*that* mom's bookshelf - November 2010 edition

Books I've recently (recent as in the last 3 months or so) read:
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
A great book.  My mom saw me reading it and remarked that it was recommended to her by a trusted counselor when she was trying to parent my sister and I. I really appreciated it how it framed the situations in a way that helped better understand the child's side of things, as well as all of the tools.  In fact, after a few months, I feel like I am forgetting a lot of it, so I plan to print out some of the skill sheets and tools to put up as reminders.  I found it easy to read, consistent with our view of respecting our children as people and unconditional parenting, and full of hands-on ideas.  Some of it is hard to implement with a 1 1/2 year old, but it is laying important groundwork.  I have a feeling I will re-read it multiple times in the next decade.


Siblings Without Rivalry: How to help your children live together so you can live too by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
I read this as soon as I finished the above book by the same authors.  It holds a lot of the same tools, but also some really great information about sibling dynamics.  I found this one more challenging to implement because my kids are so little (3.5 and 1.5 years).  The  1.5 year old just doesn't quite get it when it's time for them to work together to figure things out.  His older brother responds really well and tries hard with it, so I think it will become a more effective tool for us as the little guy gets better at communicating.  It also just gave me a sensitivity to the way we frame the two in light of each other, the labeling, and the parenting of one child in relation to another.  It's in so many of the details.  Another one that I will be re-reading.



The Complete Book of Running for Women by Claire Kowalchik
This was a good place to start for me!  As you've noticed if you've been reading, I've started running.  As of July, I was barely running 2 minutes at a time.  Two days ago, I raced my first 10K.  It gives some great basic running information in regards training, stretching, and racing.  Some as simple as 3:2, 2:1 breathing was such a great tool for me to learn and when it clicked I felt amazing.  I felt some of the information in regards to nutrition to be out of date and not in line what we choose as we focus on a real food diet.  It was also challenging to read over and over again some really big training programs (including working towards a marathon) and an expectation of speed (with a 10 minute mile being a slow jog) that I just don't meet.  Overall, it was informational and well-laid out.


Let the Baby Drive: Navigating the Road of New Motherhood by Lu Hanessian
Oh, I love Lu!  Her website is amazing with everything from her blog, her clothing line, and her teleconferences.  I heard her speak at a La Leche League NJ Area Conference a few years back.  She had me in tears in minutes.  She puts gentle parenting and unconditional parenting in words and stories that hit you right where it counts.  Her book was no different.  As a mom of a preschooler and a toddler, I am not a new mom, but I read it because I got my hands on it and I love her so much. Well, it hit home.  Some of it was remembering and putting things in perspective, and other things were really rethinking the way I approached my boys, what I made them to do because society said so, and how I responded to them because that's how society has taught us to work with children. 


Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth
I didn't know what to think when I dove into this one.  I have serious food issues.  I grew up with them.  I eat emotionally.  I eat out of stress.  I eat out of depression.  I eat because I ate too much.  My book is filled with post-it notes and little marginal notes.  Some of what she said just didn't feel like it applied to me.  I don't think I eat to sabotage myself because I am afraid of being skinny.  I do eat to avoid.  I do eat out of self-loathing.  She talked a lot about the things we tell ourselves, the records in our head.  That was really pertinent for me.  She also makes the point that change comes out of love and desire, not out of self-loathing and misery.  It helped me be more aware of some of my habits.  It's another one that I think I could re-read and take something else from it now.  If you're looking for serious God stuff and not loose spirituality, this is not the book for you.  I was able to take what worked as is and what didn't, I was able to leave or apply in my own way.

Currently reading:
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India, and Indonesia by: Elizabeth Gilbert
To be totally honest, I just can't get through this.  I had a friend tell me ahead of time that it made her want to bang her head against a wall because it just seemed so self-indulgent.  I see that.  I've enjoyed parts, but it's just dragging.


Next up on the shelf:
Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue by Neale Donald Waslch


Scream-Free Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool by Hal Edward Runkel


Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe by Gavin de Becker

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