Tag Archives: What I’m Reading

What I’m Reading: The Husband’s Secret

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What I'm Reading

From Goodreads.com:
At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died…

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.

My review:
The Husband’s Secret was such a good read! I honestly had a hard time putting it down once I started reading. Between the chapters alternating between each character’s storyline, and the intense, “What is going to happen? What is she going to do?” feeling I had at the end of every chapter, I haven’t read a book so fast in a long time! And the ending! It’s always amazing how the innocent are the ones to suffer. (Vague reference there to avoid any spoilers ;))

My only wonder was how Tess’ character tied into everything. Really, I felt that if her character was omitted from the main story line, the plot of the story would still remain relatively the same. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy her story — I think there could be an entire novel based solely on her. (Although I’d say that Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed, has a slightly similar plot).

The whole point of The Husband’s Secret was to focus on all of the “what if’s” there are in life, as noted in the epilogue. After reading that, I really couldn’t help but think about some of my own “what if’s.” What if I didn’t do journalism? What if I went to a different university altogether? What if Kyle and I never started dating? There are so many of those questions that we’d never know the answer to.

Overall, I give The Husband’s Secret 4.5 stars out of 5.

 

What I’m Reading: The Rosie Project

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I use Grammarly’s plagiarism checker online because who likes reading the same thing twice?

What I'm Reading

From Goodreads.com:
An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don’s Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

My review:
I think anyone who loves the Big Bang Theory and Sheldon Cooper would love this book. I couldn’t help but compare Don Tillman and Sheldon as their mannerisms are so unbelievably similar.

I found The Rosie Project to be a very amusing book, and very thought provoking as well. Don lives with Asberger syndrome, and while he struggles in social situations, he his a brilliant geneticist and his passion for his projects is astounding. He goes through life with a strict schedule, until he begins his “project” to find a suitable wife. Enter Rosie, who has a project of her own she’d like Don’s help with. This ultimately puts the Wife Project on the back burner and throws Don’s clockwork schedule out the window.

Normally when I read books and there’s a character that just doesn’t “get” what’s going on, it angers me, but in the case of The Rosie Project for some reason, I felt more compassion towards Don. Perhaps it was because it was let known that he has Asberger’s. I enjoyed reading about his personal quirks and “matter of fact” thinking.

Overall, I give The Rosie Project 4 stars out of 5. I really found myself cheering for the character’s of the book, and I would definitely recommend it!

What I’m Reading: World War Z

Posted in Book Review, Books, What I'm Reading, Zombies by

What I'm Reading

 

From Goodreads.com:
The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission. …

(Continue reading the full description here)

My review:
I first heard about this book back when it was announced that Brad Pitt would be starring in the movie adaptation of it. I never really paid much attention to the book or the movie, even, despite my affliction towards the undead and everyone’s fascination with them. Kyle was needed some reading material for his lunch breaks during night shift at work, so I bought the book for him through Amazon. He really loved it, so I thought I’d give it a go.

My first impression through reading it was, how on earth did they figure out a plot line for the movie? I’ve yet to watch it, but I’m curious to see which route they took.

My second impression was simply, “Wow.” Max Brooks really did an amazing job thinking every small aspect through of the “Zombie War.” He thought of how the living dead would impact every country, every city, every individual in the world. Some of the “people” he “spoke” with had quite amazing stories to tell. Some of the sections really pulled me in, the way good journalism should, however some sections were just OK. (Not the writing, but the stories that were being told.) There were several individuals who made reference to famous people, and it really made me stop and try to figure out who exactly was being referenced. (In one section, I’m certain the Queen on England herself was being mentioned slyly)

Once I got the general feel of the book, I really couldn’t put it down. It’s realistic, and it really brings the idea of a zombie apocalypse to the light of being a possibility.

Overall, I give World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War 4 ½ Stars out of 5.