January Books
January 31st, 2010 by RachelI often wonder how many books I read in a year. I read a lot last year, but our “now reading” part of our blog wasn’t working and I forgot to tell my webmaster for many months. So, I am going to attempt a monthly book review, or at least list of completed books for that month, mostly out of curiosity of how many books I read in a year. One of my goals for this new year is to manage my time better and read more, let’s see how long it lasts.
Breastfeeding and Human Lactation by Jan Riordan – I plowed through this 850+ page textbook in a mere six weeks. I fell asleep many nights with that book in my lap, but I learned so much. I am pursuing certification as a lactation educator, and this was required reading.
The Nursing Mother’s Guide to Weaning by Kathleen Huggins and Linda Ziedrich – another lactation educator book and one that I was interested in reading to gain some encouragement in nursing a toddler, not because I am interested in weaning anytime soon, but for ideas when the time comes. This book met those goals, and could be a good resource to a mother considering weaning at any point in her nursing relationship. I really enjoyed their insight into why Western countries nurse their babies for such a short time compared to the rest of the world. From the authors:
Americans tend to fear their children’s dependence… the same fear provokes questions and warnings from well-meaning people about the wisdom of long breastfeeding, and drives many women to wean before they are ready. We should remind ourselves that American individualism, in many of its forms, is not born of confidence and trust, but of alienation. As Elizabeth Hormann (1982) points out, ‘We are bent on weakening bonds in the name of growth and independence, then spend our adulthoods wondering why we have trouble getting close to other people.’”
Pagan Christianity?: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola and George Barna
I read half of this book earlier in the fall and finally finished it this month. I found this book to be very interesting, but I read it through the lens of knowing the authors’ agenda–the house church movement. Basically the authors are making three points: 1) A great deal of what we do in church today does not come from the New Testament. 2) Much of what is practiced originated out of Greco-Roman customs and traditions (paganism, not Judaism), and/or human-made inventions. 3) Many of these practices actually hinder the church from being what God designed her to be. The over-arching question the authors seem to be asking is: Do the practices of modern institutional churches reflect a God-ordained/inspired development, or are they a departure from it?
Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
This was my mom’s group February book. It was entertaining, but I’m not sure if I would recommend it. It only took two days to read it, and I just realized this was made into a movie to be released soon… hmmm… it was okay but I’m not sure I want to see a movie about it.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett — I loved this book and could not put it down. I was so sad when it ended as it was one of those books where you feel like you know the characters so well. Based in Jackson Mississippi during the early 1960s, this book is about three main characters–two black maids (“the help”) and a young white woman recently graduated from college who sets out to write the stories of black maids working in white homes during the turbulent beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement. It was thought-provoking and very well-written. I highly recommend it.
January total = 5 (not counting the four Happy Hollister books I read aloud to Bud… please, let us move on from Happy Hollisters soon, son!)
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