Book that Help Me Raise My Baby

This year has been full of changes for me because I had my first baby!  To help me prepare for, and cope with, all of the changes to my body and my life I did what every book lover does...I read (and read, and read, and read)!

Here are the books that have so far seemed to be the most helpful to me.  I know books about parenting can be filled with controversy and I'm sure there are folks out there that will read this list and instantly judge me as a bad mother, while others will look at this list and instantly feel as if I'm the same kind of parent as them.  Ultimately the information I learned from all of the many books I read this year got blended into my own unique style of parenting that fits who I am the best.  This list is not all of the books that I read, but it does include those books that I find myself frequently referring back to.  I ended up buying all of the books listed below so I'd have them on-hand when I needed to reference them, but I got them all used at my local used book store and garage sales.  Hopefully if you're expecting right now you'll have time to hunt at your local used book stores, thrift stores, and garage sales to avoid paying full price.  Of course, I'd also recommend you check each title out of the library first so you know if it's worth buying a copy for yourself. 

1. What to Expect When You're Expecting (Murkoff and Mazel)- Is there a pregnant woman who hasn't read this book?  It was a great and comforting guide to me while I was pregnant.
2. What to Expect The First Year (Hathaway)- Since I loved What to Expect When Expecting, I thought I'd pick this up when I came across it at a garage sale.  It's been a helpful resource.
3. Read Aloud Handbook (Trelease) A must read for every parent regardless of how old their kids are!  This book will inspire you to read to your child and to help every child you know grow up in a print rich home.  I know I've blogged about this book many times already, but I just can't say enough good things about this book. 
4. On Becoming Baby Wise (Ezzo and Bucknam)- Okay, I know this is where some of you are going to groan, and begin to worry about the welfare of my child.  While my husband and I haven't followed this book to the letter, we have really found this book and the general guidelines it lays out helpful.  We've even picked up Babywise II.  I'd recommend that every parent read this book.  Even if you finish it and realize it isn't for you at least you've read it and made up your own mind.  And even if you find just one tip that works for your family, it seems worth it to me.
5. The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer (Hogg)- I really liked this book.  The author's E.A.S.Y. method is very calming and appealing and seemed to work very well for my son. 
6. The Wonder Weeks (Van De Rijt) - I fell in love with this book and hunted for months to get my hands on a used copy.  This book is certainly worth owning because it's not the kind of book you read once and move on from.  You'll want this book around each time your baby experiences a "wonder week".  The book takes you through your baby's 10 great fussy periods and explains why your baby is likely fussy at time and what changes your baby is going through.
7. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (Weissbluth)- If you're having trouble with sleep habits in your baby this is the book for you.  It really is a very comprehensive guide to sleep.  A lot of the information seems obvious, but some of the other information was really helpful and enlightening to me as a new mom.
8. Happiest Baby On the Block (Karp) - I really liked the information in this book, but you really could probably just check this book out from the library.  I only bought it because I found it for $1 after I checked it out from the library and knew it had good information.
9. Parenting with Love and Logic (Cline and Fay) - This will be a book that I'll probably reread when my son is older.  The information in this book isn't geared toward the first year of a baby's life, but it's still good information and when the time comes I hope I parent like this.

Best Books 2012

Since this time of year everyone seems to publish their lists of Best Books, I thought I'd throw my two cents in and create my list of the Top 10 Books I read this year.  This list is not in any particular order.

1.  The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
I really liked this book, although my dad read it on my recommendation and declared it too "hallmark".  The story weaves together the present day events with the events of the main character's childhood wonderfully and leaves you hoping for something to finally go right in her life.



2.  The Historian by Elizabeth Hostova
This book had just the right amount of suspense for me.  There were times when I was reading it at night that I was freaked out, but mostly it had just the perfect amount of suspense.  It perfectly blends the history of Vlad Dracula (the historical figure), Dracula (the myth), with some additional fictional writing.  It had me hooked to the last page and then wishing for more when it was all done. 

3.  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
This book frustrated and delighted me.  I loved the characters and hated them at the same time, and even weeks after finishing it I'm still thinking about the characters, their actions, and my reactions.  I'm looking forward to seeing the movie version of this book and seeing how Kira Knightly and others interpreted the characters in the novel.



4. The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I loved the quirky characters in this novel.  It made me wish that I could actually travel to the island of Guersney (which I'd never heard of before I read this book) and meet these folks.  The books is written as a series of letters and it did take me a beat or two to get used to that, but the plot was too entertaining to let that bog me down for long.



5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
For me this was the perfect blend of science, history, and writing.  Plus, it was the inspiration for an episode of Law and Order (the original).  I loved this book because it really made me think about what my rights are, and should be, as a patient.  If you're the kind of reader who likes to use history to understand where our society is headed, this is the book for you.  Henrietta Lacks's rights were violated but if not for those violations many medical discovers and advances would not have been possible.  This book invites the reader think about the careful balance between personal rights and the needs of society.

6.  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
This is simply one of those good books with a plot that brings you full circle so gently you almost don't realize the author is pulling together all the lose ends of the plot until you finish the last page and realize how great the story was.  The story centers around twin boys whose mother dies during a difficult labor, and a father who abandons them at their birth.  Most of the story takes place in Ethiopia which adds a wonderful backdrop for the story.



7.  Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston
I'd been meaning to read this for quite awhile, but when my family decided to do a classics challenge I finally made the time to read it.  Boy am I glad that I did.  I'm a fan of Toni Morison and this reminded me of her wonderful literary style.





8.   Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The book takes place during Nigeria's civil war in the late 1960s.  (I hate to admit, but I actually had to look up online to check to see if Nigeria really did have a civil war during that time period.  I guess my knowledge of world history is lacking.)  I loved this book for opening my eyes to what life was like for a middle class family during Nigeria's civil war.  It was also wonderfully written.





9.  Divergent by Veronica Roth
For the fans of the Hunger Games.  If your teenager, or you, enjoyed the Hunger Games trilogy and you haven't discovered this series yet it's time you did.  I'm pretty sure it's going to be a trilogy, but only the first two books are currently published.



10. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
What a great book about the power of a lifelong friendship.  Reader be warned however, the end is devastating!

There are so many other books I'd love to put on the list.  (Gone Girl and Menonite In A Little Black Dress come to mind as books I wish I had space to include.)  But, I am determied to keep my Top 10 list a true Top 10 list.  I hope this list helps you discover a great new book to read in 2013!

Anna Karenina: A Review

Well folks, I did it!  I read my first Russian novel, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.  (I read it on my Nook with the free copy I downloaded from the Gutenberg Project!  They provide free copies of public access books, which are mostly the type of books you get assigned in high school and college.  So, if you're looking for a great spot to download free "classics" onto your e-reader, check out their website www.gutenberg.org.)

 I guess I'm not so sure what makes this such a great story, but I did enjoy the book.  There were times I thought the plot dragged a bit, and times when I thought there was too much philosophizing, but then again, there were times when the philosophical musings of the characters added to my reading experience and gave me a glimpse into what makes this book a classic.  I think had I had the benefit of reading this as a part of a reading group, or if I'd read it in high school or college as a part of a class where I could have enjoyed the benefit of insights from someone who could have pointed out to me some of the details I undoubtedly missed, I would better understand what makes this novel appear on so many Best Books lists.

In particular I'm still struggling to decide if I liked Anna Karenina, the title character.  For most of the novel I thought she was selfish and her selfish actions caused pain to those around her.  However, she's not as 2-dimensional as that.  Tolstoy also gave her a lot of goodness, and she struggled with her decisions and their consequences throughout the novel.  I've heard it said that Tolstoy himself disliked Anna Karenina, the character, and I could see why.  She certainly gave me a lot to think about as I read.  I love to put myself in the character's shoes and she was an interesting one to think about.  As many times as I've thought about it I can't decide if I would have made her same decisions or not.  I don't think I would have made the same decision as her at the end of the novel, but prior to that I'm just not sure. 

I finished the novel over a week ago and I'm still struggling to decide just how I feel about the novel.  There were times I really disliked the characters in the novel, times I truly just didn't understand them, and times I wanted to reach into the pages of the book and shake them until they came to their senses.  I guess in some respects, for me anyway, it means I must have enjoyed the book if I cared enough about the characters to have emotional reactions to them.  I liked this book enough that it would make it onto my Top 10 books for 2012, but not enough that it would make it onto my Top 10 Books Ever.  I'd recommend it to a reader who wants a gentler introduction to Russian literature than Crime and Punishment or War and Peace might give, but if you're simply a casual reader or a fan of mostly trade fiction it probably isn't the right choice for you.

Happy Reading!