The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Blue Mars (Mars Trilogy, Book 3) Kim Stanley Robinson, 1996 Hugo winner - 1997 Premise: Sequel to Red Mars and Green Mars . The people of Mars take the next steps in trying to create a new society while not abandoning the problems of Earth. The survivors from the first settlers learn how different life becomes when you live for hundreds of years. This book was long, and, much like its predecessors, it’s more a collection of connected stories than a novel. The book overall tells the story of the aftermath of the revolution, the creation of the new Martian government, and then the various ways people learn to live on Mars. Because each section follows a different character, you get a variety of perspectives, but that also means that some plot threads or ideas are dropped and never really picked up again. Overall I enjoyed this one because I enjoy Nadia and Ann, and both of them were important characters. Nadia’s section is all about the creation of the new government and...

Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong and What You Really Need to Know Emily Oster, 2013, 2016 Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy Angela Garbes, 2018 So, as you can probably guess, I have a good reason for letting this blog go semi-dark. We’ll see how much content I post going forward, especially once the new little one is due in June. In the meantime, I didn’t mean to completely stop posting, I just fell out of the habit. I’ve (naturally) been reading up on my current state, and here are the two books I liked the most so far. Expecting Better is a great book that risks being dated rather quickly. It’s by a journalist who took it upon herself to understand as much of the current research around getting and being pregnant as she could. Interspersed with anecdotes from her own pregnancy, she provides grounded recommendations. More than that, the book shares rational advice based on the actual science...