Book Reviews/Essays

I like to read. A lot. Sometimes I read a book — usually fiction — enjoy it, put it away, and move on to the next book. Sometimes I learned so much from a book, keep thinking about questions raised by it, or want to connect with others about my own experiences with this topic. So I’ve been writing a lot about books.

Honestly, I’m not sure if what I’m writing are personal essays that are inspired by a book or if I’m actually writing book reviews. They’re a little bit of each, I suppose.

1. Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us by Christine Gross-Loh

• Your Hovering Doesn’t Help: A Quiz and a Simple Step
• I Can’t Stop Praising My Kid!
• How We Teach Our Kids To Be Picky Eaters, and What To Do About It
• Sleepless in Boston and Buffalo: Colic, Cosleeping and Coping
• Why Buying More Stuff Isn’t Going To Help You Be a Perfect Parent

 

2. One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One by Lauren Sandler

• Sacrifice or Selfishness: Should a Kid Have a Sibling? (also republished on Scary Mommy and ivillage Australia)

3.Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong-and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster

• I Used To Love Pregnancy Books, Now I’ll Just Lean In
• Could a New Book About Pregnancy Help End the Mommy Wars?

4.How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough

• How Do We Teach Our Kids About “Grit”?

5.Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are by Carlin Flora

• What Moms Need to Know About “Friendfluence”

6.Home Is Where the School Is: The Logic of Homeschooling and the Emotional Labor of Mothering by Jennifer Lois

• Do Homeschooling Moms Show the Paradoxes of Modern Motherhood?

7.Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

• What Can We Learn About Introverts To Help Us Raise Kids?
• How I Made Peace With Being a Strong Mom and an Introvert (on Role/Reboot and Mamamia)

8. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

• When Leaning In Isn’t Enough: My Story
• A Few Questions for Sheryl Sandberg From a Mom Who “Leaned In” and Tripped

9. Early Decision: Based on a True Frenzy by Lacy Crawford

• The Madness of College Admissions Revealed

10. Playing to Win by Hilary Levey Friedman

• In Praise of Parenting… Like a Sociologist?

11. Maxed Out: American Moms on the Brink by Katrina Alcorn 

• Are You a Maxed Out Mom? Why American Moms Are on the Brink
• From Strong Girls to Maxed Out Women

12. Ready For Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood by Kate Hopper

• Battles with Premature and Perfection: A Review of Ready For Air

13. Mother Daughter Me by Katie Hafner

• Can We Ever Let Go Of Our Childhoods? A Review of Mother Daughter Me 

14. A Lady in France by Jennie Goutet

• A Lady in France and the Magic of Memoir

15. The Good Mother Myth, edited by Avital Nathman

• Challenging the Good Mother Myth With Each Mom’s Story

16. The Beauty Experiment by Phoebe Baker Hyde

• My Beauty Experiment: Mirror, Mirror, Who Has the Grayest Hair of Them All?