The Daily News

LFCA Latest Issue: Friday, September 25, 2009.

Latest Post on BlogHer: Parenting after Infertility.

My Status: Fed Josh's almonds to the squirrels. They needed them very badly.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Future Book Tours

So while we're on the topic of community, I thought it would be a good idea to set the books--not necessarily the dates--for the next few tours so people could order books all at once from Amazon to save on shipping (especially bloggers outside the US).

Technically, our next book is Maybe Baby--it's a collection of essays about choosing whether or not to try to conceive*. It runs the gamut from people who decide prior to ever trying that parenthood isn't for them to people who try and conceive easily but have regrets to people who can't conceive at all. I haven't read it yet, but Lindsay has and she said that from what she remembers, it really is a mix. So question number one (1) is do you want to still read this knowing that you may be reading essays from people who could easily have a child and chose not to as well as people who wanted to conceive and couldn't? How much would it bother you to read an essay or two about easy conception amongst people also discussing how they couldn't conceive? The reality is that if people don't ask questions that are directed at those essays, people could easily skip them. But I'm really unsure how much of the book is...skip-worthy...in your eyes. I thought a collection of essays could be a fun read.

Regardless of how people vote for question one, we still need to choose the next few books (and either one of these books will become book tour #5 or we'll keep Maybe Baby as book tour #5 and make these books #6 or #7).

The other books that scored high when we voted a few months ago were Inconceivable by Julia Indichova and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. So I'm throwing them onto the list again. What other books have caught your interest--both non-fiction or fiction--that have infertility or pregnancy loss as part of the book? I'd love to read Tertia's book So Close, but I'm not sure how feasible that is because it's only being sold via a South African distributor. Has anyone in the US purchased it and how much/how easy was it to obtain a copy? What about other countries? Other books I'll put out there for the list are The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (has pregnancy loss as a theme), The Kid by Dan Savage (about his open adoption experience), and Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott (conceiving and raising her son on her own).

So throw out ideas now and we'll put it to a vote this weekend. Any other ideas that people would recommend? Any books listed above that you would definitely remove from the list of choices? Also--make sure the books are easy enough to obtain through online sources or libraries. Or brick-and-mortar bookstores...

*Taken from the Politics and Prose write-up of Maybe Baby: to breed or not to breed? That is the question twenty-eight accomplished writers -- including Anne Lamott, Rick Moody, Kathryn Harrison, and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez -- ponder in this collection of provocative, honest, and deeply personal essays. Based on a popular series at Salon.com, "Maybe Baby" features parents and nonparents alike exploring how and why they decided whether to have children. This powerful collection offers both frank and nuanced looks at those choices, both alternative and traditional, from a wide range of viewpoints. From abortion to adoption, from ambivalence to baby lust, from single parenting to searching for the right partner to have a baby with, "Maybe Baby" brings together the full force of opinions about this national -- but also intensely personal -- debate.

17 comments:

Deb said...

Not sure if

"Happiness Sold Seperately" by Lolly Winston was offered up as an option before. It is about a couple who go thru miscarriage and fertility treatments and the toll it takes on their marriage.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. Having skimmed through "Maybe Baby" (I'm also a Salon.com subscriber), I did think it was a mix... and not one that was particularly heavy on the infertile perspective. It could work, but I'm not sure it would be enthusiastically received or recommended.

I recently bought a book off Amazon UK called "The Hollow Heart"; it was written by a journalist after her marriage ended following 3 failed IVFs. (I'm not giving anything away here; it's on the back cover copy.) It was very sad but well written and, I thought, significant. It is an import, so it's not particularly cheap, but hey, who doesn't like to get overseas parcels?

Cajun Cutie said...

The Handmaid's Tale is awful in my opinion. I have other friends who agree with me. I can see how the group would find the subject matter interesting, but I though the futuristic society where fertile women are treated as glorified sex slaves not my type of thing.

Twisted Ovaries said...

I like Ellen K and deb's suggestions. I wouldn't mind "Handmaid's Tale", but I found "Inconceivable" to be a book that ridiculed the woman's position (yes, it was written by a man who had-with his wife-been through fertility treatment, but man he went for the stereotypes with that book.)

I think I didn't help much.

But the Winston book and the Hollow Heart book sound interesting, I like that they have different angles on fertility treatment.

Caro said...

"Inconceivable" by Ben Elton might be ok too. It's the book that the film "Maybe baby" was based on. It's a comedy mostly but deals with the couple's infertility as the main theme.

Mandy said...

I have sent the book So Close to Baby Blues. I am sure she wouldn't mind sending it your way. If not, I could always send you a copy. You'll have to send me something equally as good in return :-)

Anonymous said...

I love love love Handmaid's Tale and I'd love to read it again! I've also read the Dan Savage book (I'm a big Savage Love fan) and thought it was well-written and a very personal look at open adoption itself with the added complication that they are a gay couple. I enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Tertia said...

I am hoping to have the book available internationally soon. As soon as it is, I will send you a copy for review. Hang in there, I am working on it ;-)

Anonymous said...

Maybe Baby is a great title, but wait, it sounds SO familiar.

Oh, yeah: it's the name of my blog!

And The Handmaid's Tale is the most overrated book in history - the logic of our society dissolving into a forced courtesan world where fertility is controlled is ridiculous.

Unknown said...

As a rebuttal - "The Handmaid's Tale" is primarily science fiction so of course it's a ridiculous story. Are we only to read non-fiction in the book tour? Only biographies? Or only realistic fiction? There are all kinds of readers and I think we should participate in reading all kinds of books.

Erin said...

I've skimmed through Maybe Baby as well at the library, and decided it wasn't worth checking out. There's definitely very little infertile perspective and more people decided not to have kids. Something I think most of us hope we won't have to consider. Your mileage may vary!

Erin

Anonymous said...

I read Inconceivable by Julia Indichova on the plane to Aruba. It was ok in my opinion. Seemed a little far fetched glad it worked for her but just seemed out there. Cant chime in on the other ones. But, I will be looking into picking up Happiness Sold Separately and The Hollow Heart those sound interesting since infertility is really stressful on a marriage.

Anonymous said...

A fellow recurrent miscarrier recommended the Blood Doctor by Barbara Vine

Roxanne said...

Wha? I love The Handmaid's Tale. It's FICTION. It doesn't have to be realistic. Anyway, given the current...ahem...administration..the theme of women losing control over their own reproductive freedoms doesn't seem so far fetched.

I haven't read this book, but "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits" by Ayelet Waldman is about infant loss. (I know from reading Salon that she had a medical termination, so I'd imagine that the emotions would be spot on.)

Baby Blues said...

I highly recommend So Close by Tertia. Love it! It made me laugh and cry. I'm sending it to Bea soon. If you could get your own better, much better.

Tertia, let us know when it's available internationally. Everyone should get a copy.

beagle said...

Happiness sold separately by Lolly Winston. (I've just started it though, so I can't be sure it ends well.)

Stacie said...

I vote for Handmaid's Tale.