Sad announcement: Heather Spohr, one of my LA Moms Blog co-contributors, and her husband Mike lost their baby Madeline this week. This beautiful girl, born prematurely, was not quite seventeen months old. Please keep the family in your thoughts, and per their request, consider a donation to the March of Dimes in Maddie’s memory.
This was the week that Oprah took notice of the mom bloggers, and they noticed right back:
Mom bloggers have been trying to get noticed by Oprah for quite a while, as it turns out. The mom bloggers Oprah noticed may be representative of mom-bloggers, but how well do they represent moms? And how “secret” are the “secrets” they shared on the show? There’s a lot more to the story – or at least, there could be. What happens when the “wife” part of “wife and mother” gets shortchanged (translated into Greek letters)? If mothers are enmeshed with their children’s lives, does that mean they’re better mothers? Eventually, the kids do start growing up anyway, and the roles will change
Life and death and “Orphans,” my most recent post at the Los Angeles Moms Blog
Two somewhat-related links from the same place: “personal theology” is personal, and may be something quite separate from religion
Thoughts about what makes a writer
Thoughts about how Twitter may not be helping bloggers do what they came to do – blog! And guess what: it’s not THAT hard to find the time for it – and make new friends while you’re at it, too. But if you’re not cultivating your own voice and creating something original on your blog, what are you offering readers?
Are your pets getting more attentive medical care than you are?
Bad idea of the week: the Baby Snuggie. Runner-up: using one of these pick-up lines on the children’s-room librarian
Unnecessary product of the week: baby cologne (What’s up with that? Aside from dirty diapers, babies smell pretty good all on their own!)
Coming soon to a post office near you: Simpsons stamps, at the not-so-low price of 44 cents each!
Gourmet of the week, via Not Always Right:
(Apparently they don’t serve flower salads at this place…but on the other hand, I know some people who actually would be happy with just a bowl of ranch dressing.)
April not only contains National Library Week, but is a big month for promoting children’s literacy. Appropriately, my friend April discussed Enchanted Hunters: The Power of Stories in Childhood by Maria Tatar, an exploration of the history of storytelling and the importance of imagery in helping kids grasp abstract concepts.
Those of you who enjoy graphic novels should check out the newest member of The Book Report Network, GraphicNovelReporter.com.
First things first: why first impressions – in the case of books, first lines – matter. Speaking of impressions: how to make a very bad one on book bloggers – thanks to Natasha (@mawbooks) for Tweeting that link, and to Trish for her eloquent response to the letter in question
If you died before you could finish writing your book, should someone else do it for you?
Books that caught my eye this week:
(these are not my eyes, for the record)
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
Admission, by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Fire Me, by Libby Malin
The Household Guide to Dying, by Debra Adelaide
The Ghost in Love, by Jonathan Carroll (DearReader.com Fiction Book Club feature)
Happy Easter, and see you next week! (I won’t have a Sunday post – I’m going to assume most of you have better things to do than read blogs on Easter, and even if you don’t, I’d hate for you get chocolate all over your computers!)
Wow! So much to read, so little time! Good points on Oprah’s mom-blogger show. So many bloggers are talking about it – and not all are positive.
We lost a beloved pet Friday. Even as I grieved, I thought how minimal it was compared to the Spohrs’ loss. Thank you for spreading the word.
Happy Easter to you too!
What a great roundup! Thanks for including me. 🙂
Daisy – I’m sorry to hear about your pet – you have rabbits, if I remember correctly? Pets are family. My dog’s been with me almost eleven years; I’m dreading the day I lose her.
My take on the Oprah/mom-bloggers thing is that many people think it was too superficial. I didn’t see it myself, but what I’ve read seems to bear that out.
Kathy (Bermudaonion) – Hope you and your family have a great holiday!
Liz – Thanks for writing something I could include! I do this nearly every Saturday, so please stop by again :-).
Yeah, I want to read Still Alice, too. Our book club is reading it. Thanks for the link on Fire Me!
SHERI
Sheri – Thanks for the review! I’m actually ambivalent about Still Alice; my mom had early-onset Alzheimer’s, like this character, so I think it could be a tough read, but possibly very worthwhile.
What, you don’t like the creepy baby carrier? 🙂 It’s like you are giving birth through your chest.
After reading about the book blogging fiasco, I’m officially terrified of reviewing anything. 🙂
Hope you had a good weekend!
Mike – A tiring weekend – 5 hours in the car. Beats working midnight shifts, though :-D.
I’m sorry, that Baby Snuggie is all kinds of wrong.
It’s not the reviewing that was the problem, it’s how the publicist was dealing with the people she wanted to review the book, which was NOT cool.