Yep, I’m still around. Just not reading much apart from my son’s children’s books. Or if I am reading, I’m not finishing the books because I just can’t seem to get into them. I recently gave Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic and Baby a try, and gave up a third of the way in. Something about Rebecca Bloomwood’s immaturity and stupidity just made me really irritated with her, despite having enjoyed her character in the other Shopaholic books. This time around, I became really annoyed that here she was, into the 5th book in this series, and she’s STILL financially irresponsible, selfish, and just plain stupid. And, oh yeah… it all turns out well because she’s got this rich husband who cleans up her messes, or she gets some grand idea to turn everything around. No thanks, I’m not buying it anymore. How much longer can Kinsella keep going with this character?

Initially, I thought I’d like this book because Rebecca is going through the same life changes I’ve recently gone through. She’s having a baby (my little boy is almost 11 months old) and she’s moving to a new house (I recently sold my house and am moving to a new one in a couple of weeks). But, unlike Becky, I didn’t manage to buy my dream house by promising to give the owner my expensive suede boots. I think that was the point I rolled my eyes and said, “This is so stupid.”

So I gave up on it. Who knows, maybe the book redeems itself in the last half, but I didn’t care to stick around and find out.

The Ten-Year Nap tells the stories of 4 New Yorkers who chose to be stay at home moms, and how, 10 years later, they are faced with needing to decide what to do with the rest of their lives now that their children are in school and no longer needing them the way they used to.

Most central of the women is Amy, who once worked as a lawyer before the birth of her son. She and her husband Leo decided she would stay at home and raise their son in his most formative years, rather than paying someone else to do it. Now that her son is 10 years old, she’s finding that she’s not as essential to him as she once was, and that staying home has become a financial strain on the family.

Amy’s friend Jill once worked in the film industry, but was let go from her job right around the time she and her husband decided to start a family. After years of fertility problems, they decided to adopt a baby girl from Romania, and that Jill would stay home and raise her. But Jill finds that she doesn’t really like being a SAHM, especially now that she senses her daughter has some special needs that will require extra time and attention.

Roberta was once an “artist”, but her work never got the recognition she wanted. She ends up turning to puppetry and crafts to make some money, though she thinks it is beneath her. When she and her husband start a family, she decides to stay home and raise them because child care would be too expensive to pay for on her small earnings. Now, as her children are needing her less, she’s feeling like a failure because she not only has lost her artistic drive, but she no longer has the desire or motivation to find something she’d be interested in doing.

Karen is a brilliant mathematician married to a successful banker. Growing up, she watched her parents work so hard at low-paying jobs to provide a life for their family. While Karen loves math and enjoys going to job interviews where companies offer her large salaries to work for them, she always turns down the offers so she can stay at home with her sons because her financial situation is one where she doesn’t have to work, so she won’t. (more…)

Jeez, it took me forever to read a book! I read this one in bits and pieces, a few pages at a time before going to bed. It’s a long book, so it took a while, and there was a week or two when my 7 month old son decided he didn’t want to sleep well and would cry and cry to be held and rocked to sleep, so I’d spend time soothing him to sleep in the rocker only to have him wake up and start screaming again the moment I transferred him to his crib. And it would go on for a couple of hours like that. Ah, children.

But finally, finally, finally… I finished this book. Not that I minded it taking me so long, as it was a very nice story to escape into for a half hour at a time. This is the kind of story that makes you feel like you’ve struck up friendships with its characters, and are happy to sit back and hear a little about their lives. I’ve said it before: Maeve Binchy novels are character-driven stories about everyday, ordinary people living everyday, ordinary lives, and it just goes to show you what a wonderful writer Binchy is that she can make you care about them and stick through 432 pages of their everyday, ordinary happenings that somehow seem so interesting and comfortable in the hands of a gifted story teller.

I love Maeve Binchy. And I loved Heart and Soul. The story centers around employees of a heart clinic run by a cardiologist named Clara Casey. The novel follows these people and their family and friends through their lives as they connect to each other. Some of the people are characters we have met before in other Binchy novels, which is always fun. That’s another testament to what a great character writer Binchy is — when you get so attached to a character that discovering they’ve “lived on” in another novel is such a treat.

A must read for Binchy fans, and well worth a read for those who have yet to have the pleasure. (more…)

One of the things my husband and I are most looking forward to doing with our son is sitting him in our laps and reading him stories. At the moment, he’s too young to understand them, so we’ve had to find books that would appeal to his senses. Therefore, any books that make sounds or have things for him to grab at have been the first books we’ve introduced to him. Here are a few of my favorites:

Cow and Horse Peek-A-Boo Pals from Softplayforkids.com.

Cow and Horse are friends that are looking for each other on the farm. These cloth books have lift-the-flaps that my son loves to grab at. They’re not machine washable though, which is unfortunate because my son also loves to kiss cow and horse and drool all over them. They’re meant for 6+ months, but I started showing them to my son around 3 months. He doesn’t really understand them, but he is intrigued by the crinkly sound of the flaps.

Finger Puppet Books

I have 8 of these cute-as-can-be finger puppet board books from Chronicle Books. They’re small (palm-sized) and each book has a finger puppet built into it. The stories rhyme and are short — perfect for a baby’s attention span.

Good Night, Sleep Tight — Scholastic books

This is the very first book I bought my son. I had these sweet dreams of reading it to him every night before bed, and he would help cover up the little animals going to bed in the story with the little blanket that comes with the book and say, “Good night! Sleep tight!” Yeah right… maybe in a year or so!  It’s still a great story, and the blanket that comes with it is such a great idea, I can’t wait until he does start to understand what it’s for.

Maeve Binchy is my favorite author ever, so when I discovered she had a book out all about writing, I had to get it. A while ago, The National College of Ireland held a writing class and called it “The Maeve Binchy Writers’ Club” because every week of the course, Maeve would send them an informative letter about some aspect of writing, from inspiration to publishing to writing in the various genres for the various markets. She also called on other writers like Marian Keyes, and publishers and editors in the industry to contribute a letter for the students about their fields of expertise. How lucky was that group of writers in that course? I would have LOVED to been there. Fortunately, the National College of Ireland decided to gather all the letters together and publish them in a book, along with a short story written by Maeve especially for the book called, fittingly enough, ‘The Writing Class’. So, in lieu of taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge this year (my 4 month old forbid it. He said, “Mommy, don’t be crazy. Hold me instead. ALL THE TIME.”), I would go to bed at night and read a letter in the book before going to sleep. It helped me feel like a writer.

The tips and advice in the book are good, though the contributers focus on Ireland quite a bit (ie. Irish writing competitions, the Irish publishing industry, the Irish radio market, etc.), but the main ideas still apply to anyone who wants to be a writer. As for the short story at the end, I’m sad to say it because I do love Maeve so, but it falls a little flat, being a bit too contrived and obvious. But overall, this is a good book to keep on your writers’ resource shelf to pull down and flip through when you need some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing.

Wow, it’s been a long time since I reviewed any children’s books. Luckily for me, I have a little baby boy that likes looking at books, so I’ve had opportunity to read them again. Also lucky is that my husband loves reading and fully supports book-buying for our son. Perhaps not so lucky for the bank account, though ;)

Board Books for Babies

Rainbow Fun — Amazing Baby books

Great book for introducing baby to the colors of the rainbow. I sing the words to my son and point out the colors and pictures.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – Bill Martin, Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle

Another concept book that can be sung to your baby. Introduces colors and animals. Great illustrations from the great Eric Carle.

Five Little Monkeys — Eileen Christelow

Five little monkeys jump on the bed and one by one they each fall and hurt their heads. Teaches numbers 1 - 5 and has good repetition.

Peek-a WHO? – Nina Laden

Teach your child words that end in -oo. Fun book with cut outs that the child looks through to see what’s coming up next.

Cars and Trucks From A to Z — Richard Scarry

A concept book with real and made up automobiles that help teach the alphabet. Fun illustrations.

Preschool and Picture Books for Young Children

You Can Do It, Sam — Amy Hest, illustrated by Anita Jeram

It’s winter time and Sam and his mother bake some warm cakes to take to all their friends. When it comes time to deliver the cakes, Sam’s mother tells him he can do it all by himself. A nice story about mother-son relationships. Could be a nice Christmas gift with the winter and gift-giving themes.

Little Quack’s New Friend — Lauren Thompson, illustrated by Derek Anderson

Little Quack and his siblings meet Little Ribbit, a frog looking for new friends. Because he’s different, everyone but Little Quack say he can’t play with them. But when they see how much fun Little Ribbit and Little Quack are having, they all want to make friends with him. Teaches about friendship and accepting differences.

Froggy’s Day with Dad — Jonathan London, illustrated by Frank Remiewicz

I love the Froggy books! Froggy spends Father’s Day with his dad at the amusement park. Great book for a child to give to dad for father’s day.

Dazzling Diggers — Tony Mitton and Ant Parker

Fun story teaching all about the various things that diggers and other construction trucks do. Great for little boys who are into trucks!

If You Give a Cat a Cupcake — Laura Numeroff

Part of the fun series that explores all the silly possibilities that might happen if you give a treat to an animal. Other books in the series include If You Give a Moose a Muffin, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

Melvin Might? –  by Jon Sciezka, with David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon, illustrated by Juan Pablo Navas

Part of the Truck Town series, this story is about Melvin, a truck that worries all the time. He worries that bad things will happen or he can’t do something. But he learns that when something is really important, you just might be able to do more than you expect.

Something Good — Robert Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko

Tayya goes grocery shopping with her father, brother and sister.  Her dad wants to buy nothing good, like bread and milk. So when Tayya keeps trying to fill the cart with something good, like ice cream or chocolate bars, her dad tells her to stay still and not move until they’re ready to leave. So Tayya stands perfectly still and is mistaken for a doll and put for sale, and dad ends up having to buy something good after all. Such a fun story! All the Munsch books are fun.

This book is a treat for those of us who read Weiner’s Good In Bed, and want to revisit Cannie Shapiro and see what happened to her little baby girl, Joy. Picking up 12 years later, we discover that Joy has grown into a rebellious but smart young woman preparing for her bat mitzvah, and that Cannie and her husband Peter are preparing to have a baby via a surrogate. Due to Joy’s premature birth and health problems, Cannie has been super protective and extra attentive towards Joy as she’s grown up, which, for a 12 year old girl, means that Joy finds her mom stifling and such an embarrassment, something that only adds more to the insecurities of an awkward teen with hearing aids entering the trials and tribulations of the seventh grade social strata. So when Joy finds out that the popular girls at school read her mother’s book, Big Girls Don’t Cry, and suddenly think Joy is worthy of their attention, she decides to read her mother’s book as well to find out why.

What Joy discovers is that her mother’s book is largely autobiographical, and it portrays her mother as a promiscuous young woman who got pregnant by accident and never wanted the baby. Joy suddenly starts to question her existence and how much she is loved and wanted. Sigh… only a teenager could still wonder if a mother who drives her to and picks her up from school every day, asks after her, gives her pretty much everything she wants and says “I love you” constantly could actually really love and want her. I really think Weiner did a nice job of conveying the insecurities of young girls these days through Joy’s character.

Told in alternating points of view between Cannie and Joy, we are able to see how even the most loving, stable family can have their share of problems and secrets to shake things up from time to time. Families aren’t perfect. Mothers aren’t perfect. Children don’t turn out the way you hope they will, despite all the efforts. Sometimes there’s no such thing as “normal.” I really enjoyed this book and the relationships portrayed in it. I think I could have enjoyed it more if I had reread Good In Bed beforehand to refresh my memory of Cannie’s life pre-Joy, but the book stands well on its own. And while most of Weiner’s books tend to be on the lighter side, there are some pretty heavy themes in this novel; I think that since I recently became a mother myself, a lot of them hit home more emotionally than they would have pre-motherhood. A few tears were shed, and that’s not something chick lit tends to do to me. I suppose that’s why the official title of this book is Certain Girls: A Novel. I think Weiner hoped this novel would be taken more seriously and rise above the chick lit “bubble gum” eschewers, though the bright pink cover certainly wouldn’t help that cause.

In the end, I found this to be another good novel from a good writer.

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Happy Halloween! I think it’s only fitting I review a book about monsters :)

Meyer’s Twilight saga ends with Breaking Dawn, the best of the 4 novels she’s written about the mortal Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. I was pleased with this novel, as I didn’t particularly think the first three (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) were anything special in terms of writing talent. But Meyer surprised me with the last novel of this saga. It was unpredictable (in some ways), enjoyable and well-written.

The novel opens where the last one ended, as Bella and Edward get ready for their nuptials. This was the first surprise of the novel. I expected Meyer to take her time getting these two married, but it comes quickly. It is then followed just as quickly with surprise number two: Bella’s transformation. Probably the greatest source of unpredictability in this novel comes from how it happened and why: Bella’s pregnancy. Meyer really didn’t hold back with it. The pregnancy was brutal, the birth was even more brutal, and then Bella’s transformation into a vampire was extremely unpleasant. Just the way a novel about monsters should be. I am impressed that Meyer didn’t sugar coat it.

I was also happy with the way the novel wrapped up the loose threads — the Volturi coming to make sure Bella has been transformed, and the twist in Jacob’s love life (though, can I just say that I saw that one coming the moment Bella became pregnant?). I thought the novel was a fitting ending to the saga, though it’s clearly left open to the possibility of more to come in the future should Meyer decide she wants to revisit Bella and Edward (and considering how successful her novels are and how popular they’ve become, particularly now with the first movie about to be released, why wouldn’t she want to? Cha-ching!).

Ellie Graham married well — her husband, Andy, is handsome, smart, successful and rich.  He’s also polite, thoughtful and respectful. He’s a perfect catch. He’s just not Leo, the one that “got away”. Leo was Ellie’s boyfriend before she met Andy, and while he was also handsome and smart, he was not willing to get married. So they broke up and Ellie met Andy, got over Leo, and moved on. Or so she thought. A few years later, Ellie and Leo literally cross paths in a (how apropros) crosswalk, and they catch up over coffee. Turns out the sexual tension is still alive and well between these two, and the attraction remains very strong. Not wanting to lose touch again, Leo gets Ellie the job opportunity of a lifetime — photographing a huge celebrity to accompany the interview Leo is writing for a popular magazine.  As the two work together on the job, the sparks fly and Ellie starts wondering if she ended up with the wrong person after all.

I love Emily Giffin’s books, particularly her Something Borrowed and Something Blue novels, so I was looking forward to reading this latest of hers.  I liked the book, though it was much more somber and subdued than her other novels. This novel focuses on marriage and fidelity, and the title of the novel had me thinking the whole way through that the main character “settled” for the man she married because (as the saying goes), she couldn’t be with the one she really loves. This made me like the novel a little less, because I didn’t like that idea. However, Emily Giffin handled the issues very well in this novel, and the actions of the characters were not predictable. In fact, I was surprised with how things progressed between the characters, which is always a good thing in my opinion — to be surprised by the plot. The story turned out well and the writing was strong, though a little long-winded at times. Overall, a good read. (more…)

Finally read a book! It helps when you’re up late at night feeding the baby and have time on your hands (and your son is a lazy eater and takes his time).

This is the novel that inspired the movie that came out this last year (starring Hayden Christensen and Rachel Bilson), though it is not the same story at all. The book is completely different from the movie, apart from the names of characters and the fact that Davy is a jumper. Of course, the book is better than the movie (it always is, isn’t it?). This is also the prequel to Reflex, which was another book I enjoyed reading, and which, in my opinion, is the better of the two.

Davy Rice is a troubled teen. He’s been abandoned by his mother, and is physically abused by his alcoholic father. One day, as his father prepares to give Davy an especially brutal beating, something happens — Davy vanishes and reappears in the safety of the local library, a place he has always felt safe. At first, Davy thinks he dreamt it all, and that the stress of the beating is blocking his memory. He decides to run away and make it on his own in New York City. On his way there, he hitch hikes with a trucker who has some nasty plans in mind for Davy that make a beating from his father preferable. As the trucker starts to carry out the plan, Davy vanishes once again and finds himself back in the safety of the library. This is no mental blockage — Davy realises he can teleport, or “jump”, and he begins to practice his new skill, learning that he can only jump to places he has been before and can picture vividly in his mind.

Davy’s new skill gives him some purpose in life. While he uses his skill to teleport into the vault of a bank and rob a million dollars, he does also use the money to support himself as he performs some good deeds; for example, helping the homeless or teleporting around the world to catch terrorists who have hijacked planes. It is certainly interesting to think about what life as a teleporter would be like. No need to spend hours and money on transportation; you can teleport yourself home anytime you want to take a quick nap, make a snack, or use your own bathroom; nothing could stop you from going where to want to go.

I enjoyed this book, and I thought the story was well plotted, though not necessarily well-written. Some of the dialogue was awkward and the character development of Davy and his girlfriend, Millie, could have been a little better as I found their relationship and the way they spoke to one another to be a little too contrived at times. And, not that it impacted the story at all, but (my pet peeve) the editors missed some spelling and grammatical errors (gah! drives me nuts!) as well. But overall, this was a well-paced, interesting story.

I’m a mommy! My son, Alexander, came into the world last Wednesday, July 9th, weighing 7 lbs, 2 oz. and measuring 19 inches. He’s healthy, happy, and he lets me get some sleep. What a wonderful gift to give his mommy!

I never really believed in love at first sight, but I do now. I loved the idea of my child before I was even pregnant, but I can’t even describe the love I felt for my adorable baby boy the second I laid my eyes on him. Stronger than the idea, stronger than the bond we formed when I grew him. Stronger than anything I could imagine. My life has changed completely.

I haven’t had much sleep in the last while, and I’m too tired and overloaded with new feelings and experiences to formulate a coherent post, so I will leave it at that for now and get back to my sweet boy and my wonderful, thoughtful, super helpful husband. Life is good :)

Lexi Smart wakes up in the hospital one day to discover she’s lost all memory of the last 3 years of her life. All she remembers is being the frumpy, unappreciated girl everyone calls “Snaggletooth” due to her uneven teeth and untailored wardrobe. But the Lexi that wakes up in the hospital is completely different — she’s toned and sleek with designer clothes, she’s now the director of her department at work, and she’s married to a hunky millionaire and lives in a massive penthouse overlooking London. Yep, apparently, all that can happen in 3 years! As Lexi tries to recover her memories of the last 3 years, she starts to learn about the person she’s become. Nope, no suprises with this plot line. The Lexi of 3 years ago was a much nicer, more joyful person than the Lexi who wakes up looking perfect and living the rich life.

I can’t say this was a good novel. It was predictable and the story won’t be memorable down the road (good thing I have this blog). It wasn’t as fun as Kinsella’s “Shopaholic” series (which, in my opinion started losing the fun factor after the second book, anyway), though there are some funny bits here and there to keep you rooting for Lexi along the way. I also think the ending was decent enough, which is good since I hate finishing books and being disappointed with the turn of events at the end. But overall, not something I’d recommend unless you’re looking for a quick and fluffy read with an uncomplicated story that won’t require any thinking. (more…)

Time.com released its list of the 50 best websites of 2008, which is how I came across this great site called LookyBook which allows you to view children’s picture books from cover to cover online. I used to read a lot of picture books and review them on this site when I worked at a public library, but since I left there for my current job, I haven’t looked at too many other than a few flips through whatever’s on the book table at Costco from time to time, which is a shame because I love picture books (the stories, the colors, the illustrations) and find they can easily make me go from grumpy to happy in just a few minutes.

Now that I’m just a few weeks away from the birth of my own first baby, I’ve been thinking more about picture books, so I was happy to find this site today. I found a few books I remembered reading and loving when I came across them at the library, and it was nice to see them again online. It’s certainly a good reference source for those people trying to remember what a picture book was about. It’s also a great way to preview a book before you buy it from Chapters or Amazon, etc. Librarians, teachers, and people who work with children could spend hours going through these books looking for the next story time read.

Personally, I’m not sure how authors and illustrators might feel about having their entire works on display on the site (I wonder about legal issues, etc.), but I assume that books don’t appear on the site without permission from the appropriate people. I suspect it could be a reason for why the site currently only has 300 books online (though they are “growing daily”). However, don’t let that number stop you from browsing — there are a lot of excellent books in that number.

Twelve year old Veronica (Ronnie) Swan is babysitting her two younger sisters and playing hide and go seek. As Ronnie hides in the shed by their house, she starts to think that her sisters are unusually quiet and taking a long time finding her. Pushing open the shed door, she faces a gruesome sight — her sisters lay in a pool of blood on the ground with their necks slashed, while a man, covered in the girls’ blood, stands nearby, spinning madly and talking to himself.

The man, Scott Early, is later diagnosed with untreated schizophrenia. He is found guilty of the murders of Ronnie’s sisters, but declared mentally insane at the time. Instead of being sent to prison, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital for 3 years of treatment and is then released to live freely with his wife and new baby girl. Ronnie and her family, however, must live in their own prisons of guilt and grief as they mourn the loss of the two little girls.

Ronnie grows up quickly in the aftermath of her sisters’ murders. She takes care of her grieving mother and her new baby brother, born just weeks after the murders. She takes care of the house and what’s left of her family while her parents fall apart. Her mother takes to her bed and sleeps as much as possible, while her father leaves them to walk aimlessly night after night in the woods behind their house. After a few years of living in a fog, both of Ronnie’s parents finally come around and make a decision — they decide they will visit Scott Early in the hospital and give him their forgiveness so that they can move forward with their lives.

Ronnie can not understand her parents. To her, forgiving the man that murdered her sisters is like telling him they accept his apology and the deaths. For Ronnie’s parents, forgiving is an act of faith, brought on by months of prayer and the belief that judgment is reserved for God, not them. But Ronnie can not forgive Scott Early. Instead, she decides she will bring some judgment on him herself, and makes a plan to deliver him some of the pain he has caused her family.

Throughout the novel, Ronnie is described as an exceptionally smart young woman. Home-schooled with excellent grades, she graduates from high school early and plans to become a doctor one day. However, for such a smart person, she sure makes some poorly thought-out plans. I suppose that years of grief and thoughts of revenge can cause a person to not think clearly, but then again, she does have years to think things through and plan her revenge. Her plan, once put into action, isn’t very smart, and it certainly isn’t carried out well. I sort of expected more repercussions for her actions, but instead the result has very little consequence to herself. In fact, the ending of the novel turns out to be a little too gratifying. And I suppose after years of pain and sorrow, Ronnie deserves a little happiness in the end, but something just doesn’t feel right about it. Perhaps it has to do with how easily her life goes on, and how well things turn out for her, and how willing everyone around her is to let her off the hook for what she does.

I’d say this is a good book despite the ending. It is well-written, and the pages fly by with an interesting plot to carry it forward. Religion is a major factor in this novel, and I did expect more preaching and religious discussion, but there is surprisingly little apart from some setting up in the beginning and then the overly sweet ending that I found a little hard to believe. Overall, a good read with some interesting themes. (more…)

Ambrose Zephyr has been told by his doctor that he has one month left to live. Ambrose has always loved letters and the alphabet, and so he makes a list, from A to Z, of places to go or things to see or do in the month he has left. He and his wife, Zappora “Zipper” Ashkenazi, then leave everything behind and travel from destination to destination to complete Ambrose’s list.

This was a well-written book, but it’s fairly depressing. Ambrose and Zipper have no one but each other (no kids, no relatives) which makes Ambrose’s imminent death all the more tragic as his wife will be left alone. I think that’s what got to me the most about this book. The sad realization for Zipper that the love of her life for so many years is dying and she will be alone to grieve him. It’s even more tragic that the death isn’t sudden, so they can prepare themselves for it, but it also won’t be far away, so there’s just not enough time left. I was just wiped out by the end, and this was a short novel, so I was surprised by how much of an emotional wallop it packed.