I tend to pick up any genre that catches my interest, which is pretty much any genre. But I like to dissect the reasons behind the popularity of each genre, and the motivations of why characters act a certain way

Enter Dr. Fred Nour's book True Love: How to use science to understand love. It looks into ways to explain the medical science behind romance.

This interested both the science geek in me and the reader/writer of romance.  I have a full review of the book posted at Bewildering Stories, so I hope you check it out here.

Enjoy!

​Mithila Review is a beautiful journal that celebrates international speculative fiction.  Printed quarterly, it's based in Asia, and it has quickly gained a reputation as a leading voice in Asian science fiction and fantasy.  It has been noticed by such publications as Wired, Strange Horizons and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association, including one of its published poems being nominated for a Rhysling Award.
 
This latest issue of Mithila features women of color in science fiction, so it's definitely a great issue to check out.  While you can subscribe, it's also free to read online.
 
I am thrilled to have a book review included in Issue # 9 of Mithila Review.  I reviewed Luminescent Threads: Connections to Octavia E. Butler, edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal.  This one was near and dear to me, as I have been a lifelong fan of Ms. Butler and it was wonderful to read how many others have been touched by her work and continue to be to this day.
 
So please check out this wonderful magazine, read my review of a work honoring Ms. Butler if you feel so inclined, and take a look at Luminescent Threads, a truly inspiring book.

If you read my blog, you'll know that I had a baby in November and that she is not my first child – she's my third.  So I feel like I pretty much have this mom thing down – or as down as I'm going to get, haha.  So when my husband's co-worker gave me as a baby present Sippy Cups are Not For Chardonnay and Other Things I had to Learn as a New Mom by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, I was bad enough to dismiss it without reading it.  "Just another self-help new mom book," I thought, despite the title being a bit funny.  So I added it to the unread stack of books on my bookshelf and thought I'd get to it sometime – or, honestly, perhaps never.
 
Well, the book finally caught up to me, since my husband invited his co-worker over to our house for a Walking Dead season finale party.  At the time, it was three weeks away.  "Have you even touched that book she gave you?" he asked me.  The answer being no, he told me, "Well, you better get cracking."
 
Really, I had no excuse anymore.  My baby was sleeping through the night (mostly), and I was almost back to my normal writing/reading schedule.  So I reluctantly picked up the book and started reading.
 
I was nodding my head at page one: "Oh, yeah, that's totally true!  That is soooo me."  And laughing by page two.  And eagerly flipping through the book after that to find out what silly thing was on the next page and the next.
 
Let me tell you, this isn't a self-help book for new moms.  Not even close.  This is one woman's account of what it felt like to be a new mom – or a stranger in a strange land.  While some of it is filler, to be honest, most of it is very straightforward about the new cult of motherhood.  And, yes, it is a cult!  If you don't join in, you feel like a leper.

​This book spoke to me, since I am not one of the moms who chooses their child's preschool when still pregnant, and I don't believe that my kids are the boss of me and that I should let them get away with murder.  There are parts I disagree with - I make my kids' own baby food not because, as the book asserts, I'm an insane mom who watches everything their child eats like a hawk and insists others do the same.  Nah, it's because it's cheaper to make my own food than buy insanely small and overpriced containers of jarred baby food.  All of my kids were big eaters as babies, so I would be feeding them 3+ jars of baby food in one sitting, which could really add up.

But I digress.  Exaggeration = comedy, of course, and Ms. Wilder-Taylor is hilarious.  Her writing style and humor are unvarnished.  She has the ability to get right to the heart of the absurd myths and beliefs about parenthood and expose them to the light of reason.  She tackles serious subjects, such as postpartum depression, with an honesty and humor that are refreshing.

So I want to say to my husband's co-worker - I apologize for dismissing the book.  I will never doubt your taste in literature again.  :)

If you're a new mom - or even an old hand at it, like me - this is a great book to relieve a little parenting stress.  So why not take the book up on its title?  Pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay (albeit NOT in a sippy cup - you'll need a bigger glass than that, haha) and get reading.