What I've Been Reading
Hi Everyone!
It's been a long time since I've done a post like this, so I have a bit of a stack. Trying to figure out what to read next...insomnia is an issue these days and I need something fun and engaging, not too heavy for the middle of the night. And suggestions, please leave them in the comments. Thank you! :)
But anyway, back to what I've been reading over the past several months (from the bottom of the stack to the top):
- I Love Your Style, Amanda Brooks--I actually read this on bed rest after my FET way back in July, and it was the perfect, light read for then. The pictures are wonderful. Highly recommended if you like this kind of thing
- When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads, Barbara Luke and Tamara Eberlin--Obviously, only of interest if you're in the same boat I am, but I have found this book indispensible, especially as far as eating/weight gain guidelines and how to be careful and not overexert yourself (with exercise, travel, running around being an overachiever, etc). What this book had to say were things I needed to hear. It seems like so much out there is just opinion/what is currently in vogue...the recommendations in this book are based on solid medical research and thus I am very comfortable with them...I feel like my pregnancy is/is going to be so much healthier because of this book
- Waiting for Snow in Havana, Carlos Erie--I cannot begin to describe all the ways I love this book. It's about a young boy in a wealthy family around the time Castro came to power and his memories of that time (it's memoir, not fiction). The stories and the historical significance make it such an amazing read. The way it is constructed is also really unusual and I really liked it...it's readable just for the style alone. It was a little slow getting started, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down...
- The Tender Bar, J. R. Moehringer--Another memoir and a very engaging read. About a boyhood on Long Island, a boy whose father had abandoned him, was living with his mom and extended family. One of my favorite parts was when he's 9 or 10 and he and his mom move out of state and he gets sent back to live with Grandma and Grandpa for the summer. His uncle also lives in the house, and he (the uncle) and his alcoholic friends from the bar start taking him (the kid) to the beach, and it just seems like the kind of situation where something bad is going to happen...I mean all these low-lifes can't be good for this young boy, right? But they are...they take really good care of him, watch over him and teach him things and become like a real family to him. There is sometimes love and kindness in the most unexpected places...
- Swamplandia!, Karen Russell--A story about a girl whose mother dies, leaving her and her brother and sister and dad with an alligator farm/attraction. Loved the weirdness of this book, and sometimes the language was beautiful and amazing, but overall did not like it as much as I wanted to. I read this right after The Tender Bar, and towards the end is the same sort of situation in terms of when it starts all you can think are bad things are going to happen--where the young girl goes off with a strange man into the swamp and I kept thinking oh, this can't be good and it wasn't...I was hoping I was wrong, but nope...
- The Road to Coorain, Jill Ker Conway--Another memoir (I'm loving memoirs right now), this one about a girl growing up in the Australian outback and then in Sydney. I really liked this book. Somewhere in the middle her brother is suddenly killed...I didn't know that was part of the book, and it was interesting to see how she handled it...it wasn't easy for her just like it hasn't been easy for me...
- The Immortal Life on Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot--This is a book about a line of cells called HeLa that has been used for medical research for decades. The cells were taken from a woman who was not informed of the fact and not compensated. Interesting read
- Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann--Oh, how I love this book. It's the story of a bunch of New Yorkers whose lives are all intertwined, about love and loss. I couldn't put it down. It starts with an event that really happened that I'd never heard of before, a man walking on a tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center back in the early '70s. So interesting to read something about the World Trade Center that didn't have to do with 9/11. There is also a documentary about this guy called Man on Wire that's really good (although I pretty much love all documentaries...will watch one on almost any topic)...in the documentary one of the coolest things was...you know, the police of course, were trying to get this guy off the tightrope, but one of them, interviewed later, he was essentially saying, you know, I had to get him off there, that was my job, but what he was doing was so incredible, I sure didn't want to...
- The Blind Assain, Margaret Atwood--Really wanted to like this book. Really tried to get into it. Got to page 48 and then just could not make myself pick it up after that. Finally gave up. It's the only book in my stack that I didn't read, which has to be some kind of record...I am the queen of starting books and not finishing them
Have any of you read any of these? What did you think?
XOXO
Bonding With Babies While Pregnant
This is one of the books I bought recently to read to the babies. There are a lot of cute books out there, but a lot of annoying ones too...need to be careful to get books I like as I'm sure I'm going to be reading them a zillion times. :)
Hi Everyone!
Apologies for not blogging yesterday...work deadlines + my mom's birthday = no time.
Also, those of you who have had my posts going to a reader, something seems to have gotten messed up...not quite sure what happened and apologies...please subscribe again if you'd like to continue reading. :) Ugh..technology is sometimes NOT my friend!
Anyway, on to today's topic.
So obstensibly I have two healthy babies growing away inside me, and I am trying hard to let go of the fear that something is going to happen to them (and generally doing pretty well at that).
In the first trimester, I spent a lot of time and energy NOT getting attached to them, just in case something happened, you know? The less I felt for them, the better.
But now that I'm in my second trimester, I want to trust that all is going to be OK, and I want to stop actively trying NOT to get attached, and start bonding.
I think naming them is going to help (kind of working on that, although not very hard).
I've heard reading to them and singing to them can help. (Apparently right about now they can start to hear. Been doing a little of it and it's fun.)
Maybe making some actual baby purchases? (We haven't done that yet, aside from a few books.)
Talking to them? (My husband and I both put our hands on my belly and say, "Hey, babies," a lot, but beyond that, I feel silly talking to them. They are still such an abstract concept in my mind...)
Writing them little letters (like I did once when they were still in the freezer)?
What else? Anyone have any suggestions?
XOXO
Image Credit: Pigeon Presents.
Missing Seattle: The Seattle Public Library
Rained yesterday, and is supposed to again all week, which is making me miss Seattle, so I think this week's posts are going to be about that city. I spent lots of time there with my grandparents, my dad's parents, as a child, and lived there twice--once right after college, and once for six months after leaving Southern California and before moving back to Colorado. And there's a good chance we'll live there again someday. The cool, dreary weather does get to me after a while, but that's probably something trips somewhere sunny could take care of. I've always felt a huge affinity for the city.
One of the things I miss is the public library, which is right downtown and across the street from the fabulous hotel where my husband worked, the Hotel Vintage Park. I don't know too much about architecture, but I love, love, love cool modern buildings like this--I first saw an exhibit about it at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art while it was being built, couldn't wait to see it live. And it works so perfectly in Seattle, letting in every scrap of available light. Many afternoons I spent on the top floor in front of the windows, waiting for my husband to be done with work so we could go do something together.
And, they have the greatest online check-out system ever. You just put the books you want to read on a list, and then they are all sitting together under your name in the pick-up area. That system spoiled me...I've had trouble easing into using the library here because it doesn't have it. On the other hand, it also seems to be where I started to have a hugely short attention span when it comes to reading--reading the first few pages or chapter of a book, failing to get engaged, and then putting it aside to start on another. I've been finding it really hard to get into books the past few years, especially novels. So much of what I'm reading just doesn't seem interesting/relevant.
Anyway, in my dream Seattle life, part of my weekly routine involves a trip to the public library.
Image Credit: fschroiff.