An extract from The Witch’s Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Baby Care, by Alarica Rosier

[osprey_archer]

First: I donated blood today. I got orange juice and a cookie and a promise that they will send me a little card that tells me my blood type, which pleases me very much.

Second, some Harry Potter fanfic (sort of): An extract from The Witch’s Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Baby Care, by Alarica Rosier. Chapter Nine: What if my Baby is a Squib?, by nineveh_uk. This is just so deliciously disturbing that I had to share.

You know what would be awesome? A fantasy book with a character who read reams of advice books. And quoted them, to the irritation of everyone else.

I actually have a really interesting book (at home, sadly) about Renaissance Italian child-rearing advice books, which is called How to Do It and features paintings of naked people on the cover, which is misleading enough that I'm sure a number of people have been disappointed by the contents.

Renaissance Italian advice manuals, if you were wondering, are a mixture of refreshingly good-spirited - they're generally pretty against beating your children, for instance - and weird, as in "You can make your children red-haired by looking at paintings of red-headed people!"

Third: this link is just something I found interesting, about differing cultural standards for family interaction in China and Sweden.

Comments

[entwashian.livejournal.com]

"You may pass me the salt... ... if you're good".

Rawr!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

:).

[girl-called-sun.livejournal.com]

Ooh, decidedly creepy HP fic. That sort of thing is scarier than out right blood and guts horror, I think.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. I think it's because it sounds so...civilized. You accidentally push your little Squib child into the fire grate, and then you go have tea.

[exuberantself.livejournal.com]

I want to give How to Do It out to all my pregnant friends, and be like, "No, how to do the other thing!" Or maybe I'd just keep it for myself.

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Keep it for yourself, and lend it out occasionally? Eventually they'll catch on and stop making "wtF? Is the child in my womb not enough proof that I've figured out how this works?" faces when they see it, but until then you'll have a great time at every baby shower.