Book Reviews


So in light of the new Kindle that Mark got me, I have been gobbling up books. I find it easy to toss the Kindle in my bag, to read it while I am feeling Kyla, and to bring when traveling :-) Because of this convenience, I have been able to breeze through a few books on my list...Below are my thoughts.

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey (Two thumbs up)

Love. This. It was too funny. It is a semi-autobiographical retelling on Fey's rise to comedic stardom and some of the bumps she hit along the way. I think I find Fey so entertaining because she is this blend of irreverent potty humor with dry witty, somewhat intellectual quips. I laughed out loud a lot while reading this book and would highly recommend it.












2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (two thumbs up)

This was also excellent. It is the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks who passed away in the 1950s from an especially aggressive form of cervical cancer. Prior to her death, doctors at Hopkins (where she was being seen) took a biopsy of her tumor that subsequently became one of the first cell lines able to be grown successfully. Since that time, those cells have played a pivotal role in the development and understanding of LOTS of science and medicine. The story focuses on the woman and her family and not only provides lots of good human interest stuff, but also brings up interesting ethical questions regarding research, consent, and patient understanding.
Thoroughly enjoyed. (and not just because I am an OB/Gyn and do PAP smears all the time :)







3. Boundaries with Kids by Drs. Henry Cloud, John Townsend (1.375 thumbs up)

This is a sequel to their famous boundaries series overall and from what I can tell, basically just extends their generally advocated MO to kids.
The few big (and valuable) points I thought they made seem to be a recurring theme in ALL parenting books. That is, have a plan BEFORE you encounter trouble, so get an idea of what you and your spouse are going to do when your kid throws a tantrum so that when it DOES happen, you aren't making stuff up as you go. It also advocates, along a similar line, proactive parenting-pretty much exactly what I just described. Parenting in a manner that accounts for future challenges and isn't so much REACTIVE but (duh) proactive.
This is pretty much what EVERY single parenting book I have encountered says.
SOOO since Kyla is now almost a year, I probably need to get on this. Going to try to come up with good plans, what behavior is allowable and what needs to be addressed early...we'll see how it goes!!






4. Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin (eight thumbs down)

Waste of time. A really really shallow story about a bunch of people with poor communication skills, very little in the way of morals/ideals, and grossly cheesy.
Don't spend the money or the time.


And that's what I have so far! I'm going to try to read "The Paris Wife" next as this has come recommended, but I am always open for suggestions so let me know :-)

enjoy your Saturday!