I love, love, love this author! I think she only has 2 books out (this and The Folk Keeper), but I will be on the lookout for more from her in the future. The main character was so strong and wonderful, and it was such a magical story.

Someone told me once that if you want a good introduction to a subject you know nothing about to read a kid’s nonfiction book on the subject. My book club will be reading No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan, so I wanted a good introduction to Islam before reading an “adult” book about it. This was an okay read. I was expecting more about how Muslim kids in America have to reconcile their religion with American culture. There was a little bit of that, but I wanted more. About half the book was spent on the history of the Nation of Islam and African-American Muslim culture, which was interesting but not what I expected either.

This one seemed to drag in the middle, but once I got in the final 150 pages, it flew by. Good series!

A thorough guide to charting and learning your cycle. This is a must-read for every woman!

• Breastfeed on cue for at least one year (although the book convinced me to try for two years due to the biology of baby development)
• Share the bed with our children for at least the first couple of years (co-sleeping has been shown to prevent SIDS, for example)
• Respond to cries quickly (because crying doesn’t just indicate hunger or a full diaper but also the baby’s developmental need for touch)
• Carry the baby as much as possible (to help with on-cue breastfeeding and responding to cries quickly)

These happen to be the choices my family has made so far, but I recognize that in some cases the trade-offs for the other side of each choice make sense for certain families. I think this book does an excellent job of giving you a full picture of each parenting choice so that you can make an informed decision. The book was a little slow-going for me at first, but once I got to the chapter comparing cultures, it really picked up and was very interesting.

1. The US military has no right to be in Iraq in the first place.
2. The US is not bringing democracy to Iraq.
3. The US is not making the world a safer place by occupying Iraq.
4. The US is not preventing civil war in Iraq.
5. The US is not confronting terrorism by staying in Iraq.
6. The US is not honoring those who died by continuing the conflict.
7. The US is not rebuilding Iraq.
8. The US is not fulfilling its obligation to the Iraqi people for the harm and suffering it has caused.

Admittedly, I already agreed with most of these assertions before reading the book. The one lingering doubt I did have about when we should stop the occupation was the 4th point. This book didn’t go into great detail on that point (it’s less than 120 pages), but it did give some examples of how the US authorities are actually pitting factions against each other in the formation of the Iraqi government—the ol’ divide and conquer approach. The book inspired me to go read more on the subject, and I am now convinced that our presence in Iraq alone is the source of most of the agitation. I am not naive—I don’t believe that as soon as we pull out, the violence will stop. But I do believe that by continuing to be an occupying presence and contributing to the culture of violence, we are only rubbing the wound raw.

• Mass resistance of the Vietnamese people to US intervention
• Resistance of US soldiers and veterans
• Domestic opposition on a scale that forced elites in the US to recognize that they had lost the war at home
• International protest and opposition that isolated the US politically
• Growing economic consequences of the war, which led to inflation and deficits that undermined the position of the US economy

Holy crap, I thought after reading it for the first time. A lot of ridiculously big stuff has to happen to stop a war. But what gave me hope is knowing that we did stop an unjust war in our nation’s history, with citizen outcries being a major factor in doing so. And hey look—we have a roadmap for doing it again! A roadmap with crazy zigzag roads criss-crossing every millimeter, making it unbelievably hard to get where you want to go—but a roadmap nonetheless.

In the last 2 weeks, I’ve seen 2 movies that have inspired me to do more in my daily life to work against this war: The War Tapes and The US vs. John Lennon They were inspiring for very different reasons—one is raw and upsetting, the other hopeful and admiring.

These movies and this book made me realize that if I care deeply about something, I can’t just send an electronic pre-written letter to my representatives when I happen to get a reminder to do so. If you truly care about something, it should be part of your daily life. If you can devote a few minutes (or more) each day to surfing the web, watching TV, or generally just killing time, certainly you can devote a few minutes to writing a real letter or reading an article to learn more or sharing an article with friends and family or volunteering for your local anti-war group or any of the countless things you can do to contribute to the cause in your own way.

Sure, nothing I do is going to stop the war tomorrow. Nothing will. You don’t beat back a war machine overnight. To do that requires constant and creative pressure from all types of people. So if writing a letter doesn’t seem useful to you, sit down and think about what does seem useful to you. Maybe working against in-school military recruitment is something you feel makes the most difference. Or maybe you want to learn more about the issue so you can make an effective argument with friends and family. Or maybe you have an idea for a new type of action against the war. Just do something, anything. And do it regularly. Ending this war will require more than just one-off efforts from everyone who’s against it. It will require us to weave our efforts into our daily lives. People are dying unnecessarily every day in this war. The least we could do is devote a tiny part of our days to honoring that in our own way.

As a wise man once said: “Whatever you do may seem insignificant, but it is most important that you do it.”—Mahatma Gandhi

I was in the mood for candy, and this book fit the bill. It seemed like a realistic insight into what new motherhood must be like. I had a little trouble keeping track of all the different characters and their back stories, but it was still an enjoyable read. The perfectionist character (with my name, to boot) hit a little close to home—I’ll really need to keep that in check when we have a family so I don’t go crazy!

This book is mostly a collection of quotations from women with some text added around them to hold it all together. It’s organized into sections based on questions or statements like “What if I Don’t Want to Give up My Career?” and “Will I Feel out of Control?” Each section is 1-2 pages with a few paragraphs from the authors and then quotations from women about that topic.

Some of the topics were good to read about, but the brief coverage of them just left me wanting something more in-depth. In some cases, the authors’ “answers” were off base and close-minded, IMHO. For example, when talking about the costs surrounding the birth, they write: “For reasons not always related to cost, the appeal of at-home births is spreading. It’s a setting we don’t recommend. If a pregnant woman or her infant is in distress, the amount of time it takes to get her to the hospital can mean the difference between joy and tragedy.” Nevermind the fact that tragedy can strike just as easily in a hospital setting and that some would argue you’re actually at more risk for complications when you’re surrounded by doctors who want to control every aspect of the birthing process. And then in a list of parenting magazines, they didn’t even mention what I think is the best parenting magazine on the market: Mothering.

If you’re looking for an in-depth discussion of these types of issues, this isn’t the book for you. But if you want a quick overview of all the types of issues related to this decision, this book definitely provides that.

This book is definitely geared towards the woman who has decided she wants to be a mother. It’s a good collection of important things to consider before you’re even pregnant and a good bit of things to consider after you are—developing healthy lifestyle habits, choosing a care provider, financial considerations, impact on your relationships, how to care for the baby and yourself, and what your partner’s experience might be like. We’re not at the point where all this is relevant right now, but I’ll definitely refer back to this when we are at that point.

• It’s natural to have expectations of what your baby is going to be like and how your marriage and life will change once you’re a mother. But it’s also healthy to be aware of the implicit or explicit pressures you put on your child and to ask yourself if it’s fair to expect those things.
• It’s important to surround yourself with a positive support network as you become a mother. You need supportive family and friends to encourage you to trust your instincts, not people to tell you exactly what to do and how to do it every moment they’re with you. A quote from the book: “Any signals that undermine your confidence while you are trying to do something you have never done before are upsetting and not to be borne.”
• Though you might not think about it this way, basic survival tasks (feeding, playing, identifying with your baby) provide opportunities to forge a more intimate relationship with your baby, which only increases your love for her.
• The kind of mother you will be is not determined only by your past (such as your relationship with your mother and how you were mothered yourself). The kind of mother you will be has more to do with the work you’ve done to understand your past and reflect upon it. A quote: “The more you can understand your relationship with your own mother and come to terms with it, the less likely you are to mindlessly repeat it.”
• In spending time with your baby and being who you are, you are teaching your baby different ways to be with someone. For example, if you are someone who tends to get pensive and not always be in the moment with your baby, your baby will most likely learn to become more animated to draw you back into the present. These learned “ways of being with” someone can grow into personality traits and strengths later in life.
• On work/family balance: “Most important, you must figure out what will make you happiest and most fulfilled, and strive to achieve that situation. Try hard not to let others tell you what you should do or feel. If you know yourself and what you can live with, you will find the best compromises for your set of circumstances. In the long run, the best solutions for you are very likely going to be the best solutions for the baby as well.”