Nursing Mother's Companion by Kathleen Huggins

I read this book for my work; it is on the required reading list for ALACE doulas. I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written. I think it would make a great resource for a nursing mom.

My one complaint with it is that it is perhaps a little bit TOO gung ho on the breastfeeding issue. I mean, yes, I think that breastfeeding is the best way, and there's lot of research that backs that up, but it can be very difficult and doesn't work for everyone, and I think that those who cannot breastfeed would probably feel discouraged or even alienated by this book. It seems that according to the author, there are no good reasons to stop breastfeeding except for "feeling resentful," whatever that means. Personally, if you know it's time to stop (anything), I think you should stop then, BEFORE you start feeling resentful.

But otherwise, I liked the book. I'd give it three stars, but moms actually using the material right now would probably give it four.

light and short

I finished two anthologies, Irresistible Forces, edited by Catherine Asaro, and Mixed Magics: Four Tales of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones this week.

I actually hate Catherine Asaro. The reason I read Irresistible Forces at all is that it included a story by Lois McMaster Bujold, in her Miles Vorkosigan series, that I had never read before. I was delighted to discover that it was on the topic of Miles' wedding, which happened in between novels in the series, and was not, AFAIK, included in the anthology of Miles shorts that I read. I LOVED that story (actually, I guess it was more like a novella). The rest of the anthology simply did not compare and was not, imo, that good. After reading the first few pages of the story that Catherine Asaro wrote in the anthology, I skipped it, but I read the rest.

I'm going to keep this book for a little longer so that I can re-read the short when it's not fresh in my mind anymore, and then I'm going to send it out into the wide world of Paperbackswap. Two stars for the anthology, four for "Winterfair Gifts" taken as a separate entity.

I read Mixed Magics as part of my goal to re-read the entire Chrestomanci series. I have now passed the point where I stopped reading them in the first place. The stories in this book were new to me, and I don't think I've read the other ones past this point either, although I may remember reading them when I read them again - I couldn't swear to it. Anyway, this anthology was pretty good. My favorite stories were "Stealer of Souls" and "Carol O'Neir's Hundredth Dream." I love the whimsical style of writing and the way that Jones manages to capture the hyper-reality of childhood perceptions. Four stars.