Book 71: Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline

At first, this book seemed a little too goofy, new-age-y even for me! I was a little turned off by her use of seven of this and seven of that.

But I persevered and it got a lot better. There are aspects of it that are also helpful for my own sanity. I imagine it will take a lot of practice to implement, since the old habits of parenting with fear and compulsion are, sadly, very ingrained.

Book 70: The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry

I was actually looking for a different book by the same author when I came across this one, and I was initially skeptical. It seemed like another one of those "I did this for a year and then wrote a book about it" books. I decided to give it a try anyway, since I didn't have another audio book waiting in the wings.



I was pleasantly surprised. This was a delightful book.

The author enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris and completed all three levels of cuisine. This is so far beyond my kind of cooking that it might as well be rocket surgery, but I had several epiphanies about my own cooking while listening.

There were some interesting and insightful life lessons learned along the way. I still want to read her other book, The Kitchen Counter Cooking School, which may really help me improve my cooking.

Book 69: The Last Lecture

I had this on my list to read for January, but just got to it this month.



Sadly, I didn't like it as much as I had hoped. There were some inspiring ideas that I took away, but I think my expectations were too high from all that I had heard about it.

Book 68: The Majesty of the Law

It wasn't as majestic as I was hoping. Or maybe the truth is, it was more majestic than I was hoping.



Really, it's my own fault. I had a moment of insanity, thinking the SCOTUS is like the set of some reality TV show whose intrigue is documented in the tabloids. And that Sandra Day O'Connor was going to write all that juicy stuff for me to lap up.

Somewhere around chapter 23, I was brought back to reality. Nope, the whole book was going to be about habeas corpus and Miranda rights and Oliver Wendell Holmes. The book was fine--nay, it was even very educational--but not what I was hoping for.

Book 67: Free-Range Knitter

This was a nice, light read that I really enjoyed. When I'm not mothering or reading (and sometimes when I am), I'm probably knitting something.



These are funny and touching stories about knitting and life. There were some about knitting and kids that I really liked, but also a story about knitting and the very old.

Book 66: Packing for Mars

I heard an interview with Mary Roach on NPR about this book and put it on my To Be Read list.



It was fantastic. I laughed through most of it and was amazed by the rest. I felt sort of guilty for having such a great time with a "science" book. If it's not hopelessly dry, it can't be educational, right?

Book 65: Picnic at Hanging Rock

An Australian online acquaintance suggested reading this, so I decided to give it a try.



This was a book I would not likely have chosen on my own, but enjoyed. The ending was ambiguous, but I think it was better that way; having thought about it, I don't think I would have wanted a resolution to the "mystery".

Book 64: 1491

Having read 1493, naturally, I needed to read 1491.



Charles C. Mann explains that almost everything you were taught in school about Native American culture before European colonists arrived is probably wrong. It was very interesting, with a lot of detail about archeology and the historical records of the first Europeans to see the Americas.

Book 63: China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power

It was years ago--probably 2004--that I heard a little piece on NPR about the trip recounted in this book. Rob Gifford was China correspondent for NPR for six years, so he recorded some audio pieces during the time of his trip on route 312. The one I remember is from a Christian home church in which he was called upon to preach and lead the singing when the minister was unable to be there.

It is impossible to be neutral about China. Some foreigners hate it from the first moment they arrive, and some love it so much that they put down roots and never leave.

 I fall closer to the second category; I loved China so much and almost took a semi-permanent job in Shanghai, teaching English to software engineers who wore yellow lab coats. But instead, I came home and married a software engineer who wears goofy tee shirts. I think I made the right choice, but maybe my software engineer and I will go back to Shanghai for a little sabbatical.

I listened to this as an audio book, and the only regret I have is that it wasn't Rob Gifford himself reading it.

Book 62: What I Talk about When I Talk about Running

I checked this one out on a whim, waiting for a few other audio books to become available. I didn't really even know what it was about. I was pleasantly surprised. It's the musings of an author about writing, life, and running--and I happen to be interested in all three of those!



Here's one of my favorite parts:

As I said, if I don't do anything, I tend to put on the pounds. . . . "Life just isn't fair," is how it used to strike me. Some people can work their butts off and never get what they're aiming for, while others can get it without any effort at all. But when I think about it, having the kind of body that easily puts on weight was perhaps a kind of blessing in disguise. In other words, if I don't want to gain weight, I have to work out hard every day, watch what I eat, and cut down on indulgences.

Life can be tough, but as long as you don't stint on the effort, your metabolism will greatly improve with these habits, and you'll end up much healthier, not to mention stronger. To a certain extent, you can even slow down the effects of aging. But people who naturally keep the weight off naturally, no matter what, don't need to exercise or watch their diet in order to stay trim. There can't be many of them who would go out of their way to take these troublesome measures when they don't need to, which is why, in many cases, their physical strength deteriorates as they age. If you don't exercise, your muscles will naturally weaken, as will your bones. Some of my readers may be the kind of people who easily gain weight, but the only way to understand what's really fair is to take a long-range view of things. For the reasons I give above, I think this physical nuisance should be viewed in a positive way, as a blessing. We should consider ourselves lucky that the red light is so clearly visible.