Nightstand (February 2015)

We visited our parents over this past weekend – and while traveling is always exhausting, this particular visit seemed even more so (likely because Tirzah Mae seems to have gotten day and night confused again – or, more accurately, has decided to apply her daytime habit of eating every 1-2 hours to nighttime as well.) We spent yesterday breastfeeding (she literally spent no more than a 15 minute segment away from the breast until Daniel arrived home from work) – and thus NOT writing a Nightstand post. Ah, c’est la vie.

Fiction read this month:

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
  A terribly gripping fantastical steam-powered novel. It drew me in and kept me through Tirzah Mae’s first round of lots-of-shots. Title is linked to my review.
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
  Growing up, this was probably one of my favorite books in the series – probably because of the ever-present food. I’ve been reading with Barbara’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge and cooking Farmer Boy inspired meals. Yum! I also wrote some reflections from the chapter on springtime
• 11 picture books author last name BRETT-BROMLEY

Nonfiction read this month:

• The American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
  When Tirzah Mae arrived early, we suddenly realized all sorts of things we hadn’t gotten in order before she was born – stuff like, what happens to her if we were to have some sort of unfortunate accident? I checked a couple dozen books on estate planning out of the library, but The American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates was the one that I ended up reading cover to cover (with the exception of a few clearly nonapplicable chapters.) This book does a great job of guiding the reader through wills, trusts, and other forms of inheritance – including planning for any number of “what ifs”. I definitely recommend this as a resource for those who are beginning the process of writing or updating their will.
• Urban Farming an “At*Issue” book
  Supposed to be multiple perspectives on this fascinating topic – turned out to be an extended infomercial for urban farming. Title is linked to my review.
• The Mechanical Baby by Daniel Beekman
  A history of childrearing practices from the middle ages through the 1970s (when the book was written. Fascinating.
• The Post-Pregnancy Handbook by Sylvia Brown and Mary Dowd Struck
  Theoretically, a great idea for a book. Very poor execution makes me unable to recommend it. Title is linked to my review.
• Budget Dinners by Good Housekeeping
  This book announces that it “includes delicious meals under $10” – I’m not sure how well it succeeds at keeping costs below $10, since I didn’t really count up the cost and I generally am a relatively frugal cook anyway. But it delivered on deliciousness. I flagged over a dozen of the 100 recipes as ones to try and tried at least a half dozen. Of the recipes we tried, there were a couple we didn’t prefer (as much because I misestimated Daniel’s preferences as anything), but most were very good and worth adding to our repertoire. This is an excellent book with full color photos and easy-to-prepare meals. I recommend it.

On the docket for next month:

• Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
  Because it’s still not too late to read it for the February Reading to Know Classics Bookclub.
• The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
  For the March Reading to Know Classics Bookclub.
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
  for my in-real-life bookclub

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!