I'm reading too many things, and I'm enjoying them all. You know what that means: library fines are mounting. I'm in the middle of, almost in the middle of, or almost finished reading A Mango-Shaped Space (yes! another YA), How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?, and Girls Will be Girls.
I'm just beginning Sound Reporting and this month's National Geographic...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Brain Fade
I gave up on The New Feminine Brain. The good Dr. Schultz disappointed me by making a substantial chunk of the work - ostensibly a non-fiction self-help book - a running commentary on her own life.
I like the format of nonfiction books that take off with a personal narrative, something that provides a glimpse into the author's first-hand experience with a situation. From the beginning, I thought Dr. Schultz was just going to unusual lengths to prove her understanding of various brain functions.
Unfortunately, her first-hand accounts continued, from her experiences in medical school (which seemed to pop up in every chapter) to her M&M "addiction," to name-dropping, like the three-paragraph explanation of helping Naomi Judd pen her autobiography, with the explanation rather heavily peppered with her own quotes.
I selected the book because I assumed the subtitle, "Developing Your Intuitive Genius," referred to my/the reader's intuition, not the author's. (I guess I'm no genius.)
The book's cover promises readers will "discover your unique brain type and how to use it" and find out "how to use your intuition to improve your physical, emotional, and relationship health." Instead, it actually details the author's discovery of her unique brain type and a variety of her physical, emotion, and relationship problems.
I know how much work it takes to get a book to market; because of that, I really hate to "trash" a book. So, I offer this recommendation: Because the author has ADHD and has spent a lifetime examining brain function (a good bit of it her own) it may be a helpful book for adults with ADHD or parents of older children with ADHD. There. That's the best I can say for it.
What I'd really like to know is, how did this book happen? Schultz has a PhD and an MD following her name; she's no dummy. The publisher - The Free Press - is a division of Simon and Schuster, which presumably employees bright editors. It really ticks me off when the book between the covers isn't at all what's touted on the covers and in press releases. And it can't help sales much, can it?
Sigh.
I like the format of nonfiction books that take off with a personal narrative, something that provides a glimpse into the author's first-hand experience with a situation. From the beginning, I thought Dr. Schultz was just going to unusual lengths to prove her understanding of various brain functions.
Unfortunately, her first-hand accounts continued, from her experiences in medical school (which seemed to pop up in every chapter) to her M&M "addiction," to name-dropping, like the three-paragraph explanation of helping Naomi Judd pen her autobiography, with the explanation rather heavily peppered with her own quotes.
I selected the book because I assumed the subtitle, "Developing Your Intuitive Genius," referred to my/the reader's intuition, not the author's. (I guess I'm no genius.)
The book's cover promises readers will "discover your unique brain type and how to use it" and find out "how to use your intuition to improve your physical, emotional, and relationship health." Instead, it actually details the author's discovery of her unique brain type and a variety of her physical, emotion, and relationship problems.
I know how much work it takes to get a book to market; because of that, I really hate to "trash" a book. So, I offer this recommendation: Because the author has ADHD and has spent a lifetime examining brain function (a good bit of it her own) it may be a helpful book for adults with ADHD or parents of older children with ADHD. There. That's the best I can say for it.
What I'd really like to know is, how did this book happen? Schultz has a PhD and an MD following her name; she's no dummy. The publisher - The Free Press - is a division of Simon and Schuster, which presumably employees bright editors. It really ticks me off when the book between the covers isn't at all what's touted on the covers and in press releases. And it can't help sales much, can it?
Sigh.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Girly Brains?
I'm splitting my precious reading time between two books right now - Girls will be Girls (Deak) and The New Feminine Brain by Mona Lisa Schultz. Like wine and cheese (which often accompanies my reading, and probably does little for my retention) they make a nice pairing.
One of Deak's primary pieces of advice (or anti-advice?) for parents of girls is:
"Probably the worst thing we can do as adults, to handicap girls, is to encourage them in any way to want or need things in total order or control. They're already inclined that way. The best thing we can do is to help them learn to grow in a climate where chaos--internal or external--is always in the three-day forecast."
Amen.
Now if I could just learn to deal with that forecast...
One of Deak's primary pieces of advice (or anti-advice?) for parents of girls is:
"Probably the worst thing we can do as adults, to handicap girls, is to encourage them in any way to want or need things in total order or control. They're already inclined that way. The best thing we can do is to help them learn to grow in a climate where chaos--internal or external--is always in the three-day forecast."
Amen.
Now if I could just learn to deal with that forecast...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Give Kids a Sporting Chance
An article in some magazine (Health, maybe) really spoke to me this weekend. The article was about kids and sports, and as a new-on-the-coaching-side-of-the-field parent, it hit me right between the eyes with this little tidbit:
Most parents are surprised by their own emotions when they watch their kid(s) play sports.
No kidding.
So after gobbling up a bunch of idiots-guide books about coaching soccer earlier this year, I've added a few books to my read-and-recommend list. They are:
It's Just a Game! (You say it to your kid; why don't you follow this classic advice?)
Whose Game Is It, Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage, by Richard D. Ginsburg
101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent, by Joel Fish
Over the years, I've also recommended Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way by, of course, Cal Ripken. It's a quick read, and it's not all about baseball. While the message is a simple one, Ripken repeated it enough, and with enough conviction, that it really sunk into my thick head: the game is for the kids, let them play.
I've tried to let this be my mantra. I've tried.
And I offer the list above for other parents who want to try. Trust me. In a few years, you'll be glad that there aren't a lot of home movies featuring your screaming face, hollering as if there was a Superbowl ring (and mega-bucks endorsements) hanging on the outcome of a JV game.
Your kids might appreciate it, too.
- - - - - - - - -
If you're tired of screaming (ahem - coaching) your kid but he (or she) really wants to get better at soccer, consider Epic Soccer Training by 3-time Adidas All-American Matt Smith. The program is designed for players at every level (hoping to make varsity as a freshman, maybe?) and offers money-back guarantee if you don't like it or don't get results.
Most parents are surprised by their own emotions when they watch their kid(s) play sports.
No kidding.
So after gobbling up a bunch of idiots-guide books about coaching soccer earlier this year, I've added a few books to my read-and-recommend list. They are:
It's Just a Game! (You say it to your kid; why don't you follow this classic advice?)
Whose Game Is It, Anyway?: A Guide to Helping Your Child Get the Most from Sports, Organized by Age and Stage, by Richard D. Ginsburg
101 Ways to Be a Terrific Sports Parent, by Joel Fish
Over the years, I've also recommended Parenting Young Athletes the Ripken Way by, of course, Cal Ripken. It's a quick read, and it's not all about baseball. While the message is a simple one, Ripken repeated it enough, and with enough conviction, that it really sunk into my thick head: the game is for the kids, let them play.
I've tried to let this be my mantra. I've tried.
And I offer the list above for other parents who want to try. Trust me. In a few years, you'll be glad that there aren't a lot of home movies featuring your screaming face, hollering as if there was a Superbowl ring (and mega-bucks endorsements) hanging on the outcome of a JV game.
Your kids might appreciate it, too.
- - - - - - - - -
If you're tired of screaming (ahem - coaching) your kid but he (or she) really wants to get better at soccer, consider Epic Soccer Training by 3-time Adidas All-American Matt Smith. The program is designed for players at every level (hoping to make varsity as a freshman, maybe?) and offers money-back guarantee if you don't like it or don't get results.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Hoo, Boy - Girls!
Thanks to recommendation of a dear friend, I'm holding a copy of the book I've needed for some time now: Girls will be Girls by JoAnn Deak.
Published in 2002, it offers a broad-based, in-depth understanding girls' development in social context and from a parent's perspective.
I'm not at all prepared to review it other than to say, it's much more positive and helpful than Queen Bees and Wannabees and Reviving Ophelia. More later. I've got to read!
Published in 2002, it offers a broad-based, in-depth understanding girls' development in social context and from a parent's perspective.
I'm not at all prepared to review it other than to say, it's much more positive and helpful than Queen Bees and Wannabees and Reviving Ophelia. More later. I've got to read!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Immediately at Home
Dana Reinhardt's How to Build a House offers a great example of "sense of place," that mystical mix of sensual clues that gives a book an almost tangible setting. Unfortunately, the story isn't as good as the setting, or the set-up.
Of course, it's a YA. (Sometimes I actually read books for grownups. Honest.)
The story picks up in the middle of the action, when main character Harper, age 17, is embarking on a summer's work project in Tennessee. She leaves behind (runs away from, really) a family in a mess - dad, who lost wife #1 (Harper's mom) to tragic accident, is in the midst of a divorce from Harper's much-loved stepmom. Torn apart are Harper and her step-sister, Tess, and her younger brother, Cole.
(When I read the phrase "part time brother" my throat tightened up. To her credit, Reinhardt doesn't reach for many trite but heart-tugging phrases like that.)
In Tennessee, Harper finds Teddy and his seemingly perfect family. The book follows a rather familiar storyline from there: Harper and Teddy fall in love. (The teenage version, anyway.) Harper realizes she's really, really mad at her dad. (His cheating led to the end of the marriage, which blasted apart Harper's family.) She spends most of the summer missing and hating her sister, Tess, who, in a surprisingly low-key turn of events, arrives at the Tennessee motel where Harper and the other home-builders are staying for the summer. The house gets finished, the summer ends, Teddy and Harper go their separate ways, and the sisters hit the road back to CA.
It would be a run-of-the-mill YA except for two things. One is Reinhardt's carefully-chosen language. About every third page or so there's a turn of phrase I had to read two or three times. They're almost cheesy, but pleasing too. Like:
"The only thing left was the sound of glass not breaking."
"Diana has a pot of chili on the stove with a smell so big it crosses state lines."
Well, I told you they were cheesy.
The second thing that puts it out of the run-of-the-mill zone (I HOPE) is that the characters - all high school kids, mostly 17-year-olds - have sex, like, as often as they brush their teeth.
Do I sound appalled? Prudish? Well...do all high school kids have sex? Gosh, I didn't. Yes, it was a hundred years ago. OK, OK, I'll try to get over it. But it's hard - especially since there wasn't a single reference to condoms, pills, or any form of birth control or disease prevention. That bothers me even more than the super-sexed high school kids. (See? I'm not a prude, just appalled.)
Anyway, I would pick up another book by Reinhardt, probably A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. I just hope nobody gets pregnant.
Of course, it's a YA. (Sometimes I actually read books for grownups. Honest.)
The story picks up in the middle of the action, when main character Harper, age 17, is embarking on a summer's work project in Tennessee. She leaves behind (runs away from, really) a family in a mess - dad, who lost wife #1 (Harper's mom) to tragic accident, is in the midst of a divorce from Harper's much-loved stepmom. Torn apart are Harper and her step-sister, Tess, and her younger brother, Cole.
(When I read the phrase "part time brother" my throat tightened up. To her credit, Reinhardt doesn't reach for many trite but heart-tugging phrases like that.)
In Tennessee, Harper finds Teddy and his seemingly perfect family. The book follows a rather familiar storyline from there: Harper and Teddy fall in love. (The teenage version, anyway.) Harper realizes she's really, really mad at her dad. (His cheating led to the end of the marriage, which blasted apart Harper's family.) She spends most of the summer missing and hating her sister, Tess, who, in a surprisingly low-key turn of events, arrives at the Tennessee motel where Harper and the other home-builders are staying for the summer. The house gets finished, the summer ends, Teddy and Harper go their separate ways, and the sisters hit the road back to CA.
It would be a run-of-the-mill YA except for two things. One is Reinhardt's carefully-chosen language. About every third page or so there's a turn of phrase I had to read two or three times. They're almost cheesy, but pleasing too. Like:
"The only thing left was the sound of glass not breaking."
"Diana has a pot of chili on the stove with a smell so big it crosses state lines."
Well, I told you they were cheesy.
The second thing that puts it out of the run-of-the-mill zone (I HOPE) is that the characters - all high school kids, mostly 17-year-olds - have sex, like, as often as they brush their teeth.
Do I sound appalled? Prudish? Well...do all high school kids have sex? Gosh, I didn't. Yes, it was a hundred years ago. OK, OK, I'll try to get over it. But it's hard - especially since there wasn't a single reference to condoms, pills, or any form of birth control or disease prevention. That bothers me even more than the super-sexed high school kids. (See? I'm not a prude, just appalled.)
Anyway, I would pick up another book by Reinhardt, probably A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. I just hope nobody gets pregnant.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Reading Somebody Else's Mail
Or grocery list, maybe. Found Magazine is a funky website featuring short but surprisingly addictive reading material - most are items found in recycling bins or the trash.
Love letters and the odd poem, phone numbers and scrawled propositions on cocktail napkins, and loads of little ditties on sticky notes, that's what's found on the pages of Found Magazine. Only online, of course. (Man, sometimes I really miss getting engrossed in an actual page.)
Love letters and the odd poem, phone numbers and scrawled propositions on cocktail napkins, and loads of little ditties on sticky notes, that's what's found on the pages of Found Magazine. Only online, of course. (Man, sometimes I really miss getting engrossed in an actual page.)
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