Recommend-a-book?
 

Hi Peeps,

Just wondering if anyone out there might have any recommendations for a good book for me to read, specifically for when I'm in labour!

I'm expecting a long haul (hopefully I'll be wrong) and know that getting lost in a book in those early stages of labour may help the time to pass and for me not to get focussed too much on the pain.

I'm looking for something that's not too heavy going, not too emotionally traumatic (for obvious reasons) but that is well written and not too 'best seller-ish', if you know what I mean.

In general, my guidelines for buying a book are never to buy one where the author's name appears in bigger print than the title of the book as I can't abide trashy literature.

I also tend to gravitate towards biographies about people who've had difficult childhoods, however I don't want anything that will be harrowing for this particular time in my life!

Well known books I've really enjoyed in the past include:

Memoirs of a Geisha
Lolita
Brave New World
anything by John Wyndham
To Kill a Mockingbird

Books I've not particularly enjoyed in the past:

Wuthering Heights (just hated it, don't really know why)
Da Vinci Code (alright story but sooooo badly written it made me cringe)
something by Kasuo Ishiguro whose name I can't even remember (too bizarre)
Tender is the Night (just couldn't get into it and never did finish it)

Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

You mean a book to read while you are giving birth? Or while you are waiting during the last weeks?

I coud not have read during labor.

Loulabelle,

Monsignor Quixote By Graham Green. Amusing, and the prose flows effortlessly.

If you're planning on reading while you're in labor, I would rethink that. I know when my son was born, i was way too uncomfortable to concentrate. We ended up turning on VH1 and vegging to 100 most shocking moments in rock and roll, or something like that.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but you may want to reconsider.

Loulabelle,

Have you an MP3 player?

There are a lot of spoken books on the internet, and sometimes it is easier listening to

Eragon as spoken by someone trained than read and keep losing the place.

"The Scream" by John Skipp :D

I realise that reading might be a little ambitious, however I want to at least have the option for the early stages.

When my Mum was having me, she went into hospital on the Friday evening and I wasn't born until the Sunday afternoon, so I'm expecting that I may be in labour for some considerable time and want to have options.

I know it's not going to be comparable pain, however before I got pregnant I was suffering the worst period pains of my life, which would actually wake me from sleep and have me rolling in agony and I found that reading was the only thing that was distracting enough to allow me to relax my body and therefore lessen the pain. I'm thinking that I'd at least like the option of doing that if it's something that helps.

:eek:



War and Peace - by Leo Tolstoy - 1456 pages



;)

I would suggest magazines. Good ones with interesting articles about things other than glamour. I think shorter passages may be more do-able.

Having witnessed labor up close & personal, I'm inclined to agree that chilling with a good book may not be enough to keep your mind occupied...& Fussy (I'm assuming he will be there) may not like the idea of you having any heavy objects that could be used as a weapon when the real pain starts, & you suddenly realize that that HE did this to you... :yikes:

Good point. :thumb: I'll have to rethink this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loulabelle .....recommendations for a good book for me to read, specifically for when I'm in labour! I'm expecting a long haul ....... I'm looking for something that's not too heavy going, not too emotionally traumatic .... In general, my guidelines for buying a book are never to buy one where the author's name appears in bigger print than the title of the book ..... I also tend to gravitate towards biographies about people who've had difficult childhoods, however I don't want anything that will be harrowing ...........Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

Not too deep a plot, …… or too much drama, ….. author's name smaller than book title, ………. About people but not too traumatic. …….. :rolleyes2






Read the London phone book :nod:

lol^^^

i just finished adverbs by daniel handler (aka lemony snicket) and loved it. he writes his adult books just like he writes the series of unfortunate events books... very stylized and smart, lots of wordplay. good read. not too long.

ethan frome was fairly short, if i remember correctly. written by edith wharton.

or how 'bout catcher in the rye. great book. written in that stream of consciousness style you seem to like. not too traumatic yet dramatic. about a childhood.

speaking of salenger, nine stories (known abroad as to esme, with love and squalor, i think) also good.

the play the glass menagerie, by tennessee williams

or the adventures of tom sawyer or huck fin

I've never been through labor, but I personally enjoy Chick Lit. Sometimes it's mindless drivel but I find it a good escape and one I can easily throw myself into. I noticed Jennifer Weiner (love everything she's written!) has a new book out that is a collection of stories that's she's written over the years. Might be a good fit of shorter snippets of reading.

I have another bedside book that I pick up from time to time too that is very short stories The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Stories... some of the quips are downright stupid but each one only lasts a few pages.

Girls Night In is a collection of short stories by Chick Lit authors. I enjoyed the book in that it exposed me to some new authors.... some I liked, others I didn't.

I've also recently become a fan of the NY Times best seller list... I know you said you didn't want that, but there really have been some great books recently.

I loved The Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (title might be off) It's a quick one you can't put down written from the point of view of an autistic child.