Location: United Kingdom
Member Since:
July 27, 2011
Donna Brown
Biography
I'm a self-employed VA. I live in South Yorkshire, UK with my husband and our six rescue cats.
I'm married to fantasy author David M. Brown and my grandmother wrote historical romance, so I suppose you could say writing is a family affair!
I'm married to fantasy author David M. Brown and my grandmother wrote historical romance, so I suppose you could say writing is a family affair!
Where to find Donna Brown online
Website: http://readwriteblog.ning.com
Twitter: @_mrs_b
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/donnambr
Blog: http://www.bookbagsandcatnaps.com
Twitter: @_mrs_b
Facebook: Facebook profile
LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/donnambr
Blog: http://www.bookbagsandcatnaps.com
Books
Donna Brown's favorite authors on Smashwords
Smashwords book reviews by Donna Brown
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The Myth of Mr. Mom - Real Stories by Real Stay-At-Home Dads
on Dec. 04, 2011
It’s the typical Ladybird book image: Daddy with a saw and Mummy with an apron and a baking tin and it can often catch people unawares to see anything other than this, even though the family dynamic is a constantly changing thing. I had firsthand experience of this recently. My husband is much better at housework than I am but I’m (affectionately) known as “DIY Donna”. So when David left to go to work recently and the door was sticking, I grabbed my rasp and file and set about fixing the problem. And boy didn’t I get some strange looks! Granted I was wearing yellow pyjamas with little pink pigs on and a pink towelling robe but I can’t help but wonder if a man in a dressing gown would have been met with quite the same incredulity. I have to say, I’m not remotely maternal in the conventional sense (i.e., unless the children in question are furry with paws) so I couldn’t compare my own experiences of parenthood but I have faced stereotypes myself: I’m a woman so I must want children. I have six cats so they must be child substitutes. I’ll reach a ‘certain age’ and suddenly my biological clock will kick in. All poppycock, of course, so I was interested to read The Myth of Mr Mom to read about the writers’ experiences of facing – and hopefully overcoming – gender stereotypes of a different kind. There are eight stories in The Myth of Mr Mom and surprisingly each one is quite unique, something Jeremy Rodden himself comments on in the afterword. These stay-at-home-dads or stay-at-home-pops (and my word even their abbreviations of SAHD and SAHP seem to start them on the back foot) have faced many similar scenarios or battles but each has started from a different point and approached their journey in a different way. There were two stories that really stood out for me. One was a very humorous tale from Christian Jensen (“Mr Mom: A Retrospective”), which amused me greatly but also underscored my reasons for not wanting to be a mother. (Sorry Christian: I’m guessing that wasn’t your main aim!). I say that because there’s a clear an evidence love for Jensen’s children evident throughout the essay, despite the dry wit and sarcasm, which made it very touching but also made me very aware that I wouldn’t have the patience or compassion to take on his role! The other story that touched me was “Little Pink Umbrella” by Charlie Andrews. It touched me because I loved the idea of the father who stands, quite willingly, on a corner with a little pink umbrella, waiting for his daughter. Of course, there is a much more to the story than that but it stopped me in my tracks. My own father did many things for me that I daresay didn’t fit with his ‘conventional role’ but which he did for my sake. This is the aspect of fatherhood that often goes unrewarded or even unacknowledged. We joke about man flu or the father who can’t even get a diaper on. We assume that a man with a baby is stepping in or has been ‘lumbered’ for the day (my great maternal instincts kicking in again there!) but actually we often do ‘fathers’ the same disservice that woman as a whole were done for many years. We make baseless assumptions about their validity and societal value, their roles and responsibilities and most of all, who they are. If The Myth of Mr Mom had a flaw for me, it’s that I would have liked to read an essay from someone much older who had really had to fight against the norm, not just of recent decades but an earlier, stauncher and perhaps more judgmental time period. Not that the stories contained are not inspirational but I think that would have added an extra dimension for me. However, Rodden mentions a potential second volume so perhaps this is a tale yet to be seen. I have made this a ‘Christmas Pick: For Dads’ because I don’t think you need to be a Stay-at-Home-Dad to enjoy it. In fairness, I don’t even think you need to be a male to enjoy it. However, I do think it will resonate with loving fathers because the key thing that links all of these stories is fatherly love and bundles of it. Buy this for your father and show them not only that you love them but that you love the love that they gave you and that every sacrifice – large or small – has not gone unrecognised.
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Kiwi in Cat City
on March 05, 2012
Vickie contacted me about her book (a shamefully long time ago, I must admit), knowing I had a love of cats and I agreed to review it. I have started this book several times and stopped several times – NOT, I hasten to add, because I didn’t enjoy it or was finding it hard to get into. Quite the opposite. Instead, I found I loved the book and it has been to my particular chagrin that it has taken me so long to get the real focused time I wanted to spend with this book and nothing else. Because readers, this is a wonderful story. But then, I had a feeling it would be. So great was my love of this fun tale of the adventures of Kiwi, that I was even able to overlook the fact that there are two children as central characters. Yes, I know this is a book for children aged 9+ up but I am not a big fan of children in books and films. Believe me, I am not the maternal type! However, Amy and James are written as well mannered children that I’m sure even I could spend an afternoon with (even if they are a bit naughty for trying to go along with Kiwi’s adventures instead of going to sleep!). Besides, Kiwi is able to work a little magic to make the children considerably more likeable in my view! Johnstone is a wonderful writer, able to weave a magical tale. She also has an excellent understanding of the behaviour of cats and injects this knowledge expertly into the tale. Her pace and timing is perfect and despite this being a book made up largely of prose, Johnstone nonetheless manages to make it poetic throughout. I loved the exploits of Kiwi, Madame Purrfect and Inspector Furrball. Okay, okay – even the antics of James and Amy. This is the first in the series of Kiwi books and I’m roundly convinced that Johnstone will be called upon to write many more volumes. I believe she is currently working on book four and I can see this becoming a series that wouldn’t be out of place on the bookshelf of any family home, library or school. Bravo on a superb book! I received a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review. I did not receive any other compensation. All opinions are my own.