Recent Reads

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit

The Last Midwife: A Novel by Sandra Dallas – Books about midwifery are among my very favorites. This one didn’t disappoint. A late 19th century lay midwife deals with prejudice from the town doctor, a murder rap, and shock waves from her tumultuous marriage. Loved it.

Infectious Madness: The Surprising Science of How We “Catch” Mental Illness by Harriett A. Washington – I was so fascinated in the premise of this book after spotting it at Barnes and Noble, but the writing style left something to be desired. Anyway, it was interesting to learn that there are many mental illnesses that have a connection with viruses and bacteria – for instance, apparently owning a cat increases one’s risk of developing schizophrenia due to toxoplasmosis infection.

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan – for some reason, the Dust Bowl has captured my attention lately. The kids and I watched the famous 1930’s documentary The Plow That Broke the Plains, mentioned in the book. I got my answer to the question I’ve wondered for years: what actually did cause the devastation? And has the world learned its lesson from history? (Doesn’t look like it.)

(Spoiler alert: the Dust Bowl was almost entirely man-made, and the plains states are still suffering its effects all these years later.)

When to Rob a Bank: … And 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants by Levitt and Dubner – I loved the other Freakonomics books and this one was fun too, based on the popular blog.