A life through books

"The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe is a must read! I first heard of this book in a write up in a magazine I used to subscribe to, and then suddenly it has been popping up everywhere. I didn't realize that it was non-ficton until I got my copy from the library.

This book recounts the author's story of spending two years enjoying his mother's company and companionship as she battles terminal cancer. Both Will and his mother Mary Ann love books and they form a sort of book club together between her chemotherapy appointments. The two book lovers discuss everything from children's books to religion in their book club and the reader is pulled in for the ride. At the end of the book is a list of all the works that their club discussed, and this list will certainly lead you to discover many wonderful tales.

Throughout the story, I ended up feeling as though I actually knew Mary Ann and one cannot help but wish they actually knew her in life, she is just so wonderful. You will be inspired.

A journey through life and death and books. An amazing book.

Why Have Kids?

"Why Have Kids, A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness" is a thought provoking page turner. Guaranteed to spark debate and conflicting emotions, this is a super quick and extrememly fascinating read.

I was hooked from the beginning, as Valenti describes her initiation into parenting which involved bringing a 28 week old infant into the world, and all of the uncertainty and heartbreak that went along with it. Having a personal connection myself, I related to her introduction in which she describes disappointment with how her birth experience played out. Valenti writes honestly, and says the things that some of us maybe have wanted to but don't. "This feeling was something else. Something that no baby book or words of wisdom prepared me for. It wasn't unhapiness, so much as an unsettling sense of dissatisfaction, an itch of emptiness that was accompanied with overwhelming shame for not feeling "completed" by parenthood. This was not what I expected." (Xi). At the root of Valenti's thesis, is that parenting today "needs a paradigm shift" and that "the ideal that we're taught to seek and live out- doesn't come close to matching the reality". (Xi).

The book is divided into two sections, "Truth" and "Lies". Although your first impression of this book, especially just the title, might be that this book is anti-kids. It's not at all anti-kids, but it really explores the reality of parenting and the state of parenting expectations that are in place today.

Here are some passages in the book:

Women are still stuck believing that the most important thing they can do for their children is be there for them. All. The. Time. ...I simply don't believe that putting every bit of energy I have into parenting -at the expense of my career, marriage, and social life- will be the difference between [my daughter's] becoming homeless or the president. But too many women are made to believe that every tiny decision they make - from pacifiers to flash cards- will have a lasting impact on their child. It's a recipe for madness. (Page 75).

Women with children also suffer in the workplace in distinct ways that men do not. Male parents who work often have a wife ( either at home or at work) who does the bulk of child care. This support at home frees men up to work more hours and to network outside of work and after work hours- golf games, happy hours. For women with children at home, however, it's incredibly rare that they have similar support from their husbands. Women have a " second shift" at home, filled with child care and responsibilities beyond their work outside the home. (Page 148).

The truth about parenting is that the reality of our lives needs to be enough. Once we let go of a maternal and paternal ideal that doesn't exist, we can do the real work of loving our kids, and having fun doing it. (Page 166).

Read this book parents!

Ballet Book

I have always been fascinated by the world of ballet. I love ballet documentaries and movies ( even the cheesy ones like "Center Stage"). So when I stumbled upon " The Cranes Dance" at the library, I had to check it out.

Reading this book was a definite flashback to the movie "Black Swan". I had to check the publishing date to see if it was written before or after the movie... It was after. The story is told by the eldest Crane sister,Kate who is a dancer at a major company in New York. Her sister Gwen is also a principal dancer at the same company, but is struggling with a mental illness. There are lots of behind the scenes ballet tidbits as well as the mad flashes of insanity that made "Black Swan" so compelling. A good read!

Silver Linings Playbook

"Silver Linings Playbook" presents a fascinating character study. Pat has recently been sprung out of a mental institution by his mother and is trying to put his life back together. He is a hilarious narrator, I enjoyed seeing life through his eyes and especially liked following his intense daily workouts, which often involved running for ten miles wearing a garbage bag.

I watched the trailer for the movie version that is currently in theatres and it looks quite different from the book. Read the book first!!

Flashback

My daughter and I finished reading our first chapter book together, E.B. White's classic "Stuart Little". In fact, after reading two chapters a night and finishing it over a week, we read it again!

Stuart Little is a mouse born to the Little family in New York. He loves adventure and seeks to explore the big world around him through toy boats, model cars and flights with birds.

This story brings me back to my childhood, although now I obviously have a grown up take on it. My daughter enjoyed the story, especially the parts with Margalo the bird. I was a bit critical of a few parts and out of date points in the story...

- Stuart asking for a "nip of brandy" after spending the night in the fridge
- characters smoking in the story
- Stuart runs away and does not tell his family where he is, the story ends and his family is never mentioned
- Stuart meets a girl of his own size and then sulks throughout their blind date ( I kind of liked him for this, but felt sorry that he could have missed out on the love of his life!)
- when Stuart's canoe is destroyed on the blind date, he tells the girl something along the lines of " a woman can never understand these kind of things"

This book is certainly a classic and makes for an entertaining read! We are now onto our next series of chapter books " The Rainbow Fairies". I do not have high expectations from these...no one can outdo E.B. White!