As some of you may know, I am taking a hiatus from editing this spring, as I'm expecting my first baby to arrive any day now.

Although this pregnancy has been no fairy tale – thanks mostly to many months of morning sickness – the past nine months have nonetheless turned out to have quite a literary theme. I've spent this time editing books here at TEC, working part-time at a bookstore, building a library for baby, and reading up as much as possible about my upcoming venture into parenting. Here are just a few of the book-related roles I’ve taken on in the past nine months.

The Expecting Editor

My most recent editing projects have included various MA and PhD theses and dissertations, as well as academic books about women in sports, Indigenous law, and nineteenth-century New Brunswick. These jobs included not only careful editing and some minor research, but also frequent bathroom breaks and an endless supply of ginger ale and crackers.

The Bun-Baking Bookseller

This holiday season, I caught up on all the best-sellers while working in one of the biggest corporate booksellers in Canada (for more about my time there, check out this blog on books favoured by thieves!). I spent a lot of this time recommending big titles to readers, directing customers to the adult colouring books, and repairing book displays that I had inadvertently knocked over with my ever-expanding belly.

The Kid’s-Lit Connoisseur 

Being known as something of a bookworm, I received an enormous amount of children’s books as gifts from friends and family. From more recent hits like B is for Breakdancing Bear, to old classics like Goodnight Moon, this baby already has quite an impressive library. Being the Edgar Allan Poe aficionado that I am, I was naturally most excited about Edgar and the Tattle-Tale Heart, about two baby ravens – named Edgar and Lenore – who accidently knock over a statue (a “bust of Pallas,” perhaps?) while Mommy Raven isn’t looking. But I won’t spoil the ending for you.

The Well-Read Rookie  

Of course, this being my first baby, I was eager to read anything I could get my hands on about pregnancy and parenting. Books like Emily Oster’s Expecting Better have helped me work through some of the myths and realities of pregnancy and childbirth, while books like Tracy Hogg’s The Baby Whisperer have prepped me for things that come later, like sleep schedules and swaddling. Still other books include handy bonuses, like parenting duo David and Kelly Sopp’s hilarious Safe Baby Handling Tips, which features a “Wheel of Responsibility” to help both moms and dads shirk diaper duty whenever possible.  

See You on the Other Side!

My nine months of prep are just about over, and I suppose I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I will doubtless be back, though, in good time, to resume my role as Academic Editor here at TEC – next time, I hope, with fewer bathroom breaks. See you then!