What novels to read when one's pregnant…

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What novels would you suggest to an expectant mum? I’m not talking of the “how to do it” lit and all that stuff (my terrified self has forced me to read all that there is in commerce already. twice), I’m thinking of the kind of literary milieu you would say might be good for me (and the yet tiny guest in my belly) for the following 5 months…

― annina, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 07:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Well, notRosemary's Baby, that's for damn sure.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 09:40 (twenty-one years ago)

I've not experienced this condition myself, but there was that Aussie girl in Prague once. I suggested she read Catch 22. She decided to never speak to me again.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 09:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Something by Clarice Lispector. Maybe 'Clandestine Happiness'?

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 11:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Haha I never recommend Catch-22 to anyone though it's my favourite book. I guess some humorous stuff would be good for an expectant mum.
I'm getting some wonderful suggestions over here Books that made you laugh :-D
Stay away from horror and tragic stuff for sure.

― Fred, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 11:53 (twenty-one years ago)

She (the Aussie girl) told me to read a Jeffrey Archer book! Good job she terminated the pregnancy.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 12:16 (twenty-one years ago)

If you're feeling slushy, cosy, domestic and in tune with the rhythms of life etc as you anticipate bringing new life into the world, I'd recommend Festivals, Family and Food. Nice family activities, recipes, stories, songs etc.

― Archel (Archel), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

well i have read catch 22 already, and yes, i do feel i need something humorous (so i've been copying those suggestions myself ;) at the moment i'm reading Bleak House, but that is another kind of feeling because Dickens makes you feel at home, you know, kind of safe :)

― annina, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 12:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, but watch out for those street urchins.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Tuesday, 20 April 2004 14:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I always thought that would be parents should know a bit about transactional analysis. Maybe you would like to check out the wonderful What Do You Say After You Say Hello? by Eric Berne

― Fred, Tuesday, 20 April 2004 18:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I read The Robber Bride - Margaret Atwood. It made me feel thoroughly depressed, so I would not recommend that one. Also don't read 'What to expect when you're expecting', or 'What to expect in the first year'. Apart from the fact that I found them to be the equivalent of a cerebral epidural, they are the sort of books that make new mums have unrealistic expectations of what they should be doing - hence feeding the guilt complex that manifests when you become a parent.
Read some piffle, some light stuff, your concentration span tends to diminish with a new baby, so I would suggest a diet of anthing from Miriam Keys to Roald Dahl!

― kath (kath), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 03:46 (twenty-one years ago)

In the same way that listening to Mozart is rumoured to make your unborn more intelligent, I suggest you read Richard Brautigan and see if s/he becomes a hippy.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 08:49 (twenty-one years ago)

even though, all considered, the street urchins might prove good role models enough!
(p.s. is it improper to say i feel thankful and suprised to have recieved all these suggestions already? it was my first tread, and i didn't expect to be answered at all...thank you!)

― annina (strand), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 09:54 (twenty-one years ago)

I bought my husband a book called Conversation With Mr. Baby last year when I was pregnant. (for Father's Day) I had to read it before I gave it to him. It was very funny! I also read a lot of other fiction. Such as...

J.R.R. Tolkien - (5 of his books), Douglas Adams (6 Hitchhiker books), The Best of Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland and some other stuff), The 5 Harry Potter books (I had read the 1st 4 once before, but wanted to read them again before I read the 5th.) And something by Terry Pratchett.

(Forgive me if I have not spelled any of the names correctly. I'm sure God will smite me himself.)

I was sick a lot and didn't do a whole lot other than read. None of the above books caused me any emotional distress. So, maybe you could start with one of them. Good luck with the new baby.

― Cassandra Hall (Cassandra), Sunday, 25 April 2004 19:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I think Louise Erdrich might be a good choice because she always deals thematically with family - both the small and large. "The Master Butcher's Singing Club" is her latest, and I found it to be uplifting. But...I've never gestated, so maybe you don't want the big themes right now. Good Luck!

― aimurchie, Sunday, 25 April 2004 23:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Rachel Cusk's "A Life's Work" is the best book about having a baby I've ever read: funny, thoughtful, literate. It is not a manual.

― bham, Monday, 26 April 2004 10:11 (twenty-one years ago)

This book: http://www.granta.com/shop/product-file/39/thet1039/product-thumbnail-140.jpg is supposed to be very good. I am reading Sansom's novel 'Ring Road' at the moment, and currently feel like I need to track down everything he has ever written.

Details here: http://www.granta.com/shop/product?product_id=1039

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 26 April 2004 10:43 (twenty-one years ago)

Have you been listening to Ring Road on the olde wireless Jerry? Ian Sansom's voice sounds not like I imagined. (I only heard one prog though as it's on at some weird afternoon hour.)

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 26 April 2004 11:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I have not heard him, no. How does it sound? He is a funny-looking geezer, too.

I will soon start a thread on 'Ring Road'. Gird your loins.

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Monday, 26 April 2004 12:02 (twenty-one years ago)

He has a sort of cheekychappy tenor.

― Archel (Archel), Monday, 26 April 2004 14:10 (twenty-one years ago)

I always suggest expectant mothers to read The Secret Life of the Unborn Child: how you can prepare your baby for a happy, healthy life.
by John Kelly and Thomas Verny.
I read it 20 years ago and its still in print. I checked with Amazon.
If you read this book you will realize then what books to read, what thoughts to entertain, what music to listen to in order to influence the little one. Have you read Diana Gabaldon's books? Very romantic.

― Nelly Mc Causland (Geborwyn), Saturday, 1 May 2004 18:29 (twenty-one years ago)

six months pass...

I believe you may be in the last stages of labour, so a thread revival is called for.

Was it really nine months ago you knocked on my door because you'd 'run out of sugar' and I had 'just opened' a bottle of wine.

Best wishes.

― MikeyG (MikeyG), Thursday, 11 November 2004 14:18 (twenty-one years ago)

thank you!
the little one has been here for almost 3 weeks, and is now in a rare moment of non-shouting
and it is good. can't read much, but random pieces from magazines, and very little from here.
but it is very good.
eh eh eh
nine months yes.
that wine must have been extraordinary good, you should see how cute she is!

― misshajim (strand), Thursday, 11 November 2004 17:53 (twenty-one years ago)

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