Nightstand (January 2015)

One of the nice things about breastfeeding is that it enforces sit down times throughout the day. It generally leaves with just one free hand – which means breastfeeding time is reading time (but not usually blogging time.) It’s nice that, even though I feel dreadfully behind around the house, I still get my reading in :-)

January Fiction and Children's Books

Fiction read this month:
  • The Icebound Land by John Flanagan
    Book 3 in the Ranger’s Apprentice Series – I’m continuing to really enjoy these, although I wonder if they’re going to start getting weightier. I noticed one “damn” in this one and drug addiction plays a significant role in the plot – I’m hoping I haven’t led Davene astray in encouraging her son Josiah to read this series.
  • On a Whim by Robin Jones Gunn
    The second “Katie Weldon” book. She’s now officially dating Rick Doyle – and is working at acting normal around his roommate Eli. This is what I’ve come to expect from Gunn – a relatively realistic view of college life at a Christian college with strong Christian iron-sharpens-iron friendships.
  • Deceived by Irene Hannon
    A woman hires a private investigator to track down the boy she saw at a mall who looks like (and talks like) her dead son. Christian romantic crime-drama a la Dee Henderson. I enjoyed it quite a bit.
  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
    I always love returning to Avonlea – and Carrie’s L.M. Montgomery reading challenge gives me a chance to do so each year!
  • 17 children’s picture books author BOU to BRIDWELL

January Nonfiction

Nonfiction read this month:

Books about houses:

  • Sears, Roebuck Home Builder’s Catalog: The Complete Illustrated 1910 Edition
    An old-style dreambook.
  • House Styles at a Glance by Maurie Van Buren
    What are the primary characteristics of a Queen Anne style house? How about a Tudor or a craftsman bungalow? House Styles at a Glance can help you out, with illustrations for each type of house that point out key characteristics. This was a fascinating book.

Books about preemies:

  • The Preemie Primer by Jennifer Gunter
    An OB-GYN and mother of premature triplets, one of whom died shortly after birth, Jennifer Gunter describes the complications associated with prematurity comprehensively, taking a system by system approach (lungs, heart, brain, etc.) She also shares her own heartbreaking story of difficulties. This is a good overall review of both the hospital and post-hospital experience of having a preemie, slanted towards ongoing complications (since the author’s children experienced ongoing difficulties past age 3, when most preemies are considered to have caught up to their peers with no further “correction” needed.) I found certain parts of this book difficult as the author is clearly not pro-life and discusses selective reduction (aka abortion of one or more babies in a multiple pregnancy) and avoiding heroic measures from that standpoint (for the record, I have some definite opinions about avoiding heroic measures when there is nothing to be gained by doing so – but I come at it from a decidedly pro-life stance.)
  • The Preemie Parents’ Companion by Susan L. Madden
    Written by the mother of a preemie, this book gives a good overview of the hospitalization period, but it’s strongest point is describing what’s normal for a preemie once he comes home. Parents are often told to treat their child like a normal newborn once they leave the hospital (after being educated to correct for gestational age) – but preemies aren’t exactly normal newborns. Madden carefully describes the unique characteristics of preemies during the first couple years of life while they’re still “catching up” to their peers.

Other books:

  • Lookimg for Anne of Green Gables by Irene Gammel
    An exploration of the autobiographical and literary influences that led to Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne. Part biography, part comparative literature, this was a well-researched but still relatively speculative book. I enjoyed most of it, although Gammel’s fascination with human sexuality and speculation regarding Maud and her compatriots sexuality was less than pleasurable. I read this as part of Carrie’s L.M. Montgomery reading challenge.
  • The Food Police by Jayson Lusk
    Lusk, an agricultural economist, makes a case for keeping the government out of food – contrary to the wishes of the modern “food police”. Lusk discusses the economics of organic foods, agribusiness, fat taxes, and the “local food” movement. I greatly enjoyed this book – and while I have some differences with Lusk regarding what is desirable in terms of human behavior, I agree with him regarding what is desirable in terms of food policy. My biggest disappointment with this book is that, instead of taking the measured tone of a scholar, Lusk takes the more strident tone of a pundit, thus likely reducing the appeal of his message to the nonconverts.

On the docket for next month:

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

7 thoughts on “Nightstand (January 2015)”

  1. Ahhhh … I well remember those days of nursing babies. It was great reading time! Enjoy :) The Sears Roebuck catalog sounds fascinating — I love looking at old catalogs/magazines and seeing how far we’ve come (or regressed, as the case may be). Food Police fascinates me as well. That’s such a “hot button” topic these days.

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  2. Hmm… I have seen and heard of the Katie Weldon series but not checked them out yet, glad to hear what you thought of it.

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  3. Oh how much I have missed!!!!! (for some reason I have not been getting feeds for some of the blogs that I’ve always followed) I just spent the last hour reading all the way back through October!!!! I am so sorry for the tough time you had but great is your reward! :)
    She is so beautiful! It is quite and adjustment when the first little one comes along. I too am Driven and after 10 months of doing all that i “thought” could be done at home, I returned to work…biggest mistake of my life. I’m still working 22 years later!
    I wish will all my heart I had stayed home and been a stay at home wife and mother. But all I can do is encourage others not to make that mistake.
    I am looking forward to following you and Daniel on this wonderful journey of parenthood. (mine oldest will be 23 in February and with this comes fears and anxiety of a different kind!)
    {{hugs}} and blessings to you my friend!!
    Happy reading!

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  4. So glad to see you’re still reading, even with a little one. That is definitely an advantage of nursing. But then again, when we love to read, we usually find the time (at least in small doses), regardless of the circumstances. :)

    Heart of Darkness–I read it with a bookclub and got a little out of it. But it was hard stuff. I made my oldest read it, but I think I had grace on my youngest and struck it from our list. ha.

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  5. I read Gammel’s book a few years ago and had some of the same impressions, especially about sexuality. I also didn’t like that she seemed to feel she had to try to find inspiration for much that LMM wrote – as if LMM couldn’t have just made some things up out of her imagination. My review is here: https://barbarah.wordpress.com/2011/02/12/book-review-looking-for-anne-of-green-gables-the-story-of-l-m-montgomery-and-her-literary-classic/

    That was one thing I liked about breastfeeding, too – the good excuse it gave to sit down for a while and the ability to read while doing it, especially as all mine were slow, sleepy eaters at first.

    Looking forward to having you for the LIW challenge! I read that one last year thinking it was one of my least favorites as I started, but there was a lot I liked about it that I had forgotten.

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  6. Looking for Anne of Green Gables. Hmm. It rings a bell but maybe only because you’ve mentioned it. (Or maybe I’ve seen it when scrolling through Amazon for some new title or something.)

    I want to squeeze in a read of Anne this week! MAYBE! It MIGHT happen!!

    Reply

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