Nurture Shock

Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman is a collection of essays with titles such as, "The Inverse Power of Praise" and "Why White Parents Don't Talk About Race". The authors use scientific studies to show that many parenting assumptions are incorrect. It was a fun and quick read that reminded me a lot of Freakonomics.

A Year Without "Made in China"

A Year Without "Made in China" by Sara Bongiorni is the story of the American author's family's year-long experiment to live without buying anything made in China. It is definitely a little over-dramatic and wordy at times, but at the core a captivating, eye-opening, and sometimes humorous read. The family has difficulty buying toys, shoes, sunglasses, and Christmas decorations, among other things. Quite a bit of the book focuses on what the rules of the "Made in China" ban should be (the author decides, for example, that accepting Chinese-made gifts is okay) and on what others think of the ban (views are quite varied). The book, predictably, confirms that much of what America buys is made in China, but doesn't make a judgement as to whether this is good or bad. I came away with that same view-- and a new tendency to turn over toys and housewares and read clothing tags, eager to see for myself where all those goods are made.