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sTORI Telling
Ok, I'm not a fan, but I checked it out because I can't resist a catchy title. Interesting (I read it in less than 24 hours), but not brilliant, much like Tori Spelling's acting.
The Gatecrasher
I was a little disappointed when, while writing the review of "Remember Me?", I wikipedia'ed the author and found that Sophie Kinsella is actually a pseudonym, and the author has a whole other life writing more serious fiction as Madeleine Wickham (which may or may not be her real name either). One has a certain impression of one's authors, a little fantasy of a sweet young lady giving up her day job and plugging away at one slightly-autobiographical novel or so each year, and becoming a surprise success. Only to find out she has been writing longer and much more seriously all along. One does not like to have one's bubble burst.
Fans may be interested to know that The Gatecrasher
Buck Up, Suck Up . . . and Come Back When You Foul Up: 12 Winning Secrets from the War Room
I had to read the title to this book three times before I "got it". It rhymes. Duh.
Anyway, in the authors' words:
This book won't change your life.
If you buy this book and read it, you will not make $1 million - at least not because you bought this book. This ain't the New Testament or the Tibetan Book of the Dead or the Talmud or the Koran... Here's what you'll get: good, sound advice on how to win. You'll get techniques and tactics that are battle-tested and proven in the white-hot crucible of politics."
and The War Room back-to-back. Now that's a trip.
Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts
From the back cover:
While countless breastfeeding guides crowd bookshelves, not one of them speaks to women with anything approaching bestselling author Fiona Giles's level of intimacy and vitality. In Fresh Milk, through a provocative collection of stories, memories, and personal accounts, Giles uncovers the myths and truths of the lactating breast.
Remember Me?
I loved, loved, loved Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Mr. Burroughs writes:
Some considered my brother to be a genius. And while it's true that he could program computers the size of deep freezers when he was twelve and had read the Encyclopedia Britannica from A-Z the summer he turned fifteen...
Babies, breastfeeding, and bonding
Out of print and hard to come by (Amazon has only 1 copy available), this 1987 book by midwifery pioneer Ina May Gaskin is a treasure. I was amazed at how much useful and accurate information is in this book, written at a time when so much advice given to women about breastfeeding was just plain wrong. Try to find it at your local library or used-book store.
This looks interesting: The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program: Follow Your Child's Natural Sleep Rhythms for Better Nights and Naps
Dr. Moore was a sleep researcher who got pregnant and thought, "No problem, I'm an expert at sleep." Then her babies showed her who's boss. Her nursery became her sleep lab and she noticed something that wasn't talked about. 90-minute sleep/alertness cycles.
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, by Alex Harris and Brett Harris.
The authors of Do Hard Things have a novel approach to book marketing. They are asking readers to pledge to order a copy of their forthcoming book - a hardback non-fiction book for teens ("a genre that is about as popular with young people as foreign language math textbooks") - on March 25th. By doing so, they hope to have a one-day bump in their Amazon.com ratings which will spur additional book sales.
Alex and Brett Harris are the younger twin brothers of Joshua Harris of I Kissed Dating Goodbye fame, and the sons of homeschooling pioneers Gregg and Sono Harris, as well as older brothers to thirteen-year-old book blogger Isaac and Fearlessly Feminine's Sarah.
All this reminds me that in five and a half years, I become the mother of a teenage boy.
Metropolitan Mama posts a review of HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A natural approach to a safe, easier, more comfortable birthing
Essentially, hypnobirthing stands on the premise that, "when fear is not present, pain is not present. Fear causes the arteries leading to the uterus to contract and become tense, creating pain. In the absence of fear, the muscles relax and become pliable, and the cervix is able to naturally thin and open as the body pulsates rhythmically and expels the baby with ease." This foundation is based in large part on the research and writings of Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, a physician and author of Childbirth Without Fear (first published in the mid-fifties). The Hypnobirthing movement officially came on the scene in 1989 and has been slowly growing in popularity since then.
Note: I wrote the following by hand over a year ago. List month seemed like a good time to post it.
I have a stack of eighteen books waiting to be read, all but two from the library. This does not include the three novels (one a 700-pager) on my night stand, nor the four books on Feng Shui and home design on the coffee table. I cannot possibly read even a portion of these in the six weeks (max) I am able to keep them checked out, so here I go to cull some out:
50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America, by Bill Novelli. Interesting, but not relevant to me right now.
Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas, by Tom Callahan. Why did I put this book on hold?
Buffettology: The Previously Unexplained Techniques That Have Made Warren Buffett The World's Most Famous Investor, by Mary Buffett.
You've GOT to Read This Book!: 55 People Tell the Story of the Book That Changed Their Life, by Jack Canfield & Gay Hendricks. No I don't!
The Great Physician's Rx for Health and Wellness, by Jordan Rubin. I would like to give this one a thorough reading, since I liked The Maker's Diet so much.
What Do You Do All Day?: A Novel, by Amy Scheibe. Mommy novel.
Faith and Politics: How the "Moral Values" Debate Divides America and How to Move Forward Together, by Senator John Danforth. My Mommy Brain is tired of politics.
Profiles in Courageous Manhood, by Edwin Louis Cole. I own this one, so it goes back on the shelf until some night when I am bored.
The ten books left can fit in one pile on the side table. Mission accomplished.
How Not to Look Old: Fast and Effortless Ways to Look 10 Years Younger, 10 Pounds Lighter, 10 Times Better
Ok, so I'm not 40 yet, but I am starting to think about these things. What I liked about this book is that she separates her advice into "high-", "medium-" and "low-maintenance" levels, so that there is still hope for those of us who can't fly to New York for haircuts and spa treatments.
Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
When I first picked up this book, it reminded me a lot of The Tipping Point
We adopted the "what sticks" terminology from one of our favorite authors, Malcom Gladwell. In 2000, Gladwell wrote a brilliant book called The Tipping Point, which examined the forces that cause social phenomena to "tip", or make the leap from small groups to big groups, the way contagious diseases spread rapidly once they infect a certain critical mass of people... This book is a complement to The Tipping Point in the sense that we will identify the traits that make ideas sticky, a subject that was beyond the scope of Gladwell's book. Gladwell was interested in what makes social epidemics epidemic. Our interest is in how effective ideas are constructed - what makes some ideas stick and others disappear.
1. Simplicity(or: SUCCESs - Simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional stories.)
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotional
6. Stories
This book is a must-read for anyone with a message. Anyone in marketing or advertising; anyone who teaches; anyone promoting a cause; anyone who wants to change the world.
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's
This is a very interesting story of a man who did not know "what was wrong with him" until he was forty and read a description of Asperger's syndrome. Robinson is the brother of Augusten Burroughs, who wrote Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Add to the list of books on home staging and decorating:
Home Therapy: Fast, Easy, Affordable Makeovers
Building a Successful Home Staging Business: Proven Strategies from the Creator of Home Staging
Dress Your House for Success: 5 Fast, Easy Steps to Selling Your House, Apartment, or Condo for the Highest Possible Price!
Tina Cassidy, author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born
Just found Molly Reads, a book blog authored by a childbirth educator.
Curly Girl
Hey, my hair has waves in it. Who knew?
Don't Bet against Me!: Beating the Odds Against Breast Cancer and in Life
This book written by wife of Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre is a must-read for any Packer fan; but it's an interesting read even if you are not. Deanna talks a lot about her life before her diagnosis, and includes some helpful information about preventing and surviving breast cancer, even a glossary of breast cancer terms and a scripture guide.