Biittner's Book Review: 419 by Will Ferguson

Our May book club selection was the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner "419" by Will Ferguson. This was an excellent read. On the surface this seems like a story about a daughter trying to find answers following her father's death. However, it is much more complex than that. The story shifts back and forth from Calgary to Nigeria (and other parts of West and Northern Africa), and shifts between the perspectives of various characters on both continents. Ferguson crafts some elegant parallels, the two major ones are the rich Oil fields of Nigeria and the big business Oil capital of Canada (Calgary), and two women who have isolated themselves from their kin for very different reasons who both eventually make their way to Nigeria.

It was really interesting to learn more about how the "419" scam works - who hasn't received a spam email message from an individual seeking aid and offering great financial reward? - including the reasons a young man may become a "Yahooboyz" and the contempt that is felt towards the "Mugu".

As a side note: I loved the references to Nollywood; Nollywood films were quite popular in Tanzania when I was last there, and my friends all had their favourite actresses and directors.

The overall tone is very melancholic. It is a bleak story of lies and loss, which seems to offer no happy resolution for any of the characters. That said, I would highly recommend this fantastic read by a great Canadian author.

Biittner's Book Review: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window & Disappeared

I'm a little late on this one but I did want to post a quick review of our April book "The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" by Jonas Jonasson. The back of the book indicates that this story is very similar to Forrest Gump and in many ways it is - it follows the life of an eccentric fellow who over the course of his 100 years had very odd and close personal encounters with famous (political) figures. Both Forrest and Alan, the 100 year old man, stumble into these encounters innocently ignorant of the consequences; both seem to care little about the world around them other than those people and events directly affecting them at that specific moment in time. Alan isn't quite as lovable as Forrest though. Honestly Alan, although the main character, is far from the most interesting character in the book. The friends he makes after he climbs out the window, including a dog and an elephant, are really what keep you reading. I constantly found myself asking "who will he meet next ?" and "how will they get out of the situation they've created?". Without giving anything away, Alan and his friends do get into some ridiculous situations and I found myself rushing through the "Alan in the Past" chapters to get back to the present. Overall it is an enjoyable book - it is a light-hearted read that doesn't take itself too serious. I'd recommend it.

My Labour & Delivery Story

I can honestly say I had a fullfiling labour and delivery. Not everything went as I had hoped but overall I am happy with the experience especially because my daughter was born healthy. My labour began on Friday February 1st although I was not entirely convinced at the time that it was the real deal. Up until a week before I didn't even realize that the sensation I had thought was the baby pushing against me oddly was actually Braxton Hicks contractions (I had one during a prenatal visit with my delivery doctor and he pointed out that that was what they were). At about 5 am on the 1st I noticed that I was starting to feel more cramp-like sensations and noticed other changes as well (I won't go into details to avoid crossing into "too much information" territory. I didn't really think much of them as I knew I should expect some changes with less than a week until my due date. So on February 1st I went for a pedicure and lunch with my Mother-in-Law as we'd planned weeks before. She mentioned that my stomach shape had changed and asked how I was doing but again could only say I'd noticed some "false" contractions over the past few days.

I'd also been at the doctor the day before and was only dilated 1-2 cm so again wasn't thinking it was the real thing quite yet. At that appointment my doctor mentioned that he wouldn't be there for my delivery if I went into labour over the next week as he'd be on holidays, and further that because of my glucose intolerance he wouldn't let me go much over my due date by very much. He said that if the doctor covering for him did not decide to induce me at my next appointment (booked for my due date) then he would on the 11th or 12th.

At 1 am on Saturday February 2nd I woke up sure that the contractions were the real thing. I kept track of them for about an hour and then woke Chris up to say we should head to the hospital as they seemed to be about five minutes apart and had been for almost that full hour. We arrived at Grey Nuns and after monitoring me they decided to send me home. At that point the contractions were really not that bad; I was easily able to breathe through them. We got back home and I went back to sleep. Fast forward to 5 am and things had definitely changed. For an hour I barely kept it together experiencing incredible back and leg pain; the contractions were on top of each other and I was shaking uncontrollably. I woke Chris up again and told him to grab a towel (I was terrified my water would break in our new car). On the way back to Grey Nuns we hit every single red light; I was not impressed to say the least and even told Chris to run the light at one point (he wouldn't because the cop station was right there).

I barely changed into the hospital gown when my water broke (in a big gush like a movie). I knew then I would not be sent home. I also at this time decided to get an epidural even though I had wanted to have a natural labour and delivery with as few interventions as possible. The pain (back labour likely caused by the baby being in a posterior position) was too much - I could barely focus and don't recall even opening my eyes - and I was only 4-5 cm dilated so had a long way to go. I knew if I was going to have the strength, energy, and focus to push the baby out that I would need to be able to breathe and focus. It was the right decision and I'm happy I made it.

I received the epidural around 7:30 am. At around 8:30 am our nurse was told to go get breakfast so I asked her to check me before she went as I hadn't been checked since we arrived around 6:30 am and I'd been feeling some pressure. Turns out it was a good thing I asked - I was ready to push. Pushing was not easy nor was it intuitive. I had some great coaching and at 9:55 am our baby arrived safe and sound (the umbilical cord was around her neck but it was quickly unlooped and the baby was breathing just fine).

The baby was delivered onto my chest and it was amazing to finally hold and touch the little one I'd carried for 39 weeks. I'll never forget the doctor asking if we knew what we were having. When we said no, she unceremoniously lifted the babies leg and announced it was a girl. We couldn't have been happier. Our baby girl was/is healthy and just perfect! Our girl was small at 6lbs 9oz and 18 3/4 inches long.  The only complication I had in the whole delivery was that the doctor had to deliver my placenta by hand as my uterus had stopped contracting. This resulted in me being on an IV for the next 12 hours, which was fine.

We had 18 visitors that first day - it was a good thing we ended up having a private room. It was a blur of visitors, learning to breast feed, and just pure amazement at the little one we'd created. Since then so much has happened. She is growing so fast...but that's for another post. I'm looking forward to sharing more of our journey as she continues to grow and as I try to figure this motherhood thing out.

 One of our first photos together. 

Biittner's Book Reviews: The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby

Our March book club selection was The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby. It was a great read! I really enjoyed it. I loved how each chapter moves the story along as told by one of the four main characters: Prudence, the well-intentioned but kind of useless and mostly clueless twenty-something, Earl, the elderly farm hand who seems to want nothing more than to be left alone, Seth, the alcoholic blogger who has lost the ability to deal with people offline, and Sara, an eleven year old aspiring chicken breeder/shower who seems to have her act together more than the adults in her life. I love how the characters evolve and grow together as the story progresses. There is a great supporting cast of animal characters - Bertie, the ever suffering sheep, and Alec Baldwin, the cocky but not show-worthy chicken.

Juby does a great job of balancing the humor with melancholy. There are some painfully brutal and realistic moments when the real world intrudes upon the struggling, absurd, but mostly happy life of the residents of Woefield.

I really don't want to say much more in fear of giving something away as I highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful read and Canadian to boot (it takes place on Salt Spring). I'd recommend it to anyone.

Biittner's Book Reviews: King Solomon's Mines

A little late on this one but it is a book worth writing a quick review for. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard was our February book club pick and one of the titles on our 501 Must Read list. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. It is such a great adventure novel. I was surprised to learn that it was the first of it's genre as it really stands the test of time. The characters are great: Quartermain is the classic adventurer, Umbopa is an intriguing "side-kick", and Gagool is an unforgettable villain. The landscape descriptions are vivid and you can easily imagine the perils they face. It is fast paced, great read. Upon finishing it my first thought was that I greatly preferred it to Treasure Island (which was hard to get through) and Heart of Darkness (which is less fun and more political).

My Pregnancy Story

With just two weeks (or so) left in my pregnancy I thought I'd take a minute to reflect back on the last nine and half months. Finding out we were pregnant was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I'll never forget that rush of pure emotion and adrenalin. I knew I'd been feeling off for over a week when it finally dawned on me that I might be pregnant. When I'd purchased the pregnancy test I spent what felt like hours staring at the various kits trying to decide which one I should get and wondering if I should buy just one or get the two pack. It was such an odd experience - I had this really strange mixture of guilt and excitement, which I imagine would be similar to what a guy must feel like the first time he buys condoms. I wondered if the cashier would say anything to me when she rang through my purchase (she didn't but I still felt my cheeks grow hot). Even with the symptoms I tried to not get too worked up when I took the test but that quickly failed. My knees and hands were shaking. Then the positive result appeared and I had to wait until my husband got out of the shower to tell him. I ran a hundred scenarios through my head of what to say but in the end just said it - I'm pregnant.

The next few weeks were like being in a dream (cliché maybe but true). Knowing that something special was happening but wanting to still keep some emotional distance until we hit that twelve week mark. We remained cautiously optimistic, went to our doctor's appointments, and counted down the weeks then days until we felt it was ok to share the news with our families (although my husband did spill the beans to a couple of people one late night out...). I'll never forget hearing the heartbeat, so strong, that first time...

The first trimester did go well. It was a mixture of nausea and exhaustion but really nothing I feel I can complain about compared to some of the brutal sickness some of my friends and family have experienced. I was still able to eat but didn't put on any weight. I was so tired but mostly because I was working full time and teaching a night course twice a week for three hours and doing landscaping every weekend. But keeping busy was good.

We threw a big backyard BBQ to tell our families. Part of me wishes we could have come up with a more exciting way to tell everyone with some sort of big reveal but ultimately it didn't matter - hearing the exclamations of happiness, getting all the hugs, seeing all the eyes shiny with tears of joy really made it a special day.

Our next major event was the ultrasound. It was so incredible to see all the little developing bones. I have no words to describe what it was like when the technician switched over to the live view and we got to watch the baby, affectionately called "Itty" as in Itty Bitty baby, move and breathe and suck its thumb. Pure magic.

The second trimester was really great. I ate like crazy and felt good. My belly grew and yet for the first time in my life I loved my body. I was still working full time and teaching a class during the day but again had nothing to complain about. Actually my skin has sucked the whole pregnancy, and my hair never got that luscious texture, but these are so minor in the grand scheme of things.

Unfortunately I did "fail" the dreaded glucose tolerance test and the fasting one as well around 26 weeks. I don't have full blown gestational diabetes but have its precursor of glucose intolerance. I've had to test my blood sugars four times daily and follow the gestational diabetes diet and snack plan. My goal was to stay off of insulin and to keep myself and Itty healthy. Luckily through watching my diet and by walking after every meal I've managed to stay off the insulin as I wanted to avoid having too big of a baby or to try to avoid having to be induced or even have a c-section (chance of these happening increases significantly once you go on insulin).

Dealing with the glucose intolerance was still a tough mental and emotional situation for me to work through. Initially I felt like I failed myself and my baby. I agonized over every food decision I'd made up until that point. I recognize now that this is just the way I'm built (and actually I may be glucose intolerant period) but it took some time to work through it. Sometimes the responsibility of caring for and doing right by this little one inside can be overwhelming.

Having to go to the metabolic clinic in addition to my doctor's appointments has been tiring at times. I've spent so much time spent waiting to be seen but it's been a good way to get some extra reading in. Luckily my workplace has been extremely accommodating (they even threw me a lovely surprise shower!) so I've had little stress or worry from that end.

Now we are in the home stretch. Itty is doing great and seems to be running out of room even though my doctor says he/she is a little small (just under the 50% percentile but perfectly healthy). I still monitor my blood sugar levels just to ensure that Itty doesn't have a sugar crash at birth, but have been discharged from going to the clinic. I'll need to go do a glucose tolerance test in 2-6 months to see if I am actually glucose intolerant or if it was just brought on by the pregnancy. I'm physically tired but emotionally content. I've been nesting like crazy but am already starting to miss being able to get a solid night's sleep.

I'll miss feeling Itty moving around, even the hiccups that wake me in the wee hours of the night. I'll miss loving the changes in my body and am not looking forward to my post-pregnancy body. But I'll have Itty to hold in my arms. We can't wait to find out who our little one is. We didn't want to find out the sex so are eager to see if we have a son or a daughter. Hopefully we'll have settled on some names by then. In just a few weeks I'll be able to share my birth story, and introduce you to our Itty.

Biittner's Book (& Movie) Review: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Our January book club read was Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. We deliberately timed it so we could read it over December and then go see the new feature film. First, the book...

I must admit getting through the book was a little bit of a struggle for me (I read the unabridged version). This was mostly because of all the sidetracking or contextualizing Hugo does; there are pages and pages of descriptions of neighbourhoods or battles or people that are only marginally connected with the main story line. Now I'm sure some would argue this makes the story, that this is what makes Les Miserables a piece of literary history, but in my opinion it is all this extraneous description that makes the book a difficult read. That said, the storyline glorified on screen and on stage as "Les Mis" is excellent, and Hugo's detailed descriptions of the characters and their back-stories is what makes Les Miserables great. I found myself hurrying through the extras to get back to the main story. I really liked the following the interweaving lives of the characters over time. I would recommend this book but suggest that most readers stick to the abridged version.

Now for the film...with a confession...

I have never seen Les Mis on stage. It's not because I haven't wanted to; I've just never gone. I love musical theatre. I love going to see plays and performances. So when I went to the film I only had the book for context and was only familiar with some of the more famous songs from the soundtrack. Honestly I am a little lukewarm on the film. Some parts were fantastic - I loved the sets and costumes (especially the "ladies of the nights" with all their scabs and sores). I hated all the close ups when the leads were singing; I loved the ensemble cast numbers. I liked Hugh Jackman at the beginning of the film but grew tired of him towards the end (I think he would have made a more intriguing Javert as Jean Valjean just seemed too easy for him). I think many reviewers were too hard on Russell Crowe, that he held his own for the most part. I think Anne Hathaway is over-rated; she sang a great song but her minimal screen time is not award worthy. Samantha Barks was amazing and deserves the kudos that are being sent Anne's way. Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were ridiculous and over the top and, as such, were absolutely perfect; they stole ever scene and I just adored them. The film was also too long (a current trend in Hollywood!). If you are a huge fan of Les Mis then go see the film and take your tissues.

In sum:
- Les Miserables (the book): recommended in abridged version.
- Les Miserables (the film): for fans of Les Mis and who want to see all the Oscar buzz is about.