Book Fetish: December 2010

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Review of 'Husband and Wife' by Leah Stewart

Posted by SarahL23 at Saturday, December 18, 2010

Husband and Wife

Leah Stewart

3.5*

"In this new novel by the celebrated author of The Myth of You and Me, a young mother discovers that her husband's novel about infidelity may be drawn from real life."

"Wise, funny, and sharply drawn, Leah Stewart's Husband and Wife probes our deepest relationships, the promises we make and break, and the consequences they hold for our lives, revealing that it's never too late to step back and start over."

This story is about a 35 year old mom and wife named Sarah Price, whose husband has just published a novel titled 'Infidelity.' Little did she know, the book was based on fact, and her husband's confession turns her world upside down. Coming to terms with her husband's affair forces Sarah to reexamine their relationship and take a closer look at the person she has become in the process of getting married and having children.

This story really resounded with me because I am also a thirty-something mom and wife, and so I understand how easy it is to lose yourself in those roles. When you have so may other people (kids, husband) depending on you to take care of them, it's easy to lose sight of your own needs and desires. The story itself was a bit depressing, due to the subject matter, but I identified with it and it made me think about my own life, and that made it a more personal read for me.

2011 Books I Own (BIO) Challenge- created by the group The Novel Ideas on Goodreads.

(Rules are copied and slightly modified from my NI friend's blog: Through the Pages)

1. Read a total of 36 BIO in 2011 (3 per month in designated categories or titles/authors that begin with the same letter as the first letter of the month).

2. No buying new books until I've read 2 BIO. After the first 2, I can then follow the rule - read 1, buy 1 (until reading 5, when I can buy unlimited books for the remainder of the month).

3. 18 books will be set in stone before the start of 2011 - they will be put in bold italics.

4. I will finalize each upcoming month's list before the current month ends - then NO CHANGING!

The following is my list for the BIO challenge:

January

1. (1st in a series): City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

2. (wolves): Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

3. (winter): Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

February

1. (love story): Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper

2. (shortest): The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

3. (gift): American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

March

1. (war story): The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

2. (classic): Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

3. (favorite cover): The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

April

1. (god or hero): Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

2. (apocolyptic): The Road by Cormac McCarthy

3. (comedy): The Gates by John Connolly

May

1. (oldest BIO): Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

2. (memoir): In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

3. (magical land): Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

June

1. (young adult): A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

2. (couple/marriage): Ahab's Wife: Or, The Star-gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund

3. (rose): A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith

July

1. (animals): The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleski

2. (longest): Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen

3. (America): 1776 by David McCullough

August

1. (historical): Katherine by Anya Seton

2. (A = title): The Awakening by Kate Chopin

3. (national figure): The Women by T.C. Boyle

September

1. (7 or 17th century): Fever 1793

2. (sad): White Oleander by Janet Fitch

3. (school): The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

October

1. (ghost/paranormal/horror): The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

2. (thriller/vampire): Dracula by Bram Stoker

3. (series continuation): whichever Outlander book I need to read next

November

1. (mystery): The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

2. (food/feast/famine): The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

3. (colonial America/ pilgrims): The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

December

1. (Christmas/ holiday): A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote

2. (family): True Colors by Kristin Hannah

3. (guilty pleasure): A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

2011 Nonfiction Challenge - also created by The Novel Ideas

The are no rules for this challenge - the idea is to expand our horizons by incorporating more nonfiction selections into our reading for next year. I have challenged myself to read at least one nonfiction selection each month of 2011.

Here's my list of upcoming nonfiction reads for 2011:

Books Read in 2011

12. Pao by Kerry Young - 3.5*
11. Beautiful Child by Torey Hayden - 4*
10. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - 2.5*
9. Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper - 4*
8. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - 4.5*
7. Room by Emma Donoghue - 3*
6. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang - 4.5*
5. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell - 4*
4. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - 4*
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - 4.5*
2. Chocolat by Joanne Harris - 4*
1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - 3.75*

Books Read in 2010

72. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 4.5*
71. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson - 4*
70. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - 4*
69. Love Story by Erich Segal - 3*
68. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory - 4.5*
67. Ape House by Sara Gruen - 4*
66. Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart - 3.5*
65. Crestmont by Holly Weiss - 3.5*
64. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer - 4*
63. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins - 4.5*
62. Her Mother's Hope by Francine Rivers - 3.25*
61. Our Kind of Traitor by John le Carre - 3.5*
60. Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich - 1*
59. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward - 4*
58. If I Stay by Gayle Forman - 3.75*
57. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker - 2.5*
56. The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka - 5*
55. From the Seeds of Sadness by Gemma Geisman - 3*
54. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - 3.5*
53. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters - 5*
52. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - 4*
51. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller - 3*
50. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - 3*
49. City of Thieves by David Benioff - 4.5*
48. A Secret Kept by Tatiane de Rosnay - 4*
47. Dibs in Search of Self by Virginia M. Axline - 3*
46. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - 2*
45. House Rules by Jodi Picoult - 3*
44. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist - 3*
43. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters - 2*
42. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson - 5*
41. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens - 4*
40. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - 5*
39. The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen - 4*
38. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood - 3*
37. Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame Smith - 3*
36. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - 3.5*
35. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abuljawa - 4*
34. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo - 5*
33. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman - 4*
32. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - 1*
31. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon - 5*
30. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice - 5*
29. Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew by Ursula LeGuin - 4*
28. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich - 3*
27. Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff - 3*
26. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - 5*
25. The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell - 3*
24. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer - 3*
23. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks - 3*
22. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen - 4*
21. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon - 5*
20. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - 1*
19. Night by Elie Weisel - 5*
18. Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest by Gregg Olsen - 4*
17. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly - 3*
16. Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin - 4*
15. Stones From the River by Ursula Hegi - 5*
14. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks - 3*
13. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - 2*
12. Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman - 3*
11. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - 5*
10. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane - 4*
9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - 5*
8. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - 3*
7. The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran - 5*
6. Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - 5*
5. Drood by Dan Simmons - 3 *
4. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger - 1*
3. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - 2*
2.Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - 5*
1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - 5*

Book Fetish

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Review of 'Husband and Wife' by Leah Stewart

Friday, December 17, 2010

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