Do you ever have one of those days when the cat poops in your car, you run over the lawn mower, and your four year old starts cussing? Lucy Adams understands and she writes about it with love and wit in her new book of short stories If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny.

The title is a little misleading; I expected to open a book chock full of comedy. Don’t get me wrong, most of the stories had me laughing out loud (and left my husband staring at me quizzically), but others left a little tear in my eye. Some, a tear of sentimentality; others, a bittersweet tear. Adams takes the every day occurrences in life and finds the humor in all of it. She takes the reader on a journey through the mundane, but turns it into either excitement or profundity at every turn. I like mothers who are easy going and Adams is definitely one of those moms. She has a talent for touching her readers in the heart, right where they feel it. She makes it feel as if you are on the phone with your funny friend talking about your day.

So pour yourself a nice tall beer, draw a warm bath, and dig in to If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny. You won’t regret one minute of the time you spend with Lucy Adams.

Are you a new mom? Do you know a new mom? If you said yes to either, you must order Sleep Is For The Weak, edited by Rita Arens of Surrender, Dorothy. There are simply too few moments in a new mom’s life when she feels she has allies - and a lot of them. The mommybloggers (and one dadblogger) whose stories comprise this anthology are funny. They’re irreverant. They’re smart. They’re honest. And they’ve all been there. No mother should have to raise her young children without this instant lifeline to them on her nightstand.

The nod of recognition began for me with the “secret” confessed in the foreword by Stacy Morrison, Editor in Chief of Redbook Magazine: she lets her 4 year old son sleep with her. Gasp. See, not being what I would consider a mommyblogger - at least not at these ladies’ level, I was a bit leery of reviewing this book. But Morrison’s candor about being a working mom had me giggling, and I was hooked.

I read the entire book in one sitting.

I did.

I couldn’t help myself.

I read it and wished I had known these writers - and their blogs - when my preschooler was a baby. I needed to know, for example, what Izzy Dean of Izzymom explains in her post, “The Things They Never Told Me”. Or at least It would have been nice to commiserate with someone about the hemorroids and the baby blues. I also could have used a friend like Rita Arens who describes childhood constipation in all of its glory in “Warning: This Is Really Disgusting” when I, too, had to deal with my little one’s poop problems. And who couldn’t use a laughing jag like the one I had when Miriam Kamin of Would Coulda Shoulda told the story of her visit to the OB/GYN with her children in her post “Mama, Who Invented the Speculum?”.

There are endless examples of the quick wit and empathy of the writers in this anthology. It’s a fast and entertaining read, no doubt (and one I highly recommend), but it’s also the much-loved, well-worn book that many moms will come back to over and over for the support and cameraderie offered inside. How many books can we really say that about?

Note:Content aside, as a fellow blogger, I do want to recognize what an accomplishment this is for editor, Rita Arens. I attended a book signing in Chicago, and after listening to her describe the multitude of steps involved, I was quite simply awed by the amount of work she put into this project. Rita is also a Contributing Editor on BlogHer, and this is a BlogHer book.

Leave a comment for this post and you’ll automatically be entered to win our November book basket! This month’s basket features the November book selection, Sleep is for the Weak, as well as Lean Mommy by Lisa Druxman, and two more surprise books! Comment before November 26th to enter to win!