Books 24, 25 and 26
Book #24 - "I'm Okay, You're a Brat" by Susan Jeffers
Fantastic book, one which I'd recommend to just about anyone who has children, wants to have children, thinks they might want to have children, or definitely knows that they *don't* want children. Hee! In other words, just about everybody. ::grin:: In this book, Jeffers' over-arching purpose is to alleviate the guilt and anxiety that many people have about parenting, guilt that's mostly brought about by societal pressure about how parents are "supposed" to feel about parenting, and "supposed" to behave, as well. I think that Jeffers gives the most honest picture of what parenting is really like that I've ever read - no sugar-coating here. She also talks about some of the things that parents (mothers in particular) are pressured to do, or feel guilty about not doing. I don't agree with her on a few of the particulars, but overall, I think she's got the right idea. She also talks about some of the reasons that people have children, and the reasons people want children - I found this to be a really eye-opening, and in many ways liberating, book. It really has helped me to see that I'm not the only one who sometimes absolutely *hates* the stuff I have to do as a parent. And this doesn't make me a freak, or a bad mom. It makes me a normal person who loves my child, but sometimes finds things really difficult. A cool book. I would highly recommend it. (Library book)
Book #25 - "The Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum
Definitely not a first-time read for me; this was one of my all-time favourite books when I was a child. I loved the entire Oz series, in fact. But this was a very special read-through of this book - the first time reading it with my five-year-old, and he loved it! :-) We've only started reading real "chapter" books in the past few months, and it's wonderful. Sometimes, I wonder if his attention span isn't really sufficient yet to be following the story . . . but he keeps proving me wrong. We've been watching the film lately, too, and he's surprised me several times by commenting how something was different in the book, or in the film. So I know he really is following along. Yay! And now I've got the rest of the Oz series to read with him. I'm really looking forward to it . . . I haven't read those books myself in years and years. This will be fun. Actually, there are a whole bunch of books I'm looking forward to reading with him - right now, we're about a quarter of the way through "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Ah - much literary goodness awaits. Oh - and for anyone who hasn't read this book, what the heck is wrong with you? ::grin:: It's a classic and in my opinion stands the test of time. I'm still charmed by it, something that I definitely can't say about some of my other childhood favourites. Highly recommended. (Part of PC)
Book #26 - "Finding Mr. Right" by Emily Carmichael
K saw this, and asked if it was a self-help book - LOL. No, it's not. ::grin:: C picked this one up at the used bookstore, and since it was cheap and looked decent, I bought it, hoping it would be an enjoyable bit of fluff. And it was. The story starts out with a woman who has just been murdered while out on a date with her best friend's husband. (The husband was also killed). In order to atone for the sin of committing adultery with the husband of her best friend, this unfortunate - although not particuarly likeable - woman is given the chance to be "reborn" on earth, as long as she promises to help her friend find the "perfect husband." Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Well, there is a catch . . . the friend is reborn, alright - but as a dog. :D It was a fun book, an easy read, and it had an interesting plot. My only criticism is that the whole thing was pretty predictable - I was able to figure out the "mystery" part of the plot very early in the book, and pretty much everything I expected to have happen did happen. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, there can be comfort in an easy, non-stressful and unsurprising read. I enjoyed it, anyhow. I'm going to BookCross and release this one, so if you're interested, comment here and I'll be happy to send the book your way. (Purchased used; have BookCrossed)
And I just noticed that with this entry, I've reached the half-way mark for my 50 book challenge . . . and it's only April. GO ME!!!!!!! :D
X-posted to 50bookchallenge