Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Reading Log: February 2016

Apparently It has been March for more than a week now and I haven't posted my reading log for February yet.  I will blame it on the fact that I seem to have at least 3 appointments if not more each week and when I remember that I should be posting, I am already half asleep.

Books Completed in February 2016

Adventures in Tandem Nursing by Hilary Flower -- As the arrival of the new baby quickly approaches and Atticus is still nursing, I have been trying to learn what I can about tandem nursing.  This book was a great guide and I only wish I had read it earlier in pregnancy as it also has some great advice and information about nursing throughout pregnancy and how to cope with the changes in nursing during that time.  I borrowed this book from the library at my local birth center, and I recommend if you are looking to read it to check with local lactation consultants, birth centers and libraries as it is out of print and used copies are going for $35 or more.

Presence by Amy Cuddy--When I saw that Amy Cuddy had come out with a book that was to expand on the information presented in her widely viewed TED talk I knew that I wanted to eventually read it.  I figured that I would wait until the price of it used dropped to a reasonable price.  Shortly after it was released,however, Amazon offered me a free trial for Audible in which they were offering two free audio books (if you follow the link to audible you should be able to get the same trial).  The audiobook is read by the author and very pleasant to listen to.  I enjoyed learning about how posture and body language can and does have an effect on a huge variety of things in our daily lives.  It aligned well with what I have been learning about core strength and alignment on Fit2b Studio.

Toys Come Home  by Emily Jenkins-- This lunch time read-aloud to the kids was just as funny and delightful as the first two books in the trilogy.  All three kids really enjoyed this book, although Little Ish contends that it isn't really good lunch time reading as there are a few occurrences of characters puking. 

Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie-- I saw this book recommended in a couple of places so when it was on sale as an ebook on amazon during the month of January I used some of a Christmas giftcard to purchase it.  The book itself was interesting, but it was slower moving than I expected it to be.  As I kept telling Ish, I don't think the author does a very good job writing male emotions and as it is a male heavy book this is somewhat distracting and it slows down the story some.  I very much appreciated some of the historical notes at the end of the book that shed light on what parts of the book are true.  Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I wish it had been a little more gripping.

Brave Girl Eating by Harriet Brown-- Honestly, I was just wanting to read something out of the norm for me and this showed up as an ebook deal in my daily email from BookBub.  I was intrigued that it was a book about anorexia not written by a clinician or a survivor.  The book was a quick read and had a wealth of information in it about using family based therapy to treat eating disorders as opposed to more traditional methods.  It was interesting to hear about eating disorders from the perspective of a mother whose daughter suffered from anorexia.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling narrated by Jim Dale-- I used my 2nd free audible credit on this delightful reading of the first book in the Harry Potter series.  I have read the Harry Potter books multiple times so it made for easy listening while I worked on knitting the rest of Sprout's baby blanket.  This could also make good roadtrip fare for children and adults alike.

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller-- I am one of those people who loves reading about other people's reading habits almost as much as I love reading.  This book did not disappoint in its documentation of the author's reading life over the course of a little more than a year.  The author is funny and I particularly enjoyed his comparison of Moby Dick and The DaVinci Code.  I will warn potential readers that the author can be a bit crude or vulgar at times.  If that is not something you can easily ignore, this may not be the book for you, but otherwise it was a good read that often had me laughing out loud.

Currently Reading:

Smarter Than You Think by Clive Thompson

The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

What have you been reading lately? I am always looking for recommendations to add to my To Be Read pile.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

One A Day February: 2/28 and 2/29

Yesterday I finished up my February photo challenge.  I am still somewhat surprised that I didn't miss a day.  The practice of picking up my camera each day for a month definitely made me see the world in a different light, or maybe I should say it made me see light in the world differently.  I could see myself taking on a challenge like this again in the future, but for today I enjoyed that it is now March by leaving my camera tucked away in its case.