Book Review: Here, Home, Hope

Every so often I sign up to do a book review for One2One Network. It's a great way to try out a new book-- maybe from a genre I don't usually read-- and it makes me feel important to review an actual book, by an actual author on my blog. I've found a few winners, too, which just makes my day.

Unfortunately this one wasn't one of those winners. I really hate giving bad reviews. Matter of fact I'd much rather simply not read or write about books I dislike. But, when you receive a free, advance copy with the understanding that you will write a review expressing your honest, uncensored views... well, what can you do?

So the truth is, I really disliked this book. Sad but true. I found the main character, Kelly, to be self-absorbed, uninspiring and a rather sad example of middle-aged frustrated maternal angst.

In addition to the lack of inspiration in the main character, the plot jumps around from vignette to vignette in a confusing and seemingly pointless manner. There's a crippling lack of a strong story line and quite frankly, I had a hard time reading past chapter nine, at the end of which Kelly adds to her "Things to Change List", a trite item number 8-- "Remember All My Blessings"

Gag.

There's no point in remembering "Blessings" if you have no connection at all to the the Author of those Blessings.

Wow

It was fun to see that a couple of you actually had some great ideas for posts :) I'm saving Laurie's for later, 'cause it takes a little more work, but I've been cogitating over it...

Septembermom, about helping you son's reading comprehension... You say he's very visual and has trouble keeping his mind on his reading? Is this only with school related material, or also with "free reading" type things-- ie, fiction? If it's reading of all kinds, I'd recommend that you try out some graphic novels. Obviously he does eventually have to learn to read regular books, but perhaps motivating him with a more graphically exciting genre will lead to more proficiency and interest in reading in general. And you might be surprised just how much great stuff there is out there in graphic novel format. For example, did you know that the classic Boxcar Children Series is now available in graphic novel form? There's even a graphic version of Cinderella!

If he reads fiction fine and only has trouble keeping focused when he's working on non-fiction reading, then my solution would be to try having him read out loud. Not as much fun, but will certainly help him stay in touch mentally with what his eyes are seeing. This is the problem I have. I love to read fiction! As long as the word pictures are flowing through my (also very visually oriented) brain, I'm good, but as soon as things start to get technical... whoo baby. I'm gone! :) Any time I have to follow directions or memorize facts, I HAVE to either say it out loud or graph/outline it with a four-color pen. A Bic Four-Color pen is the only reason I survived freshman history. And economics. And calculus. Blech.

Hosanna asked about our trip pictures... Well, I did post as many of them as I could. Crappy hotel internet and all... I have tons more as well as a super cute little button that Dawn made me (thanks, Dawn!) and I'd planned to post all the pics and link up all the posts to that button in my sidebar, but.... I just got un-motivated (sorry, Dawn...:( ) Perhaps your request will motivate me once again! Who else is interested in seeing more pictures?? Anyone?

Marriage Book Review

I have a new review up at Inspired Bliss! This time I'm talking about one of my favorite marriage books. Jenny M. and Laurie B., in particular, be sure to go and add your voices to the acclaim for this great book!

The No-Cry Nap Solution, by Elizabeth Pantley (review)

Up until now my Baby Sleep Book of Choice has been Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, by Dr Marc Weisbluth. Those of you who know me and my path-to-achieve-sleeping-children may be surprised to hear that The No-Cry Nap Solution is now running neck and neck with HSHHC.

My basic judgment of a parenting/child raising book is based on the amount of information it brings to me. Good sound information that I can examine, ruminate over (I love that word, it sounds like a contented cow...) and then make my own decisions regarding implementation of a plan. I don't mind at all disagreeing with an author's basic premise or conclusions if s/he provides me with information that is sound and unbiased.

I believe that Elizabeth Pantley has done just that. Her book presents a wealth of information about the science of sleep. I would even go so far as to say that her book is even more in-depth in this area than HSHHC, although without being too technical for a sleep-deprived mother to understand (Dr Weisbluth tends to be a bit wordy and vague, IMO). This is by far the strongest point of the book.

I also appreciate the manner in which her advice is given. The book is a little like having about 700 girlfriends all sharing "what worked for me" in an easy-to-read format (and without having to pay for lunch or lattes). There's no specific agenda being forced on the reader, the suggestions are as varied as the children being written about. She addresses issues from "Cat-Nappers" to "Completely Refuses To Nap At All" and even has a section at the end dealing with true medical problems. Many of her suggestions are things I've tried and found successful with my own children.

However. I do part ways with Ms Pantley in both her premise and her conclusion First, the basic premise (to the best of my judgment from reading her website and this book) of her organization is that crying is something to be prevented in your child's life. I disagree. I don't like to hear my kids cry-- quite the contrary. But I do believe that sometimes it is simply an expression of a thwarted will. At other times and in other situations, I believe it does far more good for my child to leave him to deal with the cause of his distress and problem-solve on his own than to intervene and solve it for him. At still other times I believe that one child's particular wants ought to take second place to the general well-being of the household at large.

Since this premise rules out the possibility of allowing the child to Cry It Out (I'm betting most of you know what I mean by this), Ms Pantley has concluded that a parent's role therefore is to provide a child with the environment and aids that that particular child "needs" in order that the child get an adequate amount of sleep. I, on the other hand, think there is a third option (kind of a mixture of the two mentioned above) that will be better for the child in the end run. That is, to teach him to sleep in a fairly average environment, with a minimum of aids and special circumstances. I've done this in various ways that I won't get into atm. (But I'll post about it later if anyone's interested.)

That being said, I do think that there are times when the basic need for sleep in the short-term tends to cloud one's vision of the long-term goal of an independent and solid sleeper. That's where this book could be quite helpful and aside from those two disagreements I found the book to be informative, easy to read and full of useful tips and stories. I would recommend it to any new mom or mother of problem-sleepers with the caveat stated above.

And I'd slip them Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child a few months later when they've had a little more sleep ;)

Works For Me Wednesday: Frugal, Earth-Friendly Gifts

I have discovered two websites this Christmas that are helping me change the way I think about Christmas gifts. I'm trying to focus more on the act of giving, and less on the shopping and the money spent and the quantity of gifts per person. I'd like to share them with you during this Christmas of deep economic turmoil in the hopes that you can also benefit from them.

Freecycle is a site along the lines of Craig's List-- basically people post classified ads and buyers respond and pick up the item. It's divided by county or region and you have to join the Yahoo Group in order to participate. There are moderators, so no worries about inappropriate items or listings. Here's the awesome thing. It's all free! That's right. People are posting items that they are giving away-- first come, first serve basis. It's awesome. Think of all the stuff you could get rid of! Stuff that you can't quite bring yourself to throw out, because there's still some use left in it. For instance, a lovely older woman came and got all our left-over dog supplies (worm meds, flea treatment, upholstery cleaner, etc.). AND, this year (drumroll please) we managed to be online at just the right moment as a woman from a ritzy upperclass part of town posted her sons' pre-Christmas toy closet clean-out stash! We cleaned up, people. Not only did we get Judah's Christmas gifts, we saved some out for his birthday! This is a sample of the few things we haven't wrapped yet. What you don't see is a gift bag full of matchbox cars and one full of knights and dragon figurines. I highly recommend you check it out.

The other site, Paperback Swap is one I've mentioned before, but a deal like this bears repeating. It's almost like an online neighbor with exactly your taste in books. You give him your books and he gives you his! The way it works.... You post books on your profile that you are looking to get rid of. They have a database of ISBN numbers that pulls up a cover photo, so you don't even have to worry about uploading pics of the book. When a member requests a book that you've posted, you print out a pre-addressed label, wrap the book and ship it out (average shipping cost for me has been right around $2). When the member receives the book, they comment and you are awarded a PBS "point" that allows you to request a book from another member. You begin your membership by posting ten books to receive some initial points (I think you might get three points to start with?). Here's one of Judah's Christmas books; as you can see, in mint condition.





As an added bonus, both of these methods of gathering gifts for my kids include recycling, in some way, products that have already been purchased and enjoyed by others. Things that might otherwise get tossed in the trash, or shoved to the back of the shelf and forgotten about.

To read some other hints and tips-- seasonal and otherwise-- check out Works For Me Wednesday at the Rocks In My Dryer blog.

PS. I'm not including any info or pics of Sofi's gifts because I simply don't trust the little bugger not to find out about it. She takes after her daddy...

Warning

I'll be MIA for a while. I just bought this and I will be doing this all weekend. Although it will likely look a little more like this. But less calm and more color. I'll let you know how it goes...

Have a great weekend, all y'all!