Summer Reading

I think I've read more in the last three months than I have in the entire two years previous to that. I've always loved reading, but most days it's all I can do to succumb to Bravo after bedtime. But now the boys are demanding more independence and I am more than happy to give it to them.

Not that I think my reviews mean anything, but here's a quick rundown of what I've been reading...

1. The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother- Much more entertaining and witty than I had envisioned! Since Cort and I have both lived in Chinese cultures before, I feel like I have a special kinship with them and because of that, I thought this book was hilarious. I kept reading parts out loud to Cort and we kept laughing saying, "Yep! That's how they are!" But even still, that chick was psycho.

2. Heaven is Here, by Stephanie Nielsen- I've been following the NieNie Dialogues blog for a long time, but for those of you who are unaware, Stephanie Nielsen was a young mother of four and was in a plane crash with her husband and was burned over 80% of her body. This book is a memoir about her life pre-crash, and how she recovered from a catastrophic event, and still go on being a wonderful stay-at-home mother and even bear more children. It could probably easily be described as: cute. It's a cute love story, focusing mainly on her marriage with her husband, and it does make for a very romantic story. Other than that, I was reminded at what a freakishly weird microcosm Provo, UT is. I mean, get this: you work for your dad and he and your brothers, basically set your up with a guy, hoping you'll hit it off and get married. And this is a success, and you do get married, when you're 19. And then right before you get married, you tell your fiancé that you don't really want to finish your education at the moment and you've dreamed all your life of being a mother of many children and you'd much rather do that than finish college...and your fiancé it totally on board with that. And then you get married, have 4 kids by the time you're 26, and you're still madly in love. *For all of my non-Mormom readers out there, this is NOT NOT NOT the Mormon way. It may have been 40-50 years ago, but it is definitely not the trend now. Education is STRONGLY encouraged for ALL, especially women.* But, in this case, this seemingly backwards setup totally worked for them, and they are incredible examples of faith and devotion to their family.

3. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume- I'm going around and trying to read books that were popular school books, but for one reason or another I never read them in school. This one, I remember being somewhat controversial so I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

My 10 year-old self felt so embarrassed reading this. It had a few too many awkward memories of my prepubescent self, but that was precisely why I liked it. “I must, I must, I must increase my bust…” Anyone?

4. Beyond Morning Sickness-Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I can’t even remember how I stumbled upon this ebook, but at $2 and as a past Hyperemesis (extreme morning sickness) patient, I thought it would be interesting. Oh my gosh, it was terrible. This kind of secured my inclination that I have PTSD from pregnancy. I felt queasy reading much of this book. It is a compilation of essays from women who have battled Hyperemesis during pregnancy and what medical treatments they pursued. Here was the worst part: Of the eight women who wrote essays, only three of them did NOT terminate their pregnancies. And while I can completely understand their intentions (I just can’t take one more day of throwing up 30x a day!), the multiple vivid descriptions of the abortion procedure were haunting. Not exactly an uplifting book, but it did inform me on Hyperemesis research and treatments I wasn't aware of before.

5. That’s Why I’m Here by Chris Spielman. This was by far the most inspiring book I’ve read in a few years. Chris and Stephanie Spielman were well known residents of Columbus and Buckeye Nation. Chris played football at OSU and in the NFL until his wife, Stephanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer. He quit the NFL to help her through the treatments and take care of their two young children. She battled cancer on and off for ten years, bearing two more children (while on chemo, I might add) and started a foundation raising 12 million dollars for breast cancer research by the time of her death in 2009. She never once complained about having cancer and was a source of inspiration for an entire cancer community. I came away from this book vowing to have “the Stephanie Spielman” approach to my life and to constantly look for ways I can uplift those who are down. It was an incredible book.

6. Father’s Day by Buzz Bissinger. This is a memoir by the author of Friday Night Lights about his two twin sons, born very premature 25 years ago. Although they were only 3 minutes apart in birth, the younger twin suffered brain damage from lack of oxygen to his brain and he lives his life with severe mental retardation, having the mental capacity of an eight year-old. His older brother is getting a Master’s degree at an Ivy League school. The author realizes that he doesn’t have much of a relationship with the younger twin (Zach) due to him (the dad) overworking and being afraid and frustrated with his son’s disabilities and decides to go on a cross country road trip with Zach to mend their relationship. It was painful, yet really endearing to read. I’d recommend it to anyone, especially anyone with a special needs child.

7. Wheat Belly by William Davis. This was recommended by a friend who has been doing this diet with great results. It’s written by a cardiologist who did a ton of research on the effects of gluten on body weight. What he found was surprising. In our “whole wheat” crazed society, we’ve found a way to genetically alter wheat, creating a much higher glycemic index than the previous amber waves of grain. It was eye opening and I’ve cut back drastically on my gluten intake.

8. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling. This is Kelly Kapour from The Office. The first half was very funny and I was really intrigued by how she got her start in Hollywood as a writer and even more, on how she got started at The Office. She was the first female writer from the original cast of writers for the show. The last third of the book kinda drops off into quasi-entertaining, but nonetheless, still a good beach read.

9. How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen. Cortney and I are loyal disciples of Clayton Christensen. He’s a faculty member of Harvard Business School and his disruptive innovation theory in business is world renown. He is also a fellow Mormon. But seriously, this guy is amazing. And SO smart. Cortney and I discuss something that has to do with Clay Christensen at least once a week. We also love following the business endeavors of Mark Cuban, but that’s a completely other story-he’s a numbers guy and we love stats-Moneyball stuff! This book is a great read for anyone, even non business literature people. It’s a breath of fresh air to realign your values with what really matters: relationships.

10. Bread Alone. A novel about a woman, whose rich life in L.A. is dropped one day when her executive husband leaves her. After a long stretch of denial and heartache, she moves to Seattle and starts working as a baker in a bread bakery and slowly regains her independent life. A good chick lit piece, and a character easy to root for. And there may or may not be some good romance involved.

11. Mommy Wars by Leslie Steiner. This book has completely changed my mentality towards motherhood. I mean it. It’s a compilation of essays of women and why and how they chose to be either stay-at-home moms, or working moms after they had kids. I have talked with Cortney at length about this book and how it has helped me to think more on my feet as a mom, and to be more empathetic to other family situations. But most importantly, I’ve realized that every single thing about the American culture (except for maybe your faith or a strong family network) is against motherhood. There is literally no incentives, or support, for women to want to stay at home, OR remain at work. I promise I will post a much more lengthy detailed report of this book when I have time, but it was literally an incredibly eye opening book, for me anyway.

On the docket for reading next:
Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Scarlet Letter (never read this in school, for some reason #californiaeducation)
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cooking
In N Out Burger by Stacey Perman
The History of Birth by Tina Cassidy
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
East of Eden by John Steinbeck