The Silent Wife (3)

THE SILENT WIFE by A.S.A. Harrison

The tree is up & the presents are bought! How is your Christmas season going??

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 3.

“THE SILENT WIFE” SYNOPSIS

Jodi & Todd have been in a committed relationship (though never married) for twenty years. They live a high-end life. He is the main breadwinner, while she keeps house and works part-time as a psychologist out of her in-home office. It is a comfortable, predictable life and all is well.

Or, all seems well on the outside… Really, Todd is a serial cheater and Jodi (meek & mild) has chosen to overlook this time and time again in order to keep their “happy” household intact.

However, now, insatiable Todd, growing older and dreading it, thinks he has fallen in love with another woman. Not just any other woman – his life-long best friend’s 20-year old daughter, Natasha.

Jodi thinks she can outlast this new affair, but suddenly Todd is talking about moving out and getting married. When Todd takes advantage of their non-marital status and tries to kick Jodi out of their 20-year home, something in long-suffering Jodi finally snaps…

Maybe this can all be solved if Todd were to just disappear… maybe the only way out is murder… Is she brave enough? Could she possibly get away with it?

                                                                                    
STATS

Pages:                          326

Published Year:           2013     
Personal Rating:          3 (of 6)
Type:                           Paperback, Library
Genre:                         Novel, Fiction

THOUGHTS

I did enjoy this book, however, there were many people comparing it with Gone Girl and it does not measure up at all.

It’s very wordy and slow-moving, but it does catch you. You do get invested in the two main characters, Todd and Jodi. I actually found myself getting too invested. I was so angry at how meek Jodi was. How willing she was to always let Todd walk all over her! I was mad at Todd for being such an awful husband. He will sleep with anything that walks! It was very frustrating to read. You just want to shout, “Stand up for yourself!”

Jodi’s breaking point doesn’t happen till almost the very end, so it’s a bit of a long wait, but they do build up the story until that point. You also get to learn a bit of their back-stories.

I would recommend this book, but it is not a must-read by any means.

PERSONAL

Just had a beautiful snowstorm last night in New York City. Snowed all day and night.

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps! Going to start an Etsy page in January!!

My Story (4)

MY STORY by Elizabeth Smart

The Christmas season has begun!!

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 4.

“MY STORY” SYNOPSIS

This book is a memoir written by Elizabeth Smart.

Back in January of 2002, fifteen-year old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in the middle of the night from her very own bed in her family’s Utah home. Her kidnapper was Brian David Mitchell, a 50-something fake prophet and real-time pedophile, who had previously done a few odd handyman jobs around the Smart house in their attempt to help a struggling, homeless man earn a few honest dollars for food.

Taken by knife point, Elizabeth was dragged out of her home and up a nearby, heavily-wooded mountain. At the top of this mountain she would soon meet her “sister-wife-to-be”, Wanda Barzee (50-something), and learn that that very night was to be her [Elizabeth’s] “wedding night” [to Brian, called Immanuel]. She was given a new name and chained by the foot to a tree.

For the next nine months, Elizabeth was raped, starved and threatened with death until one day, by a last minute stroke of luck, she was rescued.

Told in her own words, her story is amazing. Along the way she never loses her faith in God and can find miracles in all the tiny blessings that occurred all throughout her ordeal.

I would definitely recommend this book!

                                                                                      
STATS

Pages:                         305

Published Year:        2013     
Personal Rating:       4 (of 6)
Type:                           Hardcover, Library
Genre:                         Memoir

THOUGHTS

This book was written very well and so detailed. Leaving out the actual gory details she does not forget a thing. From the moment she was kidnapped until the moment she was saved, Elizabeth recalls it all.

I didn’t know most of the things in her story. I would definitely recommend this. Very good read.

PERSONAL

Walmart Christmas tree comes in the mail tomorrow! Decorating party!!

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps! Going to start an Etsy page in January!!

The Quiet Room (3)

THE QUIET ROOM by Lori Schiller

Recommended to me by my bestie, Lauren. J

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 3.

“THE QUIET ROOM" SYNOPSIS

This book is a memoir, written by Lori Schiller herself.

This is the story of one woman and her experience of having her schizophrenia suddenly “turn on” in her early 20’s. She began to hear terrifying voices, which sounded to her like “demons” telling her to “die” or to kill other people.

For several years Lori kept this secret to herself until it became too severe to hide. She then spent ten years going in and out of psychiatric hospitals, trying to find a solution, to no avail. Finally, there appears to be one faint hope… a very new, very experimental, very dangerous new drug…

It is a very interesting account of schizophrenia written by the brain that actually experienced it – and one of the most severe cases at that!

                                                                                            
STATS

Pages:                         270

Published Year:        1994     
Personal Rating:       3 (of 6)
Type:                           Hardcover, Library
Genre:                         Memoir

THOUGHTS

This book was so interesting. You really feel like you can experience what it feels like to live life as a schizophrenic. How scary! How confusing! Imagine never having a moment’s peace in your mind because there is constantly a chorus of voices shouting at you in your own head.

Year after year Lori fights for her life, but it all seems so hopeless and never-ending UNTIL a brand, new drug finally appears on the market. It is dangerous and only intended for use on the most severe of cases… Will it finally help Lori?

I would recommend this book. Very interesting.

PERSONAL

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! And now we ring in the start of the Christmas season!! I just ordered my (fake) Christmas tree from Walmart.com and it should be here by Wednesday!! Six & a half feet tall! Can’t wait to decorate!

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps! Going to start an Etsy page in January!!

Luncheon of the Boating Party (2)

THE LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY by Susan Vreeland

Book Club Book!

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 2.

“LUNCHEON OF THE…” SYNOPSIS

A novelization of how Auguste Renoir’s famous painting “Luncheon of the Boating Party” was created.

“Instantly recognizable, [Renoir’s] masterpiece portrays fourteen lively, diverse, and elegant Parisians enjoying a summer Sunday along the Seine. An art collector, an Italian journalist, a war hero, a wealthy painter, a celebrated actress, and Renoir’s future wife are among those sharing this joyous moment of la vie modern. But who were they really and what were their lives truly like? Narrated by Renoir and seven of the models, and using settings in Paris and along the Seine, [Vreeland’s] vibrant novel recreates their lives, loves, losses, and triumphs to illuminate the gusto, hedonism, and art of the era.”

                                                                                          
STATS

Pages:                         429
Published Year:        2007     
Personal Rating:       2 (of 6)
Type:                           Paperback, Personal Collection, Book Club
Genre:                         Historical Fiction
 
THOUGHTS

As you can see, I really am not raving about this book and neither did my book club. I always write my own book synopsis, but this time I didn’t even bother.

The book held my attention, but it was all one-note. I was interested in the characters and what happened to them. I didn’t dread picking up the book. However, there was no climax. It was all one flat line of “things happening.” It was like “and then this happened… and then this… and then this…” And you knew at the end of the book he would finish the painting, so it almost felt like… why are we bothering?

Like I said, I did get attached to the characters – not in an affectionate way, but in a “I wonder what will happen to them?” way.

If you are stranded on a desert island with only this book, I say read it. If you love Renoir, be my guest! Otherwise… maybe look elsewhere.

 

PERSONAL

I’m almost done with my first semester (of my last year) at school. I’m also almost done with my first semester internships. It’s been a long road. Looking forward to a holiday-time break. Six months left of school!

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps! Going to start an Etsy page in January!!