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.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Avonlea Revisited
Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
I grabbed this off the bookshelf one day while Caleb was perusing Democracy in America and therefore not interested in me. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop and now I'm on the fourth book (out of 6 about Anne, 2 more about her children). It's refreshing to read a book with such a spritely air and flow. I can't believe it's been so long since I read them all. If you're heard of these books, you've probably read them and will know if you want to read them again, so I won't go into details. I just wanted to share how much fun I was having reading them all over again.
I also have to mention my absolute favorite L.M. Montgomery book which I have read about once a year (not counting all the times I just flip directly to the last few chapters). It's The Blue Castle, lesser known, but superior to all the Anne and Emily books. I recommend all women rush out and grab it now off library or store shelves! I'm still trying to convince Josh we should name our daughter (if we ever have one) Valancy after the heroine.
Just a bit of trivia for you, Josh and I were supposed to go to Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon, but an airline pilot strike thwarted us. (We ended up in northern California, booked the day before the wedding, and had a wonderful time.)
by L.M. Montgomery
I grabbed this off the bookshelf one day while Caleb was perusing Democracy in America and therefore not interested in me. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop and now I'm on the fourth book (out of 6 about Anne, 2 more about her children). It's refreshing to read a book with such a spritely air and flow. I can't believe it's been so long since I read them all. If you're heard of these books, you've probably read them and will know if you want to read them again, so I won't go into details. I just wanted to share how much fun I was having reading them all over again.
I also have to mention my absolute favorite L.M. Montgomery book which I have read about once a year (not counting all the times I just flip directly to the last few chapters). It's The Blue Castle, lesser known, but superior to all the Anne and Emily books. I recommend all women rush out and grab it now off library or store shelves! I'm still trying to convince Josh we should name our daughter (if we ever have one) Valancy after the heroine.
Just a bit of trivia for you, Josh and I were supposed to go to Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon, but an airline pilot strike thwarted us. (We ended up in northern California, booked the day before the wedding, and had a wonderful time.)
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