Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids by Asha Dornfest

This book is a fun, quick read!  Parents of young children are always looking for solutions for the everyday issues, and this book is full of useful tips.  Written by a blogger, it contains the best submissions from over ten years of online exchanges with other parents.  Ideas cover many phases of early parenting, explained simply and with entertaining pictures, great for those who welcome the help but have little time to read.  Especially fun were the suggestions for painter’s tape and Press ‘n Seal wrap!

The Girl With the Lower Back Tatoo by Amy Schumer

To me, Amy Schumer's The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo will best be enjoyed by two groups of people: 1) those that are fans of Schumer and her comedy; and 2) those that have heard of Schumer and just want to learn what she is all about.
The book is written in a very informal, conversational style that reads easily. Schumer is a good storyteller and the book zips along. As her comedy is on the blue side, so is the book; so if you easily blush, you may want to read elsewhere.
One thing the book is not, is a pity party. Schumer tells you all about her life, the good, the bad, and the traumatic. She does this to explain just who she is, not as some kind of excuse as to why she is messed up or why her life has been so rough. Schumer is not unhappy. She likes her place in the world, problems and all, and has a close circle of family and friends that help her get through it. Overall, the book is a very positive, and humorous, read.

Claiming Noah by Amanda Ortlepp

This is the story of two mothers and their families. The first mom, Catriona and her husband James, by necessity, use in-vitro fertilization in order to have a child. The second mom, Diana, and her husband, Liam, adopt the leftover embryo of Catriona and James. So then, while Catriona is in a clinic recovering from puerperal psychosis, her baby dies of SIDS while in the care of her husband, James. Instead of telling her, James decides to hide the death of the baby , use nefarious means to find out about the baby born from the other embryo, and hatches a plan to kidnap the biological brother. Amazingly, this plan works and goes undetected for 2 years until a blood test at a doctor visit reveals that the baby was not the one born to Catriona and James. Lots of emotions and trauma occur in both women's lives. The story culminates in a legal battle to discover who will end up being parents to the young Noah. I found this book to be intriguing and was quickly carried away with the story. It was a good read.

The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood

With her marriage ended and children grown, Ava decided to join her friend's book club.  The theme for the year is the book that matters most.  Each member takes turn to present a book that is crucial to them.  Ava recalls the book From Clare to Here that helped her cope with the deaths of her sister and mother when she was a child.  The process of searching the obscure book and the author reveals family secrets but also comes full circle. Meanwhile Ava's daughter Maggie who is supposedly studying art in Florence, is living marginally in Paris and deep in heroin addiction. The depiction of her struggle is graphic. Somehow the plot seems implausible, yet I couldn't put the book down.