Book 82: Queen Bees and Wannabes

This is definitely one I'm going to have to re-read as my daughter grows older, though the author says some of these queen bee and cliquish behaviors can start as early as kindergarten.



I found it really eye-opening to read about the forces that affect our daughters and sons as they navigate their social world. The new edition of this book also has a lot of information about technology like texting and Facebook and how they has changed the social landscape for kids as well.

Book 81: Lean In

This book has been a bit controversial: do women really need to do more to advance their own careers, so there can be a more equal representation of women in higher positions? Or is it the culture of the workplace and really, the overall culture of the U.S. and Canada, with its subtle and not-so-subtle ways of discouraging women from pursuing those higher positions?



I do see the wisdom in focusing on what women themselves can do, and the things we do unknowingly to sabotage ourselves. We can control what we do--we have far less control over the rest of the culture of work and leadership.

As someone who took the "off-ramp" to have a family, after years of singlehood and building a bit of a career of sorts, I felt a little bit guilty during the first couple of chapters. But like many women, I will almost certainly use the "on-ramp" again someday, so these are great ideas to consider for the future. Some criticized this book as being only for young women, just beginning their careers, but there are lots of ideas that apply to women at later stages, like me.

Book 80: The End of the Suburbs

Lately I've been thinking about the issue of walkable neighborhoods and commute times, so this was a perfect book to encounter!



This book discusses the forces that are changing the suburbs and what they may look like in the future. It discussed the history of suburbs as we know them now, and the forces which are affecting them today. I especially liked how the book addressed that quality of life can actually improve when we move past the "dream" of a suburban detached home and individual yard.

I received this book as a free copy in exchange for providing my review.

Book 79: Mighty Be Our Powers

At the beginning of her book, Leymah Gbowee says that the story of the African woman is not often told to the rest of the world, and when it is, it is either the story of either starvation or systematic rape as part of warfare.

 
Gbowee tells a story that is neither of these. She was a co-winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Liberian peace process.

I found her work in ending the Liberian civil war incredibly interesting, and her personal growth throughout the story was very inspiring, too.

Book 78: The Idealist

I was so excited to read this. And it really was fantastic.



In 2005, economist Jeffrey Sachs wrote a book called The End of Poverty, in which he outlined specific steps that could be taken to alleviate the world's most extreme poverty. His passion about the subject is really quite inspiring--basically, he challenges people to either sit back and allow their fellow human beings to suffer and die, or to do something about extreme poverty.

The book follows the funding and establishment of Millenium Villages, where Sachs' ideas were put into practice. Sadly, there are a lot of unintended consequences of all of these ideas, and things don't turn out quite as anyone expected.

Book 77: The Painted Girls

This is a historical fiction piece about three sisters during the belle époque in Paris.



Edgar Degas and his art play a fairly major role in the story, too. It's been interesting to look at the paintings and sculpture with the book in mind. Overall, it was quite a good read.

Book 76: The Sibling Effect

I was curious about the issue of siblings and how they affect children and adults. This title intrigued me.



The feel of this book was a little too magazine-y and not quite academic enough for what I wanted from the information; that's not too unexpected, since the book began as a series of articles for Time magazine. The information was still really interesting, though I wish it had been more in-depth. I feel a bit like anything I might have learned from reading the book has already evaporated from my brain. That may be more my fault than the book's fault.

Book 75: The End of Your Life Book Club

This was a very interesting memoir about a mother and son who read and discuss books together as the mother is terminally ill.



I put a lot of books on my To Read list after reading this. And it was quite lovely to read about the relationship between mother and son.

Book 74: Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End

I don't really even need to say anything about this one. Of course it was wonderful. I'm just a little bit sad that I've read the whole series now, and there aren't any more to read.



Jennifer Worth's way of describing people is probably the best part of all of these books.

Book 73: Shakespeare Saved My Life

I forgot to post about a book!



This one was excellent. Laura Bates reads and discusses Shakespeare with inmates in solitary confinement and supermax prisons, what our society considers its most dangerous criminals. Many of these men dropped out of junior high school, and yet I'm afraid in many cases their Shakespearean analysis puts me, someone with an English B.A., to shame.

This was such an amazing look into prison life, and what can be done to rehabilitate inmates.

Book 72: Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse

I was looking for something a little lighter to read one night, and found this. Well, it wasn't particularly light, since the workhouse and grinding poverty aren't very fluffy.



But still, I really enjoyed it! The stories are remarkable--it wasn't that long ago that all these grim things happened.

Book 71: Juggling Twins

Not many people are going to find this applicable, but I have been reading a few twin books.



This one was ok. The first chapters were helpful, dealing with feeding and routines for two tiny babies at once. Later chapters didn't seem so helpful for me, since this is not my first rodeo, as they say.

Book 70: Tomatoland

According to this book, if you've eaten a tomato in winter, or one at a fast food joint, you've eaten a tomato grown and picked by slave labor. And here's the thing: it probably didn't even taste good.



This book is about what it takes to grow tomatoes year-round for the U.S. market and what the consequences of that are for worker health, worker rights, and the environment.

Book 69: Alone Together

This was a fascinating exploration of robots (I know, that sounds kind of silly) and networks and how they affect us.



I don't encounter very many robots in my day-to-day existence, particularly not those that are trying to appear human. But the author describes a robotic baby seal named Paro that is being marketed to nursing homes as a companion for the elderly. Other robotic toys like My Real Baby have been used in similar situations. The author expresses some concern that we are shortchanging ourselves and our elders by thinking we are actually having relationships with robots. One of the most enlightening quotes in this section comes from a child who says of these robotic companions, "Don't we have people for these jobs?" (Well, yes, we probably do, Susie, but we don't value those jobs enough to pay people very well for them, and they are generally overworked and quite low status. So Grandma will have to talk to a cute robotic seal instead of having a relationship with a reasonably-paid, not-overworked human caregiver.)

The more interesting section of the book was the second, about networking and social media and how we use it to mediate our relationships. This I can (sadly) relate to: we have many superficial relationships that we tune into and out of as it is convenient for us.

Book 68: Escape

I have this morbid fascination with polygamy--I often have dreams (nightmares?) about polygamy, and yet I am still interested in learning more about it.



This book was more disturbing than I expected. The brutality toward women and children in the community is very upsetting. I was also honestly surprised at how different the FLDS doctrine seems to be from LDS teachings. I definitely knew the two groups were different, but I had no idea just how different we were.

Some have criticized Carolyn Jessop, saying that her experience was not the norm and her family was more violent and disfunctional than the rest of the community. This probably means I'll have to read more about the FLDS to be able to get a more complete picture.

Book 67: The Good Life Lab

I thought this would be so interesting: a book about a couple who went off-grid and learned to make stuff out of the waste stream. I was hoping for something like No Impact Man, and the author does mention Colin Beavan's book, but her reading of it was so different from mine that I was frustrated and puzzled.



Unfortunately, The Good Life Lab was just kind of weird and nonspecific. For instance, the author describes how her partner desulfates dead batteries so that they can still be used. But what kind of batteries does this work for? (My in-house engineer tells me it only works for lead-acid batteries, not your average household rechargeable battery.)

There were some aspects of the book that I liked, and the illustrations were nifty (though not that easy to appreciate in ebook format). But overall, I felt kind of "huh?" about the whole thing.

Book 66: Chains

This was a book club pick, and I actually read it!



It's a young adult title, and I liked it quite a lot--for a young adult book. It moved quickly, it didn't have too much annoyingly obvious exposition, and the characters and story were interesting.

Book 65: Orange is the New Black

I decided to try this book out, even though I was a little put off by the fact that there is a Netflix series by the same name (and somewhat based on the book).



I found it a really interesting examination of how our actions affect others, how people change and grow (or don't), how very different women build a community, and how the penal system sometimes makes no sense at all. There's some deep thought in the book, as well as interesting characters of all types.

After reading, I gave the Netflix series a couple of minutes to see if it was as good. Um, no. Definitely not my kind of viewing. A memoir cannot easily be made into a popular TV show--at least not one that I would want to watch.

Book 64: Alignment Matters

You might have heard me talk about minimal shoes or body alignment. If you know me in person, you have probably noticed my footwear over the last year and a half!

This is the "why" of it all:




This book is taken from Katy's blog, Katy Says. I have read most of Katy's blog before, but reading it in all in a few sittings, organized by topic, made a lot of things clearer than they had been before, and motivated me to keep working on my body. There is much, much more I should be doing, but what I have been doing has kept me feeling really great during this unusual pregnancy I'm having. My back and hips feel better than I did throughout my last pregnancy, which is a small miracle, considering that I am 3 years older and am carrying two babies instead of one. Yes, that's right: I am pregnant with twins.

I really think almost everyone I know could benefit from Katy's work. There's a bad alignment epidemic out there, folks: people thrusting their ribs, tucking their pelves, lumbering instead of walking, and suffering from foot, hip, knee, back, neck, and shoulder pain.

Book 63: Full Catastrophe Living

This book is revised edition of the 1990 book by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It is a thorough description and explanation of the mindfulness-based stress reduction program started at the University of Massachusetts.



The program was originally developed for patients with chronic pain and other physical illnesses and conditions, but it can easily be applied to almost every stressful situation, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

There is also an iPhone app of the guided meditations and mindful yoga that is only $3.99, so you can very easily get started on the meditation.

Confession: I loved the book and bought the app, but I have yet to complete an entire session of meditation. That's on my list of things to do as soon as possible!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book through NetGalley.

Book 62: Expecting Better

I read something about this book somewhere, and there's also been a bit of a kerfuffle about some of the information in it (is alcohol ok to consume in pregnancy? If so, how much?), so I was intrigued to read it.



While many of these types of decisions don't really apply to me (I don't drink alcohol, coffee, or tea; I don't eat deli meat), it was still intriguing to read about.  (Reliable and valid) data is good! Oster does not make recommendations, but presents the data so that you can make the decision that suits your situation the best.

I would love to see a follow-up that gives data about baby care choices.

Book 61: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I really enjoyed listening to this audio book. It was beautifully recorded.



Sometimes the subtle exposition required by the epistolary style grated on my nerves a bit (as in when it was necessary to describe a gift that had been received--which surely the giver would have known all about), but overall, this was a lovely listen. It makes me want to go to Guernsey and stay in a cottage.

Book 60: Feeling Good

I officially started this book almost a year ago, though I had really started reading it many, many years ago. I am glad to have actually finished it!



This is a great book--a very accessible and user-friendly explanation of cognitive behavioral therapy.

Book 59: Cooked

It's been a very slow month for reading. But I did have a real treat to listen to: Michael Pollan himself reading his newest book.



I loved it. In addition to describing his experiences learning various cooking techniques, it discussed the philosophy of cooking and food preparation quite extensively: What does it mean to roast a pig over coals? What is the meaning of cheese? Right up my alley.

Michael Pollan can come and barbecue a whole pig in my backyard any day.

Book 58: How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk

This is such a good book. This is the kind of book I will probably read multiple times, and I don't generally re-read books.



I started this last May, and for some reason, set it aside. I picked it up again last week when it became apparent that interrogating my soon-to-be-five-year-old was not an effective way to get information.

The cartoons in the book are a little cheesy in the drawing style (perhaps dated, since the book was originally published in 1980. But don't let that put you off; the information is very relevant and practical.

Book 57: Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids

Can a book jump the shark? I felt like this one did. The central arguments of the book were good, and quite convincing.



But there were some sections that just seemed ridiculous, like the chapters in which the author re-hashed the book in imaginary arguments with imaginary detractors, and the one about assisted reproductive technology. When I told a friend I was reading this book, she laughed, "What, is it a pamphlet?" Maybe these chapters were added as padding so that it reached book length?

Book 56: Gulp

I used to be really squeamish about anatomy and would never have gotten through this book years ago. Something has changed, though! I found some of it was a bit gross, but most of it was just fascinating.



I do still know enough about myself not to google "megacolon," though.

Book 55: The Light Between Oceans

This is a recent work of fiction that I'd heard about and decided to try.



I enjoyed this more than I expected to; it's quite an emotional ride, though.

Book 54: Transatlantic

This is Colum McCann's newest book, and he's one of the contemporary authors that I like to read. A couple of months ago, I read one of his earlier books (Let the Great World Spin).



There were some parts that were particularly good. Far too late into the night, I couldn't stop reading the sections about Frederick Douglass and George Mitchell. The rest of the book, while not quite as gripping, was still worth reading.

Book 53: The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

This is the second Flavia de Luce mystery. Though I am not a mystery person, I do find Flavia interesting, as well as the setting of these books (England, 1950).



This was a fun book to listen to; Jayne Entwistle does lovely voice work. As for the story, I felt a little like some of the loose ends were explained in one sentence and I was supposed to be happy with that. I don't mind a little ambiguity (in fact, I like some ambiguity), but this just seemed to be too much.

Book 52: This is No Ordinary Joy

Human trafficking is a huge problem in many countries. In some poor villages, virtually every young girl has been sold into the sex trade, and children of both sexes are sold to do factory or agricultural work. Millions of women, men, girls and boys are enslaved in various ways around the world.




Sarah Symons began an organization called Made by Survivors, which sells jewelry and handbags made by young women who have been rescued from slavery. Made by Survivors trains girls and women in a trade so that they have a way to support themselves (and often their young children) outside of prostitution. The organization also sponsors at-risk children so they can attend school. Educating a girl to the tenth grade or above virtually guarantees that she will not be trafficked.

This book is the story of how Made by Survivors began and grew. I found it particularly inspiring because when Sarah began her organization, she had two young children. She mentions that parents of young children can be more energized to do this kind of work, but I wish she had given a few more details about the logistics of parenting full time while being deeply involved in a humanitarian cause.

Book 51: Cut It Out

I have read a lot of books about birth. A lot. But this one was different.



Most of my birth-related reading has been to prepare for the births of my two children, both of which occurred at home, with the attendance of a midwife. Naturally, the focus of my reading has therefore been avoiding interventions and having a "natural" (whatever that means) birth.

This was different: it is the report of interviews with OBs, midwives, and labor and delivery nurses, about why they think the rate of c-section in the U.S. has risen in the last decade (in 2011, it was 32.8% nationwide). No one disputes that c-sections are sometimes necessary, but most would agree that 32.8% is higher than the rate should be. The World Health Organization says that a rate of between 5 and 10% is optimal for the health of women and babies. (Lower than 5% could indicate that women and babies do not have access to life-saving procedures when necessary.)

Much of my reading about birth tends to demonize the OB. This gave me a different perspective on the pressures a hospital-practicing physician faces and why. I think it made me more sympathetic to the challenges they face, as many feel unable to practice obstetrics the way they would prefer to.

I received this book as an advance reader copy.

Book 50: Richard II

So when I read Richard III last week, I was really supposed to be reading Richard II. Oops.



I'm reading these plays because the Hollow Crown series (Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, and Henry V) will air on PBS in September. It won a number of awards in England, so I'm pretty excited about it.

Richard II is a complex play. I wasn't sure whose side I wanted to be on, unlike Richard III, which has a definite villain.

Book 49: Richard III

I'm slowly working my way through five dramas this year, as part of my 5/5 goal. I haven't read Shakespeare since college, which was actually last century.



Richard III was great. The history (the succession to the throne, the wars and assassinations) was new to me, so a Wikipedia primer was very helpful.

Why haven't I read Shakespeare in so long, I don't know. I'm now going backward in time and reading Richard II so I can get a feel for more of the histories. There are lots of the comedies that I have never read, either.

Book 48: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

After a false start in which I discovered I was listening to the tracks on shuffle, I got into this book.



Mostly, I liked it. There were some really interesting moments and reflections. I enjoyed seeing the characters change as the story unfolded. On the other hand, there was a lot of navel gazing, and once in a while I got a little tired of that. There was one moment when I actually yelped, "Yuck!" because some "memories" didn't seem like they belonged in Harold's memory--at least not to be shared with me.

Book 47: All Natural

This was not at all the book I was expecting, but I loved it.



I was expecting one of those 12-month-life-experiment books that seem to be everywhere these days. I thought this one would be about a guy who tried to live "all natural" for a year.

But instead, it was an investigation of the tension between modern technology and "natural" approaches in several different areas. It was a very nuanced discussion and I have a lot to think about now. The writing was also a delight to read.

Book 46: Predictably Irrational

This was so interesting!



The book describes social science experiments that reveal that humans act in unexpectedly irrational ways in lots of situations. There are also interesting applications to life, including how we can avoid some pitfalls of irrationality.

Book 45: Shouting Won't Help

Look, something else to worry about! Losing your hearing!



I heard the author interviewed on NPR and thought this sounded right up my alley, although I think I hear pretty well, so far.

This was a really interesting look at hearing, hearing loss, the experience of being hard of hearing, and the technology that is available to help. There was so much I didn't know about hearing and how isolating it must be to be unable to hear well. The information about cochlear implants was fascinating, too.

Book 44: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

I never read mysteries, but this one had been mentioned by some other 52 Books in 52 Weeks-ers and I decided to give it a try.

 

I enjoyed it. It was a fairly light, "cozy" mystery, and Flavia is quite an interesting character. It's a series, too, so there are currently five Flavia books available, with a sixth being published in 2014.

Incidentally, I began listening to the audio book, but my loan ended and it disappeared from my phone, so I had to finish reading the printed book!

Book 43: The Book of Mormon Girl

Hey, look, another religious book!



This one was great, though sometimes a little disconcerting. Joanna Brooks is just a few years older than I am, and attended BYU just before I did. True to my usual obliviousness, I was not all that aware of some of what went on during the early and mid '90s at BYU regarding feminists in the English department.

Anyway, Joanna's experiences are both similar to and different from mine. My upbringing does not seem to have been that much that of other Mormon girls who lived in the Mountain West. I suppose growing up in central Canada will do that for you. But I remember having many of the same questions and thoughts.

Book 42: The Five Books of Jesus

I don't normally read religious books of any kind other than the standard works, but this year, I challenged myself to read five in my 5/5 challenge. This is my first.



I found it surprisingly compelling. It's a retelling of the Gospels as they might have happened. I really enjoyed the imagined perspective of those who began to follow Jesus. To see them as real people, with feelings and dreams and worries, even if those traits were only imagined by the author, made the familiar story very thought-provoking.

Book 41: Freeing Yourself from Anxiety

I joked that the book I read last year called Freeing Your Child from Anxiety was really Freeing Yourself from Anxiety, but really, the same author did write that very book!



The strategies are nothing particularly startling, but it's good to be reminded. There were also some great suggestions for dealing with perfectionism, procrastination, and criticism.

Unfortunately for me, this type of subject doesn't work so well with an audio book because it's harder to look (or listen) back and review. In one ear and out the other? We shall see if any of it sticks.

Book 40: Let the Great World Spin

I recently heard an interview with Colum McCann on NPR about his latest book, which reminded me that I had one of his earlier books.



I really enjoyed it. There is a lot of raw emotion and tragedy in the book, but he's a great storyteller. I can't wait to read his newest book.

Book 39: How Will You Measure Your Life?

It took me a while to get into this book. I actually feel pretty confident about my career path, so the early sections about not choosing a job just because it paid well were sort of lost on me.




However, there was a whole section that was written to apply to relationships and family life. It gave me a lot to think about--in a very good way.

Book 38: Salt Sugar Fat

Ahh, processed food, why are you so tasty? This book will tell you, and it ain't pretty.



My takeaway: Processed foods are awful in so many ways. "Healthier" processed foods are not going to improve your health. Whole foods, prepared at home, are the way to go.

And so I'm off to the kitchen.

Book 37: Stiff

I read Mary Roach's Packing for Mars last year, and laughed through most of it. I had mixed feelings about reading this one, because I'm not a huge fan of cadavers (I had a run-in with some many years ago) but I like the author's work.



It turned out to be a little macabre for me sometimes. I did learn some interesting (and sometimes disturbing) things, and I laughed a bit, but I think I have determined that cadavers are not for me.

Book 36: The Kitchen Counter Cooking School

If I weren't on the road right now, I'd be making some homemade vegetable broth.



Kathleen Flinn is a le Cordon Bleu graduate and she began giving a series of free classes to a group of volunteer home cooks (or home reconstitutors of dehydrated packaged foods) to increase their ability to cook quality whole foods.

Really, this stuff should all have been pretty obvious, but somehow I (and the volunteers) hadn't figured it out. Food tastes yucky? Maybe you need better-tasting ingredients, like real broth instead of a bouillon cube. Maybe iodized salt isn't very tasty and something else would taste better. Maybe you need to roast your veggies at a higher heat for a shorter amount of time!

I have gotten a bunch of great ideas of things to do to improve my cooking, and I actually want to give them a try.

Book 35: Fever, 1793

This was a neighborhood book club read. Otherwise, I don't think I would have chosen to read this. I almost never read young adult books.



This one was ok--for a young adult book! But I swear, if I encounter another book about the smart, spunky, slightly awkward and not-that-attractive girl who grows up and turns into a beauty, I . . . won't read it. I have had enough of that formula.

I do love my neighborhood book club, though, so if they choose another YA title about a smart and spunky girl who comes into her own, I suppose I just might end up reading it.

Book 34: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

I think I've probably started reading this at various other times in my life, but never finished it. But this time, I had a great Audible recording of it to listen to while digging in the community garden and then driving across the country.



The recording was lovely, and some parts were interesting (the sermon on Hell accompanied my digging in the garden), but a lot of it was kind of dull. Sorry, James. Maybe sometime I'll try Dubliners, but I'm not going to rush out and get a copy tonight.

Book 33: Moll Flanders

I needed a classic fix this week. Moll Flanders was on my phone, so I gave it a listen. It was a pleasure to listen to.



Oooh la la, that cover is a bit racy, no? Yep, the story was a bit racy, too--for 1722.

The improbability of all these things happening to one person was pretty funny. When my husband asked what I was reading/listening to and I told him, it really sounded a bit like a soap opera.

The genre of the novel has really changed, though, and its place in literature is solidified in a way that it was not in the early 18th century. It's a good reminder even something that seems as basic and timeless as the novel has not always existed in its current form.