{"id":7087,"date":"2011-06-28T06:20:54","date_gmt":"2011-06-28T11:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bekahcubed.menterz.com\/blog\/?p=7087"},"modified":"2011-06-28T06:20:54","modified_gmt":"2011-06-28T11:20:54","slug":"nightstand-june-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bekahcubed.menterz.com\/blog\/2011\/20110628-7087.htm","title":{"rendered":"Nightstand (June 2011)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I raced through the books in the past two weeks–which is probably good since I don’t anticipate getting through many this week. <\/p>\n

Hectic doesn’t even begin to describe the life as a dietitian in a nursing home when “state” shows up. (Especially when it’s your first ever survey.)<\/p>\n

Something tells me my stack of “in progress” books isn’t<\/i> getting any smaller this week. (Nor is the baby quilt for my due-any-day nephew or niece going to be finished.) <\/p>\n

Oh well, that’s life–and surveyors had to arrive sometime.<\/p>\n

\"June<\/p>\n

This month I read:<\/u><\/p>\n

1001 Gruesome Facts<\/i> by Helen Otway<\/b>
\nIn a fit of what could be called morbid curiosity, I read this book. It’s interesting. Even more interesting is what the author considers gruesome (certain things just sounded like facts of life to me–but, then, I’m a medical person.) As with other books of “facts”, I find myself doubting when I find an error in my area of expertise. This had a couple such errors, which makes me wonder how many of the other gross facts are facts in fact.<\/p>\n

Libby’s Story<\/i> by Judy Baer<\/b>
\nCaretaking for parents with Alzheimers. Best childhood friends all grown up. Finding purpose as a single 20 or 30 something. Coming to grips with an accident that changes your life. Great subject matter, not so fantastic execution. This isn’t a light and fluffy book, but it’s too disconnected to be a weighty book. I wish I could recommend it, but instead I have to give it a big “Eh.”<\/p>\n

The Mystery of the Mixed Up Zoo<\/i> created by Gertrude Chandler Warner<\/b>
\nProbably the best “created by” so far. At least there was no furtive dishonesty or truly dangerous situations in this one.<\/p>\n

Ben and the Sudden Too-Big Family<\/i> by Colby Rodowsky<\/b>
\nWhen Ben’s dad marries Casey and they decide to adopt a little girl from China, Ben gains a much too-big family. Or so he thinks. Worst of all, instead of going to soccer camp like all the boys at school, Ben has to go to family vacation<\/i> with Casey’s ginormous family (forty or so). I enjoyed this story, probably because I come from a much larger family than Casey’s and have experienced from the inside what Ben experiences from the outside–the enfolding of a stranger into the “clan”. (Spoiler: Ben discovers that the big family is actually pretty great.)<\/p>\n

Reviewed elsewhere on bekahcubed:<\/b><\/p>\n