I am reading a few books at once (which I have a terrible habit of!).

1. Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn. It's about an approach to parenting that avoids using rewards/praise/punishment and focuses more on the relationship with the child. Its very interesting and possibly the best parenting book I've ever read! I am loving it as it is really challenging me to think about my automatic reactions at times with DS which are based on power and control.

2. Raw Deal by Wayne McKay. It's a kind of autobiography. McKay had a troubled childhood, lived on the streets and did lots of gaol time. It's about how he turned his life around. It's quite annoying and I am not enjoying it. He just raves on and on and kind of big notes himself a lot. He still has a lot of the criminal way of thinking (IMO) but he is an awesomely talented artist. It's not the book I thought it would be though.

3. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver. Started this a couple of months ago but still in the early stages of the book. I loved We Need to Talk About Kevin so have high hopes for this book. So far it's really good. Its about a married woman who, over time and to her surprise I think, develops a relationship with another man. So it's about the choice she makes after they first kiss. (I'm not up to that bit yet!).

4. The Complete Buddhism for Mothers by Sarah Napthali. It's three books in one and uses Buddist teachings and principles in thinking about parenting and self identity. I have only just started this (page 21!) but plan to spend much more time reading it when I finish books 1 and 2 above.