Good Books

I just wanted to give a quick mention of two books I have recently finished reading and thoroughly enjoyed. (I know it's surprising that I have time to read given my complete inability to accomplish basic household tasks but one of the many joys of having a nursing baby is mandated reading time. I hope the kids will all forgive me for reading over their precious little noggins. Maybe it's those early memories of mom reading that turn them into the book lovers they are.)

The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose and Sanity by Meg Meeker. I recently heard a Family Life Today podcast interview of Dr. Meeker and tracked down her most recent book the next day. She's a mother of four and a pediatrician, so right there she has some life experience to back up her advice for mothers. There's really nothing mentioned here that most mothers don't intuitively know. Her topics are common sense points like don't give in to mom competition, make time for friends, let go of fear, and have faith. Sometimes we need the reminder and Dr. Meeker has a very approachable, non-judgmental tone. Especially on issues of faith, I appreciate that she is honest with both her faith and her doubts. She admits to having moments of questioning God in the face of struggle and suffering. To my mind that gives her more credibility as a woman of faith than those who serve out platitudes and "let go and let God" religious cliches. 

Crunchy Cons: How Birkenstocked Burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party)."  by Rod Dreher. This book was recommended to me when it was first published several years ago. I probably wouldn't have appreciated it at the time, but now it was a most refreshing read. In this era of divisive politics and rigid ideology, I appreciated reading something I could relate to -- someone who is a conservative voter yet socially adheres to many practices assumed to be the domain of only liberal folks: organic food, environmental conservation, architectural preservation, modest consumption. I doubt it's a book to change minds, unfortunately, because I think very few people dare to read anything that doesn't promise to support their preexisting views. That's a shame because Drehers ideas are incredibly common sense and deserve wider consideration. Here's the article that prompted Dreher to write the book in the first place.