The Mom Show

Jenn Northington Dec 22, 2016

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Amanda and Jenn discuss mysteries, adoption reading, parenting memoirs, and more in this week’s episode of Get Booked!

This episode is sponsored by our $250 B&N gift card giveaway and the Read Harder Challenge for 2017.

Questions

1. Hello Amanda and Jenn,
I need a book recommendation for an in-law. She’s an actress from Pittsburgh who enjoys cooking. She counts Fred Rogers (of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood) as an idol who was a dear friend as well. She also teaches acting classes. Her house is one of those that is filled with books. (Her husband is a theatre critic and Shakespeare professor). She reads widely in both fiction and non-fiction.

Thanks,
–Woodge

2. Hello Amanda & Jenn,

I’m part of a bible study/book club–we meet weekly to discuss bible passages and monthly we read a book and try to understand in the context of the bible passages we’ve read throughout that month. We mostly read autobiographical material or memoirs. We’ve recently read Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl and The Reason by Lacey Sturm.

Next year, however, several of us will be having children, and we’d like to start orienting our book choices towards parenting, but we have no idea where to start! I tried looking online for good religious parenting memoirs, and couldn’t really find anything. We don’t really want any sort of parenting manuals, and we’d rather the books be contemporary, relevant to parenting in this day and age.

If you have any recommendations, we’d like them on or around the first, so we can start reading some of them before there are newborns distracting us!

Thank you so much in advance,
–Monica

3. My request (time sensitive) is in regards to finding a book for my aunt, who just turned 80 this year. I know she used to enjoy reading, but has fallen out of reading as much because she does not know how/where to look for books she might like. She has a lot of spare time and is always looking for ways to fill it, so I thought get her a few books for Christmas might be a good idea. I know that she has enjoyed books such as Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series, but those are the only books I know that she has read (sorry, not much to go on!). I would like to find books with a similar style (not too big or complex, readable writing, etc.), but maybe more variety or new directions I can introduce her too without going too far from what she has previously enjoyed. Any recommendations are appreciated, thank you!
–Jordan

4. Hi Get Booked!

I love your show and look forward to days when a new episode pops into my feed.

In June I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and absolutely love being a first time mom. Since my daughter was born, I have been really drawn to stories about women/families with newborns/infants. I have recently read and really enjoyed The Light Between Oceans and The Language of Flowers. I also have read How to Party With an Infant and The Couple Next Door, which I thought were just okay. I would absolutely love your recommendations for titles that are perfect for my new desire to relate to other fictional moms! Thank you!

–Stephanie B

5. Hi ladies,

I’m hoping to get an answer to this sooner rather than later, if possible. My husband and I are beginning the process to adopt (domestic infant adoption), and I am hoping to find books that will help me along the way. I would appreciate fiction, non-fiction, memoir, anything that will help me better understand the journey we’re starting and what to expect in both the short and long-term. I know that’s probably a big ask, but I trust you guys more than some random web search. 🙂

Thank you!
–Jaimie

6. Hello Get Booked!

I am starting nursing school in January and would love to read some books featuring nurses. I read The Wonder by Emma Donoghue recently and enjoyed the character’s independence and her commitment to the principles of the nursing profession. I have Outlander on my list, but I am not sure how much nursing is actually featured. I am open to all types of books.

Looking forward to your suggestions,
–Sally

Books Discussed

My Life in France by Julia Child

The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub

Voracious by Cara Nicoletti

7 by Jen Hatmaker

Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott

Holy Is the Day by Carolyn Weber (recommended by Kate Scott)

Jesus As Mother by Caroline Walker Bynum (recommended by Kristen McQuinn)

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins