Book review- A Thousand Splendid Suns

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has recently gotten into reading.  I LOVE being able to talk books with him now!  Several months ago he had to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for one of his classes and he absolutely loved it, so I read it too.  The husband was right- it was a fantastic book.  Fascinating story, great writing, and a real eye-opener to a culture that I know very little about.  We were hooked.

But we’re not here to discuss The Kite Runner today.  I want to talk about Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I do a lot of reading, and there are a lot of books that I don’t feel are worthy of typing out a full review.  But people, I finished this book two weeks ago, and I am still thinking about it.  That is the sign of a great book.  (By the way, I am not reviewing this book for any sort of compensation.  I just liked it so much that I thought y’all might like a good book to read too!)

The story covers the lives of two women in Afghanistan over the span of about 30 years.  It starts out a little slow, but eventually picks up the pace.  The author does a fantastic job of developing his characters and allowing you to feel a connection to them.  Hosseini does an even better job though of immersing you in the Afghan culture.  I must admit that I know very little about Afghanistan or other countries in the Middle East.  Ever since reading these books by Hossieni, my husband and I have been utterly fascinated with the culture in that part of the world.  Hosseini gives you a glimpse into the culture that I don’t think would be possible to obtain another way other than physically visiting the country.

If you are looking for a light-hearted book, this is not the one.  Many of the scenes are positively heartbreaking as Hosseini unfold a story about war and a society that does not value women.  I was often horrified to realize that while the story itself is fiction, these events really are taking place with real people on the other side of the world.  I actually feel the author is doing a great service to Afghanistan by writing such compelling books about it and bringing attention to the people there.  The country is not full of terrorists as the media would portray.  There are good people there who are victims of warlords and extremist ideas and a repressive society.

I gotta say, this book really made me appreciate my own life and especially my husband.  I often stopped to reflect on how very fortunate I am to live in a country where I can dress how I want, marry who I want to, go to school, hold a job, vote, and basically do whatever  the heck I want!  (aaannd…cue patriotic music in the background!)

Hosseini is a beautiful writer, often able to convey a complex idea or feeling in just a short phrase.  To me, the writing itself is just as important if not more important than the story line.  I think that is often the difference between an okay book and a great book, not to name any names…*cough* TWILIGHT *cough*…So far the author has only written two books, but I am anxiously awaiting for his next one to come out.  I would read anything he writes.

While the book was often sad and disturbing, I did really enjoy the ending…but I’m not going to say why!  You’ll have to find out for yourself.

The book is for a more mature audience.  There are a little bit of swearing, some sexuality, and some graphic images of war.  However, if you are looking for a book that will change your perspective and stay with you long after you finish it, I highly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Tags: A Thousand Splendid Suns, book review

Excel spreadsheets, here I come…

I would venture to say that I’ve always been fairly good with my money.  I like to pat myself on the back when I see someone who is definitely not good with their money and feel thankful for the money smarts I have.  I generally am able to put off wants in order to meet our needs first, and I’ve always set money aside for savings.

However, I have never been a good with keeping a budget.  While I am always careful, I am not exact in my spending.  I could be more disciplined.

In fact, I need to be more disciplined.

The husband and I have goals.  A house that isn’t attached to someone else’s house, for example.  A garage (there aren’t many things I hate more than scraping ice off my windshield in the morning when it’s 2 degrees outside).  Not having both of us work full-time.  Taking our kids to the beach as they grow up.  A trip to Europe someday, hopefully.

Right now we live comfortably, if not lavishly.  But we have some debt weighing us down.  We both work- a little too hard it feels like at times.  I’d like to change that.  I’d like to get us to the point where our debt is gone and eventually I can stay home with my kiddos.

So, in order to accomplish this (as well as one of my new year’s resolutions!  I’m really sticking to them!), I’ve decided to start reading Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy for some tips on how to reach my goal.  So far I’m intrigued…and a little scared.  I see where the author is coming from, but can I really do it?  It’s not exactly easy, but it may be worth it.

Do you have a budget?  If so, how do you manage to stick to it?

Tags: book review, budget

The first review, part I

I’ve decided that the first book I will experiment with will be one on feeding my child, since I feel extraordinarily clueless in this department.  You’d think it would be pretty easy and straightforward, but now that she is eating mainly solids and largely eschewing pureed baby food, I’m kind of at a loss.  She only has about 5 1/2 teeth, so she limited in what she can chew.  Add to that the fact that she is a very busy baby and often finds exploring her world far more beneficial than eating and I’m really in a bind.

I think my anxiety is compounded by the fact that last semester I took a basic nutrition class, which was interesting and informative, but it has me all worried about eating a balanced, healthy diet.  It has me even more worried that I am not providing my daughter a balanced and healthy diet, because surely she needs it more than even I because she is growing and developing, and what mother doesn’t want her child to have every advantage possible in this difficult world?

My nutrition book often touched on the fact that after 6 months of age a child’s iron stores can become depleted and it is often worsened by having a milk-heavy diet.  Toddlers tend to love milk, and will often fill up on that rather than eat their meals.  While little ones need several ounces of milk a day, it shouldn’t be their main food source anymore.    Sometimes I’ll watch Claire drink her milk and the words milk-heavy diet… milk-heavy diet…will circle in my brain, causing me to get all sorts of knots in my stomach and wondering  whether or not she is depleting her iron stores that very moment and will soon become anemic.

So, I picked up a book at the library and dove in.  For this installment I’ve decided to read the book Feeding: The Brazelton Way, by T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., and Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D.  Dr. Brazelton is a tenured pediatrician and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics Emeritus at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Sparrow is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, so I’m assuming these guys know their stuff.  They’ve written several other books on topics such as sleeping, soothing a fussy baby, potty training, etc.

Speaking of people named Sparrow…did you hear that Nicole Richie had a baby boy and named him Sparrow- as his first name? No offense if you decided to name your litlle boy Sparrow, I’m sure he’s a gem, but I think that poor kid is headed for some wedgies and good poundings on the playground due to his sissy name.  Anyway, enough of potentially offending people.  Back to the subject…

So I’m about halfway through the book and there have been some good tips and interesting thoughts, as well as a few things I think may not apply to all babies.  Dr. Brazelton starts out by talking about the importance of using feedings as a valuable time to bond and interact with your baby and to help further their development.  He mentions that as the child grows and begins to feed himself, the parent may have a difficult time letting go and allowing the child independence during feedings, but it is important to do so.  I will admit that while I sometimes love that Claire can feed herself and can eat a variety of foods, I often miss the quiet times we had on the couch together where she would grip my thumb and little finger with her tiny hands, eyes half closed, as I fed her a bottle.  I loved being able to put her over my shoulder and snuggle with her as I patted her back.  She still gets a couple of bottles a day, and I adore that rare time when she’ll sit contentedly on my lap without squirming to reach or grab or crawl away.  I love seeing her so relaxed, eyes half closed again, clutching and rubbing her blankie as I feed her a bottle.  She can hold her bottle on her own, but I love holding it for her.  I dread the day when I have to take away the bottle completely and those sweet, quiet times will vanish. Throughout the book Dr. Brazelton frequently touches not only on the child’s ongoing development with the feeding process, but on the parent’s as well.  I have a lot to learn about letting my baby grow up.

Oh dear, speaking of my baby, it sounds like someone is awake.  I’ll have to dive into this later.  Stay tuned!

Tags: book review, feeding