nomadreader

The basics: Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today's Best Women Writers , edited by Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon, brings together an impressive group of contemporary female writers from a variety of genres to share their experiences giving birth. The essays are as varied as the women who write them. My thoughts: Admittedly, before I got pregnant (and even early on in my pregnancy), I shied away from birth stories. Rarely do I favor ignorance, but in this case, I was scared of labor and childbirth, yet I knew I would be going through it, and I wasn't ready to deal with it. At some point in my pregnancy, I became eager for birth stories. I'm still frightened, of course, but I find comfort in imagining myself in a variety of different scenarios, both the positive and negative. I'll be honest: this collection of essays often veers to the negative and sad. There are some heart-breaking stories told in these pages. I shed many, many tears as I read, yet even the mo...

Because I seem to be unable to actually get caught up on reviews, this week I'll be bringing you a few sets of mini-reviews. First up: audiobooks! The backstory: I don't listen to many audiobooks. I've tried, I really have, but I can never finish the digital library loaned ones before they delete (my library only gives you seven days!) I don't drive to work, so cds don't work for me. I used to copy cds to my iPod, but my iPod is now over six years old and doesn't allow bookmarking, so if I want to  listen to anything else, I have to write down my stopping point. I'm not invested enough in them to spend money at audible. I have finally found something that works: Playaways! They're genius, really. Playaways are their own portable player with only the book loaded on to it. I can plug it into the car on the odd chance I am driving, take it to the gym, listen to it while doing dishes, and I can check one out for three weeks for only $1. After not listenin...