Meags' Books
Thoughts on the books I've read.
Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health
This book is fantastic. I wish I had read it ages ago. I'm still not super clear on everything I'm supposed to do, but since I borrowed it from the library and had to give it back, I don't have it on hand to reference. I'll probably end up getting my own copy, especially since there are sections about menopause that I skipped. But yeah, this explains how your body works, even if you don't want to get pregnant or if you use another type of birth control.
Why Have Kids?: The Truth About Parenting and Happiness
The beginning of this book really made me angry, but I'm glad I kept going. The first two chapters are unreasonably harsh on mothers, by saying that taking care of our bodies during pregnancy and birth, and fighting to provide breastmilk for our babies is part of "the man" beating us down. Maybe it's because we just really love our kids and want to do what's best for them? But as it went on I agreed more and was less angry. Yes, moms shouldn't be the default caregiver, dads should be expected to play a role, working moms don't hate their children. I really agreed with the chapter on the over-medicalization of birth. But! The ire towards AP and natural parenting seems misplaced. If it didn't work for the author, that's fine, but it works great for a lot of families, and it doesn't feel like misogynistic patriarchy to those families.
The ending was so awful, I'd advise you stop reading before the final chapter. The rest of the book was good, though.
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
This book was really interesting. I enjoyed the narrative about the race in the Barrancas. I only wish there was more "how-to" about Barefoot running. What info there was is really interesting, and I bought some cheapy flats for everyday wear, and I definitely can feel the pavement better. So yay! I liked knowing that cheap, thin-soled shoes are better than Nike Air. Much easier on the wallet, too!
I had more hope for this book than it delivered. I think I was hoping for information that I didn't really know, and I didn't really learn much. Helpful if you didn't know anything about local eating though. Also, I was hoping for more tips if locavorism isn't really an option for you. Studies haven't really convinced me that organic, local produce is substantially better than conventional. It "tastes better"? Penn & Teller put the kibosh on that one. Anyways, there are tons of recipes in here that I'll have to try, especially to introduce veggies that we don't normally use (like kale!), but other than that, I'm glad I got it on sale.
This book was quasi-helpful. Mostly it helped because I knew I wasn't alone. But most of the advice was basically "don't sweat the small stuff" and "this too shall pass". Not super useful when you are dealing with the thousandth meltdown of the day. A lot of the information was stuff I was already doing or had read about online. At the time I was more concerned about the chapter on "nighttime parenting", but as with Mayim Bialik's book, I found it wanting. I guess the only helpful part was that other people had gone through it and survived, and also that the traits that are so frustrating now are fantastic in older children and adults. If you need more than comfort from exhaustion from dealing with an intense baby/toddler, look elsewhere.
It took me a really long time to finish this book. I think I actually started it before Parker was born and she's now almost 14 months old. The reason is that it's simply hard to read. Obviously this book was written before editors and publishing houses, and I really think we're the better for them. They clean it up and make it easier for people to read. I was often confused by which character was speaking after long sections of dialogue. I had to go backward at times and count turns in order to figure it out. My copy had various typos which may or may not have been in the original manuscript. I was actually quite surprised that although there are various film/radio/stage adaptations and parodies, there are few (or no) retellings in a modern era. The work is in the public domain people! I think the story and characters are really quite good, and with all of the distracting language and old timey-ness removed, it could reach a much wider audience. Or some really good editing.
After I finish a Margaret Atwood novel I'm both horrified and wanting more. I really wish I could know what came of Offred, if she managed to locate her family, if she was recaptured. I guess the not knowing is what makes the book stick in your mind. I definitely had no idea it was based near Harvard until I read the Wikipedia article, but it makes sense. It's a very frightening dystopia that is scary because it seems almost plausible. The scariest part for me in the book was when they took her daughter. As a mother of a small child, that seems the worst out of all the horrible things. The "speech" at the end cleared some things up, but so many questions were left unanswered! I guess that is typical for Atwood. I definitely recommend this book, it will chill you and make you thankful that we do not live in Gilead... yet.
MWF Seeking BFF: My Yearlong Search for a New Best Friend
I really enjoyed this book. Not because I got great ideas to make new friends, but because it motivated me to keep up with the friends I already had. Friendships take work, and this was a good reminder of that. Also, I'm glad that I'm not the only one who neurotically obsesses over friendship stuff. ("Did I come on too strong? Will she be a potential BFF? Should I call her? Will that weird her out? Are we 'invite to holiday parties' friends? Should we double date?" The neuroticisms are endless.) I won't be joining an improv group or renting a friend, but hopefully I can keep up with the friends I do have and forge better connections with them.
I really wanted to like this book. There's not a lot of what I would call "Christian satire" out there, and I'd read some good reviews of this work. However, the writing was so poor that I had a really hard time slogging through it. Perspectives were changing everywhere, hopping from one character to another, there were way too many characters and it was hard to keep them straight, let alone care about them, and finally, most of the characters, even the "good guys" are not likable. I wasn't rooting for anybody! I kept waiting for someone to be interesting enough to care about, but it never happened. The takeaway? The story is dull and full of horrible run-on sentences. Skip it.
The Year of the Flood
I am really glad that I read these in order, but it's not a sequel. I've heard it referred to as a "sidequel" instead. Where Oryx & Crake ended, the plot only advances a tiny bit at the end of this one. The events are concurrent, and offer a different perspective on the waterless flood/plague. Atwood has created a very rich world here. I felt it wasn't as horrific as the first, but that may be because the events are the same so you don't get the same shock value. I am eagerly awaiting the third book in this series!
I enjoyed the latest Sophie Katz mystery, especially as the story is getting more complex and the characters are getting more developed. However, the typos were horrendous! A good copy editor would be fantastic!
This book was captivating and disturbing in equal measure. It was like watching a horrific train wreck unfold, I couldn't stop reading even though it was going downhill. The protagonist is in a wasteland of his former life - of the former planet! The book description depicts it as a twisted love story, but that was such a small part of the total it barely warrants a mention. Most of it tells the story of Snowman, his best "friend", Crake, and the object of both their desires, Oryx, and the "Crakers", and how they all got there. The first half goes forward and backward at once, as Snowman makes a journey for supplies and also recalls past events leading to the virulent apocalypse, then all is in the present as he reaches Crake's dome, and he tries to figure out what is next.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
I enjoyed this book, it gave a lot of compelling evidence how introverted traits are inborn, physiologically and psychologically. The whole time I was reading, I was trying to figure out the "type" of people I know. it's more difficult than I though, because the author is right: it's not just a black & white introvert or extrovert. People are nuanced.
I enjoyed the book enough to read to the end, but I was hoping for a more concrete ending. It seemed like way too many loose ends were left unraveled.
Currently reading
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 4
One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good
The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life
MaddAddam
