Book Review: Girling Up & Girl Code

Girling Up by Mayim Bialik was a quick read, it is written for tweens and young women but I enjoyed her humour and anecdotes even though I belong in neither category. She does a wonderful job of emphasizing that everyone feels the odd man out at times. Mayim references many different points of her life, personal and professional(actress and neuroscientist) throughout the book She stresses that she was a late bloomer and jokes that her first kiss was on screen during a Blossom episode and we can now see her portrayal of an socially awkward adult on Big Bang Theory. The book is broken down into six chapters starting with How Our Bodies Work and concluding with How We Matter. She discusses hormones, sexuality, education, respect, self worth and how to deal with life. Mayim does all this in a down to earth manner and it was an enjoyable read.

Girl Code by Andrea Gonzales & Sophie Houser is a book I would strongly recommend to any girl who is considering coding as a career. Both Andrea and Sophie talk about what their perceptions of coding were before and after their experiences within this world. They discuss many preconceptions they started with and how they were altered. Their summer together at Girls Who Code totally changed their lives, the final project resulted in Tampon Run which then went viral and they both learnt a lot about themselves during this time. It will be interesting to see if either girl persues coding or computer science careers later in life. Andrea and Sophie are very different girls and come from very different backgrounds but they found a similar love in coding and striving for social change. Coding provided them both with a voice and a strong sense of accomplishment. 

Both books are very positive and would be a great read for any young women who is struggling to find herself or just needs that little extra support in knowing they are not alone in their struggle. They are being put in the pile of books for my daughter to read which lives beside her bed. I hope she discovers and reads these when the time is right.

June's Reading List

I have to admit that I haven't quite finished last months reading list. "The Design Of Everyday Things" by Don Norman has slowed me down a bit. It is very interesting but it is not a book that has absorbed me for large periods of time. I will probably finish it this week and I have been absolutely intrigued by parts of it but it has been a slower read then my norm. "Nelly Don: A Stitch in Time" by Terence Michael O'Malley has opened a slippery slope for me. I have now ordered the true crime novel about Nelly Don's kidnapping and I am presently working on some posts about her. "Magnifeco" by Kate Black is a wonderful book to be introduced to conscious consumerism, she does a good job discussing options. I did not discover much new myself but I still enjoyed the book.

For June I have picked four books partially due to the fact that I have a longer airflight plannd for later in the month which always make for good reading time. It was also because I have boughten new books so my pile isn't really decreasing ;).

"Making Ideas Happen - Overcoming The Obstacles Between Vision & Reality" by Scott Belsky caught my eye one day at a bookstore. This is one of those business books I read ocassionally as a way to focus myself on actual business, will have to wait and see how it reads. "Girl Code - Gaming, Going Viral and Getting It Done" by Andrea Gonzales & Sophie Houser was another book that caught my attention from the shelf. Each girl is writing their perspective of what they learnt while learning to code and how their game "Tampon Run" going viral effected them.

"Girling Up - How to be Strong, Smart and Spectacular" by Mayim Bialik, PhD. What can I say part of the reason I bought this is because "Hey She was Blossom" or nowadays Sheldon's girlfriend aka Amy Farrah Fowler. I also love the fact that she decided to leave acting for a while to get a degree in Neuroscience and become a mother. As she states on the back of the book it is about "The Science of Being a Girl". I am hoping that my tween daughter will also decide to read this book along with "Girl Code".

As for "Fashion Is Spinach - How to Beat the Fashion Racket" by Elizabeth Hawes, well it is partly due to the title it made it to my personal reading list. There is a personal joke between my husband and I that I like green things, food, enviromental choices, eco-fashion. Elizabeth Hawes is also known for her strong opinions on the fashion industry and never seemed to have problems voicing them during her career in the fashion world. I have read mixed reviews on this book and am looking forward to reading it.