I read it!

Over at 5 Minutes for Books today, we're celebrating the power that book bloggers have with their book recommendations in I Read It!. If you've read something because of a review you saw online, feel free to give a shout-out to the book blogger who brought the book to your attention and share your own thoughts about your experience with the book.

There are two books that I've read in the last couple of months that I found outstanding, and I'm thankful for others' reviews that gave me the push to get the books, or in the case of one of them, the wonderful reviewer who actually sent me her copy!

Last month, I finally finished NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. Here were my thoughts after reading:

Holy cow- so many of my thoughts have been turned on their heads after finishing this book. The conclusion chapter brought the entire book together- these seemingly different topics about child development all looked at with a new perspective, thinking about honesty, gratitude, praise and such not in an adult framework, but realizing that these very things work differently in children's developing brains. Truly every chapter held extreme interest for me, but the language and self-control development chapters fascinated me the most, possibly. This is a book that I need to own and re-read quite regularly, and will be added to the list of must-read recommendations for parents.

It seems like I've seen this book being discussed in the media and on book blogs since the moment it came out. It was on my radar, but after reading reviews by Corinne at The Book Nest and Lauren at 5 Minutes for Books, two readers and moms whose opinions I respect, I made sure to get in gear and finally read the book. I wasn't disappointed at all, and while nonfiction can often take me an insanely long time to finish, this one held my attention and made me think long after I put it down for the evening, and it was off my shelf and back to the library with only one renewal!


Also, back in November, I finally got around to picking up the book Matrimony by Joshua Henkin after it had sat on my "someday" shelf for a couple of months. After seeing it reviewed by Melissa at Book Nut, she so very kindly sent me her copy! I really enjoyed this novel, and I hadn't realized that Jennifer had also reviewed it in her weekly column at 5 Minutes for Mom back in December (a little bit before I joined the 5M4B crew). I laughed to see that all three of us had chosen the very same descriptive word at the heart of our reviews. My thoughts after reading:

Like the cover options for this book, the story is unassuming and quiet- a portrayal of a life that is familiar in its ups and downs. It was hitting so close to home for a while that when the major lows came, it hurt to read them. After a third of the way into the novel, Julian and Mia were my friends, and I could understand them, and then their pain was my pain. The quiet of this book is what appealed to me the most- realistic depictions of a relationship over many years don't have to be loud and boisterous, because much of life goes by at a pretty average clip. Joshua Henkin captured this quite well.

I adore finding out about new-to-me books from my fellow book bloggers, and I appreciate the hard work everyone out there puts into their reviews. Thank you for giving me a glimpse into a book, especially when that glimpse leads me to getting the book in my own hands and having a wonderful reading experience!


Loving this book-loving community,