SelimaCat's Attempts

Well, I'm starting in November, but I can track the books I've read and added to goodreads.com since April 2007, so my "year" will go until then. Here goes!

1. Him Her Him Again The End of Him by Patricia Marx

Funny--not as funny as I wanted, but "him" was so uncomfortably familiar...

2. The Last Wife of Henry VIII: A Novel by Carolly Erickson

This was a silly book. Readable fluff--I kept turning pages and it never felt like a chore, but 'twas a silly book. Katherine Parr, the Wonder Queen! According to this book, KP was present for every major point of Tudor history, and was years ahead of her time with regards to politics, feminism, and learning. This read a bit like fan fic.

3. The Sixth Wife by Jean Plaidy

The writing was pretty lousy--slow, pedantic, lots of telling rather than showing. I'm no historian, but the history seemed different than I'd read elsewhere, which made me suspicious of the scholarship. Satisfying neither as history nor fiction, I'd recommend looking elsewhere.

4. Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan

I don't think it was possible for this book to live up to my (overly high) expectations, but I was sad that it didn't.

I grew frustrated that the narrative wandered into directions I didn't really care about, and away from the storylines that I did. The language is beautiful, though the overwrought descriptions can be wearying at times. The premise is weighty, certainly--more than enough for a fascinating, character-driven story. While I enjoy occasional novels that are as much about narrative structure as they are about plot or character, the characters and premise were so enticing that I wanted them to have a book of their own, rather than the book the author created for them.

5. The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems: Sleeping, Feeding, and Behavior--Beyond the Basics from Infancy Through Toddlerhood by Tracy Hogg, Melinda Blau

I really loved the first Baby Whisperer book. (So much so, that during the first 3 weeks of the kiddo's life, I tried to track down Tracy Hogg to hire her, but discovered that she was dead.) This one is more of the same, but in greater depth, and covering a wider range of ages/problems. She's not for everybody, and not all of her solutions are solutions for everybody (even for her fans), but she has a steady, reassuring, common-sense voice. Her years of experience (as what--a nannny? a visiting nurse? a baby counselor?) help me believe what she says, and trust her generalizations about babies. For those looking to implement routines, understand their babies' tempraments, or handle major transitions (breaking bad sleep habits, potty-training, etc.), she is a good voice to have in your ear, even if you choose another path.

6. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

If we go to Venice when kiddo is in the right age range, I think this will be a fun, fun book to read. She can then use it as a map to find the bridges, alleys, etc. mentioned.

This was a lovely little book--the writing was strong and there was a heavy dose of sweet whimsy. The plot struggled a little, wandering between a realistic world and a magical world, but that's likely to bug adults more than the intended audience. Adventure without violence, mystery without fright, a bit of romance without sex. Good for those who like adventure, pirates (not that there are any in the book, but it's an attitude), mystery, and fabulous settings

7. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feeding your Baby and Toddler (The Complete Idiot's Guide) by M.S., R.D., Elizabeth M. Ward

This book was well-padded with lots of fluff (how to make a grocery list, how to keep food safe), but very little practical information for a parent of an infant starting solid foods. The recipes were all for toddlers and not, despite the title, for infants. And while there were extensive lectures on why I shouldn't put soda in my kid's bottle or put her on the Atkins diet, it didn't answer the myriad questions I DO have about making and storing my own baby food.

8. Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin

This was probably more advanced than I was looking for, but it was interesting to look through and I did learn some things. (For example, I learned about shaping one's face with two tones of foundation. Fascinating.)

9. Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America
by Linda Furiya

I'm a sucker for a food memoir, so I snatched this off the library's "New" shelf on a whim. It was both better and not as good as I was hoping.

The good:
This didn't need to be a food memoir, though the food was a powerful symbol of the author's "otherness" within the community, while underscoring the unity of her family. (This look at otherness reminded me a bit of Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America, about a Lubavitcher community in Iowa.
I come from a fairly liberal community, and didn't discover that people actually said racist things in real life (as opposed to in after-school specials) until I was an adult. This book, therefore, was a real eye-opener for me. The author didn't make melodrama out of her encounters with prejudice, but told them plainly, adding to the emotional impact.

The not-so: While the food aspect was an interesting facet of the struggles of growing up Japanese in small-town Indiana, the conceit of making every chapter figure food prominently and the inclusion of recipes often felt forced, as if she were struggling to make the narrative work within that frame. The writing, at times, also bordered on overly flowery and descriptive.

10. The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose by Mary Hooper

During the reign of King Charles II, a young girl gets kicked out of her family home by her stepmother, travels to London where she is thrown in jail. She is released from prison to find herself living among bawds and loose women; she then is befriended by the actress Nelly Gwynn, who later becomes the king's most famous mistress.

Things I liked:
I'm a sucker for historical fiction, especially related to royalty. A YA book that follows a fictional character around the demimonde of Charles II's court seemed like a fun bet. There's much that was fun: frothy costumes, romance, dashing highwaymen, a strong female protagonist...

Things I didn't like:
The plot was a riotous combination of Victorian melodrama (a poor young girl whose only dream is for familial love!) and a Harlequin(TM) romance (smutty plot, smutty characters, little-lamb-pure heroine). Despite her rather drastic circumstances, her chastity is vigorously maintained, so that we're never in doubt about her moral character (and how could she land a well-born man if she had lost her honor?).

It's a fluffy read, especially for those who like costume dramas. The writing is pretty simplistic for older teens, but the subject matter is pretty racy for younger ones.

11. The Wild Irish: A Novel of Elizabeth I and the Pirate O'Malley by Robin Maxwell


bookshelves: read edit
recommended for: historical fiction enthusiasts

I got several chapters into this book before realizing that I'd read it a few months ago. I'm not sure whether that says more about me or the book. Stories of Grace O'Malley (the Irish pirate) are few and far between, which is why I gravitated towards this one (twice!). Sadly, Maxwell's version of the epic meeting between O'Malley and Elizabeth I struggles with accuracy. Whether Elizabeth and Essex really "got it on", I suppose is up for debate, but Grace would not have thought of the Queen as "the first Elizabeth", as she had no idea that there would be another. (Sheesh! Didn't Maxwell read Encyclopedia Brown?) So, seek out this book if you want to hear a story about two fascinating women (one of whom has very little recorded history), but don't expect historical fact, airtight accuracy, or even terrific writing.

12. Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds by Susan Gregory Thomas

You must read this book. Right now.

This book looks at how "spokescharacters" are directly marketed to babies and toddlers, at how "educational" toys and videos are marketed to parents, and how Generation X's quirks influence their parenting (and susceptibility to marketers). This book hit me hard. I was amazed to see my own parenting style so neatly described in her discussions of Gen X parents. This book is packed with studies and insider information that add some muscle to her discussion, rather than relying on rhetoric alone. As I read it, I kept reading snippets aloud to my husband (so many that he now feels he doesn't have to read it). Husband finally said "so what does she want us to DO?" She does give a clear outline of action at the end, actions on the personal, community, and governmental levels, which help keep the book from being a tirade.

Touchpoints: Birth to 3 : Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral Development
by T. Berry Brazelton

This was nice to have read. It's not a go-to book--not what you'll look in when your kid has a fever, but a pretty useful reference for where you could should be/will be/has been, developmentally.

14. Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron

Overall, this was a really useful book. I'd like to photocopy large parts of it to use as a reference. She gets sidetracked from talking about food sometimes to all the other aspects of parenting, organic living, etc., which bogs the book down. In addition, I grow weary of books that are packed with "useful" information that most adults don't need (how to make a shopping list, useful kitchen tools). I really like her sample menus, her easy instructions on how to prepare each vegetable, and her recipes for super cereals, etc. (I'm not feeding my kid liver flakes, however, no matter how good for her they might be.)

15. Organic Baby & Toddler Cookbook by Lizzie Vann, Daphne Razazan

This was far too advanced for what I was looking for (how to make and freeze babyfood). The older baby foods looked delicious, but their suggestion for a "first vegetable puree" included several different vegetables and olive oil! I appreciate the emphasis on organic, but this does not seem pediatrician approved.

16. Beauty, The New Basics by Rona Berg

This was the makeup book I was looking for--it has instructions for everything: hair, makeup, skincare. I regret that it's a library book because it's far too much information to absorb at once.

17. First Meals: Fast, Healthy, and Fun Foods to Tempt Infants and Toddlers by Annabel Karmel

This seems like a fun, basic book on cooking for older babies & toddlers. Packed with recipes and pictures, it is appealing and easy. I didn't find much useful information on feeding infants, but there was quite a bit for babies as soon as they start eating multiple ingrediants and non-pureed foods. My main complaint would be that she emphasizes turning most meals into "fun" shapes. While I adore my kid, it's unlikely I'm going to do fancy knifework on her sliced Cheddar except on special occasions. I'm thinking she needs to learn that cheese tastes good even when it's not shaped like a sailboat.

18. The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself With Style and Grace by Margaret Shepherd

This is a poor man's Miss Manners, entirely lacking in her wit, charm, and grace. There are attempts at all of the above, but they fall flat. The book's information was extremely basic (don't be dull, don't be rude, don't interrupt), and isn't going to turn a bore into a charmer or a wallflower into a sparkler.

19. Fresh Start Cworkbook by Cheryl Tallman

This was a pretty terrific book--much like Super Baby Food without all the extra information (and are you really going to make organic potpourri with a baby in the house?), this book gives easy-to-follow instructions for preparing and storing fresh baby purees. There are lots of extras for those who buy the book, rather than relying on the library. Each "recipe" allows you to fill in the date you tried it, whether your buggle likes it, etc.

20. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Holocaust literature is a difficult genre that presents many problems. One, an author tries to make art out of that which is unimaginably horrific, and to many, sacred. Can one take the truths and use them for storytelling, or must Holocaust literature be "true" in order to respect those whose stories are being echoed? Two, the Holocaust comes with an expected vocabulary, a predictable poetic. Barbed wire, trains, stripes, snow, smoke, bones, stars, shoes, eyeglasses, bullets, chimneys--while these words continue to exist outside of the realm of the Holocaust, inside that realm they are iconic--so large and looming that they can become cliche (which brings us to the first problem-isn't it an insult to talk about cliches when talking about something so very real and horrific?).

The Book Thief overcomes cliche. While it does incorporate some of the expected icons, it takes them from a different angle, and pushes the reader to re-envision them. The story follows a young German girl, adopted by a foster family after her own is sent off on a train, never to be seen again. It is a book about the Holocaust, but it's a book about humanity, and words, and death, and kindness, and cruelty, and beauty, and desire, and rage, and the search for meaning, and the importance of finding it. The narrative voice is striking and original, as one would expect a story told by Death to be.

Fiction like this doesn't come along very often. Beautiful and touching without being precious, manipulative, or sentimental. Don't miss this book.

21. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt

I wasn't expecting to be so charmed by this book. I admit, its extreme popularity made me suspicious. It was funny and sad. The narrative voice was engaging and original. A real pleasure.

22. Un Lun Dun by China Miéville

A poor man's Neverwhere. I'll admit that I stopped reading after 115 pages.

I read several glowing reviews of this, saying it was going to rescue us in this, the time of no-more-harry-potter. And lookee! It has female protagonists! But no. A typical adventure/sci-fi premise: someone from our world gets transported to a different world and must save something/do a quest.
a) It is, at least in the first 115 pages, entirely plot-driven. I know nothing about what separates the two main characters from one another--they're both young girls from London, and other than physical differences, they talk alike and seem to think alike. The other characters are defined for you; they do not have characters and backstory, they just are. Sometimes their "properties" and abilities are defined, but that's about it. The 115 pages I read were propelled entirely by one plot point after another. One of the great things about The Golden Compass series is that the characters are so rich and familiar--there is love and compassion and yearning--those are what drives the narrative.

b) Sadly, I think this book suffers from "sci-fi syndrome". Given that I have no personalities to sink my teeth into, I need to be able to grab onto some part of this world. In many sci-fi books--and this is no exception--the author is so busy cleverly creating new creatures, new worlds, and new vocabularies, that they don't notice they've given readers a whole lot of homework. When a paragraph contains 5-6 made up words describing scenery, characters, or the quest, the reader (me) gets bogged down. I felt like I was slogging through a foreign language.

Neil Gaimen's Neverwhere treads similar territory--London, but not--and does it in a much more character-driven, riveting, terrifying way. If you're looking for an un-London experience, go read that instead.

23. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Swift, interesting read and a fairly successful epistolary novel. Predictable plot of abusive parent, kids trying to find their own way, but likeable characters and a nice examination of what it means to be a hero.

24. The Enlightened Bracketologist: The Final Four of Everything by Mark Reiter

Someone asks you, "What's your favorite food?"; you quickly answer "Spaghetti", because it's at the tip of your tongue. But then you start thinking...what about pizza? what about cheese fondue? what about donuts (and are they actually "doughnuts")? This is where you need bracketology. Yes, the system used in sports playoffs. With bracketology, you can put pizza against cheese fondue (and all of your other favorites) and really get to the heart of which is your absolute favorite, which favorite knocks all other favorites out of the bracket.

This is, of course, a silly book. It ranks cheeses, beers, speeches in history, dogs, golfers, cartoon characters, and much, much more. For a topic you care about, the bracket is fascinating. For those that you don't, well, pages turn for a reason. The editor invited guest experts to create the brackets, so you're not reading one guy's take on all of these disparate subjects. It gives one lots to argue with, and--if you're like me--a "to do" list of cheeses to try.

25. Too Great A Lady: The Notorious, Glorious Life of Emma, Lady Hamilton by Amanda Elyot

I read a biography of Emma, Lady Hamilton over Christmas and was fascinated by her. A lower-than-working-class-girl who became the most celebrated face in Europe (you've seen her face in some portrait gallery or another), who started the fashion that I associate with the Regency era (think Jane Austen), and who became Admiral Nelson's mistress, Emma's life intersections with amazing people and places in history. That said, this fictionalized account is not as colorful as the more interesting, more scholarly account (Kate Williams' England's Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton). I highly recommend the other as a better read. This one, not so much.

26. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel

This book is full of beautiful, intricate photographs of families from across the world in their kitchens with a week's worth of food spread around them. Each family is accompanied by a narrative essay, photos of their markets and grocery stores, a detailed list of every item in the photo with accompanying costs, and facts about their country. Totally fascinating, but slow going as there is much to look at and think about. I guarantee you'll be depressed at all the great bread the rest of the world (even by much poorer families) is eating compared to the limp, squooshy stuff on your countertop. A *great* read.

27. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

I think I'm the last person on earth to read this. It was quick, fun, beach reading (without having to go to the beach). Pros: I really like a good conspiracy theory, the history was interesting. Cons: Wow, that's some bad writing.

28. Diaper Free: The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene by Ingrid Bauer

I was fascinated by this book, but entirely put off by the author. She makes an excellent argument for the feasibility of Natural Infant Hygiene, and gives useful information about "how to". Unfortunately, she is an all-or-nothing attachment parent advocate and comes across as incredibly smug and judgemental. She is very pleased with her life: she lives on a farm (an ORGANIC farm, she's careful to tell us), made a special sling for her babies that allows her to wear them under her clothes, had a miraculous homebirth, is a strong proponent of the family bed, advocates extended breastfeeding. While there's not a problem with any of these choices, she writes about NIH as if it is only going to work if you also make those choices. Again, while there is nothing wrong for families who do make those choices, not everyone can do so. She trumpets her advocacy of other aspects of attachment parenting in every aspect of this book, suggesting judgement where none need be, and setting up other parents for doubt and failure. In addition, she slips some specious and un-cited facts about vaccination (another highly charged subject, again irrelevant to the subject of NIH) into the book. I will be looking for more books on the subject, but unless you're playing the parenting game exactly as she does, this book might not be the one for you.

29. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson

Told from the perspective of an African-American boy during the years leading up to the American Revolution, the narrative voice grows clearer as the boy grows older and makes more sense of the world around him. I didn't love the book--the pace floundered a bit--but it's not just another coming-of-age story. A recommended thoughtful read for YAs.

30. One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by Rebecca Mead

This was right up my alley--a book about why we wed the way we do. Now, I'm a sensible girl, but when it was my turn to get married I went a little nutty. This book explained why. It's not, as I half-expected, a jeremiad against the wedding industry per se (although the section on videographers made me extra-extra glad we didn't have one). Rather it explains the cultural and marketing trends at work in the American wedding industry, and how one can't really hope to escape, no matter how "individual" or "unique" one thinks one's dream wedding will be. This fits a similar, though less inflammatory, niche as Jessica Mitford's The American Way of Death. A fun read for those who like the inside scoop.

The Case Against Homework: How Homework Is Hurting Our Children and What We Can Do About It by Sara Bennett, Nancy Kalish

When a friend told me her child's school had offered a mandatory "math for parents" class so that parents could help their kids with their homework, I was a little horrified and amused. When I was a kid--and likely when you were a kid--homework was something kids did alone, maybe asking for help only occasionally. Not anymore. Across the country, standardized tests and fears of falling behind are causing kids in pre-school and kindergarten to be assigned hours of homework a night, and this after long days in the classroom (and much more than the 10 mins per grade level recommended). There are myriad things to be angry about in this book: the perception that parents *should* be doing their kids' work alongside them to create "family time", the notion that if kids don't have homework they'll just watch TV, the idea of busywork, the antagonistic taskmaster/subordinate relationship that parents and kids are finding themselves in.

I'm convinced and angry. The good news is that only half the book is spent whipping you into a frenzy about homework. The rest is full of useful role-played conversations and emails helping you challenge meaningless assignments, homework overload, etc. Included are fact sheets, surveys (for other parents in your kid's class), meaningful homework policies, and step-by-step instructions for organizing other families to help reclaim their evenings, weekends, and holidays.

This is a must read (even just a skim) for all parents not planning to homeschool.

32. Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris

I've given it the required 50 pp (68, actually), and I'm throwing in the towel. It's not *bad* exactly, but there's no THERE there. But please understand that my review is entirely based on the first 68 pages and it might get better. I'm not that patient.

Drawing from the same veins as The Office, Office Space, and Dilbert, this book tries to cast a literary light on what is mockable, mundane, ridiculous, dull, etc. about the modern office. Sadly, it is not as bitterly funny as the first two, nor as well suited for coffee mug humor as the last. Instead, it seems a retread of characters we know too well, of office politics we are likely currently enduring, of workplace wastefulness and sloth that we equally engage in and judge harshly. The characters appear in small vignettes that give each his/her moment in the spotlight, but the lack of narrative urgency helps neither the drama nor the comedy, causing that spotlight to take on the dull glow of an office's commercial flourescent tubing.

33. In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant

I kept waiting for this to be lusher and smuttier than it was. The story follows the dwarf companion of a renowned courtesan in Venice's heyday. It starts with a dramtic escape from Rome as it's being sacked by some sort of protestant infidel, and watches the courtesan trying to make a name for herself in a new city as she befriends a strange, witchy woman. The relationship between the dwarf and the courtesan is the important one, but lacks meat until the book is nearly over. It's telling that I returned from vacation, picked it up to finish it, and had forgotten that I already had. Meh.

34. The Art of Scottish-American Cooking by Kay Shaw Nelson

Did you know that a Scot invented the Whoopie Pie? Bloody brilliant we are.

This is a lovely historican compilation of Scottish-American recipes ("American" seeming to include Canada), drawn from the traditions of Scots-heavy regions of the country such as Appalachia and Nova Scotia's Cape Breton and historical recipes from the Scottish Founding Fathers and past presidents. The recipe names are a delight in of themselves (All-Night Meat Feast, Tuppeny Struggles). Although based in tradition, the recipes are well suited for the modern American palate, cooking practices, and kitchens. Some delicious stuff here--I'll be coming back to this book in winter for some of the soups, meat pies, and certainly the Cape Breton oatcakes.

35. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J. K. Rowling

I can't muster up any sort of intelligent review for this book. Goodbye, dear friends.

36. Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts: The Subversive Folklore of Children (American Storytelling) by Josepha Sherman, T. K. F. Weisskopf

I came to this book expecting an analysis of children's rhymes and what they say about our society's fears, etc. It isn't that. It's rather an extensive compilation of rhymes with numerous regional variations, more of a list. If you sang it as a kid, it's in there. I can see the use in it as a reference, but it's not really much to read.

37. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Meh.

Pros: Not many novels use political struggles in India as a backdrop, and the history (something I didn't know) was fascinating. Characters were rich and varied and there were small, personal moments that brought each character into development.

Cons: Each page seemed filled with a tension that never came to a head. I found this uncomfortable to read because I kept expecting worse things to happen than ever did. Also, while each character's life was threaded with loss, and we got a few brief glimpses into how that drove each character, there was no growth or change from the book's beginning.

38. Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Jean M. Twenge

This book is not, thankfully, a "kids today!" diatribe. The author is firmly rooted in Gen-Me (anyone born post 1960, it seems) and examines her own prejudices, expectations, entitlements as she asks the reader to do. If you grew up accepting "Free to Be You and Me" as nothing new--perfectly obvious that mommies are people and can be firemen and that you shouldn't put your horse in a dress--then this book is about you.

Gen-Me is not necessarily about selfishness (though can be a result), but it's about a focus on the self to the exclusion of community. While this leads to some great things (a belief that everyone is unique, special, valuable, lovable, capable--does anyone else remember having to recite "I am loved and capable" in a class; tolerance, a celebration of diversity, optimism that anything is possible, etc.), it also leads to an inflated sense of entitlement, unrealistic expectations of success, and a misunderstanding of your own talents/limitations (see William Hung). This creates a generation of adults who have been told that there are no restrictions on what they can be, and find a huge disconnect from the feel-good treatment they were brought up with and the professors and employers who then judge them on their actual talents and behavior.

I found this book pretty interesting because so many things she called into question DO seem like self-evident truths to me (self esteem? what's wrong with self-esteem?), but her analysis helped me look at the pros and cons of the Gen-Me inheritence and think a bit about what tools I want to send with my daughter into the world.

The Diaper-Free Baby: The Natural Toilet Training Alternative by Christine Gross-Loh

This is the book I was looking for. Just as the author: Ingrid Bauer} book made me feel defensive and judged, this book was like a reassuring hug. The introduction alone was inclusive and comforting--it doesn't matter if you work outside of the house, co-sleep, breastfeed, babywear, or some combination thereof, the book says you can do EC full-time or part-time. This isn't potty training, this is learning your kid's signals and responding to them the way you would for food or sleep.

The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop and Table Hop Like a Pro (Almost)
by Adam D. Roberts

A witty little book about cooking and eating with varying degrees of skill.

41. "Teachers Have It Easy": The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers by Dave Eggers

I would love all my teacher friends to read this and discuss it with me. It's not a book you read for the pleasure of reading--the structure is too choppy for that--but I think it's an important book. While we've all seen charts and graphs showing what teachers' salaries are, the first part of this book was umpteen first-person anecdotes from teachers about what the couldn't afford to do, how many hours they had to work, how they had to leave teaching for financial reasons. It's depressing, sobering, and important. The second part of the book spotlights financial plans that various districts have tried (incentives, bonuses, pay structures) and to what success.

Taste: Acquiring What Money Can't Buy by Letitia Baldrige

I was extremely disappointed in this book. Contrary to what the title would suggest, it was packed with clubby, gossipy anecdotes about people who are much richer than you are. There was little to no discussion of taste as something that can be acquired, nor was there much instruction as to what separates taste from tasteless. (There was a lot about how so-and-so embodied taste.) The only mildly entertaining portion was the ancedote about how she accidentally garnished a plate of cold sliced meats with poison ivy, trying to make it look pretty. But now I've shared that anecdote with you. Don't bother with the book.

43. These is My Words by Nancy Turner

I read this book for a book club that may or may not happen and didn't know what to expect. It's a first-person narrative, written in diary form--the story of a young girl in the 1860's wild west. I liked the female narrator (though she's predictably plucky), but it was a bit bloodthirsty for my taste--I wasn't expecting main characters to die off so quickly, and so often. There was a sweet love story and a cast of appealing characters--if you like Oprah books, this is a good choice for you.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

An unsentimental, but stirring autobiography about growing up in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Fuller's measured tone works well to paint pictures of the parents and sister--not necessarily sympathetic characters. She achieves a nice balance in communicating the foreign and the mundane of her home life. Worth a read.

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris

If you love leafing through old Betty Crocker cookbooks from the 60s and 70s, this might just be up your alley. Clearly written with tongue in cheek (and martini in hand), this book apes the graceful pen-and-ink sketches, household tips, menus that capture a time gone by, and entertainment suggestions of cookbooks past. In the introduction, Sedaris states that she hates joke cookbooks, and the recipes are clearly not jokes, although the art (glorious photographs of a 3-tiered lunchmeat "cake") and surrounding materials are likely not to be taken seriously. Most of the text was skimmable, with only a few passages funny enough to be read aloud

46. Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block

This is the book I wish I'd had when I was pregnant. I was interested in a drug-free birth, and read all the usual books. Most of them seemed to equate natural childbirth with some sort of moral stance or an ethereal connection to womanhood, and although I can't prove it statistically, they were shrill and biased.

Pushed is not a light read. It's not going to help you create a lilac-scented birthplan on pink paper. It's not going to help you do anything, except think. It's a fact-packed book, heavy on medical studies, footnotes, and legal cases. Although the author is clearly sympathetic toward non-interventionist births, it is so thorough, and draws upon such a range of information that it comes across as balanced and informative.

There's a lot to discuss here with women you know, with your partner, with your doctor, and perhaps even with your legislator. But to go through birth without reading this book is like going through with your eyes closed.

47. Lady's Maid by Margaret Forster

Lady's Maid does exactly what I want historical fiction to do--it takes us to a time and place not our own, tells us a story we think we already know from a different perspective, and personalizes names and dates that would otherwise be just...well...names and dates. LM is a first-person narrative, told by Wilson, the personal maid of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Following her story from her initial hiring through EBB's death, the reader gets insight into the day-to-day realities of life as a upper-floors servant and how that affects one's finances, hopes, goals, and security. Wilson's life is not without joy and romance of her own (rather than just that of her employer), it is often hard to read because of the choices she makes and the resulting consequences. It was especially interesting to read a non-romanticized view of EBB and see her as a person with very real flaws, whose sheltered life is propped up by the support and sacrifice of paid employees such as Wilson.

The Monster Hunter's Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Saving Mankind from Vampires, Zombies, Hellhounds, and Other Mythical Beasts by Ibrahim S. Amin

Let's say you're out fighting monsters and you see a mummy lurching toward you. How are you going to stop him? Silver bullet? No, that's werewolves. Cut off his head? Well, that's a pretty big risk to take if it doesn't work. With The Monster Hunter's Handbook, you need guess no more. Divided into two sections, Cryptozoology (monsters, critters, and such) and Cryptohoplology (mythical weapons and armor), each entry gives a brief history, how to recognize such, what to do with it (for monsters, how to kill it; for weapons, how to wield it), and ends with literary citations. We're not talking citations to Monster Manual, 5th edition, but rather references to Ovid, Homer, and other rather old and weighty folk.

Here's the rub. I didn't read it. I skimmed it. I didn't care enough about fighting monsters to read each entry carefully, and although I think it was marketed as a lark, it was rather humorless. This is a great book for game enthusiasts, 10-year-old boys (or girls), or those who fight monsters for a living. It's simply not meaty nor amusing enough to hold the attention of the lay reader.

Father Knows Less Or: "Can I Cook My Sister?": One Dad's Quest to Answer His Son's Most Baffling Questions by Wendell Jamieson

"Why is the sky blue?" "Were Tyrannasaurus Rexes mean?" Kids ask a lot of questions. This book sets out to answer them. Divided into chapters by roughly by subject matter, this book covers questions about linguistics, sex, biology, physics, and more. While most questions are drawn from the author's own children and friends' children, some are posed by children whose parents found their way to his website.

A book like this runs the risk of preciousness (awwww, look at those cute things kids ask) and I can't say that the author avoided it. I do appreciate, however, that he didn't talk down to the kids, and went straight to the Experts. The author didn't shirk on experts, either, but lined up an impressive array of academics and policymakers who, in turn, didn't talk down either.

The main weakness of the book was the personal essays used to link each chapter to one another. While I appreciated the author trying to create a narrative link, I found them rather dull and self indulgent. The exception was the epilogue, which provided some necessary thoughtfulness and gravity.

All in all, this was a somewhat weightier "bathroom book". Easy, accessible snippets to be picked up and put down and not thought about in between reads.

50. Forgotten Household Crafts by John Seymour

I'd prefer to give this book 3.5 stars, rather than 4. Although I ended up thinking very highly of the author and his research, I spent the first third of this book thinking it would be better titled " Forgotten Household Doohickeys". Richly illustrated with detailed, pen-and-ink drawings of seven* different types of chamber pots, 5 spinning wheels, 9 candle-making tools, etc., this book is a visual treat, as well as an educational one. The chapters covering food and cookery seem weaker than the later chapters on cleaning, washing, and other household tasks, which lead to my initial disappointment. The author has done his research--drawing from the Foxfire oral-history tradition, he bases much of the information in the book on discussions with people in his neighborhood (a British village) who used to use these tools or perform these tasks. Although I was expecting to learn more practical knowledge (how to do these crafts in a modern context) from reading this, this book would be very useful for students, novelists, or other researchers.

* All numbers in this review are entirely made up.

51. Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls by Danielle Wood

A quirky little collection of short stories that borrow lightly from fairy tales without falling into Feminist Retellings 101. Likeable, familiar, chick-lit voice, but the surreal props, plot twists, and characters keep it from being too precious. A definite read for fans of Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen. (I did want to give it 3.5 stars, rather than 3 or 4.)

BTW, the author is a professor at the University of Tasmania. Most of the stories are set in Tasmania or Australia. Not so common.

52. Edward Trencom's Nose: A Novel of History, Dark Intrigue, and Cheese by Giles Milton

What if your birthright were a hereditary knowledge of cheese and a rather remarkable nose? You would likely, as Edward Trencom and all the Trencom's before him, become a cheesemonger. This little mystery centers Trencom, his nose, his family history, and a whole lot of cheese. I can't really go into detail, because after 77 pages, not much had happened, and I gave up. I picked this up as a lark, but found that I don't have the patience to suffer through an awful lot of pretentious cheese references just to find the plot. The author, who I had not heard of, but seems to be known for his nonfiction, certainly does have a serious knowlege of cheesy comestibles, but has failed to make this book (or the first 77 pages) more than just a funny little joke for those in the know. I doubt there are enough cheese experts in the world to build a strong readership.

Wow, I am impressed that you got this all entered so quickly! I read about half of these and will have to come back later, as this is all very interesting. I have to say, though, while I agree with you that China Mieville is mystifyingly overrated, he does not write science fiction! He writes fantasy with horror overtones, and he purposely tries to make it as weird as he can. I read part of Perdido Street Station, but it drove me crazy because the aliens didn't make any sense scientifically. I mentioned this to a friend, and he chided me that it was fantasy, not science fiction, and I shouldn't expect it to be realistic. I am not interested in his fantasies, though ;-).

Congratulations on the baby! How old is he/she?

Oh, and I haven't read The Da Vinci Code, and I don't plan to. I hate conpsiracy theories, and he seems like such a bad writer.

I really enjoyed reading these. I'm glad you spent the time to write and enter them here!