Review: Pregnant Pause

I was pretty excited to get the email from Jenn about the book Pregnant Pause by Carrie Friedman. A book about people who may not want kids, or those who just aren’t ready yet?! I’d LOVE to read it!!!

And I’m so glad I did!!! It wasn’t just another dry non fiction book. It was written for those of us who just aren’t ready or just aren’t sure if they even want kids. It was written for those of us who have to keep hearing the question “Sooooo, when are you going to get on the baby train?” And it was written for those of us who have multiple friends who already have kids, and feel the pressure from – well, just about everywhere.

I got married about two and a half years ago, lots of my married friends have kids already, and believe me, I’ve been reminded that I’m not getting any younger. Reading this book, I seriously thought that someone had gotten inside my head, read all my thoughts on the subject and then wrote it all down.

Ms. Friedman reminds us, in a witty, truthful and funny way that it’s not selfish to not want kids, or to not be ready to have them when the rest of the world is ready for you to. She also tells some fabulous stories about unruly kids, and some…interesting parenting techniques.

I laughed out loud in several different places of this book, all the while nodding my head thinking “YES!” I’ve told several of my single/married without kids girlfriends about this book, too, and I’m sure they are going to feel the same way.

So, a huge thank you to Carrie Friedman for finally writing down all the things I have been thinking about kids! And, if you’ve ever experienced this question coming from your mom, your great aunt, your friends who already have kids, or random strangers, then you need to read this book. Even if you already have kids, you’ll still get a kick out of this book!!

Check out Carrie's website to read more about her, her books and articles and read her blog, too!!

Thanks to Jenn for sending me this awesome book - and making sure I knew I was not alone!!!!

Review: Who Do You Think You Are? A Memoir

I was ready for a memoir when I was contacted to read Who Do You Think You Are? by Alyse Myers, but I don't know if I was ready for this powerful and heart wrenching tale of a young child and the struggles she faced growing up.

Soon after Alyse Myers’s mother dies, Alyse and her two sisters are in her apartment, deciding what to keep and what to get rid of. Her greedy sisters are trying to get anything of value that they can get their hands on, but the only thing that Alyse really wants is a wooden box that has been sitting in the back of her mother’s closet since Alyse was young. Once her mother had said about the box “You can have it when I’m dead. In fact, it will be my present to you.” Alyse takes the box, but doesn’t open it right away.

Alyse grew up in 1960’s Queens. Her parents are constantly fighting, shouting, swearing and throwing hateful words towards each other. From the very beginning of this memoir, you can see that resentment and hatred that Alyse’s mother held towards Alyse. She was constantly put down and berated. These things, along with some major chain smoking by both of her parents, were a regular part of every day life for Alyse. Her two younger sisters, though, seemed to be treated with less severity than Alyse.

Alyse’s father would disappear for days or weeks at a time, and when she asked her mother when he would be coming home, the response was “If you ask me one more time, I’ll get the strap.”

This book grabbed me from the very beginning. It is very fact paced and easy to read, the writing pulls you right in. I felt for this young girl as she struggled through life with her mother, and I felt for the adult who tried to come to terms with her childhood. I cringed and shook my head in disbelief and some of the things that this child had been through, but am impressed by and respect the strong woman she has become.

Alyse finally opens the box she took from her mother’s house after years of letting it sit in the closet. She opens it with her own daughter, now old enough to understand. It is a truly touching experience these two share, and one that will help them get to know the woman Alyse’s mother had been before.

I recommend this book because it shows that the spirit can overcome both physical and psychological abuse. This book is so touching and heart-wrenching, it will stay with you long after you put it down.

Read more about Alyse at www.alysemyers.com, including news clips about the book (and an interview from The View!!), and an excerpt from the book!!

Thank you to Julie for sending me this book!!!

And the winners are...

Anonymous
Abby
Lisa
LuAnn
Anonymous

I've sent you all an email letting you know!! Just email me back your snail mail addresses, and I'll get them to the publisher!! Congratulations!!!!!

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest!! I have a TON of reviews coming up, so stay tuned for those!!!

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Timestamp: 2009-05-18 17:01:04 UTC

Review: Things I Want My Daughters to Know and Giveaway!!!!

I am excited to share with you the novel Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble. I had read some great reviews about this book, so I was super pumped to have been contacted by Nicole at HarperCollins and asked to do a review! I jumped at the chance, and I am so glad I did.

The novel begins with a letter from Barbara to her daughters. Barbara wrote the letter while she was dying of cancer, and it gives instructions on planning her funeral. We then meet Barbara’s four daughters. Lisa, the oldest, is a commitment-phobe. Jennifer is married but terribly unhappy in her marriage, and is facing a decision to have kids with a man she isn’t sure she loves anymore. Amanda is a wanderer, traveling around the world – even while her mom is dying. And Hannah, the 15 year old, rebels against the loss of her mother.

The novel tells the story of these daughters, as well as Mark, Barbara’s second husband and the girls’ step-father, throughout the 12 months following Barbara’s death. The letters from Barbara are combines with stories of love, revelations, and secrets. Each daughter is touched differently by the letters, and we are able to follow the journey of each girl during this year.

This novel really touched me. I am very close with my mother, and honestly don’t know what I would do without her. She is one of my closest friends, and I feel so lucky to have her. There were several instances where I totally lost it and found tears streaming down my face – because I really felt like I could relate to what was happening in the girls’ lives. It is interesting how you can read a book that truly speaks to you in a certain time of your life.

I love how Barbara was portrayed – beautiful, upbeat, fun, quirky, and outgoing – with amazing and heartfelt advice. She seemed very wise, and gave advice by telling of her own experiences and how she learned what she did. She was not perfect, which the daughters learn throughout the course of the book. She had her own weaknesses, secrets, and insecurities – she was human. The daughters learn to accept all parts of their mom – both the good and the bad.

This book really struck a chord with me, and I highly recommend this novel to all moms and daughters. In fact, I’m excited to announce another giveaway!! Nicole from HarperCollins has offered to giveaway 5 copies of Things I Want My Daughters to Know!!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post – that’s it!! Be sure to leave an email address with your comment – if you don’t, your comment will be deleted and you won’t be entered (I HAVE to have a way to contact you!!) The contest will run until May 14, and I’ll pick a winner on Friday, May 15!!! I am a little late on getting this out for Mother’s Day, but it’ll be a great novel at any time of the year. This contest is open to US residents only, and no PO Boxes, please.

Good luck and happy reading!!

A couple customer stories for you!

Well, it's been forever since I just wrote a post. Lately it's been all about the reviews, which is SUPER awesome. I love getting books and reading (obviously!), and writing reviews is seriously one of my new favorite things to do!!

But, I miss telling stories. I really miss telling library stories, but I don't really have a choice in that matter right now. There is not much happening in the MN library world right now, which is unfortunate because I am a ROCK STAR librarian (and modest, too, right?!) and could do great things if given the opportunity!!! Too bad the MN government is billions of dollars in debt...

Anyway, I thought I would give you some stories from my retail job. Gotta love some customers, right?

In my store, we are trained to give bra fits. This isn't something I love doing, although it is cool to get a woman in a bra that actually fits and doesn't leave her girls hanging down to her belly button. My latest bra fit adventure had a lady trying on pretty much every style of bra in the store. She also had her two rambunctious little girls (probably ages 4 and 6) in the fitting room with her. They were CRAZY!! They both had their shirts off and had the bras on - it was hilarious!!! Anyway, I am frequently asked to come in to the fitting room and give my opinion on how the bra fits. Again, not my favorite part of the job, but hey, you do what you gotta do, right? At one point, mom whips off the bra she is trying on and reveals the girls in all their glory. Note to all women trying on bras - please wait until the associate has left the fitting room...I don't need to see the ladies.

Here is a phone call I received the other day:
Woman on Phone: So, I was just in there on Saturday, and I bought a pair of pants, decided I wanted two pair and then grabbed another. I got home, took the tags off and washed them. When they were drying, I noticed I grabbed a petite, and I am NOT wearing flood pants. Now, I live 4 hours away, and I'm not coming back to the area until July, can I mail them back to you and you can credit my account?
Real Librarian: Oh, I'm sorry that happened!! But we can't do returns or exchanges through the mail, we need to have the credit card they were purchased on in house to credit your account.
WoP: Well, you need to figure out what we can do, then because I am not spending that much money on gas to get there to return these damn pants.
RL: Well, my name is Real Librarian, and if you come back in when you come in July, we'll be happy to do an even exchange or a return at that time, just bring your receipt!
WoP: Unbelievable. I don't understand why I can't just ship them to you and you credit my account!

Well, it went on like that for a little while. Sorry honey - I'm not losing my job because you were an idiot and grabbed the wrong pair of pants. We finally worked something out, or rather *I* figured something out.

And here is another tip for the shoppers out there... We are more than happy to put the clothes that don't work for you away - it's part of our job, we know where it goes, and we have a system. However, we would appreciate you putting the clothes back on the hanger rather than leaving it in a pile, inside out on the floor of the dressing room. That's just rude. Oh, and we don't like your deodorant stains on our clothes, so be careful.

I have to be honest. While I wasn't thrilled to be working retail, I am actually quite enjoying my job. I am LOVING the girls I work with, and honestly the customers for the most part are pretty cool. Plus, my new wardrobe is SLAMMIN!!! =)

I've got a couple reviews in the works!!! Look for a review of Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble and Sunnyside Blues by Mary Carter!!

And the winner is...

Kat Bryan!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Kat!!! I hope you love this book as much as I did!!! I've sent you an email asking for your snail mail address!!

I have to thank Danny at Harper Perennial once again - Danny, you are a ROCK STAR!!!

And thanks to everyone for entering and for reading my blog!! I'll have another giveaway soon, I promise!

WHOOOT WHOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!

Random.org Sequence generator was used to pick the winner for this contest:

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Timestamp: 2009-04-16 18:17:28 UTC
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Review: Ballad of West Tenth Street and Giveaway!!

I have been very fortunate lately to be able to read some great books. The one I am about to review is no exception. The Ballad of West Tenth Street by Marjorie Kernan is a debut novel that grabbed me from the minute I picked it up.

It follows the family of the late rock star, Ree Hollander, his wife Sadie, and children Gretchen, Ondine (Deen) and Hamish (Hames), making their way through the life that their father left behind after a drug overdose. Sadie, a devoted mother, is also quite devoted to her vodka. Gretchen is fighting a battle with some inner demons and has been taken to an institution. Deen and Hames, who are both quite musically gifted are given reign of the house and are free to roam New York on their own.

There are several other characters who are introduced along the way. Brian Brain, a band mate of Ree’s, Cap’n Meat, a bum who lives on the streets of New York with his cat Titus, and the Colonel, a southern gentleman who welcomes the whole lot into his life are just a few of these memorable and lovable characters.

This book took a hold of me from the start and didn’t let go. I finished it wanting more – I definitely didn’t want it to end!!! I felt like I was a part of these kids’ lives, a part of the family, seeing their struggles and going through their trials with them. These people are all so good-hearted, but in a totally realistic way – like they could be your neighbors and friends. I love it when you feel a connection to the characters and the story, there really is nothing better.

I definitely recommend this thoughtful and captivating novel to everyone. In fact, I'm gonna do one better. How about a giveaway?!?!?! I'm gonna give away my gently used copy of this fabulous novel to one lucky reader. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, WITH your email address!!! Yup, that's it! So, leave me a comment, leave my your email address, and I'll pick a winner. Last day to enter is Wednesday, April 15, and I'll announce a winner on Thursday April 16. And, why don't we open up the contest to anyone, how does that sound? Good luck!!!! (p.s. If you don't leave your email address or a way for me to contact you, then your comment will be deleted and you won't be entered. Sorry!!)

Thank you so much to Danny at Harper Perennial for sending me this book to review for my blog!!