This year I set a goal for myself to read at least 6-8 books during 2010. Thanks to pregnancy, I made it to 9! There may be more that I read, too, but I honestly can’t remember any others than the ones I’ve listed below. The first 5 were all leisure reads, while the last 4 were pregnancy-related. Hopefully my take on these books doesn’t bore you!
Note: I apologize for the funky spacing. Whenever I copy/paste from Mircosoft Word, the formatting gets all messed up, and when I try to fix it, everything just gets worse. Sorry!
Her Fearful Symmetry
I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife, and when I heard Audrey Niffenegger had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it. I got this book for Christmas, and as I recall, it was the first book I read this year.
Niffenegger’s book follows the story of twin girls, Valentina and Julia, as they enter adulthood. After the death of their Aunt Elspeth in London, they discover that as part of her will, they are to come to London and live in her apartment for one year. Though they never knew Elspeth during her life, she left behind some interesting bits of information for the girls to discover during the course of their year in London, and by the end of the year, they discover that Aunt Elspeth certainly wasn’t who they thought she was.
While the book was well written, it was not what I was expecting. The book left me feeling uncomfortable and a little depressed. And although I enjoy books from all different genres, I am not sure I can classify this book as a “like.” Have any of you read this one? What did you think?
The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
Stein’s book is told from the perspective of Enzo, a terrier mix, who belongs to Denny, an avid race car driver. Enzo’s story follows the pair through Enzo’s life and is a touching look at the companionship dogs provide their owners.
For anyone who knows us, you know this was an immediate hit with me. The book was easy to read, entertaining and heart-warming. I read it in the course of about a week during our trip home in April, and I almost never get through my reading on vacation (there’s too much else to do!). This book really held my attention, though, and I highly recommend it.
The Shack
What can I say about The Shack? Phew. After hearing about it for a few years, I finally bought it (or maybe John bought it, but that’s irrelevant). It was not at all what I expected; in fact, it far exceeded my expectations. I don’t even want to tell you anything about it! I just want you to read it. Really…it’s that good.
A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion)
I adore Francine Rivers. Redeeming Love is one of my favorite books, and when I was in the States in April, I ventured over to the shelf in Borders that held her books. There was another girl there perusing, and she mentioned that the Mark of the Lion series was her favorite, so I thought I would give it a whirl. A Voice in the Wind is the first book in this trilogy. The book follows Hadassah and Atretes, who have both recently lost their freedom. The story is set in ancient Rome just after the time of Christ. It is an engaging look at faith, hope and God’s love. I really recommend this read as well!
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
The three-part non-fiction work about Gilbert’s travels to Italy, India and Indonesia is my current read. I am nearly finished and hope to wrap it up before Friday. After the humor and wit of the first section of the book (Italy), I expected more out of the latter parts of the book. I really got bored with the India section, and I will admit that part of my boredom was due to the incompatibility of Gilbert’s religious views with my own. However, I tried to take the book as a learning experience of a worldview besides my own, and still, I was bored. Does that mean I failed? I don’t think so. I feel like I have a better understanding of the yogic traditions, but I’m unenthused. I’ll be interested to see how the movie portrays her story, because judging from the book, I don’t know how the director(s) planned to keep the audience engaged.
What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
This was the first pregnancy book I got, and I was lent a few other copies. Please no more copies of this book! I actually really despised it. I don’t put much stock into what Murkoff says, and I honestly think her take on pregnancy is so different from my own that I couldn’t take her seriously. This book is at the bottom of my pile of pregnancy books.
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: From Doctors Who Are Parents, Too!
John bought this book for me after witnessing my frustration with Murkoff’s book. Hallelujah. This book is amazing. The format is easy to follow. I can find everything I need, and it’s super informative. I also like the straight forward medical approach to sharing the information. If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, you should get this book!
The Happiest Baby on the Block
by Harvey Karp, M.D.
I’ve become a big fan of the 5 S’s: Swaddle, Shush, Swing, Side and Suck. I am looking forward to using these techniques when Monkey arrives. I was so eager to hear what Dr. Karp said that not only did I read his book, but John and I watched the companion DVD.
The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy
My sister gave me this book, and I’ve enjoyed it so far. Admittedly, I haven’t read all the way through it, though I think I would have by now if I’d gotten it just a little earlier. I didn’t start it until I was 19 weeks, and by then, I’d read a bit too much about pregnancy. That said, Iovine’s writing is witty and definitely does come across like one of your friends telling you how it is. Another good pregnancy read.
Disclosure: If you use the links above, we get an itty bitty commission — that would be awesome, so thanks! It helps keep our site going, feed us, and pay off debt!
LOL, I read about 6-8 books every 2 weeks (but I’m a crazy fast reader), not including all the homeschool books I read to Indy. My Kindle is my new best friend! Eat, Pray, Love was a big fat snooze fest! Don’t feel bad about being bored. My favorite book this year was Water For Elephants. My book club all gave it big thumbs up. You should put it on your 2011 To Be Read list. You know, because you’ll have loads of time to read. 😉
I too hated WTEWYE. I had the 2002 version and hated it then, so I figured I’d hate it now. I do LOVE the “Happiest” series. They’re all great IMO. We used the 5 S’s with Indy and it worked really, really well. He was a happy baby!
I wish I had the time to read like that, although my new Kindle will definitely help! Thanks to the Kindle, I’m already a quarter of the way through Pride & Prejudice, which is a book I’ve wanted to ready for years.
Funny that you should mention Water for Elephants. That was the second book I downloaded to my Kindle. The first book was Room. I’m looking forward to reading both!
I felt the same way about Her Fearful Symmetry! I still can’t really decide whether I enjoyed it or not, there were some parts I seriously loved but other parts that just left me feeling sad and empty. A strange book.
Happiest Baby on the Block was a godsend for us, I wish I’d read it before I had Mikey, we got it when he was a few months old and super-colicky. Worked like a charm! We also have Happiest Toddler on the Block and a lot of the ideas in there have really helped with behaviour and tantrums too. Also read the no-cry sleep solution, didn’t help with us as Mikey was/is a troubled sleeper… I think he gets it from his daddy… but I enjoyed some of the ideas in theory and I know a lot of people swear by it.
I don’t know if you’re planning on Breastfeeding or not (and really it’s none of my business) but if you are, there’s a website – http://www.kellymom.com that seriously helped a lot when I was having trouble with Breastfeeding Mikey.
I also have a copy of “Creative Play for your Baby” it’s a Steiner Waldorf themed book so some of the theories are a little wishy-washy for my tastes, but there are some lovely toy ideas, sensory play and things like that in there. I probably wouldn’t buy it again, but if you’d like to borrow it you’re more than welcome!