These books weren’t what I was looking for, but YMMV.

My goal in reviewing books about grandparenting is to share the books I find most helpful. There are a lot of grandparenting books out there, and some are better than others. When I find one I love, I review it promptly so you’ll know it’s worth reading. (Check those out here.) But I read many that I don’t recommend, and I generally don’t review those. I realize, though, that what doesn’t seem useful to me might be exactly what one of you is looking for, so here is a roundup of some of the books for and about grandparents that haven’t made the cut this year.

Why I didn’t recommend it: This book was a messy reading experience. Reminiscences about the culture of the sixties, anecdotes about life as the matriarch of the Duck Dynasty family, and recommendations for how to pray are poured out in equal measure, with an occasional bit of grandparenting advice folded in. It’s written in a casual, conversational tone which kept making me feel as if I was supposed to know this person already. For me, never having watched Duck Dynasty, having been born in the middle of the sixties, and not being an evangelical Christian, I felt like an outsider from the start.

Why you might like it: If you have a strong Christian faith you want to pass on to your grandchildren, this book will encourage you in that pursuit. If you are a fan of Duck Dynasty, you’ll probably like this glimpse inside the family. If you want a long rambling walk through 1960s music and culture, you’ll enjoy Howard’s stories.