Tag Archives: Susan J.

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: The Circle

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The Circle
by Dave Eggers
4 stars

I read Dave Eggers’ The Circle for the library’s new Well Red Book Club that meets at Vino Villa each month. I chose the book for the club because a fellow staff member raved about it and because the movie adaptation starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks came out recently.

Mae Holland has just gotten a new job with the help of her college friend, Annie, at The Circle, a company similar to a merger of Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Mae finds that to perform well at her job, she must also participate socially pretty much 24/7 with her fellow employees on The Circle campus and not hurt anyone’s feelings.  And “socially” is in-person and particularly through social media.

As the world outside The Circle campus becomes less real to Mae her counterpoint is her parents and a high school friend who are not enmeshed in The Circle. We see them try to pull her back, but Mae is enthralled with The Circle and its potential to help the world…but at what cost?

While I did not find Mae to be very sympathetic, I found the storyline to be compelling and chilling. And very relevant in today’s society. Read and be warned!

Read-alikes

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

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: