Amazon affiliate links used. Thanks for supporting this blog.

Reading Rainbow

I love to read, and with an amazing Christmas gift of a Kindle Fire and access to tons of books via my library's ebook selection I've already started plowing through several books this year. The Kindle is linked to Goodreads automatically, since Amazon now owns it, but gone is any way to simply tweet about the book itself without also posting to Goodreads. (I also have an old school early generation Kindle that I have to decide what to do with, but I could tweet something without linking to Goodreads on it.)

One thing that is neat is to see the books I read in a specific year. I have never fully cataloged my reading on Goodreads, and I don't really keep track of the books I've read anywhere else. The Kindle makes it easy to add any Amazon books -- either Kindle or ordered in print -- by accessing your Amazon account. I didn't do that yet, because really what does it matter?

I will try to record the books I read on the Kindle -- but not every one. I've been reviewing several crochet pattern books (AMAZING) and read most of a fitness book, but I don't think I want to count those in "what I read in 2014." Maybe if my count is low at the end of the year though I'll go back and add them! Because my library loans link to my Amazon account those details will be there forever I think. :-/

Anyway, here's the latest book I read, finished today, and briefly what I thought of it (brief because I can't type well on the touch screen).

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Surprisingly Novel-like

I didn't realize I had chosen nonfiction until I started the book. I loved the details and everything about the fair. having that interwoven with the serial killer story made for a book I didn't want to put down.

View all my reviews
 
I was very impressed with the amount of research that went into the book. It reminded me of my grad school days and the work I got to do in the National Archives II in College Park. It was fun and felt somewhat exciting to sift through records and documents that no one had seen in decades. (I was focusing on female reporters during the Vietnam War.) There are many more stories like this to be told I'm sure, but the level of effort it requires seems insurmountable. I know I'm late to the game (try 10+ years) for this popular book, but I salute the author for his work and will probably check out more of his books.

Affiliate links used.

Read: Heloise's Housekeeping Hints

Just before our travels Jane and I did some garage saling, and we hit up an estate sale. Jane always rides in the Ergo backpack for that, which is infinitely easier than chasing a toddler through someone's home filled with breakables for sale. But it makes for some achy Mama back if we take too long. Usually we do a quick walk through and leave. On this occasion Jane also pointed out every teddy bear in sight with a top-of-her-lungs shout of "BEAR!" Oh me.

We got a few things overall, but my favorite was probably the Heloise's Housekeeping Hints book, 1962 edition. I read it in a couple days, intending to come back and try some of the tips. It was unintentionally hilarious, basically the dated language and ideas of women vs. men made me laugh. A particularly funny-to-me passage was about splurging on a piece of ham every month. "No husband understands that ham costs more than hamburger!" LOLOLOL.

Here are a couple things I thought sounded useful/that I'd like to try:

• Finely crushed ice: Rinse out a two-quart plastic milk carton, fill with water and store in the freezer. "When ready for that finely crushed ice, remove one or more cartons from the freezer. Next--and this is the trick--take the cartons to a solid concrete sidewalk or patio. Holding onto the carton, slam it against the cement on all four sides until it quits going 'crack' and starts going 'thunk.' Then open the top and pour out the finest crushed ice you havve ever seen It's amazing!"
• "Dip a raw potato into scouring powder to scrub the corners of rusted cake and pie pans."

And another funny:

•  From Louisiana: "I am surprised that people don't know how to clear the air in the bathroom by striking matches. Floral deodorizers are fine in the summer, but in winter, with heat on, they just don't mix for us."

I'm sure there are more but I didn't mark them when I read through the first time. I know I laughed at a part where she wrote about "the old man" liking things a certain way. And the way laundry was done then vs. how I do it now is like night and day. I really have it easy!

Do you have any good household tips? Or have you been to any good garage sales lately?

Little Free Library

We went to a couple parks in Danville (lesson learned: listen to the recommendation of someone who actually HAS a young kid. Her recommended park actually had swings).

At both of the parks we hit they had these "Little Free Libraries," which I thought were so clever. Basically they are library books that are probably taken out of circulation. Then you can take what you want and put it back when you're done (or not I guess). I didn't find anything I wanted to read, but I could certainly dump some of my own books after I read them (although I'm not sure if that's allowed).

Looking at the map it seems that there are little free libraries all across the country, including in New Orleans. I didn't notice any while we were out (and we've been to a couple parks here). Oh and there's one in Baton Rouge -- how funny. Maybe I'll check it out sometime.

I'm a big public library fan, and I use my library card at least monthly if not more frequently. In Baton Rouge the library cards expire every three years. I didn't realize this until whoops! My card didn't work to download ebooks anymore. And I was in Greenbelt!

I called to find out the problem, and the woman on the phone said: you have to come in, no two ways about it. So I tweeted my distress (I really wanted my ebooks AND I really didn't want to lose them since you only have a few days to download reserved ebooks before they're put back in the queue). The reference desk tweeted back and was able to give me a temporary extension so I could get my ebooks. Hurray!

The day after we returned was library storytime, so I went to renew my card since we were there anyway. It was kind of a hassle because I'd forgotten something with my address -- and I needed to update the address on the card. I had our car insurance/registration and managed to cobble together something (with my ID that has my old address on it) that worked for the cranky lady at the desk.

In any case I'm good until November 2016, give or take.