This quote SO describes me!

Or even a pile of half finished books that I was meaning to get finished...

Holiday reading

Both very good reads, although the two heroines are very different!

This year, we're trying a summer holiday Book Chat. The Hiding Place is our book for that. Gone With the Wind is just a book that I really enjoy reading, but hardly ever have time to get through. I also borrowed the impossibly long DVD of the movie from the library to get through sometime in the next week or two. Will need to fit that in around all the tennis coming up on TV.

Hope you are all enjoying some rest and relaxation out there!

For the Helen Garner fans out there....

I was just reading this interesting article over at crikey.com.au about a talk she gave to some budding writers last night in Melbourne.

There are some very interesting insights into non-fiction and crime writing to be gained from it. Not the least that her turn of speech is as brilliant as her writing.

If you haven't read Helen Garner's non-fiction, you really should give it a go. The First Stone was the first of her books that I read. Very compelling reading.

Book review: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

I first saw this book reviewed on the First Tuesday Book Club on the ABC a few months ago. What made me notice it was that every person on the discussion panel had really loved it. Anyone who has watched the show knows that that is a bit unusual.

It's taken me a while to get hold of a copy to read. Our local library didn't have a copy at the time it was on the TV show, but said it was on order. And there were lots of reserves placed on it for when it arrived. The library didn't have any of his other books that I could read while I was waiting.

It's a book that's distinctive in the "ordinariness" of the plot, nothing too dramatic, just the story of two couples who become friends during the Depression years when the two husbands are working together in the English department at the University of Wisconsin and how their friendship develops over many years. The narrator, Larry, is the husband in one of the couples and is writing the book as a reflection on their friendship, as they have gathered together again in their older age because Charity, the wife in the other couple, is about to die from cancer.

Although there's not too much plot to speak of, the rich descriptions of the couples and their friendship, and the observations Stegner makes, reflecting on both self and the nature of relationships, are beautifully written. This is what made the book so enjoyable for me, the First Tuesday Book clubbers described it as a book about "living a worthy life" and also about "dying a good death" which really summed it up quite well. Of course, as Christians, we know that living a worthy life is about much much more than just "the passion we all (have) to improve ourselves, live up to our potential, leave a mark on the world....about how we could contribute." (p.11). But I think this quote is a great description of the way we think about life in the world.

Another fantastic description that stood out to me was this one (p.191):
"You can plan all you want to. You can lie in your morning bed and fill whole notebooks with schemes and intentions. But within a single afternoon, within hours or minutes, everything you plan and everything you have fought to make yourself can be undone as a slug is undone when salt is poured on him. And right up to the moment when you find yourself dissolving into foam you can still believe you are doing fine."  

That one reminded me of that verse in Mark's Gospel where it talks about no one knowing the day or the hour except for the Father. And again, it was such a vivid picture of how the world works.

If you're a person who loves lots of action, adventure and escapism in your fiction reading, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you love good character development and how people relate to one another in a long term marriage and in friendships, then it's a beautiful book to read. One review I read of it on Goodreads described it as "the anti-Gatsby." I liked that. No affairs or adulterous relationships, no excessive consumption and wastage, no violence, but just a description of ordinary lives impacted upon by joy, sorrow, laughter, disappointment, illness and the myriad of other experiences that we encounter over the course of many years.

Definitely worth a read. I am in the middle of reading it for a second time before I have to take it back to the library on Monday for the next person in the reservation queue. And then I think I'd like to read it again in a few years time.

Managed to find a couple of Tim Winton books that I liked

Our two nephews stayed with us for a few days over the school holiday break. One of them was reading Blueback by Tim Winton.

So I asked him if I could borrow it. And I loved it. I read it in an hour, and then I read it again. Magnificent descriptions of the sea and the big groper Blueback that the book is named for.

Just a beautifully simple story with no irritating characters, like some of the other Tim Winton books I've tried and failed at reading.

Then last week while we were away, I read Land's Edge. This is a non-fiction book/memoir based on Tim's memories of the coast as he was growing up. I enjoyed that one too.

I feel like I've made it. I've managed to enjoy some Tim Winton.

This week at Book Club, we're discussing Breath. I read it for the second time while we were away. Still didn't enjoy it, although at least with some Tim enjoyment coming into reading it, I could appreciate his descriptions of the surf and the waves a bit more. The plot still isn't working for me though.

Finally some success

...on the Tim Winton front, that is. See earlier post here.

I really enjoyed Dirt Music. So much so that I'm reading it again. Not sure that I'll be converted to all of his stuff, but his writing in this one is very good. I wonder if one of the reasons I liked it so much was because both the main characters in it seemed to me to be quite introverted and self-absorbed (like me, sad to admit...). His very vivid descriptions of the Australian landscape and sea were the other big attraction as I was reading it.

After this, I'm tackling "Breath" for book club. I've read it before and the plot was a bit of a turn off that time. So I am now curious to see whether the imagery can rescue my perception of the dodgy plot at a second read.

Tim Winton take 27....

I posted a while ago about the difficulty I have had reading Tim Winton's books. A friend told me Dirt Music was pretty good. So I'm giving it a go. Anyone else read it and enjoyed it?

Reading at the moment...

I've just finished reading this book. I'd read several reviews of it (largely positive), and it was also discussed on the ABC TV First Tuesday Book Club show this month. It got a mixed review on the TV show, where some of the panel really enjoyed it, while others expressed quite a strong dislike.

The storyline was appealing to me because a lighthouse was involved. I love lighthouses. And I also love a good ethical dilemma. In this one, a boat washes up on a remote lighthouse island with a baby girl and a dead man (her father) inside. Having just lost a baby themselves, the young couple who are the sole residents of the island where the husband is the lighthouse keeper decide to keep the baby and not report the death of the man to authorities. The book goes on to describe the consequences of this decision for all involved.

On the surface, it sounded like an intriguing plotline. Unfortunately, I didn't think the writing quite lived up to the good idea. It's the first novel for the author M. L.Stedman, so there's nothing else she has written to compare with, but I thought the writing style didn't do the plot justice. There were a lot of wasted words and scenes. It probably could have been half the length it was and been a much better read.

My copy from the library also had one of those Women's Weekly Great Reads stickers on the front of it. Those stickers don't usually make me want to read the book. In fact, to me they're like a great big sign saying "For schmaltzy and overly sentimental writing, come and read this." And that's what I thought by the time I got to the end. It seemed like a very superficial and sugar-coated treatment of the issues it was aiming to cover.

But obviously many other people (including book reviewers with far greater credentials than I possess) have really loved it. So I'm giving it a second read to see if it redeems itself on the second attempt. But at the moment, I'm sitting in the "not that great" camp.

As always, I'm happy to hear arguments from anyone who really enjoyed it and can convince me that it's the most marvellous debut novel ever written (or can find what it is that I may have missed)....

Reading this week...

I've had this one reserved at the library for a while. When I went to pick it up this morning, with toddler and baby in tow, the woman who checked it out for me told me it was "disturbing" and she didn't know whether she could have read it when she had young kids. She said it was very good though.

I'm expecting it will be. The subjects (dysfunctional attachment and parenting) are things that I'm interested in from a professional viewpoint. But I'm hoping it won't freak me out too much if I recognise any of my own feelings in it.

I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie, which must be due out on DVD soon, I think.

Anyone else read it? Or seen the movie?

Book review: No-Cry Potty Training Solution

I have posted in here before about toilet training Rosie. It seems to be going okay so far. We do have accidents happening sometimes but she is also having lots of success which is keeping everyone happy.

This book is probably the best one I've discovered about toilet training. Elizabeth Pantley has also written several books on gentle approaches to sleep training and I noticed on her website that she has a new one out about dealing with picky eaters (none of those in our house, thank goodness, but I think this one would be good for me to read for work). Elizabeth is from the USA, so the terminology and language is distinctly US-flavoured, but still very readable.

The book consist of a menu of ideas to try during toilet training rather than a one-size-fits-all solution, similar to her sleep books. I like this because it provides options and acknowledges that different things may work in different families. Her toilet training checklist and bathroom safety checklists are useful too. She covers most of the common problems that arise during toilet training. Lots of good common sense advice is given.

She very much pushes (pardon the pun...) the idea that a positive and relaxed approach from those doing the toilet training is important. Bearing this in mind, she also says that toilet training isn't something that happens over a few days, but rather over several months. For those whose kids aren't ready to train yet, she has good information about things parents can do in the lead-up to prepare children for more full-on toilet training later.

I certainly wouldn't say that toilet training has been a completely no-cry process here, the sight of an accident on the carpet has driven me to tears on more than one occasion. And I've found the kids do need the occasional firm hand to make sure they know what's expected. This makes them (and me as well!) cranky sometimes.

But all in all, it's a pretty helpful read if you're thinking about toilet training and you're not sure where to start.

Book for young Lego fanatics

I borrowed this from the local library today for Liam. He is away staying with his grandparents this week so I have had a chance to look at it. There are some very cool models inside.

I can't wait to see his face when he comes back and sees it. After that, I won't get to look at it ever again so I'd better make the most of the next couple of days.

Reading...

Recommended by Jenny, here. It's about a five year old boy, Jack, who has spent his entire life living in a small room (Room) with his Ma. He spends his days watching television and doing exercises with her, but at night he needs to sleep in Wardrobe because Old Nick comes to sleep with Ma.

While the basis for the story is pretty disturbing, it's an interesting read at the same time. And as a therapist with an interest in child development, it was fascinating to see this author's perception of the impact of environmental deprivation on Jack's development.

One uplifting and positive aspect of this book is the loving relationship and secure attachment that Jack had developed with his Ma. This was, I think, a safe haven for him during the events that unfolded as the book progressed.

I once worked with a little girl who had spent the first three years of her life shut in a cupboard. This was abuse and neglect at the extreme end of the scale. There was no secure attachment figure for this child. And although to all outward appearances, she looked "normal"once she was removed from this environment, even the best of foster care placements couldn't make up for the early deprivation she had sustained.

That's why I love working with little people in the first five years of life. So much happens. So much of it being absorbed without us necessarily being aware of it...

Now THAT's a school excursion....(Angela Brazil school story marathon continues)

I'm currently halfway through reading The Jolliest School of All on my new e-reader. One of the things I like about Angela's school stories is that almost all of her books are stand-alone stories ie. not part of a series, like those of many other well-known school story authors.

This one is set in a school in Naples, Italy. It's a school for daughters of expats.

So far the girls have been on excursions to Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius. There are whole chapters devoted to each day trip amidst all the usual school story topics. Fantastic stuff.

If you have an e-reader, you can download a copy for yourself free here.

Holiday reading....

...school stories from the early 1900s written by an author called Angela Brazil. I remember reading some of her short stories in Girls' Annuals at my grandmother's house when I visited her at Christmas time when I was a little girl.

So I (well Chris, actually) downloaded 24 of her books free to my new e-reader from Project Gutenberg.

This morning I had to have another two hour glucose tolerance test to make sure that my gestational diabetes has gone away. I booked it for today so I wouldn't have to take any of the kids with me, because Chris has the week off work. I spent the entire waiting time reading school stories on the e-reader. The screen froze a couple of times. I'm hoping that's just a teething issue and that it will improve in performance. Or, alternatively, that I will become more skilled at restarting it when this happens.

To e-read or not to e-read...that is the question?

Chris and I are debating whether we should get one of these as a joint Christmas present for ourselves. The idea of having one thousand books on a small portable device rather than filling up bookshelves in our home is appealing.

Not sure whether it would completely replace reading real books with covers and paper pages, though. And I would like to buy one that lets me borrow ebooks from libraries. So far the Sony Touch e-reader is looking like the one we might choose. Kindles seem to be a bit too Amazon embedded for my liking.

Hospital reading...

Because obviously I'll have heaps of time to read books when I'm there....or not....

The first one arrived yesterday. Great timing. It's the latest edition of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale. I did the training to do this assessment a few years ago. It looks at a newborn's ability to self-regulate and interact with adults, among other things. I'll only be looking at this one if I'm in any kind of frame of mind to give it a go with the baby in the first few days. Depends on how I'm feeling. And how the baby's going.

The second one (Baby on Board 2nd edition) I found at the library. It looks like a fairly common sense type of book. A good two page summary at the beginning about what you need to know (or be reminded of) in the first few days. And heaps smaller than Robin Barker's Baby Love and the massive La Leche League breastfeeding book that I also found in the library.

The third one (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) I have read before. I'm reading it again because it was interesting. And because I've already read it once it shouldn't be too taxing second time around.

The last one is one I'm checking out as a possibility for a Book Chat book for next year in the lead-up to Easter. I'm a couple of chapters in. It's not too bad. It 's integrating information from all four Gospel accounts of the lead-up to Jesus' death, which is interesting. A bit heavy going though. And old (published 2004). I'm not sure it will be easy to get hold of if a few people want to read it. Anyone else read it?

And the baby name book that we bought way back in 2001, so I can't find an image of that one anymore. Chris and I are going to try and sort out the final choices tonight...we are perhaps slightly closer to choosing something but I don't think we're there yet.

And, of course, my Bible.

Taking all these books with me, of course, is all about clinging to familiar and loved things. Change always freaks me out and this time around I've had more time to worry about it than I've had with all of my previous babies. I know it will all be okay eventually, but right now it is a bit scary.

I won't be able to blog in hospital because I don't own a smartphone or any other portable computer technology. So I will chat to you all in a week or so if everything goes well. Take care.

Sad news...

Sarah Watt has died. One of the best Australian film-makers. I love Australian movies and Look Both Ways is one of my favourites.

I bought the book she co-authored with her husband, actor William McInnes, Worse Things Happen at Sea, a few weeks ago. You can listen to him reading an extract from it here. I've read it once and will review it in here sometime when I've read it a second time. It's fantastic.

Thanks Simone

This guy is funny. I found him on Simone's blog. If you're so inclined, you can listen to his interpretation of the whole book in instalments on YouTube.

Just a warning: there is a little bit of bad language.

Reading to the kids...

When I went to the library a couple of weeks ago, Chris asked me to grab something that he could read aloud to the boys. This was what I literally grabbed (it was lying on a shelf in the wrong place) as the library was five minutes away from closing...up until then I had forgotten to do it and was busy looking for books for me....

For a random library find, it's been quite good. It has the stories (in an abridged kid-friendly format) of several of Shakespeare's more well-known plays. And at the back it lists all of his plays, the main characters in them, and a brief summary of the plot.

So far, Aidan has liked Macbeth the best. Liam enjoyed Romeo and Juliet. He previously read a shortened version of Henry V that he found in the school library and liked that too.

I'm planning to read it when Chris has finished reading it with the boys. I haven't read any Shakespeare since I finished Year 12. We read Hamlet in Year 12 and A Midsummer Night's Dream in Year 10. Wondering which of the others would be worth reading in full.

Book review: When the Bough Breaks by Julia Hollander

I have had this book out of the library for a few weeks now. I'm on my second reading of it at the moment.

It's a true story written by Julia Hollander, the Mum of a profoundly disabled little girl called Imogen, her second child. Imogen's disability resulted from a severe hypoxic brain injury and a traumatic birth. It's maybe not the best thing for me to be reading right now (although I am taking comfort in the fact that my hospital is only a few minutes' drive from my house). Julia had a long trip from home to a midwifery unit and then on to a larger hospital before she was able to access specialist medical care due to the emergency involved in Imogen's birth.

This is a disturbing book to read, and I think it would be even if the reader wasn't pregnant like me. As a Mum, I found it so unsettling on the first read (perhaps partly because Imogen is on the list of girl's names we like?) that I am reading it again to see if my feelings are any different this time around.

The story revolves around Julia's decision to place 5 month old baby Imogen into full time foster care because she was unable to cope with the demands of caring for a severely disabled infant who took several hours to feed, screamed constantly, and was having ongoing epileptic seizure activity.

A few years ago, I did some research for a postgraduate degree on the experiences of parents caring for children with disabilities. None of them described the reactions that Julia did in this book, so perhaps that's another reason why I am feeling a little disturbed as I'm reading it. And the "professional" side of me keeps saying things like "but they could have put in a feeding tube to make the feeds easier" or "if they'd given it a bit longer, the epilepsy meds would have stabilised the seizures and she might have become more settled."

After I finished reading this book for the first time, as a parent, I thought Julia had made a very selfish decision. She didn't have the "normal" baby she wanted so she gave her up (and then subsequently went on to have another normal child). Second time around, I'm not feeling quite so judgemental. I don't have experience of my own in this kind of thing to fall back upon, so I really don't know what it would be like to live this way day in and day out.

But I still feel as though Julia could have given it a little more time to see how things went over a longer time period. And whether accessing some regular respite care earlier might have made any difference. Although it certainly didn't come across as an easy decision that they made. She talks openly about her partner's expressed desire to kill baby Imogen and how this impacted on their relationship as a couple and as a family. And even after Imogen was placed with a foster carer, Julia still had doubts over whether she had made the right choice.

Before I wrote this, I checked online to see if anyone else had reviewed this book. I didn't find much. But I did find a review in an Australian academic journal of all places, the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, where the ethics of withholding nutrition from children with profound disabilities and the role of paediatricians in supporting families coping in the aftermath of a traumatic birth and diagnosis of disability were discussed in detail.

This book made me think about the ethical questions around caring for a child with profound disabilities. Although as a Christian, I didn't agree with many of Julia's decisions, her writing is beautifully honest and raw. And it made me realise that while in most cases, the supports we provide as professionals are enough to help families cope, perhaps there are times when it's insufficient.

Worth a read. But probably better to read when not in the last trimester of pregnancy, when birth is at the forefront of my mind.