Boys Will Be Boys

Why Gender Matters: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know About the Emerging Science of Sex Differences
by Dr. Leonard Sax

Everyone should read this book. I was fascinated by the research Dr. Sax presents about the differences between boys and girls, and how their senses and brains develop differently. As always, I don't agree with everything in the book, but it's nice to have evidence of something I've always suspected - that boys and girls are different and need to be treated differently in some situations. Dr. Sax also provides exceptional endnotes with additional information and websites in addition to references to studies in journals like Journal of Genetic Psychology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Child Development, and Nature. He also quotes from Hardwired to Connect, a book sponsored by Dartmouth Medical School (among others).

And, as have a number of other books I've read recently, this one tempts me with more reasons to home school, at least for a while.

My sleep deprivation (despite being better than expected at Reva's age) prevents me from giving a more glowing review. Hopefully you'll believe me enough to give it a try and then will be tempted to continue by Dr. Sax's own evidence.

p.s. Tip #1: Girls hear better than boys, so a dad might not think he's yelling, but his daughter might hear him that way. And boys who seem to be distracted at school may need to sit closer to hear a soft-spoken teacher.

Silly Fairy Tales

The Fourth Bear: A Nursery Crime
by Jasper Fforde

Fforde is back! A psychotic killer is on the loose. Jack Spratt is forced on medical leave for supposed insanity. Goldilocks is missing. Bears are popping up as suspects, and victims. In this second nursery crime novel, Fforde keeps the action rolling, along with the puns. There's even a special appearance by a more sophisticated character, Dorian Gray.

I'd write more, but I don't want to give anything away. Plus, I'm tired. It's enough to say this is a vast improvement on The Big Over Easy. You should read it. And then be sure to catch up on the Thursday Next novels if you haven't already, because a new one is in the works, due to be released in 2007.

If you haven't already checked it out (or did, but then forgot how fun it was), spend some valuable time at Jasper Fforde's website.

Childbirth On My Mind

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
by Ina May Gaskin

Shockingly, I've been thinking about childbirth a lot recently. I read this book on a recommendation from my friend, Meggan (who just had a little girl!). It's always interesting to read birth stories near the end of a pregnancy and they make up the first part of the book. I also liked reading about the midwifery practice with such great statistics. The medical establishment gets blasted pretty heavily, but I was grateful to learn that the worst of the procedures she talks about aren't common (at least at my hospital), thanks to my "insider".

Parts of it definitely met Josh's hippie standards (even the higher ones he has now that he's decided we're going to have a little 5 acre family farm someday with organic foods and things like shoats). Give it a chance and take what you can from it.

Wow - I Read a Book

It's been a long time since I posted about a book. I've actually read a few (including skimming an entire list of over 50,000 baby names), but this is the only one really worth talking about.

Gulag: A History
by Anne Applebaum

Ok, so it's not really happy reading, but it's a great book. It's well-researched, well-written, and well-documented. I grew up during the Cold War and remember the breakup of the Soviet Union, but am ashamed at how little I really know. This book was a great introduction to some Soviet history, even if the main topic was a bit disconcerting.

On a lighter note, it was nice to have this to read when I was delayed at the airport last July. It helped put some perspective on my situation.

I'd write more, but I'm tired. You should read this book.

Moral Family Decision-Making

My Sister's Keeper
by Jodi Picoult

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time and finally picked it up last week with some birthday money. I was thrilled to find myself really enjoying it. Mostly I'd been interested in the idea of the plot - a 13 year old girl, chosen as an embryo to match her sister's DNA enough to be a cord blood donor for her brings a lawsuit against her parents to avoid donating a kidney after 13 years of giving of herself (literally) to save her sister's life.

First of all, I think the Ms. Picoult brings to the fore a lot of issues around designer babies in this kind of situation and others. To her credit, I can't tell from the book her opinion of the matter. Personally, I think deep down there's something in every human psyche tied to the way we are brought to life that is twisted when unnatural methods are used, in this case to choose a baby that could serve a specific purpose for someone else in the family. No amount of love can perfectly repair the damage. Anna shows us that.

Ms. Picoult's characters battle daily with hard moral questions most of us (thankfully) will never face. She does a wonderful job of bringing those battles to life within the story itself. These are not parents who do not love the third child they never intended to have. They do not even love her less than her older sister, Kate. In situation after situation, though, we see how Anna suffers for Kate. (Kate is suffering more, at least physically, but her suffering is caused by a disease, not by actions that can be traced to her parents.) I love, though, how memories of the past are sprinkled in to show the reader the good times with Anna and her family.

Most importantly of all, the writing and characters of this book are excellent. I often find myself disappointed in contemporary fiction. It just doesn't seem to stand up to past literary works. This may not be a the Brothers Karamazov, but I found myself entranced.

For those who are wondering, this was perhaps not the best choice for me in my present condition. I cried many times, especially when reading the flashbacks to when Kate was first diagnosed at age 2 - the same age my son is now. I too easily place myself in the shoes of characters (one reason I had to stop watching shows like CSI). I still highly recommend it, though.