"Self improvement" books

The next few books that I have to read are all for the purpose of betterment. For myself, for my kids, for my family. I resist reading these kinds of books because for the most part, I don't think that they are very interesting. And it takes up precious reading time that could be spent in more engaging books. Plus, they require that, if I agree with their tenets and conclusions, that I step up and make a plan in order to incorporate their principles into my life. Not to mention that I find them too common, with their "inspiring" anecdotes and cheesy covers, that I am embarrassed about reading them. (Yes, I am an elitist book snob.) And lastly, they aren't typically books that you read from cover to cover. All of these things put them squarely in a different camp from what I typically read. But, the time has come for these and because of various timing reasons, they are all up on the "next to read" list. I'll have to see if any of them merit their own post once I'm done.

They include:

1. One for me about exercise and nutrition. I'm motivated right now about weight loss and fitness, so I hope this will help me with some struture. It's all about a 12-week program. I like the specifics. I will let you know in 12 weeks what I think of the program and how it worked.

2. One for baby Z about sleeping. It's amazing--he's sleeping sooo well at night. Much better than either of my others. I will scan the sections relevant for his age and work on a few things with him. He will need to start learning to go to sleep by himself in a month of so.

3. A couple of parenting books. One just came up at the library. A good friend recommended it and talked about how much it has helped her with her kids. And I figured if I'm going to read one, I may as well read another that has been sitting by my bed for a while.

4. One for our family. This one is a how to book on gardening. Pick a small patch of well lit yard, build a little garden container, and make a square foot garden. A friend did this last year. It was small enough that they could maintain it, and they got some nice produce from it.

Phew. That's more than enough self improvement for one time. I am saving the two books I have on how I can get my kids to do housework and how I can get myself to do housework for later.