Tag Archives: non-fiction

Review: Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting

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Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies That End the Daily Battles and Get Kids to Listen the First Time
by Noël Janis-Norton
4 stars

I was hooked right away when Noël Janis-Norton listed the difficulties of parenting kids in today’s world. She described my feelings exactly particularly regarding how today’s parents don’t usually feel comfortable letting their kids roam around the neighborhood all day long from dawn till dusk. Now a lot of parents feel like they have to entertain and/or be their child’s playmate which can be stressful when you’re also cooking, cleaning, etc. Then add in screen time, and childhood seems so different from when I grew up.  Her five strategies (Descriptive Praise, Preparing for Success, Reflective Listening, Never Ask Twice, and Rewards and Consequences), when implemented consistently, can help facilitate a happier relationship between parents and kids. I’ve already started Descriptive Praise (a particular way of praising your child beyond just saying “good job”) and Preparing for Success (basically, planning ahead for stressful times of the day) with my 7-year-old, and I’ve seen a positive difference in his behavior with less whining and crying. I can’t wait to move on the next strategies! Noël Janis-Norton’s writing style is very easy to follow, and her book is chock full of examples from real parents from many different backgrounds and parenting styles.

 

Read-alikes

ToughLove: Raising Confident, Kind, Resilient Kids edited by Lisa Stiepock

Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline: The 7 Basic Skills for Turning Conflict Into Cooperation by Becky A. Bailey

1-2-3 Magic by Thomas W. Phelan

Review: One Summer: America, 1927

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One Summer: America, 1927
by Bill Bryson
4 stars

I’ve heard of Bill Bryson and his humorous travelogues for years, but One Summer: America, 1927 is the first history book of his that I’ve read. Despite being a departure from his travel books of years ago, his particular brand of humor is definitely present in this 400+ page book that felt like a quick read.  While I would say taking a close look at any year in American history will yield a lot of material, Bryson makes the summer (summer being May to, well, October) of 1927 seem frenetic with Charles Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic and the craziness that ensued, Babe Ruth’s record sixty home runs, a meeting of world financial leaders that precipitated the stock market crash of 1929, Al Capone’s last summer of rule in Chicago, Sacco and Vanzetti’s executions, the filming of The Jazz Singer, a terrible Mississippi River valley flood, and, well, thirty other things at least!

This book could have felt overwhelming, but Bryson’s flowing writing style eases the reader into the background history for all the major events of 1927. I was surprised by several historical tidbits I learned including that there were a lot of bombings in the US in the 1920s including via the mail. And that the KKK had a huge presence in the government of Indiana and several other states. And that “Of all the labels that were applied to the 1920s—the Jazz Age, the Roaring Twenties, the Age of Ballyhoo, the Era of Wonderful Nonsense—one that wasn’t used but perhaps should have been was the Age of Loathing. There may never have been another time in the nation’s history when more people disliked more other people from more directions and for less reason.” That sounds negative, but Bryson’s humor elevates One Summer to a great read and one that reveals parallels to America today.

Read-alikes

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm by Juliet Nicolson

The Last Hero: Charles A. Lindbergh  by Walter S. Ross

Review: Hidden Figures

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Hidden Figures
by Margot Lee Shetterly
3 stars

Hidden Figures is an amazing true story about four black female mathematicians whose calculations helped move the space program in America forward.  Their work helped launch rockets and keep astronauts safe. They were called “computers” for their math knowledge and broke barriers for race and gender in a time when those barriers were exceptionally thick and tall.  Still segregated from their white counterparts at Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton Virginia, they were given work that used their exceptional minds to the fullest.  They were some of the brightest minds of their generation and had it not been for the labor shortages of WWII, they would not have been given the opportunity to be a part of the space program, but destined to stay as school teachers in the South’s “colored” public schools.  Working with white male engineers, they were given difficult problems to solve that helped change their country’s future.  The book follows their lives, their struggles, their challenges, and their careers over three decades.

As I read this book I was amazed at the fact that I did not know these women existed! The book is a glimpse into the world during WWII and beyond for the African American community and the sacrifices these women made during that time to achieve success. It is an inspiration to anyone with a dream of doing something that is out of the ordinary and achieving your dreams

Read-alikes

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Secret Lives of Codebreakers by Sinclair McKay

History Roundtable

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The library’s brand new History Roundtable series is for any adults with an interest in history. You are in charge…you pick whatever you’d like to read (non-fiction books only), listen to, or watch that matches up with each month’s topic. Then come to the meeting on the 4th Thursday of the month prepared to summarize your book/podcast/documentary and share what you’ve learned with everyone. We’ll learn from each other and see how history applies to our lives today.

April’s topic is very broad…Russian history. You can find a suggested resource list here, or from the list below. Or you can choose whatever you’d like that matches the topic whether it’s about the origin of the Russian empire, Tsarist Russia, peasantry, Rasputin, the Russian Revolution, you name it! Please register in advance by calling 317-885-5036 or visiting www.greenwoodlibrary.us.

Some suggested titles: