BOOK REVIEW: Everything I Needed to Know About Parenting I Learned in Prison by Leslie Nelson

 

  When Leslie Nelson, a naive, small town girl got a job as a prison guard, her friends called her a female Barney Fife. But that job turned out to be a unique on-the-job training for motherhood. This non-fiction short will take you inside the prison and share tips on how to avoid riots in your own home.

Leslie is the mother of five children (three teenagers, heaven help her!). Her youngest is seven so "parole" is a long way off. - goodreads


Well this book wasn't what I was expecting at all. Again, fooled by the cover and the title. I failed to read the synopsis when I requested this book- so I was expecting this book to be written by an ex-convict and to have a more humourous vibe to it.

While it wasn't bad, it wasn't good. I think she presented very good points on how to raise your children. Giving an example from prison and relating it back to kids.  All points pretty much being based on positive reinforcements.

And I also fall into the age ol' debate of 'well you don't have kids so how can you possibly know anything about them or how to raise them'....However, while reading it I kept thinking.... you must have perfect angels as children if you feel you can write a book on how to raise them.... but thats just me.

I was also suprised at how short it was which translates to a quick self help read.

Would I recommend it? No, I don't think so.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars

BOOK REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

My first Jane Austen attempt. And well....it wasn't what I expected it to be.  From all the praise Ms. Austen received and many many people saying that Pride and Prejudice is there favourite JA book, I was expecting to get blown out of the water, but I wasn't. Far from it.

For those who have also been living under a rock, Pride and Prejudice is basically about prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet and the very proud Mr. Darcy.  (Side note: why is it in all these classics, the girls always go by their first names but the men have to be Mr. so and so?) Elizabeth is the headstrong one of the family of 5 daughters, whose mother's main goal is to marry them off.  She has opinions about everything and refuses a few proposals because while it is a great opportunity , 'love' isn't there. Until finally Mr. Darcy steals her heart. Which to me seemed a little ridiculous in the way it happened.

First off, she hated Mr. Darcy, calling him rude and to proud, too pompus. A male version of herself it seemed. Then magically once they get to talking and she finds out he is not actually an asshat, BAM love.

And Mr. Darcy...what the fuck is all the fuss about him? I constantly see pins about how lovely he is and how everyone wants a Mr. Darcy as a husband. Umm, no. I mean he did help out Elizabeth's wayward sister out, but really out of all the fictional crushes out there, he isn't even in the top 50.

Another supporting character is Jane. The word for her is meh. She is the opposite of Elizabeth, believing the good in everybody. This is a very rare quality, especially in todays world.  Poor girl though, thought she met the love of her life because he wanted to dance with her twice! Then he ups and leaves her.  But good news for her in the end.

The character I loved the most is the mother; Mrs. Bennet. One minute she despises her daughters for saying no to marriage proposals or for running away withe a much older man. And then as soon as the magical word comes up, the said daughter is the greatest since sliced bread- all thought I don't think that was invented in those days. All she wanted was to have her daughters passed off to a successful dude, and surprisingly it all turned out for Mama Bennet.

Which brings me to the point of why I probably can't stand the classics.  I just cannot put myself in the time period.  I can see why Pride and Prejudice is popular, Elizabeth wasn't a docile female as most were in those days, she questioned it and waited to find someone she could actually love before getting married. But whatever.  The whole dowry, economic stance of a wedding, I get it. And thank god it is not  how it still is I would definitely not be married to G. (no offence hunny) And the whole "OMG, he danced with my twice- he must love me and want to marry me"- is horse shit. I'm sorry, I know its me not getting into the right mindset while reading these classics. but Maybe the girls just need to realize that a man isn't always the answer and that if he wants to dance twice it may just mean you are a good dancer. In our day, I guess it would be the equivalent to if someone buys you a shot they want to marry you... oh wait, I guess me and G would be married then. (sorry for the off topic rant)

Anyways, 2 1/2 stars to 3 stars. It was okay.  The part of the book that I liked the most however were the parts about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth. It felt like finally something was happening in the book instead of all the filler. I just dreaded picking up the book to finish it. Do I want to read another Jane Austen book? No. Will I? Yes.