Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy

Rarely, does a book cause me to laugh out loud. This one did. I absolutely loved Jenny McCarthy's book.

This book is bound to get some bad reviews, as will any pregnancy book that doesn't revolve around, encourage, and ignore all possibilities except a medicine-free birth and extended breastfeeding. Goodness forbid there should be a book for the rest of us. A book that's not meant to depart vast amounts of knowledge and statistics, but to be entertaining. As for McCarthy not breastfeeding, this book isn't about breastfeeding. It's about pregnancy, not newborn care. The whole topic is mentioned in, what, one whole line? Let's get real. Life isn't tunnel vision and there are other things involved in pregnancy other than ncb and breastfeeding, ncb and breastfeeding, ncb and breastfeeding....

I've read several other books about pregnancy that were supposed to be funny, and this is the only one that delivered. I've read Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy and was annoyed by that author's obsession with weight gain. McCarthy doesn't fall for this trap. She gained 50 pounds, and although she does not that her bottom was expanding, did not once consider dieting and depriving her baby of nutrients.

This is not the only book you'll need. But when you're feeling down about being pregnant, take a few moments to let Jenny McCarthy remind you that it's not all that bad afterall!

Discipline without Shouting or Spanking: Practical Solutions to the Most Common Preschool Behavior Problems

Discipline without Shouting or Spanking: Practical Solutions to the Most Common Preschool Behavior Problems by Jerry Wyckoff

I did like the outline format but found that some of the ways suggested to solve or deal with the problem were strange and, frankly, stupid. For instance, one of the tips for dealing with a child "talking back" was to pick the offensive word (if one was used), set a timer for one minute per year of age, and have the child use that word non-stop until the timer goes off. I do not want my child practicing a word he's not supposed to use! Also, a discipline technique for whining is to have a "whining place" where you send the child to whine when he feels like he needs to. I don't feel a "whining place" is necessary and that there are other ways to deal with whining.

This book tends to dance around the issue rather than deal with the issue iteself and teach the child how to correctly exhibit behaviors for certain situations or needs that need to be met. I would not have bought this book if I knew then what I know now. There are other positive discipline books out there that seem to be better-suited!

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

To tell the truth, after reading Tuesdays with Morrie from Mitch Albom, I did have high expectations for this follow-up.
And I must say that my expectations were more than surpassed by another winner from him.
The interweaving of Eddie "Maintenance"'s various aspects of life from his childhood, teenage years, courtship, military service, marriage, middle age to old age and finally the beginning of his journey through heaven was beautifully and intricately spun in this short tale.
The poetic descriptions of the various "steps" in heaven that Eddie traversed through in search for inner peace before his final resting destination and the 5 lessons he had to learnt brought to mind the eternal existentialistic questions of why we are here and what our life purpose is, in a quiet and non-intrusive manner. So much so that we can be prompted to examine our own lives more sympathetically.
The message I got from Mitch Albom at the end was that Eddie could have been anyone of us and that we do not need to wait for our turn to meet our five people in heaven to recognise that whatever we are doing now has meaning and has purpose in wonderful and beautiful ways and that we should never allow ourselves to belittle our lives.
Not quite the tearjerker as Tuesdays but Five People has certainly touched my heart and a few others in more ways than one. I hope that you will allow this beautiful book to touch yours too.
Kudos to Mitch Albom and a big thank you to his uncle Eddie for being the source of inspiration for this would-be classic.