The Planets - Dava Sobel

Title: The Planets

Author: Dava Sobel

Year: 2005

Country: USA

Pages: 276

Rating: 4 out of 5

First sentence: My planet fetish began, as best I can recall, in third grade, at age eight--right around the time I learned that Earth had siblings in space, just as I had older brothers in high school and college.

I am a humanities person through and through. The only aspect of science that has ever held me interest is psychology, and astronomy usually causes my eyes to glaze over. However, when I saw raidergirl's recent review of The Planets, by Dava Sobel, and the book appeared in my library's bookmobile a week later, I knew I had to check it out.

And I am so glad I did. Dava writes in a style vastly different from most science books, turning a book about our solar system into a captivating story. She draws on astronomy's shared ancestry with astrology, geology and mathematics; each planet, along with the sun and moon, get their own chapter. Her approach is quite unique. For example, the chapter about Mars is written from the perspective of a Martian meteorite that was found in Antarctica. Some of the interesting tidbits I learned include:

• Mercury experiences no real seasons, since it stands erect rather than leaning on a tilted axis;
• Venus' dusk to dawn is the equivalent of two Earth months. Because of its rotation, the sun rises in the West and sets in the East;
• Mars has the highest mountains in the solar system;
• Jupiter is double the mass of all other planets combined, and is 300 times larger than Earth;
• The Saturnian ring system spans a disc of 180,000 miles wide from one ring tip to the other. Yet the depth barely exceeds a 32-story building;
• Uranus was discovered in 1781 by a novice astronomer with a homemade telescope in his garden. Two of the moons are named Oberon and Titania--the King and Queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream;
• Neptune was discovered by mathematicians, not astronomers, as a way to explain Uranus' irregular orbit;
• Pluto (no longer classified as a planet) is smaller than the moon.

The Planets was published before Pluto was demoted as a planet, but Dava explains the controversy surrounding its planet status, and how its demotion can actually be viewed as a sign of scientific progress in understanding our Solar System. Her book is a great introduction into our amazing and fascinating solar system.

Tucked into the Notes section at the back of the book, was a comment I found absolutely hilarious in regards to Venus:

"Former President Jimmy Carter, while serving as governor of Georgia, reported Venus to the state police. During World War II, a squadron of B-29 pilots mistook the planet for a Japanese plane and tried to shoot it from the sky."

And some more quotes:

The Chaldeans called the planet Ishtar, the love goddess ascending the heavens, and to the Semitic Sumerians she was Nin-si-anna, "the Lady of the Defenses of Heaven." Her Persian name, Anahita, associated her with fruitfulness. The dual (dawn and dusk) nature of Venus cast her by turns as virgin or vamp to her worshipers. (p.55)

Venus, the wayward sister, preaches an important cautionary tale to careless humans, for her hostile environment proves how even small atmospheric effects can conspire over time to convert an earthly paradise into a hell-fire cauldron. Indeed, much current study of Venus aims to save humanity from itself by verifying, for example, the destruction that chlorine compounds wreak in high-altitude clouds. (p.59)

Also reviewed by:

• An Adventure in Reading
  

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Founding Mothers - Cokie Roberts

Title: Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation

Author: Cokie Roberts

Year: 2004

Country: USA

Pages: 348 pgs.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

First sentence: When you hear of a family with two brothers who fought heroically in the Revolutionary War, served their state in high office, and emerged as key figures in the new American nation, don't you immediately think, "They must have had a remarkable mother"?

I remember very little about my schooling on the Revolutionary War, other than an awarness that my old history books were filled with dates of battles, and the heroics of soldiers, and not much else. Therefore, when I first picked up this book, I met quite a few people I should have heard of...but didn't.

I never knew that one of the most influential writers of the Revolutionary area was a woman, Mery Otis Warren. That a British writer and feminist--Catherine McCauley played a large part in influencing the minds of the American federalists. That a woman was the money (and a good part of the intellect) behind Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin--Eliza Lucas Pinckney. There are many more stories in Founding Mothers of women who helped to shape the newly created American nation.

You can tell that Roberts was meticulous in her research into the women who provided a vast amount of courage, patriotism, and dedication to a fledgling nation that afforded them hardly any rights. It is also very obvious that this is a book that she truly enjoyed writing, the author's passion for the topic shines through. One of the only downsides is that the reader is often bounced from topic to topic, which, for someone without a solid knowledge about the Revolutionary Era, can become a bit confusing. Especially when so many people shared similar names!

If you have reviewed this book and would like your review listed here, let me know!

The Blessing of A Skinned Knee - Wendy Mogel

Title: The Blessing of A Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Kids

Author: Wendy Mogel

Year: 2001

Country: USA

Pages: 304

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I read this book a few weeks ago, so many of the details have already slipped my mind. Therefore, I'm writing this review in a slightly different format.

What it's about: Wendy Mogel discusses practical tools and Jewish spiritual values to address many of the issues that confront today's parents: overindulgence, over-scheduling, overprotection and rebellion, to name a few. Her strategies aim to teach kids to be respectful and gracious while staying true to their individual personalities.

What I liked: This is not just a book for Jewish parents, as her philosophy easily crosses religious boundaries. Her suggestion to treat children as "unique, but ordinary", by putting a child on a pedestal can cause self-esteem problems down the road. She tells readers that you should not expect children to be anyone other than who they are, rather than pushing them towards extraordinary achievements in areas that they just aren't interested in.

The book is organized in an easy to read format, great for busy parents, and covers topics such as "The Blessing of Work: Finding the holy sparks in ordinary chores", "The Blessing of Time: Teaching your child the value of the present moment" and "The Blessing of Food: Bringing moderation, celebration, and sanctification to your table". Overall, she has some very valuable advice that relates well to our parenting style, and I will definitely be coming back to the book in the future.

What I didn't like: There were a few things that really stand out, causing my to give it a lower rating. Her diatribe on the negative affects of gender equality really struck my feminist nerve. I also found some of her comments on disabled children abhorrent coming from the voice of a psychologist. I also felt that some of the "problems" she addressed were really only specific to families in the same socioeconomic class of her previous clientele (her practice was in Beverly Hills, California). The spoiling and indulgence she talks about just can't occur in lower economic class families, so it was a bit hard for me to relate to that (that's not saying that kids whose families aren't rich can't be spoiled, they can...but her writing doesn't address the issue in a way that easily applies to all socio-economic levels).

Recommended to: Parents with kids aged 5 and up. 

Baby Signs - Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn

Title: Baby Signs: How to Talk with Your Baby Before Your Baby Can Talk

Author: Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn

Year: 2002

Country: USA

Pages: 194

Rating: 4 out of 5

First sentence: Carlotta was sound asleep when her inner "mommy alarm" went off.

I knew that I was going to introduce sign language to Maya when she was a baby. Since I took four semesters of American Sign Language (ASL) in college I have some background in the language, and luckily even have my ASL dictionaries still on hand. What I didn't know was what age to start, which signs are good to introduce, and when to expect Maya to start signing back.

Authors Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn claim that signing with your baby helps them to communicate what they need, feel, and think at a much earlier age than if you rely solely on the development of verbal language. Although Maya is still too young to start signing, I happen to wholeheartedly agree with their assertions, knowing many parents who have successfully signed with their babies.

Baby Signs is not strictly ASL; the method incorporates "baby friendly" signs from ASL combined with signs that have been created by babies, parents, and the authors. Although we will be using only ASL signs with Maya since that is what I know, and I do believe that most ASL signs can be "babyfied" (in the same way that a parent knows "too-bus" to mean toothbrush). It is still a wonderful starting point for parents who want to try signing with their baby. Even if you're not planning on signing, there is a wonderful chapter of rhymes (with signs to accompany them) that would be a great addition to a parent's song and nursery rhyme repetoire!

The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide - Melissa Stanton

Title: The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field tested strategies for staying smart, sane, and connected while caring for your kids 

Author: Melissa Stanton

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Pages: 385

Rating: 5 out of 5

Author's website can be found here.

First sentence: Surely, for some women, being a Stay-at-Home mother is an entirely magnificent, totally blissful, always fulfilling, happily-ever-after dream come true.

When I first became pregnant, there was no question in my mind about becoming a stay-at-home mom. I had just finished a four-month stint of physical therapy after a car accident, during which time I had lost my full-time job at a refugee resettlement organization. I was doing some freelance grantwriting work, and thought I might pick that up again after Maya was born, but knew that I wanted to focus on my daughter for the time being. Since my husband works 80 hours a week as a surgical resident, and a qualified position in my field often involves 50-60 hours, I was afraid if I didn't stay-at-home, our daughter would never see either of her parents. When an amazing job offer came along when I was six months pregnant, I did consider it, until I researched child care costs, which would have taken 80-90% of my income (unfortunately, we don't have a retired grandparent nearby and said job required a fair bit of international travel). 

After Maya was born, six months ago, my world instantly became one of dirty nappies, marathon nursing sessions, and hours of pacing our apartment trying to soothe a colicky baby. For the first two months, I was too tired to even think about what my daily life involved. When I emerged from the fog--and Maya left the colicky traits behind--back in January, I slowly began to realize just how draining the day-to-day life of raising a child can be. I jumped at the chance to review The Stay-at-home Survival Guide, both for the comfort in knowing that I am not alone, and to glean some advice on how to deal with the occasional mind-numbing boredom and isolation that can be a part of staying at home.

I love my daughter. I wouldn't change my decision to stay home with her for any reason. But every time I get the urge to punch someone for saying "You don't know how lucky you are to be able to stay home", I think I'll pick up this book instead. (Off to play peek-a-boo, go on a walk, put Maya down for a nap).

Melissa Stanton's The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-tested strategies for staying smart, sane, an connected while staying for your kids, is definitely what it claims to be. One of the best tidbits of advice is found in the preface:

If there's one thing I hope women will learn from this book, it's that it is okay to sometimes not love being a Stay-at-home mom. Women often fear that admitting as much as tantamount to sayin gto the world and themselves that we regret not being part of the paid workforce...Few people love their job every minute of the day. The same goes for the job of being a Stay-at-Home mom. (p.7)

As soon as I read that I knew this book was for me. I could identify with almost everything she talked about. The Guide is reassuring for days when I pass Maya off as soon as my husband walks through the door, and run the other direction--usually into the shower.

The Guide, as Stanton refers to the book, covers a host of useful topics: how to come to terms with your new identity when asked with the all-pervasive "What do you do?" question, balancing raising more than one children, especially when a child has special needs, how to fight the feelings of financial dependence on your spouse, making time for yourself, and your love life, and tips on finding meaningful activities to do away from your kids, and transitioning back to a career.

The advice is great, but what I love the most about The Guide is the real-life anecdotes, both from the author and all the SAHM mom's she surveyed while writing the book. I could really relate to her acknowledgment that the reason there are ten half-completed tasks scattered throughout the house is because "you have spent the day performing dozens of tiny, uninspiring, seemingly meaningless tasks and chores and errands, each of which took a little bit of time, but when added together, consumed the entire day." (p.229) That passage was underlined, highlighted, and left in plain view for my hubby. He also was requested to read the following passage in the chapter 'Sex and the Stressed-Out Stay-at-Home Mom':

...instead of pouncing on her when she collapses exhausted into bed, make and take her on a real date. (p.206)

Her experience on being introduced to others as "Brian's wife" instead of "magazine editor"at parties  really hit home. I struggled with my husband's social functions before Maya was born. When I used to respond to the "What do you do?" with "grantwriter for a refugee resettlement agency", the person I was talking to (usually a doctor) glazed over as soon as they realized I was not in the medical profession. Now that I answer that I am a SAHM, the conversation almost always stops there, while I want to scream "there is more to me than that! I AM interesting!!" For it seems, when the placenta was discarded, so was my backbone.

The Guide is a wonderful resource for stay-at-home moms, and it will definitely be added to my list of book recommendations I give to pregnant friends. The topics are well-organized, made for the mom that only has snippets of reading time. You can read it in the bathroom, while pushing a stroller, waiting at the bank/pharmacy/etc. drive-thru window. And the next time I meet a "life is perfect, I'm blissfully happy" SAHM, I won't feel overburdened by guilt for thinking I'm a terrible mother. 

This review is part of a MotherTalk blog tour.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution - Elizabeth Pantley

Title: The No-Cry Sleep Solution

Author: Elizabeth Pantley

Year: 2002

Country: USA

Pages: 276

Rating: 3.45 out of 5

As the title implies, Elizabeth Pantley's book introduces a method of helping your baby get to sleep, and stay asleep, without CIO (crying it out). I picked it up for two main reasons: Maya often didn't fall asleep until 9-10pm at night, and she would only take naps on my lap or in her baby carrier. This was our situation two months ago, when she was four months old.

I can't profess to know if her method would help stop night wakings, because for us, that is not a problem. Maya still wakes 2-3 times a night, but goes right back to sleep (usually) after a quick eating session. She's a tiny baby, so I don't want to cut out the night feeds yet, and since we co-sleep it really hasn't bothered me. 

Although fairly common sense, Pantley's advice on setting up a bedtime routine was probably the most important change we made that helped Maya fall asleep. It's hard...the computer was in the same room that she sleeps, but I made a firm 'lights off, no computer' rule after 7pm. Combining this with a daily nighttime routine of bath, book, nurse, sleep...and we noticed immediate improvement. Now, Maya is almost always asleep by 8pm, and my hubby and I have a good 1-2 hours of free time at night! Furthermore, she typically wakes up for the day around 7.30am - almost 12 hours of sleep! 

Our other problem is nights. I applied the book's ideas for nighttime sleep to her daytime nap with somewhat mixed results. I sort of got Maya to sleep in the crib, but not very well (this was after two weeks of using her method) Instead, I now put her down for naps in the family bed, the same place she sleeps at night. I might go back to the book after we move and start to transition Maya to sleeping in the crib at night, but I'm not too sure how effective it will be, and I may be looking for some ideas elsewhere.

It's a good place to start, especially for any parent who does not want to use a crying-it-out method. But, I'm not entirely convinced her methods work.

Non-fiction Five Challenge 2008

Challenge: Non-fiction Five

Host: Joy at Thoughts of Joy

Timeframe: May - September

Joy is graciously hosting this challenge again this year. Since I am on a fairly good non-fiction kick this year (finally!), joining this one was a no-brainer.

Last year had a few pregnancy books on my list. Following that, I'm sure I'll be reading a few parenting books between May and September.

Final list:

- The No-Cry Sleep Solution - Elizabeth Pantley (finished 30 May 2008)

- Baby Signs - Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn (finished 18 June 2008)

- Touchpoints: Birth to Three by Barry Brazelton - DNF

- The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide - Melissa Stanton (finished 11 June 208)

- Founding Mothers: The Women who Raised our Nation - Cokie Roberts (finished 27 July 2008)

- Positive Discipline - Jane Nelsen (finished 22 July, 2008)

Non-Fiction Five Challenge Wrap-Up

One of my New Year's reading resolutions this year was to read more non-fiction. So, when Joy announced the start of a Non-fiction five challenge over at Thoughts of Joy, I enthusiastically jumped right in.

I managed to complete the challenge, but am still dismally behind in my goal of having 25% of my total books read in 2007 consist of non-fiction books. I'm currently at 18% with 11 books, a little bit better than last year.

A big thanks to Joy for hosting this challenge! It was great to see what other people were reading, and I have definitely added some more books to my TBR list through this challenge.

My finished challenge books are:

• Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
• Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
• The Birth Partner - Penny Simkin
• Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin
• Human Cargo - Caroline Moorehead

All but one of these books were on my original challenge list. I substituted The Birth Partner in for Birthing from Within, which was proving difficult to obtain from the library.

The best book: I liked most of these books. The Birth Partner probably ranks as my favorite, because out of all the pregnancy books I have read or skimmed, this by far seems to be the most helpful to me in preparing for an unmedicated, midwife-assisted birth. I also really enjoyed Human Cargo.
What book could I have done without: Nickel and Dimed was so-so. I don't necessasrily regret reading it, but it definitely did not live up to its hype.

Any new authors? Each of these authors are new to me!

What did you learn -- about anything -- through this challenge? This challenge helped to cement my newly-found desire to read more non-fiction. I have added quite a few non-fic books, on many different subjects, to my TBR list. What's up next, you ask? After finishing with some breastfeeding and parenting books (this pregnancy is really eating into my non-fiction reading!), I hope to check out Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey; Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser; Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz; or The Colony by John Tayman.

Human Cargo - Caroline Moorehead

Title: Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees
Author: Caroline Moorehead
Country: UK
Year: 2005
Rating: A
Pages: 397 pgs.

First sentence: One day a man in a country in Africa was arrested and accused of belonging to an illegal opposition group.

This is my last selection for the Non-fiction Five Challenge hosted by Joy at Thoughts of Joy!

It is a rarity to see a book published about refugees, and even fewer are geared towards the general public. Ever since I first heard about Human Cargo: A Journey Among Refugees, I couldn't wait to see what it held. What I found is a book interesting to both individuals who know very little about the immigration system, and those who work in the refugee field.

Although many personal accounts are included in the narrative, much of the book is an examination of the refugee protection system in various countries around the world. A large focus is on the process of being declared a refugee (although a refugee is always a refugee, it only becomes official when the UNHCR or country providing protection declares you as one), and the stories are of asylum seekers in the midst of this process (asylum seekers, or asylees in America, is the term used to describe a person whose application for protection is currently being determined). Caroline Moorehead presents facts that are concise and well-researched, while gently reminding the reader that we are talking about real people who are being treated inhumanely.

I was delighted to find a book largely about asylum seekers, since I have worked with many people in this stage of the refugee application process; it's about time their experiences after fleeing persecution are brought to light. Her argument mirrors the same stand that I took in my master's thesis on forced migration (and our sources also largely overlap, as we were apparently researching the same topic around the same time): that there is a lot of gray area in regards to the issues that cause people to flee their home, and there is not a clear-cut distinction between economic migrants and refugees. 'For him, the distinction between economic migrant and asylum seeker has little meaning, when people are driven to the margins by need: "Do people have to die in order to work? Something has to be wrong."' (p. 86)

The 1951 Refugee Convention, which gives the world its definition of a refugee, is outdated and needs to be changed. Moorehead also backs up my belief that came about through my work experience that the Australian government has introduced one of the most exclusionary immigration policies of any democracy (p.119). However, I was saddened, but not surprised, to see that many of the problems I witnessed in Australia and America (asylum seekers denied the right to work and support themselves, huge backlogs, difficulties with providing evidence and accessing interpreters, general feelings of aimlessness and depression) are found throughout the world, as countries make somewhat irrational distinctions between "good" refugees--those from communist countries, or those who wait in a fictional queue in a refugee camp--and "bad" refugees: asylum seekers.

The Other Lost Boys: Liberians living in limbo in Cairo:

"What these lost boys had seen and been forced to do is not something others cared to hear about." (p.10)

"What is happening in Cairo today is happening all over the world; as the funds are cut and the number of asylum seekers keeps on growing, as the West becomes more fearful and more isolated, those who man the gates in Cairo are under pressure to search ever more keenly for lies and inconsistencies, while refugees despair." (p.12)

One asylum seekers' despair:

"But who is to say what is credible when you have been shot at by rebels, when you have seen your mother raped and your brothers and sisters burnt to death in your house, when your father has disappeared and you are now alone in the world? When you are ashamed to describe to the young woman sitting across the desk from you with her tapping pencil and inquisitive eyes what the soldiers did to you and how you are afraid that you may have AIDS from being raped by the guards and how you ache for news of your family whom you really know perfectly well that you will never see again?"(p.23)

The Birth Partner - Penny Simkin

Title: The Birth Partner
Author: Penny Simkin
Country: America
Year: 2001
Rating: A
Pages: 337 pgs.

First sentence: Congratulations!

This is the 4th book I read for the Non-fiction five challenge. It is an alternate for Birthing from Within, which had difficulty obtaining from my library as it is continually checked out. Out of all the books I have read so far to prepare for unmedicated childbirth, this is by far the most useful of them all. It is definitely a book I would recommend for anyone who is pregnant, as it is geared towards everyone, not just those who are planning for natural childbirth. However, I'm just about exhausted of reading pregnancy books, so I'm not sure how many more I'll be fitting in.

Baby update: While I'm on the topic, I have just passed over into the 3rd trimester this weekend! Things are continuing to go very well, and the belly has definitely expanded these past few weeks (although my appetite continues to remain pretty much the same). We've picked a name, Maya Jean B! Baby Maya continues to make her presence known quite regularly, she is definitely an active one! Only 3 months left until my due date!

Blogger problems? Has anyone else had problems uploading photos to the sidebar? Every time I try lately, my photos become stretched out (for example, my currently reading photo, Ahab's Wife). Does anyone know how to fix this?

Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi

Title: Survival in Auschwitz/If This is A Man
Author: Primo Levi
Country: Italy
Year: 1958
Rating: B+
Pages: 187pgs.

First sentence: It was my good fortune to be deported to Auschwitz only in 1944, that is, after the German Government had decided, owing to the growing scarcity of labour, to lengthen the average life-span of the prisoners destined for elimination; it conceded noticeable improvements in the camp routine and temporarily suspended killings at the whim of individuals.

Almost everyone has read a story about the Holocaust. It is a historical event that should never be forgotten. While genocide continues to exist, the Holocaust should be recalled and mistakes remembered, to help save those mired in present conflicts, such as the Emergency crisis in Darfur, and warnings in Zimbabwe, Burma, and Uzbekistan.

Reading memoirs by Holocaust survivors can be a horrifying, emotive experience. In some ways Survival in Auschwitz fits that description, as the sheer improbability of a person's survival in Auschwitz, where Primo Levi was in residence for ten months prior to liberation, is a horror in and of itself.

Yet, Levi takes a different approach. His story is clearly told through the eyes of someone rooted firmly in the sciences: it is clear, analytical, and precise. He writes almost in the way of an outside observer, rather than someone who has lived in those heart-wrenching conditions. He describes daily life from an anthropological viewpoint: the layout of Buna's camp, the division of living quarters, rules and schedule of the camp, the detailed process of gaining admission to Ka-Be, the infirmary. You learn that the numbers tattooed on those interred at Auschwitz tell much about the science of the camp and reveal who did and did not survive. For example, those who were tattooed with numbers 30,000-80,000 were transferred from the Polish ghettoes; only a few hundred survived.

Yet, scattered seamlessly throughout, are the snippets of personal passages that can not be ignored. On returning to work after the lunch break on a blustery day he recalls 'Oh, if only one could cry! Oh, if one could only affront the wind as we once used to, on equal terms, and not as we do here, like cringing dogs.' (p. 70) In the hours preceeding his relocation to Auschwitz, Levi recalls, 'many things were then said and done among us; but of these it is better that there retain no memory.' (p. 15) Levi's approach is one not taken by many. Because of this, it is definitely a story that needs to be read.

The Auschwitz refrain to newcomers:
'You are not at home, this is not a sanatorium, the only exit is by way of the Chimney.' (p.29)

A new purpose:
'The conviction that life has a purpose is rooted in every fibre of man, it is a property of the human substance. Free men give many names to this purpose, and think and talk a lot about its nature. But for us the question is simpler. Today, in this place, our only purpose is to reach the spring.' (p. 71)

Dreading the arrival of winter:
'We fought with all our strength to prevent the arrival of winter...We know what it means because we were here last winter; and the others will soon learn. It means that in the course of these months, from October till April, seven out of ten of us will die. Whoever does not die will suffer minute by minute, all day, every day.' (p. 123)

A memory of those who drowned; who did not survive:
'They crowd my memory with their faceless presences, and if I could enclose all the evil of our time in one image, I would choose this image which is familiar to me: an emaciated man, with head dropped and shoulders curved, on whose face and in whose eyes not a trace of a thought is to be seen.' (p.90)

Nickel and Dimed

Title: Nicked and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America
Author: Barbara Ehrenreich
Country: America
Year: 2001
Rating: B
Pages: 221 pgs

First sentence: Mostly out of laziness, I decided to start my low-wage life in the town nearest to where I actually live, Key West, Florida, which with a population of about 25,000 is elbowing its way up to the status of a genuine city.

In Nickel and Dimed, which I read for the Non-fiction and TBR challenges, Barbara Ehrenreich goes 'undercover', spending a few months working in various cities as part of the working poor population, one of the most disenfranchised groups in America. For a short period of time, she gives up fancy restaurants, a large home, and other measures of comfort to see what life might be like after welfare reform. What she finds, which certainly isn't news to a lot of people, is that it is exceedingly difficult to get by on a low-wage job ($6-10/hr) in an economy filled with skyrocketing housing cost and other barriers. It is a poignant portrayal of the problems facing those who help keep the middle and upper classes comfortable: gas station attendants, fast food workers, Wal-Mart employees, house cleaners, nannies, janitors.

Ehrenreich raises some very important points in her book, which is one reason I gave it a fairly decent rating. She discovers, and criticizes a state of affairs in which subsidized, low-cost housing to become so scarce that many full-time workers are homeless (here in Baltimore, it's at least a two-year waiting list for subsidized housing). She documents the daily tribulations of retail, housecleaning, and restaurant workers: daily humiliation from management, the inability to take time off for illness without docking pay, recriminations for promoting unions, company health insurance that is still unaffordable, etc. She brings to the mainstream an oppressive situation that has been festering for years.

I am personally familiar with a lot of the working conditions that Barbara faced, as I have worked at one time or another as a Sales Associate, restaurant server, and 'nurse's aide' (for lack of a better term) during college, and for quite a while afterwards. Fortunately, I had a support system in which I was able to get by on the wages that I earned (and a boyfriend that received money for rent through his med student loans).

With this familiarity, comes one of my chief complaints. Barbara barely spent two-three weeks at most of the jobs that she tried out, and sometimes lasted quite a bit less. She stayed in 3 cities for no more than a month at a time. Unrealistically, at no time did she accept help from others when it was offered, or attempt to make things easier by having a roommate or carpooling to work. She did not attempt to socialize with any of her co-workers after hours.

I feel there was a huge lost potential in this project, and wish she would have committed to it for a longer period of time. I also felt there was a certain arrogance that reared it's head, an almost 'if I can't do this, how can anyone else' mentality. "I am, of course, very different from the people who normally fill America's least attractive jobs." (p.6) With more time, she could have explored the effects of working [two jobs] with a reliance on public transportation, and all of the problems that this can cause (a job that starts before public transport does, services that are always late, etc--can you tell that I have been there, done that!). She also failed to explore an important issue that accompanies a lack of subsidized housing--the fact that the working poor are often forced to live in substandard, housing conditions that are dangerous and usually located in neighborhoods that have much higher rates of violent crime and drug trafficking.

Nickel and Dimed highlights a lot of sobering statistics about low wage earners and the living conditions they are forced into. I have dug around for some similar, but updated statistics:
- 15% of those who are homeless are employed in full-time work (National Coalition for Homelessness, 2005)
- 5.6 million people (4% of the workforce) currently earn less than $7.25/hour. More than half of those workers are engaged in full-time work.
- 59% of workers who would benefit from a minimum wage increase are women.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

Title: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Author: Ina May Gaskin
Year: 2003
Pages: 348
Rating: A

I finished off my first book for the Non-fiction Five Challenge...one that might not be of too much interest to most of you, but I found it extremely interesting!

First off, I thought I would give an update on our little bub. The pregnancy is going really well. Morning sickness started to dissipate after week 11, and is now pretty much completely gone. I am officially out of the first trimester! We have heard the heartbeat at the last 2 visits with the midwife, a perfectly healthy and strong little thump-thump! It was so exciting to hear that for the first time. We're now patiently waiting till it's time for the 20 week ultrasound, where hopefully we will find out if we are having a boy or girl. We've picked out some names, although nothing is set in stone. Eliana Jean B. or Maya Jean B. for a girl (we'll pick one of the two after she would be born and we get to meet her--Jean was my paternal grandmother's nickname, she died before I was born), or Owen 'no idea what the middle name will be' B. for a boy. I'm not completely sold on Owen, but we both like it and I haven't been able to think of another one I like as much. Although I haven't gained much weight yet (I actually lost weight during the nausea stage), my waistline has definitely changed and I am just starting to look a little bit pregnant, depending on what I wear. All in all, it's a delight to be pregnant!

I found this book to be one of the most helpful of the pregnancy books I've read so far. I'm tending to focus on those books that will help me to prepare for a natural birth, and this book is right up that alley. Ina May Gaskin is one of the founders of The Farm, a communal village in Tennessee that is also known nationally for its extremely talented midwives. The first half of the book consists of birth stories from a wide variety of women, almost all who gave birth naturally; the second half goes into more detail about the mind/body connection and how it relates to labor and delivery; interventions that are routine or commonly occur at hospitals, and comfort measures to ease pain during labor without the use of pain medication.

To my surprise, I actually found the first half of the book the most helpful. I know very few women who haven given birth naturally as well as outside of a hospital, so I really enjoyed reading these stories and gaining tips on how other women do it. The whole book generally gave a lot of detail in comfort measures (walking a lot, not laying on your back or in one position for long periods, massage, different positions, breathing, mantras, water therapy), which is exactly what I was looking for! I would definitely recommend all women who are pregnant to read this book, and especially those who are even vaguely thinking about doing it without an epidural.

Non-fiction 5 Challenge Final Selection

I have changed around a few of my picks for the Non-fiction Five. I realized that I did not have any pregnancy books on my list. I know that I will be reading some anyway, so I might as well have them count for the challenge!

So, here is my final list:

1. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
2. Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
3. Birthing From Within - Pam England
4. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - Ina May Gaskin
5. Human Cargo - Caroline Moorehead

I'll keep the two books that got booted off the list, The Great Influenza and Jihad vs McWorld, as alternates.

And a third alternate for the pregnancy books is The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin.

Challenges update

I was starting to lose track of all the challenges I am participatin in, so I thought it would be time to do an update.

TBR Challenge:
1. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe (finished 1/07)
2. A Short History of Progress - Ronald Wright
3. Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
4. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
5. I, Rigoberta Menchu (finished 4/07)
6. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
7. Under The Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer (finished 1/07)
8. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (DNF 02/07)
9. Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
10. Orlando - Virginia Woolf
11. Bee Season - Myla Goldberg (finished 03/07)
12. Fall On Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Alternates:
Lies My Teacher Told Me - James Loewen
Castro's Final Hour - Andres Oppenheimer
Untangling My Chopsticks - Victoria Riccardi
Hilda and Pearl - Alice Mattison

Chunkster Challenge:
1. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami (finished 1/07)
2. Red Earth and Pouring Rain - Vikram Chandra
3. Foucault's Pendulum - Umberto Eco
4. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand (DNF 1/07)
5. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (finished 03/07)

Alternates:
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote - Cervantes (HA! I don't think this is going to get read by summer!)
East of Eden - John Steinbeck

Reading Across Borders Challenge:
1. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquival
2. Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho
3. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. Independent People - Haldor Laxness
5. Kaddish for a Child Not Born - Imre Kertesz (put on hold-I decided now is not the time for me to read a book about why a person does not want to have a child)
6. Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka (finished 1/07)
7. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - Dai Sijie
8. The Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz
9. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (finished 02/07)
10. The Bone People - Keri Hulme

NYT Notables:
I did not set up a specific number of books for this challenge, so I will just list the 2006 NYT Notables I have finished.
1. Half of A Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (finished 02/07)
2. Digging to America - Anne Tyler (finished 04/07 - review to come soon)
3. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai (finished 03/07)

Spring Reading Thing:
1. Digging to America by Anne Tyler (finished 04/07)
2. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. Red Earth and Pouring Rain - Vikram Chandra
4. I, Rigoberta Menchu (finished 04/07)
5. The Bone People - Keri Hulme

Non-Fiction 5:Thankfully, this challenge hasn't started yet.
1. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
2. Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
3. Jihad vs McWorld by Benjamin Barber
4. The Great Influenza by John Barry
5. Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead

Non-fiction 5 Challenge

UPDATE!

Here is my hopefully final list. Since I have already read Aman, and plan to read Desert Flower soon, I'm replacing these with two other books, both on my TBR challenge list.

Thank god this challenge isn't starting for a few months, or I might become challenged out.

This could change at the drop of a hat, as I might read some of these books before April. But, right now my five books are:
1. Aman: The Story of a Somali Girl by Virginia Lee Barnes
2. Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey of a Desert Nomad by Waris Dirie

1. Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich
2. Survival in Auschwitz - Primo Levi
3. Jihad vs McWorld by Benjamin Barber
4. The Great Influenza by John Barry
5. Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead