The Book List

coverspy:

Soul Survivor, Bruce

jaclynday:

What I’ve Read: How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm And Other Adventures in Parenting by Mei-Ling Hopgood*

When I first brought Isobel home, I was Googling or researching the answers to tons of questions I had. From the mundane to the POTENTIALLY LIFE-ALTERING, I was fearful that one wrong move would forever ruin my child in some way. Why was I so panicked? Other than the obvious (it’s natural and I think most women go through some anxiety at first), there has never been more scrutiny on parenthood—and mothers in particular—than there is right now. Part of the reason for this is that more women are making their decisions and their child-rearing very public. You may know more about a stranger’s views on parenting and child-rearing than the views of a best friend…or even those of a significant other. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter and blogs, there are more opportunities for parents to communicate and encourage one another, but there are just as many opportunities for judgment and peer pressure.

The culture (whether it’s overt or not) of there being a “better way” or a “worse way” when it comes to parenting decisions is exhausting to try and navigate. Disposable or cloth diapers? Breast-feeding or formula? Attachment parenting or not? Crib or bassinet or co-sleeper? The options—and the opportunities for judgment and peer pressure—are endless.

That’s why this book is so refreshing and wonderful. Hopgood, an American living in Argentina, begins to notice the cultural differences between bedtime/rest for Argentinian infants and American infants. From there, she explores several other cultures and their views on infant-rearing and everything in between. There’s very little “preachiness” happening and Hopgood doesn’t necessarily draw any conclusions that would break the majority-rules status quo of infant-rearing protocol here in the United States, but she does make a few inferences that I found interesting. First, she indirectly hints that many other countries hold their children to higher expectations than American infants or toddlers, and also suggests that several developmental milestones (potty training, for example) are delayed in the U.S. because we simply don’t expect that children are capable of potty training until a certain age. It’s an interesting point of view.

But, other than those view subtle items of note, Hopgood mostly keeps to an informative, light tone that ultimately helps to show that there is no one, perfect way to raise a child. Additionally, Hopgood doesn’t just do sideline research: she tests several of the tactics on her own daughter, meeting with equal parts success and failure. (She notes that she learns a great deal no matter the outcome each time.) I appreciated that Hopgood was willing to put her findings to the test, and she was honest when things didn’t work and when she felt that her way was better for daughter. There’s a lot of intuition and trial-and-error involved!

*Book provided for review.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

coverspy:

How to Build a Dinosaur, Jack Horner (M, 20s, red-blond floppy hair, cargo pants, NYPL copy, rode one stop, M101 Ltd bus) http://bit.ly/zH01HW

coverspy:

Snuff, Chuck Palahniu (F, 20s, dark curly hair, olive puffy coat, DKNY tote, L train) http://bit.ly/xqUH5B

coverspy:

Heroes of the Valley, Jonathan Stroud (M, under 12, navy blue hoodie, chinos, big brown school bag, 6 train) http://bit.ly/xhO354

paperbackgirl:

My breakdown of Murakami themes.

coverspy:

When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka (F, 20s, Brown down jacket, army fatigue tote, black Uggs, Church F, G) http://bit.ly/wTUrIm

coverspy:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, Catherynne M. Valente (M, 20s, fingerless gloves, black bowler hat, L train) http://bit.ly/wOY4yP

jaclynday:

What I’ve Read: The Winter of Our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale by Susan Maushart

I’ve always been a little addicted to technology. My family used to have to drag me away from the family computer kicking and screaming and I was always tapped to do light troubleshooting for my friends or family members. Remember Geocities, IRC and all that? I do. (Sometimes I wish I didn’t.)

The other day I tweeted about all the technological gadgets I was surrounded by, and honestly? I’m surrounded by most of them all day for hours at a time. I have a chronic addiction to my iPhone and have been known to set it in my lap while driving on the (horrible! unimaginable!) off-chance I miss a call or text because I didn’t hear it vibrating from its other resting place on the passenger seat. Now I have an iPad and it’s feeding my tech addiction in a whole new way. I can create and read content on a level that a smart phone just isn’t conducive to. I can track my contractions on an iPhone or iPad app, for godssake. It’s crazy.

But, despite all this Internet/technology addiction, I am careful to (try and) keep strict boundaries in place when I am with Brandon or with my family/friends. I frequently go from late Friday night until Sunday evening without touching a computer and have a strict no blogging rule when Brandon is home. It’s important to me only because I’ve seen first hand what technology can do when paired with a potentially destructive workaholic streak, to name one example.

This book not only presents an incredible amount of research and information about technology and the effects of technology on younger generations, but is also witty and personal and honest. Maushart’s children may not have liked having to do their homework at their friends homes, but Maushart noted that her one son went from asking for video games for his birthday to asking for about a dozen books instead…and was thrilled to receive them.

Although I can’t ever do Maushart’s experiment firsthand because of the nature of my work, I can do it in small doses and take her advice about how to integrate technology in a healthy way into my child’s life as well. This is something Brandon and I discuss often. How can you not? Do we want Isobel to have an entire existence chronicled online before she can even choose whether she wants it or not? Is it even possible to contain it? Do we want to? How can we make technology beneficial for her without giving her a crutch that comes at the expense of creativity, reading and other offline hobbies?

We still don’t know the answers, obviously, but I appreciate that this book has given me greater context from which to make decisions in the future.

Have you read this book? What do you think? What are your thoughts on all of these topics?

52books:

#2: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

This book is about an unlikely group of foreign delegates who end up hearing an opera singer at a birthday party and subsequently becoming hostages held in a vice president’s home by a clan of demanding terrorists. Sounds charming right? Well believe it or not, charming is the only word I can think of to describe this story. It’s based on the Lima Crisis, which I knew nothing about previously but now find pretty compelling. Even in the middle of what should be a frightening experience, it seems good things can happen; in fiction, at least.

Another enjoyable aspect of the book was the intertwining music. Opera is a major character here, but the way Patchett describes each person’s relationship to the music in the house is thoughtful and precise. Music is a big part of my own life and being able to relate to what the men and women in the book felt gave the story a little more umph.

I still feel as though I’m taking my time and reading a little slower than my usual pace this month. It’s way to early in the game to be worried about numbers, but this is a book that should be read slowly. For even as the plot sounds like a story of suspense, it moves quietly without cause for hurry.