Month: February 2009

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Other Weekly Geeks

Weekly Geeks – Social and Political Issues (Natural Childbirth)

Weekly Geeks – Social and Political Issues

This week’s challenge is to choose a political or social issue that interests you, and explain a little bit about it.

I’m a member of The National Childbirth Trust (NCT), and I’m a big believer in educating pregnant women as much as possible. They can can then make informed decisions on their birth, and be free from fear.

Childbirth is a natural process, but many women are so fearful of it that they opt for caesareans (major abdominal surgery!) or drug themselves up so much that they’re not really aware of what is happening. I know that there are some medical emergencies where these things are needed, but in the majority of cases intervention is unnecessary.

I was lucky enough to have two natural births, with no medical intervention. I think this is down to the fact that I had read so much on the subject that I knew exactly what was happening to me, and so was not scared.

There are lots of great books out there, but these are two of the best:

So if you’re pregnant, or planning to have a baby please read as much as you can on the subject. Don’t be scared about the birth – it’s a natural process that ends in a beautiful new life!

 

Categories
2000 - 2007 Recommended books

The Behaviour of Moths (The Sister) – Poppy Adams

The Behaviour of Moths is called The Sister in America, and I can see why there are two different titles, as there are two distinctive stories in the book. The first is the story of Ginny, an elderly lady who is reunited with her sister after 47 years apart. They struggle to revive their friendship, as we slowly learn the events which led to their separation all those years ago.

The story of the sisters is woven with Ginny’s fascination with her father’s work as a leading lepidoptorist, studying moth behaviour. I found the descriptions of moths completely fascinating. I never realised there was so much to learn about them. I found this particularly interesting:

“If you cut through a cocoon in mid-winter, a thick creamy liquid would spill out and nothing more. What goes into that cocoon in autumn is a caterpillar and what comes out in spring is entirely different: a moth, complete with papery wings, hair-like legs, and antennae. Yet this same creature spends winter as a grey-green liquid, a primordial soup.”

Poppy Adams clearly loves the natural world, and I hope she writes more about animal life in the future, as I think this is where her talents lie.

It’s not the best story in the world, but it is reasonably entertaining. I recommend you read it for the moth facts alone!

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Categories
Other

1% Well-Read Challenge

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Michelle at 1 More Chapter is hosting the 1% Well-Read Challenge. The aim is to read 10 books from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list in the next 10 months.

My plan (subject to change!) is to read:

  1. Animal’s People by Indra Sinha
  2. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Nzozi Adichie
  3. Mother’s Milk by Edward St Aubyn
  4. Snow by Orhan Pamuk
  5. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
  6. Disgrace by JM Coetzee
  7. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Euginides
  8. Empire of the Sun by J Ballard
  9. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
  10. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

Wish me luck!

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Other

February Summary

I equaled my January total by reading 11 books this month. They were a very mixed bag. My favourite by quite a long way was The Hunger Games. I’m sure this will be in my top 5 for the year (although if I manage read lots of  books better than this I will be VERY happy!

I also recommend The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. These two books couldn’t be more different, and it just shows that it doesn’t really matter what the book is about – it is the quality of the writing that makes a good book into a great one.

     

 

I hope that you read some great books in February. Let me know what your favourite has been, as my wish list can never be too long!

Categories
Audio Book Recommended books

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer (Audio Book)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society had been on my wish list for a while, so when I saw Sandy from You’ve Gotta Read This! raving about the audio book version, I decided to buy a copy. Unfortunately I didn’t realise that it wasn’t released as an audio book in the UK, and it seemed to be getting rarer in the rest of the world too! The benefit of my book selling business is that I can treat things like these as ‘expenses’, (well I’ll hopefully make a profit on it anyway!), so at great cost, I bought a copy. After several weeks I was hit by a large, unexpected customs bill, then finally the audio book arrived.

I’m really pleased that I did go to the effort of getting the audio book. I don’t normally like books written entirely in letter form, and I think I would have struggled to identify with the characters initially, had I read it.  The audio book is very well produced, with a whole cast of actors reading it. This brought the book to life immediately, and gave each letter it’s unique voice. This enabled me to picture each of the people straight away, without having to wait for the descriptions of them, which came much later in the book.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is set just after the Second World War. Juliet is a writer, based in London, and is looking for a new subject for her next book. She begins to correspond with a group of people in Guernsey, and as she learns about what life during the war was like under German occupation, she begins to build lasting friendships with them. Captivated by their stories, she visits her new friends and her life is changed forever.

It is a simple, heart-warming story, and although many disturbing events of the war are covered, the book never felt dark.

Recommended.

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Also reviewed by Word Lily , Fresh Ink Books and You’ve Gotta Read This

Categories
Other

I’ve won an award!

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I’ve just been given this great award by Molly from the Cozy Book Nook! This was such a nice surprise, as I didn’t even know she’d been visiting! I only spotted her blog a few weeks ago, and since then have been a real fan. She has only been writing book reviews since January, but I’m sure she must have been practising before, as they are great! Thank you very much!