Review

I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Funny, readable, and largely relatable despite the differences between my stay-at-home mom life and the author's movie exec, monied, New York lifestyle. A book of humorous essays, most of which were previously published elsewhere. Clean, unlike a lot of "humor" these days.



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Review

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk Theory and Why Outsiders Thrive After High School by Alexandra Robbins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This book simply tells you what you already know and could have done so in about 10 pages. Summary: traits that make kids unpopular can be the same traits that later make adults unique, creative, innovative, great leaders etc. The author calls this idea "quirk theory" and by coining the phrase seems to want to claim this discovery as her own. On the way we find out that people's personalities don't change that much as they grow up, that the so-called, self-proclaimed popular kids aren't really very happy, and that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to upgrade your social standing in high school. But if you went to high school you already knew all that. I couldn't read more than a chapter at a time as the writing style is very dry and much of the anecdotes and dialogue seemed forced and unnatural.



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Review

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


An easy read. I always feel like I've had a short visit with old friends when I read McCall Smith.



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Review

Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


As always the author delivers a quick and easy light-hearted read. If you have read his other series you will find yourself mixing up the Corduroy Mansions characters with their doppelgangers in his other books.



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Review

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I am curious if there will be a sequel to this book because it just ends. The plot builds throughout the book and then reaches a crisis in the last few pages and there is not much resolution to the story. The story itself was interesting although I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second half. The most interesting part of this book was the note that all of the photographs are real photographs found by the author or borrowed from other sources. The photographs add a unique element to the book and the author is skilled at creating an eerie mood.



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Review

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was actually surprised to find that this is classified as Young Adult literature- not because there is inappropriate or explicitly mature material, but rather because the story centers on so many adult themes: class distinction, poverty, human relations, and essentially all the reasons that people do the things they do. I think the essay at the beginning of the edition I read explained it well when it said that is it hard to describe what the book is about. It isn't about much of anything really, but it is also about everything. All the major events that happen in a life happen through Francie's eyes. There is a reason it is a classic.



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Review

NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is my favorite of all the parenting books I've read...and it isn't a parenting book at all! You won't find any advice on how to get little Jonny to stay in bed or to clean up his toys, but it will make you rethink your most basic parenting actions. Although the book is largely a report on various studies, it is very readable and interesting.



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Review

Have a New Kid by Friday: How to Change Your Child's Attitude, Behavior & Character in 5 Days by Kevin Leman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I found many of the author's techniques helpful. I agree that a parent's job is to be a parent first and foremost and not to concentrate on being your child's friend. The writing is readable and interesting. I appreciated the anecdotes and humor. I think the main failing of this book is that the author doesn't provide alternatives for when the techniques don't work, he simply states that they will work! For example, he suggests that if you are shopping and you tell your child it is time to leave you should say it once and then walk away and don't look over your shoulder or wait. He states that your child will quickly run to catch you when they realize that you are leaving. Well, that may work with some children, but after trying it this weekend I can state that my boys did not care AT ALL that they had been left behind...even after leaving the building and waiting 15 minutes for them to decide they had been left. At that point it wasn't really feasible to leave small children alone any longer and I had to go retrieve them. This is one example of his "guaranteed to work" techniques that do not always work. I also just plain disagreed with some of the material such as the idea that a shy child is a selfish child who is just using shyness as way to gain power and manipulate others. I think that while some children may pretend to be shy in order to draw attention to themselves, many children are actually introverted by nature and it is not fair to force them to play with others or to suggest that they are being selfish if they would prefer to play by themselves. I could go on, but I will end here and in summary say that he has some useful advice, but, let's face it, no one has all the answers when it comes to raising kids!



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1 point to the Mom

I think I beat my kids today. Not that kind of beat. I mean, I think I was victorious in a major battle of the wills. The wills of Will and Sawyer vs. the will of Mom.

We have a daily problem that strikes at 5 o'clock. The boys decide they want to eat. By this point in the day, they've already had breakfast, lunch, and snack (plus second breakfast and second lunch in Sawyer's case). They aren't suffering from undernourishment. Five p.m. hits and they start scrounging through the fridge and raiding the pantry and all the while I'm yelling "STAY. OUT. OF. THE. FOOD. Dad is going to be home and we are going to have dinner. Get out of the kitchen!" We do this every day. Including today.

Today: Will opens the fridge. I tell him to close the fridge. He stands there, fridge open. I tell him to close the fridge and get out of the food. Will takes out an apple. I tell him to put it back and close the fridge. He takes a bite of the apple. I tell him he has 2 seconds to put the apple away and close the fridge. He hides behind the counter and continues to eat the apple. I tell him to put the apple down and now he has to go to his room. He darts to the stairs, but not quickly enough to conceal that he has the apple hidden under his shirt. I tell him to get back down here and put the apple down and then get back up to his room and not to come out until dinner is on the table. Screaming ensues.

In case you are wondering why I didn't physically take away the apple at any point in this process it is because I was on the couch feeding the baby = my boys think it is total free reign time to do whatever they want because Mom won't get up and stop them.

So Will goes up to his room and screams and kicks the floor and cries and comes out every 2 minutes with a pathetic show of "Can I puhleeeeeaassee come down now?" I tell him he won't be coming out until dinner is on the table.

Meanwhile, Sawyer, lest you think he is innocent, has also been ignoring my instructions to stay out of the fridge. He has removed a cheese stick and is hiding under the kitchen table and cutting it open with scissors.

I would also like to note that I offered them both apples and cheese sticks when Will got home from school and they responded by pretending to gag and proclaimed these options to be disgusting.

Bryce gets home. Will is still howling in his room. I make dinner for us and set it on the table. Will's seat has a plate and the only thing on the plate is a suspiciously familiar apple that is missing several bites. Sawyer's seat has a plate with an unwrapped cheese stick on it. I told everyone to come to dinner.

Now I will admit that the expression of surprise, followed by confusion, followed by sheer horror that played across their faces was pretty much the best thing I've seen all week. Will cried. Sawyer screamed and shouted that he wasn't eating it and that cheese sticks are disgusting and that he wanted salad. He's an odd child. Will cried. Sawyer smashed his cheese stick with the handle of a toy gun and screamed. Will cried. Bryce and I ate our dinner and ignored them.

And you know what? They eventually stopped crying and screaming and ate. Will ate the apple that was now "disgusting" because the places he had already bit had turned brown. Sawyer ate the smashed cheese stick. Then Will made himself peanut butter and jelly and Sawyer got himself a plate of salad.

I think I won.

Like, I seriously beat them. +1 to Mom

And I once had to lick spray Cheez Whiz off of the back steps of my childhood home, so really, I think they got off easy. -10 to Erin