Book report

I keep meaning to post about all sorts of things. I've been doing some knitting, the cantalopes have taken over the yard, Craig and I put up some new shelves that make my inner organizational geek want to wiggle with joy like a puppy. But I can't. I've been sucked in.

I just hadn't been able to put down Birth Day: A Pediatrician Explores the Science, History, and the Wonder of Childbirth until I finished it. It was absolutely fascinating and funny to boot. I learned more than I ever even considered about the history of childbirth...from why we give birth the way we do to drugs to cesarean births. (It certainly made me glad to have children this day in age...even 50 years ago could be a scary, lonely experience.) The discussions on the insides and outsides of the birth process and the physiological aspects of the mother, the fetus and the newborn baby were easy to relate to and entertaining...I finally understand how the umbilical cord to belly button thing works! But none of it was heavy. In fact the author frames it all in his experience as a pediatrician in a hospital setting and a new dad himself, most of it very funny. I highly recommend this one for anyone who has children, may have children, or was once a child themselves.

(And in case you are wondering, I do read things that are fictional and do not involve babies in some fashion or another. Just everything in those categories lately haven't been worth mentioning.)

Good Reading, Better Thinking

I added a new book to the "Good Stuff I've Read" list. Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality.

I rank her work and writing up there with Mother Teresa...but with a very different approach! If you've never listened to or watched Mother you're missing out. She's hilarious. Next time you see her on EWTN as you're flipping channels, instead of rolling your eyes at the frumpy-looking nun, stop for a few minutes. I found the book at my library. Maybe yours has it too.

"Where most men work for degrees after their names, we work for one before our names: "St." It's a much more difficult degree to attain. It takes a lifetime, and you don't get your diploma until you're dead."