Handle With Care

I (finally) just finished Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult.  What a great book.  As I seem to discover with pretty much every book I read or listen to recently - this book touched on adoption.  There is a character in the book who was adopted domestically and is searching for her birth mother.  I wanted to share a paragraph about what her character thinks adoption feels like.  I think it is kinda nice, and hope this feeling is true - but not being an adoptee, I of course really don’t know.

“Being adopted felt like reading a book that had the first chapter ripped out.  You might be enjoying the plot and the characters, but you’d probably also like to read that first line, too.  However, when you took the book back to the store to say that the first chapter was missing, they told you they couldn’t sell you a replacement copy that was intact.  What if you read that first chapter and realized you hated the book, and posted a nasty review on Amazon?  What if you hurt the author’s feelings?  Better just to stick with your partial copy and enjoy the rest of the story.”

That same character at the end says:

“Parents aren’t the people you come from.  They’re the people you want to be when you grow up.” 

The book was even more moving for me since I have a close friend who had to make a very difficult decision this summer to terminate a late term pregnancy.  Reading this book at times made me cry for her – and “understand” a bit more of the pain that she is going through.

On my bookshelf

I really hope you don’t mind me sharing what I’m reading – but I LOVE to read!

Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
Can you imagine? Your child having brittle bone disease?  Every move that they make could turn into a trip to the Emergency Room.  Takes a very strong person…

The Calligrapher’s Daughter by Eugenia Kim
I haven’t started this one yet – but it is a coming of age story about a young girl in Japanese occupied Korea.

Once They Hear my Name: Korean adoptees and their journeys toward identity
I hope I’m ready to read this one.  It has positive stories – and not so positive ones.  I must admit – it is one fear that I have – whether or not Alex will at some point wish he was never adopted.  I hope this book will help demonstrate some of the things that causes an adopted child to feel resentment.

Fun Books

For some time I’ve been a fan of Canadian author Rebecca Eckler. I first discovered her when I read her debut novel – Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-Be.  It is witty, laugh out loud funny – and real - since it is her own story.   I must admit some of the reviews I read for it were poor – but I thought it was great – perhaps because I was never pregnant.

Now I’m on to her second book Wiped: Life With a Pint Sized Dictator.  It is just way too funny – even though I can’t relate to the parts about having an infant – I laugh at imagining my friends in those situations.  But now I’m into the 12-15 month stages and I can totally relate to her situations (well most of them – I didn’t get to go to Miami for 2 months to decompress). 

She also has another book called Toddlers Gone Wild!: Rants from a Mommy Brain that is on my list to read next. 

Eckler also writes for the National Post Lifestyle section and has had many articles in various magazines.

Friday Favourites

Today I thought I would share Alex’s 3 top favourite books so far.

This one isn’t much of a fav now – but it was huge when we first brought him home: Perfect Pets from the Bright Baby series.  This is a touch and feel book that goes over various pets that one may have and has tactile sections for the child to tough – the goldfish scales are really cool!  We have quite a few of the Bright Baby books and Alex really enjoys all of them.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?  by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle.  This fun book goes over all different wild animals, seeing what they might see – in the end it is a dreaming child watching over them.  I like to say it with a bouncy rhythm.  I just love all Eric Carle books – I think it is the nostalgic feelings I get from remembering reading them as a child myself – especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

 

And last by not least – Bunny’s Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown.  This has to be Alex’s all time favourite so far.  He sits very still while you read it to him.  He is also now doing some of the actions that I put into the book like stretching, scratching etc.  It really is just a cute, well written story by an amazing author.

 One that I’m newly fond of too is Sometimes I Like to Curl up in a Ball by Vicki Churchill and Charles Fuge. We have it out from the library right now – but I have to get our own copy – it is just adorable.

What is your child’s favourite book?

Must Read

If you are looking for a good summer read, I must say that Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (that I mentioned I was going to read at the cottage) is a must.  It is a wonderful story of friendship, love, and how real friends last to the end.  All I’m going to say is that have a box of kleenex beside you for the end!!  Thanks Belinda and Barbara for the suggestion!

On my nightstand…

A few days ago I finished Twilight - and LOVED it!!  I am now addicted as some of  you predicted – New Moon is one of the items on my nightstand.

Other books on the go:

Babyville by Jane Green (for my book club)
For the longest time I didn’t want to read “baby” focused chick lit because I was dealing with the issues of infertility and found it too difficult to read about the joys (agony) of pregnancy, childbirth, etc.  I thought this book was going to be like that from the title – but so far Julia, the main character is dealing with the exact same emotions and reactions to difficulty conceiving that I was dealing with – and it is kinda nice for a change!  I am a big Jane Green fan and can’t wait to read more of it.

Informers by Bret Easton Ellis
I enjoy a twisted book once and a while and hope this one does the trick.

Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah
I heard from a fellow reader that this books is supposed to be VERY GOOD so I’ve added it to my collection for the next little while.  I have not read this author yet, but I know from working in the library that her books are super popular.

The Dead Room by Heather Graham
I need a little mystery to help round out my reading collection so this one should be good – I like my mysteries to include a little romance….

Look Again

Yesterday I finished Look Again by Lisa Scottoline.  I really enjoy Scottoline’s legal thrillers – but this was a thriller of another kind.  It actually dealt with adoption - before I started it, I had no idea – I just saw that she had a new book out and reserved it at the Library.  Anyhow, it is about any mother’s worse nightmare – the birthparents are searching for their long lost child – which you adopted.  This however isn’t an issue of open adoption – the little boy was kidnapped and then when he became ill, he was put up for adoption - by the kidnappers – bizarrestory I know – but the twists and turns keep this a real page turner.  It is a emotional roller coaster to say the least – it will grab you from the beginning!

The one thing that I did not like is that the book is set up like a James Patterson novel with VERY short chapters – which will make this an easy read for those who are not big readers , but for me it just seemed like I was turning the page every 20 seconds.  A very easy beach read – without the fluff.

On my nightstand…

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

Very Valentine by Andriana Trigiani.  If you haven’t read her before, her stories are about a 30 something Italian female in the US.  They are really nice family stories – they include some romance, but not the ”hot and heavy” type.   So far this one is pretty good and lives up to Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap series.

The other books waiting to be read include:

I must admit I don’t have as much time to read anymore as I would like.  Too much time on the computer?  Matt would say yes

What I’m Reading…

I just realized I haven’t shared recently what has been on my nightstand! 

Over the last little while I have read:

• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.  This was my first book by Picoult – and it won’t be my last!  This woman can write a story. 
• A Good Woman by Danielle Steel.  This was the fist Danielle Steel I have read in a very long time.  I was intrigued by the era the book was set in – WWI.  From talking to others at work who read this one, the consensus is is that it is one of the better novels she has written in quite a while.
• Mercy Among the Children by David Adams Richards.  This book is nominated for the Canada Reads competition – and is well deserved.  This Canadian novel is set in a very poor New Brunswick town and follows the life of the Henderson family as some try to do what’s right in life while others rebel. 
• The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.   I didn’t love this book.  The story was good – but it somehow did not grab me like The Choice and At First Sight.  Worth a read though.
• Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas.  This is what I’m currently reading.  It is set during WWII and evolves around a family who lives in a community where an internment camp for Japanese Americans has been set up.  Very interesting so far.

Books on my nightstand waiting to be read include:

• Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
• Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
• The Queen’s Fool by Phillipa Gregory

I know – you are all laughing – when are you going to read those!  You have a 9 month old baby coming home in just over 2 weeks!  Oh I will find the time – it is one thing that I need in my life.  I’ve always been a reader and will always be a reader – even if it is a few pages a day.  And I don’t get library fines so I don’t feel too bad if I return it late

To help deal with the wait…

(which is killing me by the way!), I thought we could have a little fun! 

I have a brand new second copy of my favourite childhood book that I would love to give away to one of you! 

My favourite book from when I was little was…

The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone

Simply comment with the name of your favourite childhood book and on Friday January 9th, I will use a random number generator to pick the lucky winner!

I’m looking forward to see your favs!