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Finding a good baby carrier is like finding a good man...

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It takes a lot of time and you have to go through a lot of bad ones. Before I had a baby, I thought the simplest way to figure out what kind of gear I would need was to read reviews on sites like Baby Gear Lab and Baby Center (if only parenting were this simple.) As ergo was consistently named one of the best carriers, I felt fortunate when my sister-in-law re-gifted me her never used ergo carrier. Unfortunately, my baby did not feel the same way. I quickly discovered why the ergo was never used by my sister-in-law. Whenever I put my baby in the ergo, he cried. Not cute little kitten squeals, but full on pterodactyl type shrieks. So desperate was my little one to escape from the ergo that he would arch his back and use his feet to launch himself off of me in some kind of deranged baby suicide attempt. There was nothing ergonomic about the ergo for my baby or I, so we moved onto the baby k’tan. I loved my baby k’tan – it was soft, comfy, easy to put on and oh so cuddly. It rem...
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Sex, Murder, Mystery...The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair

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I recently finished The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair, a murder mystery set in the fictional town of Somerset, New Hampshire. I am not usually a fan of murder mysteries, but I managed to finish Joel Dicker's 600 plus pages in three days. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is. An international bestseller, The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair seems to have garnered more acclaim in Europe than America; winning multiple awards in France, while being described as "disappointingly pedestrian" by Heller Mcalpin of NPR's Book Review. I will concede that The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is not great literature, but that does not make it any less entertaining or enjoyable. Matisse once said that art should be like "a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue."  The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair provides this relaxation. It is a good book for the beach or for those suffering from sleep deprivation, such as after the birth of a new baby.

In 1975, the beautiful and charming, fifteen year old, Nola Kellergan goes missing. With no body or definitive evidence ever found, the case remains unsolved. Thirty three years later, her body is found on the property of Harry Quebert, a famous writer and popular university professor. To make matter's worse, Nola's body is found buried with a copy of Harry's award winning book, The Origin of Evil. Harry, who would have been thirty-four in 1975, admits to having a relationship with the fifteen year old Nola, but denies having played a role in her murder. Convicted in the court of public opinion, Harry's innocence looks dubious at first. He is quickly arrested and held in jail without bail.

In steps Marcus Goldman, the book's narrator and Harry's former student, who is himself a writer. In an attempt to clear his mentor's name, Marcus begins to investigate Nola's disappearance and write a book to exonerate Harry. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair is Marcus' book. As the reader advances further into the book within a book, the suspects pile up and the truth becomes murkier and murkier. The origins of evil no longer seem quite as clear as they did at the beginning, but this is what keeps the book entertaining. As Harry Quebert advises, "a good book, Marcus, is a book you are sorry has ended" (Dicker 637).  I, for one, am sorry I have finished The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

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