Neighborhood-Kids All Local. All for Kids. All the Time.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been incapable of committing to just one book. Which has resulted in an explosion of sorts at my bed-stand. As you can see by the teetering pile that looks like it's about to fall over and injure anyone who dares come too close. So - all this to say, I haven't actually completed a book for awhile. But I am partway through a book I've borrowed from a friend that is SO funny, called I Love Everybody (and other atrocious lies) by Laurie Notaro. And as distractions go, I highly recommend it.

I could swim in this book (The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak). The imagery and the words were so thick that I found myself slowing down and re-reading whole paragraphs and pages. Which I never do because I am constantly rushing through books to get to the next one.

The topic isn't uplifting or happy; it's about death and survival during the holocaust. But the sadness didn't linger with me afterwards (like after I read The Kite Runner and I moped around the house for three weeks). What stayed with me was the hope and the love and the endurance of human kindness.

So there you have it, my deep non-mom book recommendation for the month. I'm always open to suggestions if you've got any!

Operating Instructions, by Anne Lamott

I've read this book a zillion times - and when I'm feeling like a failure as a mother, I pick it up and read a random entry or two. It's wholly unorthodox and irreverent - and so honest. It's nice to read an author who is a parent (a single mother of a baby boy, in her case) that can talk about not only the joys of having children, but also the struggles.

"I just can't get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat."

"I can't even get my teeth brushed some days. I found my toothbrush near the sink one afternoon with a neat stripe of toothpaste on the bristles from the night before, all ready to use."

"One thing about Sam, one thing about having a baby, is that each step of the way you simply cannot imagine loving him any more than you already do, because you are bursting with love, loving as much as you are humanly capable of - and then you do, you love him even more."