The Book List 2014

It was a pretty good reading year, especially towards the last few month. Oz and Tilda are finally able to play together for longer stretches. I will grab a cup of (HOT!!!) tea, curl up my arm chair in the bedroom, and read, read, read, until someone needs me. And then I wait for the next read break. It's been pretty great. This year I also tried to review more of the things I read, so hopefully there will be more of that next year.

I also read a lot of comics, which filled in a lot of the numbers here. I also started listening to audio books and I'm obsessed. It's hard to listen to music in the car anymore if I have a good book to listen.

 I set my Goodreads challenge for 50 and ending up going a bit over 60. So for 2015 we are aiming for 75!

1. You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas by Augusten Burroughs 

2 Wonder Woman: Love and Murder by Jodi Picoult- hated this one. Just awful.

3.Y the Last Man: Ring of Truth vol 5 by Brian K Vaughan - I started this series, but I have yet to finish it. My library system doesn't carry the whole of it, I was tired of waiting for it on ILL, so I've decided to start buying it. But it's going slowly. 

4. Catwoman Vol 1; The Game by Judd Winick- This is the NEW 52 run of Catwoman and I hated it. I was very uncomfortable with how young they made her. She was too much sex kitten and not enough bad ass in total control.

5.Y the Last Man: Girl on Girl

6. Glamping with Mary Jane: Glamour + Camping by Mary Jane Butters

7. Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, from Cleopatra to Princess Di

 by Kris Waldherr --Some interesting info, but the writing was a bit dry. I enjoyed the illustrations.

8. Damned by Chuck Palahniuk-- after some awful recent books, I was *really* pleased by this one and enjoyed it from start to finish. Look forward to reading the sequel this year.

9. Wonder Woman Vol 1 Blood by Brian Azzarello

10. Y the Last Man vol 7: Paper Dolls by Brian Vaughan

11. Walking Dead vol 17 Something to Fear by Robert Kirkman

12. Walking Dead vol 18 What Comes After by Robert Kirkman

13. Batman Vol 1 Court of Owls by Scott Snyder

14. The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Alexie Sherman- LOVED IT. BOUGHT IT. Trying to get everyone to read it. It was an instant new favorite. 

15. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

16. Miss American Pie: A Diary of Love, Secrets and Growing up in the 1970s by Margaret Sartor

17. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan (audio book)- So hilarious to listen to!

18. Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music by Marisa Meltzer

19. Y the Last Man vol 8: Kimono Dragons by Brian Vaughan

20.Batman Vol 2 City of Owls by Scott Snyder

21. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (audio book)- Another fantastic listen. 

22. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (audio book) 

23. Walking Dead vol 19: March to War by Robert Kirkman

24. Batman Vol 3 Death of the Family by Scott Snyder

25. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - Another new favorite! Thank you to my friend Christie for urging me to read it this year. It was brilliant.

26.Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth Jr.

27. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (audio book)- This was the first one I read that was not narrated by the author. And with audio books the narrator makes or breaks it. I was hesitant to read this book because of the "spider" aspect of it...but the narrator is fantastic and made it a great experience to listen to this book. 

28. The Dark Tower; The Gunslinger by Stephen King- this was drawn from my book jar this year! Griff adores this series, and I've always been hesitant to start. I'll admit, it was tough to get through. But I'm not giving up on the series!

29. Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Eric Shanower

30. Wonder Woman vol 2 Guts by Brian Azzarello

31. Salem's Lot by Stephen King (audio book)- I was so happy that the audio adaptation was good!

32. The Good Body by Eve Ensler (audio book)- Absolute fucking garbage. This is total white feminism at it's privileged worse. It made me insanely angry. If you enjoyed the Vagina Monologues, do not ruin it for yourself by listening (reading) to this one.

33. Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth: New Poems by Alice Walker

34. Mistress by Mistake by Kim Lawrence- I had a go at reading a Harlequin Romance for a summer reading challenge and it was awful. Just not sexy at all. Disappointing!

35. How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto- I love the film, the book was equally good.

36. Batgirl Vol 2: Knight fall Descends by Gail Simone

37. Wonder Woman Vol 3 Iron by Brian Azzarello

38. Batman HUSH vol 1 by Jeph Loeb - Loved it. Bought it.

39. Wonder Woman Vol 4 War by Brian Azzarello

40. Batman Private Casebook by Paul Dini- I have no memories of this one, so it can't have been that good.

41. Night of the Living Dead: Behind the Scenes of the most Terrifying Zombie Movie Ever by Joe Kane-- pretty interesting. 

42. Batman Vol 2 HUSH by Jeph Loeb

43. Getting the Pretty Back by Molly Ringwald

44. Batman R.I.P by Grant Morrison

45. LARGE PRINT (Unshelved #8) by Bill Barnes--library humor. Love it.

46. Batman The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb -favorite

47. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch 

48. Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

49. The Stand by Stephen King (audio book)- I had heard this was a good one, and I enjoyed it, but it was great. I was glad that I had already read the book years ago, because I did tend to drift in and out but had a good idea of where I was. 

50. Smile by Raina Telgemeier

51. The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman

52. God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian by Kurt Vonnegut

53. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes - possibly made me love one of my favorite movie even more. 

54. Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite by Barry Deutsch 

55. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

56. A Matter of Life by Jeffery Brown

57. Rooms by Lauren Oliver- It was supposed to be a ghost story, but it was just crap. Absolute crap.

58. Thanksgiving by Sam Sifton 

59.  11/22/63 by Stephen King (audio book)- This was my other favorite for the year. I was never interested in sitting down to read this one. But my co-worker had listened to it, so I decided to give it a go and I was instantly hooked. The narrator and this story are MAGIC. I would find myself looking for excuses to drive, or sit in the car, so I could just listen. 

60. Batman: Gotham Underground by Frank Tieri- didn't like it. 

61. Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers

62. Redefining Girly: How Parents Can Fight the Stereotyping and Sexualizing of Girlhood, from Birth to Tween by Melissa Atkins Wardy- You can see my previous blog about this one.

63. How to Build A Girl by Caitlin Moran- LOVE. LAUGH OUT LOUD. LOVE. I'm such a fangirl over Caitlin Moran. 

64. The Art Of Asking: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer- I am such a fan of hers, and I was not disappointed in this book at all. I cried several times, I couldn't tear myself away from it. Must get it to add to my home collection. 

WHEW. That was a lot of typing. I'm quite impressed with this list *pats self on back*. I'm ready for 2015! 

Book Review: Redefining Girly: How Parents Can Fight the Stereotyping and Sexualizing of Girlhood, from Birth to Tween

Redefining Girly: How Parents Can Fight the Stereotyping and Sexualizing of Girlhood, from Birth to Tween by Melissa Atkins Wardy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was more curious as to how this information would be presented, rather than looking for a new resource. I've been reading and actively analyzing gender stereotyping for a long time. I think this would a be a great resource for someone new to the arena. Because as the author correctly states, "once you see it, you can't unsee it". How the media and retailers are dictating childhood is awful. What's terrifying is how many parents follow along, sometimes even accepting it even tho it makes them feel uncomfortable ,especially when it comes to the way girls are becoming objectified at younger and younger ages).

There's a lot of this that I think works for raising boys and girls. Many of these approaches I've used with my son since his birth. Gender neutral clothing and toys, encouraging arts and sciences rather than superhero/princess play (not that it's not present. I am a Batman fan, raising a Batman fan), being outside and playing hard, etc...these are things all kids need. There's also a lot of emphasis on the importance of boys and girls playing together, and making sure they are in environments that encourage this and how to deal with spaces- schools, daycares,doctors offices, etc- that can fall into the rut of separating by gender.

But there are definite problems with the book. First, Wardy skirts around slut-shaming often. She talks a lot about having open dialogues with your daughter, about how to deal with circumstances when she wants to wear clothes that may not be age appropriate. But instead of emphasizing just that, it can become a discussion of "what sort of attention do you think you'll get?" or "Do you understand the message an outfit like that gives?" Wardy's daughter is not a teenager, and I'd be curious to see how these conversations go when she does have one. I guess we will see on the blog?

She also doesn't seem to talk a lot about body confidence, other than the fact that we should encourage healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle. The one time weight is mentioned, it's that we should be worried about the rise of obesity. Young children, girls in particular, will go thru phases of thinning out and gaining weight. I felt like there could have been more discussion as to how to help with body confidence,again, other than healthy eating habit and active lifestyle! You can be both of those things and it does not ensure that you will have a physical physique that will safeguard your confidence.

One thing that caught me off guard is her absolute hatred of Monster High Dolls. Yes, she hates Barbie, and Bratz are awful, but Monster High Dolls ("Meanie Monsters" she calls them) had their own special write ups several times. Here's what bothered me "Girls that dress like that often don't have full and happy hearts, and they use clothing like that to get attention and make themselves feel full". I like Monster High dolls because they are so far from human reality. They are complete fantasy. But I feel like her conversation with her daughter is actually teaching her how to view people who are different, or alternative, as something to fear or that they mean.

I was also uncomfortable with Wardy's idea of "Branding". How she "branded" herself and how to try and find your child's "brand". I don't feel like you can really go up against companies trying to brand themselves to your child, and then turn around and try and do it yourself. It felt unnecessary. Encourage your child without trying to pigeon hole them. They are going to go thru phases and try out new things, sometime to push our buttons, and other times to test their own limits and levels of comfort. I think it would be ridiculous to try and keep them "on brand". So parents, toss that idea aside because it's trash. You can have a happy, thriving, adventurous kid without "branding".

Again, I didn't hate the book, but I'm sure you can see there was more I disliked than liked. But if I were approached by a parent or family member who was testing the waters, I think this would be a good starting off point of noticing the world around and how to engage in conversations with family, friends, teachers, doctors, dentists, retailers, etc... to try and be part of enacting change.



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Book Review: Food: A Love Story

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this. But I think Jim Gaffigan and I just feel just too differently about food for me to find much humor in this. I would never consider myself a foodie, but the foods we love/hate are completely opposite. So after the great introduction, which had me laughing out loud, the jokes fell flat after a few chapters. I gave it a good shot tho, making it over 100 pages, and skipping forward a few more chapters just to double check but no...I just could not enjoy this book.

It doesn't really feel like a love story about food, more like random commenting on food. It's a shame...because I really loved Dad is Fat, and I still think this has a great cover. I wonder how many other foods they tried before settled on the hot dog.


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Book Review: Getting The Pretty Back

Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick by Molly Ringwald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this book when I was shelving the biography section. "O hey- I love Molly. This should be good!" I mean, Pretty In Pink and Sixteen Candles are 2 of my most favorite movies. But then I read some of the reviews and I didn't know if I wanted to read it. A lot of the reviews were unforgiving, and I didn't want to ruin whatever idea I had of who Molly Ringwald is.

First off, it's not really a biography. Which is really disappointing, I would have loved to have read her autobiography and hear all the details of growing up in the Brat Pack, living in France, working on Broadway...but you don't really get any of that. Instead you get Molly Ringwald trying to help you find your pretty. Which is cool, I guess. Having 2 kids, I have lost some of that.

So here's what I've taken from this book:
- I need to find a black turtleneck. I used to have them, looked great in them, but I haven't owned one in years. I'm finding one this fall.

-Black Honey by Clinique is a *great* lip color. Another staple I used to have, why had I forgotten this? Need to add this back into my tiny makeup collection.

-Definitely making a cheese plate when people come over. Goat cheese, Brie or Camembert, English Cheddar (the real stuff, for sure), Gouda, and a blue cheese...That sounds like a nice time to me. Why were so many people in the reviews hating on the cheese plate? Cheese is delicious.

- I need to find a good, everyday handbag. It may be time to invest in a grown up purse. That's sort of scary for me.

-I've never had Bouillabaisse, but I want to try it. Honestly, I just want to have more time to eat good food. I agree with a lot of her sentiments on food.

-A beret sounds like a good idea...

-...and so does buying new underwear.

I've fallen into the mom rut.

Of course I'm never going to find (or fit into) a Yves Saint Laurent vintage trench coat. But I don't have to. Reviewers seem really hung up on that and the Hermes scarf (which, again, you don't have to buy, but is it wrong to learn how to tie a scarf? I think not...)

And I don't agree that only skinny people should wear skinny jeans. CLothes are for everybody as long as it makes them feel...wait for it...pretty.

The book never feels quite self-help, and it's written in a pretty informal girl-friend kind of way. In spite of myself, I found myself enjoying it, even tho I avoid both chick lit and self help like the plague. It fall into my "quick easy read" category.

NOW...time to shop and eat some tasty food.


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Book Jar

What to read next? What to read next? My To-Read stash, hidden in the top of my closet, is so overwhelming I rarely pull from it and either buy something or just take something out from the library. But then I read this great article/idea from Book Riot about a Book Jar , it was just too perfect not to do.

Now it's not ALL the books. I wasn't going to pull books down to get to the very back. So these are all the books I could see easily enough and list. It also doesn't mean I'm going to concentrate solely on my jar, and not enjoy my comics, library books, or whatever else. I usually juggle 3 things anyways. This will just hopefully encourage me to start reading/weeding my horde.

Did I mention there's a used book sale the end of this month? More to the stash.

Worst book of the year? Already?

Geek Girls Unite: How Fangirls, Bookworms, Indie Chicks, and Other Misfits Are Taking Over the World by Leslie Simon
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

It was at this quote, I quit reading this book:

"Patti Smith, on the other hand, was not one of the lookers, but her overwhelming stage presence and protagonist musical style made her utterly captivating, endlessly powerful, and oddly attractive". (pg 96)

FUCK. OFF.

There is nothing "unifying" in the author's tone about geek women and fandom. Which is a shame, because she's nabbed a fantastic title and written a shit book. I feel like this would only be a title worth reading for someone who wanted to pose as a geek. It's like she wiki'd and wrote all the talking points of geekdom.

I do hope that someone does one day write a proper book on women and fandoms though. Shame this wasn't the one.


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Book Review: Glamping with MaryJane

Glamping with MaryJane: Glamour + Camping by MaryJane Butters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I love it nonetheless. Where to start?

First, I wish that it had more GLAMPING in it. I would have loved a book of nothing but gorgeous campsites and trailers. In that regard, the book was a bit of a tease. It provides loads of inspiration and definitely set me daydreaming.

The author really wants to share a lot of information tho. Like how to hitch a trailer, how to change a tire, why it may be a good idea to carry a firearm, etc...Things that are undoubtedly important when camping, but this is hardly the resource I think anyone would go to to try and learn those things.

There's also a lot of use of parenthesis. (It gets a bit much. Why not just have another sentence. When I keep seeing things in parenthesis it makes me want to whisper. Used excessively it makes me think of Mare Winningham's Mother in St. Elmo's Fire).

It's not quite a manual. Not quite a coffee book. It's some bizarre mix in-between and I wish there had been a bit more focus one way or another.

So why 4 stars? Because 4 stars means I really liked it, and I did, despite it's shortcomings. I am making plans to glamp up my back garden now. And this season when I take something pretty on our camping trips, I will feel a tad less silly.


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Oscar's Book Nook

Like so many other ideas, when we bought our home this past September, I wanted to blog as we decorated and renovated. But things moved quicker than I could keep up with. I will probably still blog renovations when we start them (and believe me, there are plenty of renovations to be done!), but I can go ahead and share a few things we've done decoration wise.

Surprise, surprise---books nooks are a big deal to us. We have a plan for one in the living room, and I want a small one in our bedroom. But as it is, it was easiest to start with Oscar's room.

Inspiration came from this much shared pin on Pinterest:

But let me tell you....those IKEA spice racks are sold out most of the time. So it was frustrating waiting for the moment that the internet would say they were in stock and then plan a trip to Charlotte and hope they weren't again sold out. Thankfully, tho, IKEA is ever so kind, and puts the dimensions of all their products on their pages. So Griff was able to buy the wood and cut the shelves himself. It also meant that Oz could pick the color that he'd like for them to be.

It's also worth noting that when we told Oz he was going to have his own room, we asked what color he would like it to be. His answer was "RAINBOW!!!". Every time. I found some interesting rooms painted rainbow that was a bit more effort than I was wanting to put in. So I resolved myself as many colorful accents to make it a rainbow room for him....but this is about his nook. FOCUS.

I think it's quite a comfy little nook. I want to buy a little rainbow rug for in front of the chair. The lighting is quite harsh (photo was taken with my camera phone), but the shelves are actually a bright green. My mom bought the chair for Oz ages ago and it's been at her house. It was a challenge convincing him to let us bring it home.

And of course, for Christmas we decorated the nook as well. I changed out all of the book with holiday ones.

I'm happy with how much he uses his space. Sometimes when he's having a rough moment and I take him to his room to calm down he will climb in his chair and grab a magazine. Usually he forgets he's even upset and then will rejoin me when  he's done having a read. And sometimes I find him there just of his own. It makes my heart sing that he loves his books. I think this nook has a fair few years to go before we have reorganize the room to make a shared bedroom for him and Tilda. We will see what we come up with then.

Working Mummies

Working Mummies by Joan Horton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Since going back to work, Oz has had some anxiety. Now when I leave I hear a lot of "I miss you" and "Don't go"'s. It breaks my heart, but I love my job and it's only part time, so I know he'll be fine. And in the long run, it's important that I keep doing what I love.

So while I was shelving children's books the other evening I found this and it couldn't be more perfect for us. It's Halloween ghoulish, and it's talking about something on both our minds.

Overall, I love it. The illustrations are fantastic, the rhyming cute. I want it for my collection of children's ghoulish books. The only reason I'm giving it an "official" 3 stars is because the jobs are...well, a bit on the traditionally female side. I would have loved to seen a bit more diversity (a Police Officer, a Lawyer or Judge...).

And personally, I loved that it included a librarian (even though title is librarian assistant, but who knows? One day I just may get that Masters and official title!).

"This mummy's a librarian.
She has a great selection
Of rare and wiggly book worms
In her specimen collection."

That page alone was what I needed to share with Oz. And the illustration is of a Mummy with short hair and glasses. So pretty darn close to perfect.


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The 2013 Book List

So I made a quite manageable goal of 25 books for 2013. At some point I realized it was filling up with Graphic Novels quite quickly, so I quit officially adding them.

1. Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood by Naomi Wolf. --I finished reading this before I found out I was pregnant. Interesting. That or I just don't remember.

2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White--My sister and I are still working through our "list" of books you should have read in school but probably didn't. I never read this one. I loved the cartoon. And I'll be honest, I didn't care much for the book. Wilbur is an annoying little pig. I have no idea what Charlotte friended him. He's a whiner. I wonder what my impression would have been as a child tho? I'll be curious to hear what Oz and Tilda think when they are older and reading.

3. Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian- I really wanted to like this one, but I was just bored by it. It took me ages to finish it. I just didn't care like I had hoped I would.

4. Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir-- It's not brilliant writing, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Love Cyndi. LOVE. HER.

5. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury---This is the first Bradbury book I've read. I fell in love with it. The story, the illustrations...it's magic. I had to buy the cartoon DVD and add it to our collection as well. This is something I hope to make the whole family fall in love with.

6. Walking Dead 14: Way Out

7. Walking Dead 15: Find Ourselves

8. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me by Ellen Forney---I anticipated that I would enjoy the illustrations of this, but I was surprised at how moving the story was. I have found other works/memoirs about depression to be overly indulgent and I get frustrated with the author. Instead, in this one I feel like I learned a lot. I hope to find more of Forney's works to read.

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling--So, the plan was to read all of the Harry Potter books while I was pregnant. No such thing happened! But I enjoyed revisiting the first. I will always remember how magical it was the first time I read it, and none of the magic has faded. It's such a complete world. I wish I could go there.

10. How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran---LOVED THIS. I took this out at the library, and I want to add it to my collection. Laugh out loud hilarious.

11. Everyday is an Atheist Holiday by Penn Jillette---I may not agree with all of Penn's views, but the man makes me laugh.

12. Banished: Surviving my Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lauren Drain-- Meh. They're horrible people, no surprises. Drain was kicked out of the church, but she's making money out of it. I don't think she's terribly sorry for the practices she took part in.

13. Stitches by David Small---another graphic novel memoir. Enjoyed.

14. Walking Dead 16: A Larger World

15. The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings---This was a fun read while we spent some time discussing whether or not we'd be homeschooling Oz (answer? probably not. Unless he asks us when he's older). But Cummings investigates all the different styles and goes "undercover" to get better ideas of how and why people homeschool, while trying to figure out how to school her own daughter. It was a good read.

16. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris--A lot of fans of Sedaris do not like this particular book. I saw him read one of these stories for a BBC Radio 4 recording, so I think I feel a bit nostalgic. I enjoyed it. It's not a sit down and read through book tho, and that's probably the mistake people are making. They are fables. You need to read one here and there.

17. Help! I'm a Prisoner in the the Library by Eth Clifford--Loved this as a child. I checked it back out when I started working this year. Definitely need to either find my copy packed away in my parent's storage, or I'm going to need to buy it. I'm starting to become a bit obsessed with children's books set in a library.

18. Batgirl Vol 1: The Darkest Reflection----Batgirl has small boobs. This was incredibly important to me. She can fight crime because she doesn't have a ridiculous chest. I'm excited to watch this story unfold.

19. Y: The Last Man. Vol 1: Unmanned---Another new comic obsession coming on! I started by checking them out, and I've come to a standstill as we don't have Vol 5 in the system. I may just have to start buying them once I've caught up on Walking Dead. It's a fantastic story.

20. Batman: Noel---It's a Batman version of A Christmas Carol. WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE!?!? Griff bought it for me for Christmas and it's a great addition.

21. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury---Another book on the sister's reading list. And I got Griff to read it with me as well. He actually tore through and read it quickly. It took me a bit longer to get into it, but once I did I fell in love. It had been awhile since I had to sit with a pen next to me so I could underline as I read along. So many amazing passages. It's a new favorite.

22. The Plain Janes #1----Graphic Novel about a group of high school girls (all named Jane) who begin to art bomb their community. It's such a lovely concept and idea. It made me wish I had been that clever in high school.

23. How to Make Your Child a Reader for Life by Paul Kropp---A lot of the resources are dated, but I think the bones of information are still relevant.

24. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin---Griff started reading these and it had been a long time since I had seen him so excited about a book. He was talking to me about them non-stop, and I found myself asking more and more questions. So I started reading the first one, and I found myself really enjoying it. I won't be reading the series back to back like Griff has. I need to break it up a bit, otherwise I'll burn out and never finish. Plus, I really enjoy being surprised by the show. So I don't want to read ahead.

25. The Great Gatsby---That's right. Another from the sister list. This is one of Meghan's favorites, and I missed this one in high school. Crazy, right? It took a little while to get into the rhythm of writing, but once I did, I found myself enjoying it. But it was so sad. I did not expect it to end so sadly.

26. Illustrated Classic's A Christmas Carol--After having a baby, I didn't think I could sit and read the book. So I decided to read the graphic novel version.

So there ya go! Here's to a lot more reading in 2014. Griff's on first shift now, so we can go to bed together at a "decent" hour and lay and read for a bit. Also? Nursing a baby gets boring and there's nothing to do but read. Working in a library is good for encouraging a bit of reading too :) So more, more, more in 2014! I've set a higher number this year (50) because if I'm going to read a load of Graphic Novels, I'm going to count them. Ready....set....GO!

No one, I think, is in my tree....

I just finished reading Cyndi Lauper's autobiography. I don't really feel like reviewing it. It was good, I enjoyed it. I love her music, her style, her dedication to her craft and cause. While this isn't one of "her" songs, I think she did a beautiful cover. It's hard to hear a Beatles' cover I like, let alone love. I love this.

misconceptions

I finished Naomi Wolf's Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, and the Unexpected on the Journey to Motherhood. I feel a bit mixed about the book on whole, and as it's the first book of her's I've read, I'm nervous that the other titles that she's written won't live up to my expectations. But I'll share my thoughts on this one, starting with the good first.

I enjoyed how this was such an exact journey of her path to motherhood, through pregnancy, labor & birth, and into discovering this new balance and sense of self that comes with being a mother. There are so many things about the entire process that women just do not share with each other. Because of judgement? Fear? Feeling that *this* feeling of joy/anger/resentment/exhaustion is somehow unique only to you, and to share that would be a risk. You don't want to scare the women who are thinking about motherhood, or pregnant, or even new. You don't want to risk being ostracized from whatever group you belong to (groups that are oddly, thrown together just because you are now a parent. People you would have never met or necessarily talked to before. Now you share this commonality, and are thrust into parallel lives that now mean FRIENDSHIP).

This particular quote I felt expressed similar feelings I had at the time:

"I was mourning, protesting a point of departure in the road that I could never retrace. An "I" would go forward, swept irrevocably on the by the tide of the natural order, and that "I" would sit on the sofa hour after hour and be someone's Lithium, someone's Lethe, someone's Popsicle- someone who would come to be a love of my life, but whom I did not yet know. And the "I" would reconfigure eventually around that need, and take joy in it, and spin a new identity. But it would never again be the "I" it had been before" (pg. 106).

...and honestly still have. Motherhood is both more complicated- and at the same time, simpler- than I could have imagined. The identity I had before is sometimes in conflict with who I am now. It's a strange journey for sure.

I also enjoyed Wolf's examination of both the medicalized and "natural" (I prefer the term unmedicated) approaches to childbirth in the United States; and the conflict she felt in what she wanted and idealized, and the one that she felt would make her feel safest. Unfortunately, the system failed her, like it fails hundreds of thousands of women every year. It is at this point, I struggle. I see so many women who go into have their baby with the mindset "I don't care what happens, I just want my baby to be fine and healthy", and sadly put both their physical and mental well-fair unknowingly in jeopardy. And instead of discussing this, it becomes par for the national standard dialogue of how we are expected to bring our babies into the world.

Without going into all the details about my birth experience, I have to say I felt like I was getting the best of both worlds. By all the research I had read, having my baby in the UK was already a plus in my favor in achieving the delivery that we had hoped for. Which is why when I see the UK system glorified, I cringe. The midwives in the UK are underpaid and overworked. I don't carry the blame (at myself, and the system) that I did for the first year or so and anger and disappointment in myself. But I do believe that their system is stressed. That said, I would go back and have another baby in the UK. I am still terrified of having one in the US, especially in light of the fact that the currently government is pushing to place all rights of the fetus above those of the mother. But I digress....

What I wish, and what Wolf points out so well, is that both communities need to be working together to provide the best opportunities for birthing mothers.

"...there are for the most part only two doors that most of us have access to. Each camp- the traditional high-tech hospital route and the natural childbirth approach- has great skills to share with the other. Each camp needs to be talking with the other in a relationship of equality and respect, collaborating with the other and creating a birth culture and real choices for women out of the best that each has to offer. Women would be best served if all birthing establishments were shaped by the insights of both camps." (pg. 202)

That quote. THAT QUOTE. I believe it so much.

So the things I didn't like about the book....
Well, in the afterward, Wolf addresses the criticisms I (and apparently a LOT of readers) came away with after reading it. The biggest being that this is a very singular look at these "Misconceptions". For the most part, it's about white upper middle class women coming to terms with motherhood. And it causes a big disconnect (at least it did for me). So I'm not going to harp on it. I also hated that she referred to the Le Leche League as "fascists" because I think the work that they do is important. Sometimes, whether intended or not, Wolf stirs the Mommy-Wars pot, which is always disappointing.

I wish that women could for-go the judgement and present a united front when it comes to motherhood; parenthood. It's hard. And it's harder when you feel like you're having to defend and justify yourself at every turn.

So that's my review. The end.

2012 Book List

Hands down, this was my worst year of reading that I can recall. It was nearly impossible for me to hold my focus on anything enough to finish. I think I have 4 or 5 books I'm halfway through at the moment. The year before I completed 50 read books/graphic novels. So this year I set a goal of 55. I came in with 24 of 55 read,  11 of which were graphic novels. Not good, people. So this year, reading is going to become a top priority for me again. It's something that is so tied to who I am and how I identify myself...I feel so disappointed in myself (which I think is probably something only a book worm could identify with).

My GIANT HUGE EXCEPTION to all of this though, is that I haven't included children's books. I read to Oz a lot. He gets 3-5 books at bedtime every night and we like to rotate out loads, and we buy him books all. the. time. The kid loves books and we are really encouraging a love of reading. So what I've lacked in myself, I feel I've more than made up for as a parent. I really should start reviewing our favorite children's books, because there are so many fantastic ones out there. Oz's favorite of all time is Dinosaur Roar, which while he doesn't speak very clearly, he can "read" the entire book to YOU. Amazing.

So here's what I read in 2012:
1. Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breast

2. A Year Without 'Made In China': One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara Bongiorni

3. Batman: Haunted Knight by Jeph Loeb

4. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

5. Walking Dead #9 Here We Remain

6. Walking Dead #10 What We Became

7. Harley Quinn: Preludes and Knock-Knock Jokes by Karl Kesel

8. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

9. This Books is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All by Marilyn Johnson

10. The Addams Family: An Evilution by Charles Addams

11. French Milk by Lucy Knisley

12. The Birth House by Ami McKay (possibly my favorite of the year)

13. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner

14. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mandy Kaling

15. Then Again by Diane Keaton

16. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

17. Batman: Knightfall Vol. 1. Broken Bat by Doug Moench

18. The Visable Man by Chuck Klosterman

19. Walking Dead #11 Fear the Hunters

20. Night by Elie Wiesel

21. Batman: Knightfall Vol. 2 Who Rules the Night by Doug Moench

22. Walking Dead #12 Life Among Them

23. Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural Holiday of Halloween by David Skal

24. Walking Dead #13 Too Far Gone

We also got some great use out of the library this year, so that's always a plus. Reading this list and sharing it, I want to comment on so many of them. So I will try and make an effort to comment on them on goodreads and share here.

And while I should be saving this for the Resolutions blog, I will go ahead and share the big challenge Griff and I have set for ourselves this year.

This year we aren't going to be buying books. If we've discovered anything this year it's that we have been hoarding books and it's slightly ridiculous. We could probably go 2+ years and read something "new" to us and still have some leftover. Seriously. It's ridiculous. So we need to read what we have and save some money (although everything we buy is used anyways). Of course, the exception is Oz's books. Oz gets books. And while I think trading in for store credit should be fair game, Griff disagrees. So we'll see. AND Salem's Lot. If I find a new one, that goes towards the collection.

So here's hoping 2013 is THE YEAR OF THE BOOK.

Something I'm not going to do anymore...

Try to read books I'm not enjoying. I just can not do it anymore. I used to try and plow through things in the hopes that it would get better, but from here on, I REFUSE.

What brings this is on is that I *finally* got a hold of the latest Charlaine Harris "Dead Reckoning" at the library. The last few Sookie Stackhouse books have been pretty tedious to get through, but I've stuck with it. But now, I no longer can. This "Reckoning" was just so badly written and I found myself no longer caring what was going on. 2 chapters in and I was done. Back to the library!

I also had taken out a several books about Waldorf schools. The first one was, I think, a bit too...I don't know. If I were an educator wanting to read about schooling, maybe I would have found it interesting. But for myself, I am wanting something that can convey to me the principles of how to integrate ideas from the school into the home (because let's be honest here, I will never be able to afford to send my kids to a Waldorf school). But I'm not looking for an academic book, per se. So that went back too. I have 3 more to get through.

So there. Books that suck, or do not entice me, you have been warned. I will re-shelve your ass.

2011 Book List

I look forward to this post all year. Last year, with the help of Goodreads, I challenged myself to read 50 books/graphic novels. I also set myself "The Rule" that everything read this year had to be new. Well, new to me. I couldn't re-read anything (with the exception of Salem's Lot. I read that every year and I don't see that changing anytime soon). I'll be honest, there were moments where I did not think I would make it. My spare time on the Road was spent knitting rather than reading. But I did it! So here it is; The 2011 Book List:

1. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
2. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
3. The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires from Nosferatu to Count Chocula by Eric Nazum
4. How to Fit a Car Seat on a Camel: and other misadventures traveling with kids by Sarah Franklin (While this wasn't a phenomenal book, it gave a lot of confidence that our Road Trip would be possible with Oz being so young).
5. Room by Emma Donoghue
6. James and the Giant Peach by Ronal Dahl
7. America Unchained by Dave Gorman
8. Batman: Terror by Doug Moench
9. The Walking Dead: Days Gone By by Robert Kirkman - This series is absolutely incredible. It never ceases to shock. Absolutely fantastic.
10. The Walking Dead: Miles Behind Us
11. The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
12. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
13. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
14. It's Only a Movie by Mark Kermode
15. The Walking Dead: Safety Behind Bars
16. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua - It was the book that every mother loved to hate this year. Despite many bloggers claims, this is far from a how-to manual of Chinese Mothering. Instead I found Chua to be painfully honest about her short comings as a mother and how every child can not be parented the same.
17. The Walking Dead: The Heart's Desire
18. The Walking Dead: The Best Defense
19. Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future by Sunita Mehta
20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
21. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
22. Th Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
23. Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Year Later... by Francine Pascal
24. Hippo Eats Dwarf by Alex Boese
25. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
26. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
27. A Tale of the Batman: Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn
28. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Absolutely phenomenal. Without a doubt, the book/series of the year for me.
29. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich- I think this should be required reading.
30. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
31. Bossypants by Tina Fey
32. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
33. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands by Chelsea Handler- Yeah, I didn't think this was very funny considering all the hype about how hilarious Handler is.
34. The Walking Dead: This Sorrowful Life
35. House Rules by Jodi Picoult- I thought the ending to this was such a cop out. I don't know if I will be picking up any more Picoult for awhile.
36. Batman: Gotham After Midnight by Steve Niles
37. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti
38. Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? by Neil Gaiman
39. Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi
40. Batman: Joker's Asylum Vol 2 by Landry Q. Walker
41. Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg
42. The Walking Dead: The Calm Before
43. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
44. Salem's Lot by Stephen King
45. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
46. Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman- RAGE
47. Tinsel: A search for America's Christmas Present by Hank Stuever
48. Midwives by Christ Bohjalian
49. The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told by Mike Gold
50. Walking Dead: Made to Suffer

Looking back, I am also really impressed with how much I used the Library this year.

SO now we plan for 2012. This year the goal is 55 books and I am committing myself to series and non-fiction. What what all did you read? Discover any new favorites?

Fuck off Skinny Bitch

Skinny Bitch: A No-Nonsense, Tough-Love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous! by Rory Freedman

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I picked this up off the library shelf because I had heard that it was a pretty funny, informative read. I found it to be wrong on both counts. If I had known about it's "Vegan or Bust" attitude towards nutrition (and fear-mongering) I probably wouldn't have bothered.

This book isn't funny. If anything it only perpetuates woman-on-woman hate and self loathing for one's body. If you want to be skinny, you have to really hate yourself and be willing to no longer enjoy eating food at all, ever again.

They actually suggest holding off eating until you are absolutely ravenous. Don't eat breakfast until you can no longer stand it, and don't eat lunch until you are insane with hunger. How is that healthy?

O that's right. THIS BOOK IS WRITTEN BY MODELS.

When a book suggests "Donate Blood. You can save a life and lose weight at the same time" (pg. 182) something is wrong. Very, very wrong.



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Adventures in Book Hunting

So I am a Stephen King fan. In particular, a 'Salem's Lot fan. So when my sister found a website to a bookstore specializing in Stephen King books called Betts Books we immediately added to the list of places we needed to see on our travels. It had originally been located in Bangor, Maine but has now been relocated to Fairfield, Connecticut.

So this morning we headed out from Amherst, Mass. and put the address to Betts Books into the GPS. We were checking out of our hotel at noon and a last minute check had me finding that Books closes at 3. With a 2 hour drive that would leave us an hour for browsing. We were off!

We were making great time and then when were about 10 minutes away we hit some major traffic so we took a detour that would add another 20 minutes to our drive. That would give us only 30 minutes to browse...that is if they decided to stay open. Indie bookstores have that luxury of "O no one is in, let's close early".

The GPS started leading us into a residential neighborhood. Initially Griff thought it was giving us a shortcut but all of a sudden we found ourselves parked in front of someone's house with the GPS announcing we'd reached our destination.

BUT THIS ISN"T A BOOKSHOP! IT'S SOMEONE'S HOUSE.

I was freaking out and screaming swear words at the GPS for taking us to the wrong damn place and threatening to destroy it for its stupidity.

Griff drove up the drive way. "But this is someones HOUSE" I kept saying.

Griff, "Look, see that SK sticker on the car? I'm going to go and have a look. If it says Stephen King, I'm knocking on the door. If not, we're driving!".

Next thing I see my husband going up to knock on the door and lo and behold, the gentleman does run the bookshop for his home. Apparently most sales are done from online and about 5 people in the last 3 years have shown up on his doorstep.

He was amazingly kind and we had a great chat about King books, illustrations and was able to examine some great editions.

And Yes. I did buy something. I bought a 2 books and some prints.

Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Valentine's to me.

Simon Pegg's Nerd Do Well

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Simon Pegg doesn't like to talk about himself. He really doesn't and tells you straight from the start. So how does a memoir written by someone who guards their privacy work? Well, surprisingly well. Pegg waxes nostalgic a lot about his childhood and how his belief in chaos theory- all the interests he had and choices he made- brought him to the point he is at now.

But in my opinion, the book shines when Pegg talks about the things he loves. Like Star Wars and zombie movies, and being a fan of those myself (who also studied film theory as a major at university) it was hands down the best part. Honestly, if Pegg just decided to write a book about films and general geekdom it probably would have been a more interesting read.

Because there was some disappointment. It took so long for him to finally start writing about his professional career, and when he finally did it was highly glossed over quickly and then the book ended. As a huge fan of both Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, I think he could have written more about those times without pointing the finger at anyone who maybe was less than stellar to work with.

Gossip-y Hollywood Memoir it is not. Which was nice, but there wasn't a lot of substance as far as his professional career is concerned either. Oddly enough, when it was over I didn't feel like I had wasted my time, I kinda just wanted to sit down the pub and talk Star Wars.

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In the gutter

If you look at my Goodreads "What is Ashley Reading" box, it will tell you that I am reading 7 books. This is, in fact, a lie. I am in a book rut. An ugly, ugly, ugly book rut. Let me break it down quickly:

1. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes- Was it really 2 years ago? Could it have been? Maybe not...but it's been well over a year since I began reading through all the Holmes stories and I haven't been able to progress in this one at all. We're at stalemate, and I don't know when this will change.

2.The Baby Book by Dr. Sears- I don't know why I decided to list this one as something I am currently reading. I use it when I need it, but I by no means am reading the whole damn thing cover to cover. I haven't actually "needed" to pick it up in months.

3.Road Trip USA- I bought this because we're going on a road trip, so obviously I wanted a book about going on a road trip. I have to say, I've been pretty disappointed in this book. It's full of parks to see and places to eat. And the suggestions for places to stay are usually of the more pricey variety. Again, WHY did I enter as something I am currently reading? I do not know. Personally, I have gotten a lot more use and enjoyment out of used and outdated copy of Lonely Planet's Guide to the USA. But whatevs....

4. A History of Wife- I first took this out at my local library when we lived in England. I returned it before we moved and then when we landed in the US, I went to my parents local library and took it out again. It's a fascinating and a very well researched book, but it reads like a text book which is making it a slow one to get through.

5. Azazel- Every so often Griff and I will beg the other to read one of our favorite books. Griff and I have very different tastes in reading (he being of the sci-fi/fantasy variety) and occasionally we try and overlap and expand the others' mind a bit :) So he gave me Azazel which is a collection of short stories about a tiny demon. It's pretty good, but I can't read short story after short story, I have to break it up a bit. Unfortunately, the copy of this book suffered an accident. My water bottle leaked in my purse and now the book is SOAKED and I'm waiting for it to dry out. Luckily it's hot as balls outside, so hopefully it will dry out soon.

6. The Life of Joan Crawford- WOW. What can I say. This book sucked so hard I threw it across the bed and refused to read another page. The author is such an unapologetic fan that his whole history of Crawford is skewed. And he had the annoying habit of summarizing each movie. I can't stand that when reading a biography. I understand that sometimes the film an actor/actress was working on plays into the biography, but not every single film. It was horrible. But I started it with the intention of finishing it. But I'll be honest, once upon a time I would have. A time before Oz and I could finish shitty books for the sake of saying I finished them. But that time has passed. If I'm going to read something I'm going to damn well enjoy it.

7. Nerd Do Well- This is Simon Pegg's autobiography, and so far it's pretty good. I don't love it tho. I feel like I'm going through the motions. Which means I'm sort of dragging my heels about reading it.

When I'm reading a good book, I can't get enough. I actually look forward to Oz's nap time because it means we get to snuggle in bed and I get to read for a good hour or so. Right now, I get him to sleep and then do chores. The last series I read, The Hunger Games, was so brilliant and intense I just haven't been able to fill the void. Yet. I'm on it tho. I will find something good to read. Till then, you will have to just bear with the ridiculous list of 7 in my corner and know, that NO, I am not really reading all of those. It's just that if I mark it "As Read" then it will go towards my goal of 50 and that would be lying. And I don't lie...not even on the internet.

Music Challenge-Day 28- A song that makes you feel guilty

I'm not sure what that means exactly. If a song makes me feel guilty, surely I would turn it off and never listen to it again? I honestly can not think of a song that induces in me the feelings of GUILT. I find that to be a very different thing to a guilty pleasure (which has already been listed). So I'm not going to try and come up with a song that makes me feel that way. I've thought it over and it would be contrived.

I'll just share a song I like. We all need more Kate Bush in our lives anyways...and apparently she's working on a new album! Rejoice!

And on a side note...Did you have to read Wuthering Heights in high school? I did and I hated it! I thought Heathcliff and Cathy were just horrible people who deserved their misery. For some reason I think I should re-read it as an adult. Sometimes you just don't get these things when you're 18. *shrugs*