Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye.
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer
Why I have it: Because Judy!
Summary: Oppenheimer explores Blume’s middle-class, 1950s upbringing; complicated childhood; varied relationships and marriages; unabashed sexual experiences; bouts of heartache and loss; and enduring legacy as a champion of free speech and contemporary literature.
I’m thinking: Yes.
Look After Your Feet by Rosalie Ham
Why I have it: After a discussion about feet (!) with some fellow menopausal women one night.
Summary: The book is dedicated to feet, much maligned and underappreciated, but without which we would travel far less. It also covers other important topics (such as the fact that cheese and wine for dinner is welcome and acceptable) and the wisdom that seems to accelerate as body parts deteriorate.
I’m thinking: Yes.
One Bad Mother by Ej Dickson
Why I have it: Cropped up when I was browsing 2026 new releases.
Summary: Dickson explores different archetypes of so-called bad motherhood – like the Stage Mom, the Tiger Mom, the MILF, the MLM hun – challenging us to rethink our assumptions about femininity, parenting, and societal expectations. Are bad moms truly ‘bad’, or do they simply defy norms we don’t fully understand?
I’m thinking: No.
Just don’t take the advice in LAYF seriously. I didn’t read much of it, but there are medical conditions mentioned which are incorrectly suggested to be an inevitable part of ageing and it implies that they should be accepted, and not only is treatment available, it’s also very unwise to let things be until it’s too late.
I certainly wouldn’t take any advice seriously – the chapter headings looked kind of fun in a (potentially) snarky way.
Anyway, I like my medical advice to be evidence-based – your observation about what is suggested as inevitable actually makes me more keen to read it (and perhaps critique it!).
LOL I should have known that!
If you are looking for another biography/autobiography/memoir type book, Margaret Atwood’s Book of Lives is amazing too. Also, Judy Blume could have written a book about perimenopause/menopause with Margaret going through it that would have been helpful! HA
I would LOVE an update on Margaret!