Love at first sight

I think (because it's too soon to tell) I've fallen in love...

Before you start getting any ideas and before you let your mind wander further, let me just say that I've fallen in love with a book. Not another man. This heart's owned by 1 man already ;)

I'm talking about the warm and fuzzy feeling and the 'OMG this is IT! He knows me so well' realisation that hit me the moment I laid eyes on the words. and that's just on the first page! I forced myself to put it down coz like all things sweet, I want to savour the moment. I wanna try reading it before bed tonight :D

But I do know I could be in danger of hastily judging a book by it's cover first page. I don't care, my instinct tells me it's good, that it suits my preference of writing-style at the very least. And if i'm wrong, I'll just write about it again. chances are, i'll write about it again even if I turn out to be right.

I found the book by chance. My colleague asked if I had checked out the book sale at the lobby of our office. I said no but went to check it out.

There, I spotted the parenting section, if you could call it a section since there were very few books on sale, possibly because everyone else had bought the bulk of it in the morning.

I spotted this book 'Raising Your Child'. The salesperson ripped open the wrapping for me so I could browse through it. But I only read the back of the book then.

My wandering eyes spotted another book with a cute pair of baby feet on the cover. The title was 'Brain Rules for Baby', also by the author of Brain Rules, John Medina.

I decided to get one but the problem was, which one?
I was contemplating between the 2 when the salesman said someone bought a copy of 'Raising Your Child' this morning. I immediately thought to call Awanis coz I knew she's into this kind of reading too.
I wanted to check if she was the one who bought it in the morning, in which case, I'd get the 'Brain Rules for Baby' book so we can exchange when we were done with our own books.
It turns out it wasn't her who had bought it.

So I had no choice but to decide on my own ;)
As with my usual approach to handling/choosing most things in life, I wanted to choose the one that spoke to my heart.

I happened to flip through the Brain Rules for Baby first. I didn't feel too good reading it, mostly coz of the firm style of writing, almost self-righteous like 'you should do this, you shouldn't do that'. Electronics=No.
In this day and age, the iPad is valuable to me, it has its benefits in terms of teaching Sophia through the educational games/apps as well as keeping her occupied when I have to attend to other things. Of course, I realise it is better for her to run around and read books instead of looking at the screen of a piece of electronic, most of the time. but I want practical solution/ideas. I want real. and I want frank and honest. I didn't want someone else to tell me what to do just because he thinks it's THE best for EVERYONE and EVERY CHILD.

I wanted someone to expose me to the different approaches used by different people in certain situations as well as someone who can make me more aware of how other mothers/parents have felt in certain situations under certain conditions. I wanted to read about others' experiences and advice.

I think it was in the 'Raising Your Child Book' that I came across a page with a reminder/warning that there is no one-size fits all method to raising your child. That's what I want to hear from someone who's about to give me advice about parenting.

In the end you know which one I got.
'Raising Your Child' by Dr Michael F Roizen and Dr Mehmet C Oz.
I actually didn't even look who wrote the books.
I didn't care as long as their style suits me. Humour is another plus point, especially from those who I feel sound like they've experienced the journey themselves.

upon updating Awanis about the book I decided on and its authors, she looked it up on Amazon and said it got very good reviews. the 2nd author happens to be the famous Dr Oz! I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for Wanis. great! sounds like my instinct is proving to be right already :) we'll see.

My mom's sooo disapproving of any type of parenting books. I know where she's coming from. she hates that some people can follow what a book says to do, without even thinking. I totally agree with that part.
but I also know the reason why I want to read this. not to blindly follow what the author advises to do, but as another resource for me to collect and learn about the different ways one could handle any one situation. and to choose which one would suit me best in each situation.

can't wait to bury my nose in it! :D