Mom Reads

There are worse things to be addicted to: reading is my vice of choice. I used to feel guilty about reading while breastfeeding the kids; instead of say – staring down at them lovingly. Amidst all the craziness of life, I’ve always made a point of carving out reading time, because, well, without it, I‘d go crazy.

Luckily, I trained my kids well: one of the things we now all love to do is cuddle up with books and share our personal reading time together. I love this quiet time together.

Here are three books I just read and enjoyed:

1. Disclaimer: I adored Little House on the Prairie as a little girl – both the tv series and the related books. Yes, I was the kind of little girl that actually set up my very own Native American Indian homestead in my backyard. I, too, found myself wishing that I could experience life as it was for Laura Ingalls Wilder: somehow despite the challenges, pioneer life intrigued me.

So I totally get what the Chicago-based author Wendy McClure, is looking for when she goes off in search of “Laura World”, that mythical, imaginary place of the mind that she inhabited as a young girl. In her latest book, The Wilder Life, Ms. McClure takes the reader along as she embarks on a quest to rediscover Laura World by visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder historical sights, by trying out domestic duties of long ago (churning butter, preparing Pioneer dishes), and by connecting with Laura fans like herself. Along the way, she discovers the connection between her search for Laura and the death of her own mom.Though I am by no means a complete Laura fan in that I haven’t read all the books nor have I see all the tv episodes (and my memory of many details is so foggy –  it’s been so long), I so enjoyed tagging along on Ms. McClure’s journey.

I’m keeping my finger’s crossed that my daughter will enjoy Little House on the Prairie, too- both the books and the tv series – as much as I did when I was a little girl. I’ll look forward to cuddling with her on the sofa in the wintertime for Little House marathons, and if (read: as soon as) she gets into the book series, I’ll be taking her on a whirlwind tour of the Laura Ingalls Wilder related travel sites.

2. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture should be required reading of every mom of a girl. Author Peggy Orenstein examines the burgeoning girlie-girl culture (think Bratz, Disney Princesses, Barbie Fashionistas, and Fairies) and attempts to understand the new culture of little girls. Ms. Orentstein is a journalist who spent nearly two decades reporting on feminist issues and is the mother of a little girl herself, so she undertakes her research with much care, realizing, like most moms of girls do, that our girls face a challenging path as they enter their tweens then teenage years in our ever changing culture. Young girls today are dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, distorted body image, and more. As a mom, I want to know how I can enforce positive self-confidence in my daughter. Ms. Orenstein’s book was a great starting point and gave me some wise advice on raising my girl in this media-saturated world. Best of all, her tone made me feel that an experienced best friend was giving me a good talking to.

3. Finally, Two Kisses for Maddie: A Memoir of Loss and Love wins the tearjerker memoir award this Mother’s Day. Just hours after giving birth to her firstborn, Maddie, Liz Logelin died of a pulmonary embolism. In this memoir, her husband, Matt, lovingly shares anecdotes about his courtship and marriage to Liz and his first days and weeks as both a widower and a new father. I was simply touched to see how this father kept the legacy of his wife alive despite sadness and challenges. Warning: Have a box of tissues nearby as you read.
 

What’s currently on your reading list? Any recommendations?