Library Mama

Eight years ago yesterday, I put up my first book review posts. Here they are ported over to Dreamwidth. Note in my second posting of pregnancy books my up-front denials of pregnancy. Mr. Froggy Pants was born that November. I wrote 26 posts that first year, although I covered more than one book in most of the posts. I have no idea how many books I have reviewed in total.

I fell into this book blogging thing somewhat accidentally. Now, when I see new book bloggers they seem to have a formal mission statement and a marketing plan, two things I’ve never really nailed down, as well as a professionally designed blog. But here’s what I’ve been thinking about:

Everybody deserves a good book to read, and often life is too hectic to spend time chasing down the just right book. Kids deserve good books. Parents deserve good books. Parents deserve books to read to their kids that won’t drive them crazy. Non-parent adults deserve good books, too, and if I know you and your tastes, I’ll keep an eye out for books for you, too. For myself, as a parent, I look for books to entertain; to help me parent better and meet a few other informational needs; as well as daydream books of crafts, gardening, and cooking. I read for myself and hope that my reviews here will help people (parents and otherwise) to find books that they, too, will fall in love with.

I left the board whose prompting led me to start this blog shortly after Mr. Froggy Pants was born, though I still wonder how those women are doing. The group of mostly mothers that I spent every Thursday with, Parenting Arts, fell apart as our older children started school. Their educated yet easy-going approach to attachment-style or natural parenting still informs my choice in parenting books. My dozen or so loyal readers (at least, those who let me know when I’ve inspired them to track down a book) are in my thoughts, too, and I smile when I know I’ve found a book that one of you will enjoy.

Thank you, readers new and old, for reading with me.

Cross-posted to http://library-mama.dreamwidth.org and http://sapphireone.livejournal.com .

I found a new template for my site. I'm not entirely happy with it, but it's better than the old one. And it has a nifty tag cloud, so you can look for topics of interest - fantasy or parenting or whatever - and get a list of books with that tag. Of course, it's only as good as my tags, but it's something. Let me know what you think!

Also, erratum: I mistakenly conflated Thomas and Milton Friedman in my review of The Shock Doctrine. Mea culpa! Um, they have the same last name and write books on globalization. charles_midair will be happy to hear that Thomas, the author of The World is Flat is still alive and well. My only consolation is that I didn't throw in Kinky Friedman.