Motherhood | 
pickIn this novel our protagonist is in her mid/late 30s and trying to make a decision to whether she wants to have kids or not. And in this process she is also looking at the expectations from you friends, family and society. Because what use is a childless woman to the society? And are women with children the ones pushing childless women the most to have children as a validation of their own choices? This book gave me a lot to think about.
pickI can see that this book wouldn‘t be for everyone, but it spoke to my deepest anxieties and ambivalence about having children in a way no other book has. Highly recommend for anyone in their 30s still wrestling with this. Just don‘t expect this “novel” to feel traditional in any way - there‘s really no plot, it‘s straight auto fiction and stream of consciousness. Worked very well on audio.
My boys came to visit me at work on Mother‘s Day. Love having them come by the shop and being able to show them the shelf talkers on the books we‘ve read together.
so-soThís just wasn't for me. It's well written and it's an interesting exploration of the complexities of deciding whether or not to have children, and the specific pressures on women, but it was all a bit woo-woo for me. I didn't like the question-answer 'coins of the universe' bits, the dream analysis felt over-introspective and the details about her sex life felt gratuitous.
so-soAs she nears her 40th birthday, Heti struggles with the emotional, physical and psychological factors at play in whether to have a child.
Read June 16-23
Book 34/55
so-soTo have or to not have a child? Although this is a topic that addresses me at a very personal level, this book has left me quite indifferent. Some provocative thoughts, sharp observation, an interesting structure, but both - the content and the structure become over time too repetitive. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I modified my goals in week 2 - Friday is my rest day, I also tried to slightly increase my walking distance.
Bookish goals: 2 books - I finished two books, but I‘m still behind for one printed book, because of the doorstopper from week 1. Fitness goals: 21km ➡️ 26,9 km, workouts for 3 hours ➡️ 2h30 min, and I couldn‘t went to yoga class this week, because of the working schedule. Not hugely successful week, but I‘m still glad with my progress 😊
pickFinished this while camping! I loved it overall. I enjoyed the unique format going between her inner thoughts, recounting history and interactions, and questioning the coins. She touches on important individual and societal considerations about the role of mothers. I enjoyed following along as she thought things through.
This book is really resonating with me. Some have called it navelgazing but for me it perfectly captures the inner conflict of a 30-something woman considering having a baby (aka me). I‘ve underlined about half the book saying YESSSS. For now, Miss Kitty makes the perfect reading partner. #catsoflitsy
bailedI was determined to finish this book but realized somewhere past p.100 that I wasn't just finding Heti's pretentious, insight-sparse navel-gazing annoying, but was physically stressed and seized up by my agitation with her. That was my limit--after all, my leisure time is precious. It is a shame that the first(?) literary exploration of ambiguity in the face of motherhood had to come from someone whose thoughts are so hollow.
I'd been avoiding Heti but this book abt ambiguity in the face of motherhood hits close to home. It's now on hold at the library. However... I was in a book shop and read: "...there was half a hotdog on the table and I called it a banana"... I found it annoying on the first page! Reminded of this crotchety article about today's self-congratulatory literary stars: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/07/a-readers-manifesto/302270/
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
For this beautifully written, honest and insightful book! The hype is real!
#bookreview #bookblogger #bookblog
New year, #newbeginnings. A new reading stack for the first month of the new year. This is quite the ambitious tbr for me, but I‘m off work until the 7th and hope to make good progress on this before I‘m back at work.
Four of my favourite #standalones from the last year. #bookishrewind2018.
pickWith this book I felt the author was peering into my soul and beautifully articulated the questions swirling in my mind about motherhood.
so-soMy boys have allowed me to know motherhood. It's certainly the biggest part of my life in both incredibly joyful and also exhausting ways. I found some moments of truth in this novel. The narrator flips a coin throughout the book, questioning herself about staying with her boyfriend, writing a book, and of course, most pressing...if she should have children or not. This book has been popping up in several "best of" lists.
bailedHorrible. It‘s a short book, but even then I could not force myself to finish it. It presents what I would guess it considers maternal wisdom though a long series of Yes/No questions answered arbitrarily by a coin flip. I don‘t understand the structure or purpose of the book.
panThe one redeeming factor of this book is that was short. I felt like it was circular, irrelevant and entirely self-indulgent. The decision for any woman to have a child is a life changing one and can come with huge personal sacrifices. To not have a child is to run the gauntlet of criticism and unwanted advice from just about anyone. These are interesting dilemmas. This book added nothing but a few well crafted quotes to the broader discourse.
I‘ve had a bit of a break from audiobooks for the last few weeks but decided to start a new one this morning on my way to work. I can‘t say this is a great one for getting back into them. I‘m finding it a bit ridiculous and very self indulgent.
Listening to this #audiobook and I have to constantly remind myself that I'm listening to a novel, not a memoir/work of nonfiction. This diary type style is not something I normally encounter in novels, so it's different but not bad. #libby
pickIt was interesting reading a book on ambivalence about motherhood when it‘s something I‘ve never been ambivalent about. Though I couldn‘t relate to many of Heti‘s thoughts about motherhood, I still felt connected to her. We all experience these fears and anxieties about life and meaning; there‘s so much pressure to get it right. This suffered from quite a bit of tiresome redundancy in the middle, but the passages that worked REALLY WORKED.
pickThis book really made me think and I loved her perspective. I'm in my mid thirties and in a long term relationship and always being asked when I plan to have children which I never know how to respond. Many of her thoughts are the same as my own but she was able to organize them so that they made more sense. She shows that children are not the only option and I loved that.
Starting this one as this is what Patrick Dewitt said he was currently reading in a talk I went to last week.
I finished September's read already #GroupO! @parttimedomestic , I very much enjoyed the novel. @TheReadingMermaid , I am sorry you didn't enjoy it. What I did like was reading your thoughts throughout the novel. @Julie548 , I am interested to hear your thoughts.
I will be posting my review tomorrow. For now, bed!
#LMPBC
bailedI started this one on audio yesterday and I‘m about 25% in and I just can‘t. The format is so strange and I just don‘t get it.
pickSheila Heti's narrator explores motherhood through numerous lenses as she confronts her age of 37. From coins to dreams to readings, she lets the universe dictate some of the conversation (literally) while she thinks deeply about motherhood vs. societal expectation, motherhood vs. feminism, and motherhood vs. art. A very enjoyable read with lots to think about, but I found I thought of it as essay and had to constantly reframe as a novel.
panOh, @Julie548 @WriterAtHeart please don't read my review until you've read the book already. @parttimedomestic I'm sorry lol. I'm so sorry but I had to be honest. I still love ya and can't wait to read what you pick next! 🤗😘🤗
#GroupO #LMPBC
Please read my full review here:
TamaraTheReadingMermaid.weebly.com
pickReading this book gave me a brain-baby. Simultaneously profound, funny, and perceptive, I felt like this book flipped a coin with my soul. Issues of womanhood, relationships, art and intergenerational trauma are mixed up in this auto-fictitious story of a woman deciding what to make of her life. I loved it so much and have much to ruminate on.
"There is something threatening about a woman who is not occupied with children. There is something at-loose-ends feeling about such a woman. What is she going to do instead? What sort of trouble will she make?" Sheila Heti will be at #emwf18 to read from her deeply intelligent and probing novel about motherhood and what it means to be a woman in today's world. She‘ll also be hosting a Writing Workshop on September 8! bit.ly/2twzqUS #canlit
"The feeling of not wanting children is the feeling of not wanting to be someone's idea of me."
Protective shield! Sorry!—-I feel no protective shield with you. Very often I sit down with people and I‘ll feel nothing, and I‘ll say to the person, Your protective shield—-do you think it‘s made of brick or curtain? Is it Plexiglass? Could you close your eyes and visualize taking it down, please? Once they do that, I can do the reading, because I can‘t read through the protective shield. But you don‘t have one, which means you‘re psychic your...
pickDone with my first @24in48 book. This memoir was a fantastic, thought provoking insight into the role of women in society, why we chose the paths we chose and what and who leads us to those choices. It was a surprisingly quick read but impactful non the less. 4/5.. next up, more tea and some fiction! #24in48
pickReally enjoyed this highly quotable book (if I hadn't been so busy this week I'd have posted several quotes, but I know others already have since that's what made me check the book out #blameitonlitsy!) Not plot-driven at all; a woman is deciding to have kids or not, but also looking intergenerationally the other way, at how her mother/grandmother have shaped her. Reminded me of the indigenous concept of 7 generations of healing. #canlit
Started my @24in48 journey with this great non fiction memoir. Loving it so far and wish i could awake longer, but I want to remember all the profound tidbits and my brain has started to rebel! See you all in the morning😇
"I wanted to tell him that I'm not the sort of writer who sits in her room and writes." Page 10.
I ver much realted to this line.
With so much gardening this month, I never would have got through this many books except for the blessing of audiobooks downloaded from the public library, including that chunkster Don Quixote.
pickI‘m not sure what I think exactly but I have a lot of thoughts. Enlightening read. Would have liked to have the insight and strength to wrestle with this, like this, earlier; happy to have them now. 😊
It‘s the ‘thinking aloud‘ of all the thoughts so many (all?) woman have over the course of their existence that is 🤯 as I read this book. And more personally, it‘s me connecting with this quote and book as a single parent whose path to parenthood was externally motivated. Regret is pointless and changing the past is impossible so how do I reconcile the life I want to live with the life I have (which is a ? deeper than just mothering)?
