Crib Notes: How Do You Even Read When You Have Young Children?
Succinct book reviews for new and busy parents.
Welcome to Crib Notes #22. This was intended to be the August issue, but owing to the impossibility of writing anything during the summer holidays, it is now the September issue. As I type this, I am in the middle of a week chock-a-block with big life events: my youngest son has turned two and my eldest has started Primary School. It has been overwhelming and joyful, but I have felt pulled in a million different directions as I have tried to finish this newsletter. It seems somewhat fitting, then, that this issue is about trying to read when you are time-poor, preoccupied and exhausted.
When I tell other parents about Crib Notes, they often ask me ‘How do you fit reading around looking after two small children?’, hoping I might have some secret advice to impart. I don't. I spend more time thinking longingly about reading than I do actually reading. And when I could perhaps pick up a book, I find myself bidding on Duplo on eBay; googling mysterious rashes; trying to source birthday presents, or racking my brains for meals my sons won't reject. When my mind feels especially scattered (and for me, this has been almost the entirety of 2023), I look for books which instantly pique my interest and pull me in. Earlier this year, I made the mistake of trying to listen to thirty-three hours of Hilary Mantel’s A Place of Greater Safety on audiobook. My eldest son was having a difficult time at nursery and after every drop off I felt desperate with guilt and anxiety. I did not really fancy immersing myself in a one-thousand-page account of the French Revolution on my walk home each morning. After the six painful months it took me to listen to A Place of Great Safety – and to be clear, the problem was my mental state and not Mantel’s brilliant, full-blooded prose – I listened to Curtis Sittenfeld’s silly and sparkling modern-day Pride and Prejudice reimagining, Eligible. It was escapism of the best, most blissful kind.
For this issue of Crib Notes, I have chosen five books you will want to return to whilst the kids are watching cbeebies; on your commute; on a stroll with the buggy; for a few brief minutes at the school gates, and when you get in bed at night. I hope you find something here to reboot your reading habits – enjoy!
How To Buy Your Books: I recommend purchasing your books from family-run, indie bookshop Storytellers Inc. Click here to shop or email Katie and quote ‘cribnotes’ to receive free postage on singles orders and 10% off orders of more than two titles.
My Latest Literary Obsession
Vladimir by Julia May Jonas
Vladimir is sexy, spiky and darkly entertaining. It also happens to be one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year. Our narrator is an academic in her late fifties, whose husband – another professor at their prestigious New England college – has been caught up in a slew of sexual misconduct allegations. She is irritated by these young female students, seeing them as snowflakes who lack sexual agency. These views feel jarring, but the reader cannot help but be taken in by the narrator's charm, dry wit and wet martinis. When Vladimir, a hot young father in his forties, arrives on campus as the newest addition to the English Faculty, our protagonist is infatuated. Wild with arousal, she is increasingly embittered by what she views as her own sexual decline – and the stark contrast of husband’s continued erotic appeal. Reflecting on his indiscretions and abuses of power over the course of their marriage, she begins to wonder what would happen if, like a man, she took exactly what she wanted. What follows is a delicious, riveting and shocking subversion of sexual politics.
When to Read It: After a few dud, did-not-finish books, I was unashamedly on the hunt for something I would love to the point of obsession. Vladimir’s alluring narrator and provocative premise seduced me instantly.
How to Read It: I read Vladimir on my kindle and kindle app, which allowed me to return to it whenever I could find an excuse to do so. At a slim 238 pages, the paperback edition is lightweight enough to carry with you anywhere and everywhere (which you will want to do) – buy it here.
Sensitive Content: References to sexual harassment.
What to Read Next: Vladimir feels like an edgier version of Meg Wolitzer’s, The Wife. You can read my review from the first ever issue (!) of Crib Notes here.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Crib Notes to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.