Books I've Finished This Week

"A Change of Heart" by Claire Sylvia - the true story of her heart/lung transplant and how it changed her life. This was for our RS book-club. Claire Sylvia talks about her belief in things like cellular memory and how the heart is so much more than just a pumping machine. Interesting ideas.

"The Happiest Baby on the Block" and "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp. I liked the baby book better than the toddler book. I read the baby book after my fourth baby was born and it really made a difference for me. Maybe I'm a slow learner, but I did learn some interesting things about newborns and how to calm them that I'm hoping will make life easier this time around (two weeks left!!!!). I thought the Toddler book was okay but I don't usually have a problem with toddlers and tantrums (they can have them or not - I don't care much) so I wasn't really that interested in what he had to say. I'm sure it could be very helpful if it addressed a particular problem someone is dealing with.

"Libertarianism: a Primer" by David Boaz.
I read this book mostly out of sheer curiousity...since I wondered what is Libertarianism and where does it fit on our current politic spectrum? I have read or heard bits of other people's ideas about libertarianism in the past (mostly negative, I think). As I read through the book I felt that I agreed with the majority of the ideas, although there were some that I really didn't. But I did feel that most of the things I had heard in the past were untrue stereotypes from people who don't really know what they were talking about.
In placing it on the political spectrum I would say that it probably fits most closely with what our country's founders had in mind in terms of limited government involvement in our lives. So if you're a raging constitutionalist than this book would probably speak volumes to you!
I thought the book was pretty well-written. The author addressed each topic fairly thoroughly. I thought the book flowed pretty well and held my attention. If you are the slightest bit interested in politics, you should give this one a try.