The Perfect Book?

It has struck me that I no longer read the type of novels I did before having babies. Pre-babies, I loved reading novels set in foreign countries (Orhan Pamuk, Umberto Eco etc) or novels that somehow related to my research. And my big treat was to spend all Saturday morning lazily reading the Guardian with a mug of coffee.

Now, with a 2 year old and a babba, I rarely have time for reading. We still have the Guardian delivered each weekend but I’m not sure I actually ‘read’ it, except for picking up the shreds after my toddler has finished playing with it. The books I now read are all mummy-type books, usually survival guides/advice books for mums. I also rely a lot on online forums but it’s much more relaxing to read without having my head stuck in the computer.

The huge selection of books that I bought before having children is still sitting on my shelf, waiting for when I have more time on my hands again.

Sneak Peak: Class Matters in the Interview Setting

Our article has been published finally! 

PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I started the Paired Peers research, interviewing middle-class and working-class students, I was struck that I wasn’t experiencing the kind of guilt or angst that I had done when conducting my PhD research with Muslim women of British-Pakistani origin. There was something about being an ‘outsider’ that made my PhD research somehow much more difficult to conduct. I was surprised that with the Paired Peers students, it was much easier to gain trust and create a strong rapport. So with colleagues I was excited to write about the interviewer-participant relationship and in doing so, we realised that there was very little literature on social class and rapport in the interview setting.  

Friday Feeling

I have to admit, Fridays are my favourite day, as both kiddoes go to nursery, which gives me a bit of time to myself. I usually do some academic reading or writing, catch up on the housework or – best of all – go out for lunch! But today I had to take babba to hospital for an appointment so I lost my ‘day off’. Anyway, I got to have some uninterrupted cuddles with the babba and a nice cheap lunch at the hospital canteen.

Roll on next Friday!