"I will read all of the various books I received from publishers [and some I didn't], and post their reviews on my blog by the end of August!"
I took my kids to one of my most favoritest places in the whole wide world to take them. The Public Library! On this trip, I taught them each how to use the fancy library printers, which are all connected to a central location. I showed them how to begin by printing from their computer screen then using their library card number to find their project on the print monitor, and next inserting their money into the machine. I think they truly valued that lesson. But before that, as we entered, we noticed a poster full of yellow stickies from many other folks who had made reading pledges. The library uses this to get people to 'pledge' to read during the gloomy Winter months, since they can be a time when folks are less motivated than others; it can be undeniably dreary around here. The genre for this year's 'Resolve To Read' is Mystery, but it seemed like folks didn't mind changing things up a bit. And since the season is almost over, we extended the timeframe also, and made pledges of our own. My 12 year old said she will read one book per month for the rest of her life! I told her how awesome she is. My nine year old pledged to read all of the books she can, and my seven year old told me not to read his stickie. I only imagine what it said. Lucky for them they all inherited the love of reading and can be found engaged in a book, most often.
Of course there's nothing like diving in to new material and even revisiting and re exploring 'old' stuff, but -- well, I'm a just a little behind on my reading and -- definitely the reviewing part. Here are a few examples: Even though The Doula Guide To Birth: Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Should Know, (which is not from a publisher), is one I've long ago finished and have formed my opinion yet I have had a half-written review sitting as a draft post for maybe one month now -- but probably longer. I read this text as part of 'make-up' work from a missed assignment during doula training, and since I need book reviews/reports towards certification, I decided on that one. But it would help if I actually posted the report. This is almost the same for The Human Drama of Abortion, and The Vegetarian Myth.
Since I'm going back to school and won't have a split second of extra time to spare on anything other than assigned material, the pledge I made is to get through my stash and read, write and post all of their reviews by the end of August.
Here are the titles you can expect to see:
I'll mark them off as soon as they're complete, and you can search the table of contents or the blog's labels for them.
The Human Drama of Abortion: A Global Search For Consensus
The Inspired Vegan: Seasonal Ingredients, Creative Recipes, Mouthwatering Menus
The Vegetarian Myth: food, justice, and sustainability
Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical Wisdom
belonging: a culture of place
Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization
Family Secrets: Risking Reproduction in Central Mozambique
The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible
The Beginner's Guide to Edible Herbs
The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse
Songs in Black and Lavender: Race, Sexual Politics, and Women's Music
Mandela: The Authorized Portrait
The Archaeology of Mothering: An African American Midwife's Tale
Writing Beyond Race: Living Theory and Practice
Midwives' Tales: Stories of Traditional and Professional Birthing in Samoa
Granny Midwives and Black Women Writers: Double-Dutched Readings
Working with this timeframe -- now through the end of August to complete these reviews, will give me just enough of a breather before I find myself in the academic abyss (which I'm actually looking forward to, btw). School begins the last week of September.
Have you read any of these? If you created a reading pledge, what would it say?
