It’s time for 5 Minutes for Books’s monthly nightstand – and I am GOING to post this on the day, even if it means skipping pictures!
I don’t particularly feel like I’ve been reading less lately, but I’ve certainly completed fewer books this month than many months. And what I have finished has been racing to keep ahead of books that have to be returned to the library (I really should try checking out fewer – I have about 90, including children’s picture books, checked out right now.)
Books for Loving:
- I’m in the middle of a rather dense defense of divine sovereignty just now – and thus haven’t finished any “books for loving” this month.
Books for Growing:
- Beyond the Sling by Mayim Bialik
An introduction to attachment parenting (AP) – a mix of psychology/neurobiology and the practicalities of how Bialik does AP. There are a number of aspects of attachment parenting that I find appealing and practical (exclusive breastfeeding and babywearing especially), but I am ultimately unconvinced that AP has the scientific support proponents think it has. Most of the studies Bialik cites show how detrimental truly awful parenting can be (that is, abusive and neglectful parenting) – but fail to show how AP-style parenting is preferable to more traditionally Western childrearing practices (standard potty training vs. elimination communication, some variation on crying-it-out and separate sleeping vs. bedsharing, authoritative discipline including some spanking vs. no spanking and a less authoritative discipline style, etc.) I found this interesting as a look at AP, but found little that I consider useful to my own parenting practices. - Beautiful Babies by Kristen Michaelis
Another “growing” book that turned out to be entirely unhelpful. This is basically a defense of the Weston A. Price diet for pregnancy and early childhood. The nutrition advice ranges from odd to downright dangerous. The rationale for the advice is nostalgia and cherry-picked scientific studies. And Michaelis (like a lot of self-taught nutritionists) despises me and my ilk (that is, people with actual training in nutrition.) My husband enjoyed(?) many a rant from his wife thanks to this book.
Books for Knowing:
- Jewish Family Celebrations by Arlene Rossen Cardozo
A decent introduction to the Sabbath, the festivals of the Jewish year, and the life-cycle rituals of Judaism. This book has scripts, recipes, and traditional (or less traditional) activities associated with each celebration. One oddity is that the author seems to be a practicing but non-religious Jew. That is, she performs the rituals associated with Judaism but gives no evidence that she believes them to be anything other than ancient myth ritualized by a surviving people – thus, the enduring nature of Judaism is what is celebrated rather than the definitive action of God in calling Israel out from among the other nations.
Books for Seeing:
- Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
I’ve only seen “My Fair Lady” a couple dozen times, so it’s only fitting that I finally read the play upon which the musical was based. I found myself surprised at how well the musical follows the script, at least inasmuch as the text is preserved. On further reflection, I realize that the brevity of Shaw’s original work assists greatly in its conversion into a (rather long) musical – as opposed to the many books I’ve seen mangled from trying to reduce 300+ pages of text into 90 minutes. I appreciated Shaw’s decidedly unromantic ending and his reflections on the personalities of his characters. Maybe now I need to read Ovid’s Metamorphoses, from whence Shaw’s title came?
Books for Enjoying:
- Halt’s Peril by John Flanagan
The penultimate book of the “Ranger’s Apprentice” series. I continue to enjoy the adventures of Will and his friends. This book was particularly interesting since the main “enemy” was not soldiers arrayed in battle lines but… well… something else. :-) - Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
This was my book club’s MARCH read – and I finally got around to finishing it here in May. But don’t let that give you the wrong impression. This was an engaging look at family and belonging – told through the eyes of a modern-day foster child and a Depression-era orphan train rider. It was fascinating to learn more about the incredibly-long-running orphan train phenomenon – and I look forward to learning more about the orphan trains and their riders (perhaps by visiting Concordia Kansas’s Orphan Train museum.)
Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!
I read (or rather listened to) Pygmalion last year and really enjoyed it. At first I was sad that the ending was different from the musical, but after reading his epilogue, it made sense and seemed more realistic.
I like your divisions of “Books for Seeing”, “Learning”, etc. That’s a cool way to divide things up.
My eyes tend to glaze over when people talk about the vital importance of breast feeding, baby wearing, etc. As three of my children are adopted I totally comprehend the need for bonding but I think stressing that things have to be Just So increases guilt and rather distracts from the mission of parenting in general.