Little Labors | 
pickI like the title "Little Labors" threaded throughout ("... I very clearly recognized the angle of the tilt of [Virgin] Mary's head; it is the tilt of the head of babies who are just beginning to develop the strength of their neck muscles.") in mostly subtle or abstracted ways, but also sometimes more directly in broad social contexts, as in "Orange". A book of observing.
Well his labour felt far from “little” (long, difficult & ended in an emergency C-section), but we are so grateful for the safe arrival of our little man. And I‘ve been saving this highly recommend book—a poetic and honest reflection on the early days of motherhood—for just this season. The short bursts of prose make it ideal for reading with my often exhausted mind in snatches of time between feeding/changing/smuggling/swaddling, etc!
Trying out a new audiobook while cooking some tonkatsu. What are you up to?
pickSurprising. Touching. Insightful. I loved these short essays about motherhood, women writers, and babies. Perfect before bed exhausted reading. Most essays are only a page or so long. (Pic from the beautiful nursing suite at the Cincinnati reds stadium where they were kind enough to let me rest with my napping toddler). #motherhood #essays #litsyAtoZ #letterG
I have underlined about half this book. Originally bought it simply because I loved its #minimalistcover and small size. Simple cloth cover that belies the wisdom within. #jubilantjuly #motherhood
"She doesn't yet know that she will become one of us. We are of the large species; she is of the small species." On babies interest in other babies. "If I introspected I was likely to discover I was totally wiped out so the sense of being wiped out as a state relative to some other state had been lost; the meaning of wiped out had been wiped out." I am loving this book. My new go-to gift for new moms along with operating instructions.
On a road trip, so picture is a little bumpy, and just noticed the kindle battery is super low and I think I forgot the charger (eek!)...my #mostanticipated are little labors, which I just started and already bought for a friend with a newborn, and random family, a nonfiction book following a family in the Bronx. #jubilantjuly
I have several books for which I need to post reviews, hopefully will get to them tomorrow. Tonight I'm looking forward to starting this one that I picked up at our local bookstore. #newbooks #orangecovers
Daaaaamn; definitely pulled a Wee-Bey Brice when I read this lil punch right here (for reference: http://gph.is/28OGhNe)
I figured out how to do a tech thing!
A review by an author I've enjoyed, in this case playwright Sarah Ruhl, is the best endorsement for a future read. Though I've aged past the difficult years of early motherhood, the subject still grabs my attention.
"It was an unsettling, intoxicating, against-nature feeling. A feeling that felt like black magic..."
pickNot only is it a stunning text, full of the beautiful ricocheting of Galchen's mind, which is a treasure to watch at work on the page, it's also probably my favorite cover design of the year. Beautiful.
Notes on Some Twentieth-Century Writers
pickGalchen's smart, funny, loving (if slightly twisted) essays about babies, motherhood, and writing is a delight.
