7. Confessions from an Honest Wife

I finished another book from the list! And started two others not on the list... again, structure is so not my thing...

Anyway, this was a pretty good book. I think I'm giving it a 3.5 out of 5. I read it along with my small group (four other married ladies), and we discussed it as we went along. That was the best part of this book for me. I love reading and discussing a book WITH someone because then it is not just about me and my own thoughts. It was great for me because I tend to be rather cynical and negative.

Overall I liked the idea of this book more than the book itself. I think vulnerability and honesty are two of the best traits someone can have. When they are absent, the world surrounding the individual is superficial at best. This book consists of 20 short essays, narratives from the "trenches" of marriage. There were some that I thought were annoying and some that made sense to me and that I could relate with.

As with reading anything, I tried to take in the good (things that spoke to me and/or challenged me to be a better person) while forgetting the bad. The bad, in this case, was what I can only refer to as meaningless complaining. I know that the point of the book was to complain, in a way. But sometimes I felt the problem could have been solved with a little more communication in the actual marriage. Like I said, though, overall a great read (and a quick read, always a plus).

Anyone who (a) is married, (b) is going to be married, (c) might be thinking about someday ever getting married, or (d) just wants to understand women or married people a little better, might consider reading this book.

100 Books You Can Read Online for Free

...and apparently you should!

Click below for the list of 100, and links to read them FREE online:

http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2009/03/31/100-free-online-books-everyone-should-read/

From The Canterbury Tales to The Kama Sutra, this is an extensive list that will cover many of the "should-reads" in life... for those of us who are interested in that sort of thing!

I'm jealous of this list. It's much more organized than mine.

55. Matilda

My first book from the list of 100 that I have finished is Roald Dahl's classic, Matilda. After reading it, I think I may have read it before. Either way, I knew how it was going to end. I may have seen the movie at some point as well.

I love Dahl's satiric remarks, especially near the beginning of the book. Examples:

"It's a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful."

"If I were a teacher I would cook up some real scorchers for the children of doting parents. 'Your son Maximilian,' I would write, 'is a total wash-out. I hope you have a family business you can push him into when he leaves school because he sure as heck won't get a job anywhere else.'"

Dahl is awesome.

I also love Quentin Blake's illustrations. They are as classic as Dahl's writing.

The Undomestic Goddess

Leave it to me to start off by reading a book that I didn't even put on my list. My need to rebel against structure--even structure I myself set up--is obviously taking over here. I have started about four of the books on THE LIST, but last weekend we were at a garage sale, and I found Chick Lit books for 50 cents! Of course, I had to have them. I hadn't read these particular ones before, and come on! 50 cents.

So we start off the blog with the great Sophie Kinsella. I have read the entire Shopaholic series, and loved it. I have also read a few of Madeline Wickham's books. (This is Kinsella's pseudonym. Or, Kinsella is Wickham's pseudonym. Anyway, they're the same person!) I enjoy her books a lot because of the always too-quirky-to-be-believed main character (female), and the always too-understanding-and-handsome-to-be-believed main character (male) who inevitably interact. I have realized that her books are VERY formulaic. Okay, ALL Chick Lit is the same. Heck, a lot of fiction is practically carbon copies of itself, just change a few names.

Still, I like it. I don't need the plot to be a complete mystery. I enjoy the fact that the minute details are different, and revealed slowly over the course of 350 pages. And it feels good to be able to read that 350 pages in less than two days. The first book has been read.

Now, to start on my actual list of 100. Next time!

Have you read The Undomestic Goddess? What did you think of it? Spoilers are allowed in comments section, so feel free to discuss.

What ARE my next 100 books?

My List of the next 100 Books I'm going to read* (or finish reading, or read again):
*probably not in this particular order!

1. God is the Gospel
2. American Gods
3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
4. Atlas Shrugged
5. Life of Pi
6. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
7. Confessions from an Honest Wife
8. Telegraph Days
9. The Courage to Start
10. Mirror Mirror
11. The Sirens of Titan
12. Gates of Fire
13. Something Happened
14. A Thousand Acres
15. Good Faith
16. Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel
17. No Need for Speed
18. Anna Karenina
19. Get Out of That Pit
20. Jesus, the one and only
21. The Bluest Eye
22. Prodigal Summer
23. The Know-It-All
24. The Witches
25. Fantastic Mr. Fox
26. The Myth of a Christian Nation
27. For Whom the Bell Tolls
28. Out of the Silent Planet
29. The Four Loves
30. The Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde
31. Unspoken
32. Unafraid
33. Finding Stefanie
34. Lies My Teacher Told Me
35. The Executioner's Song
36. Love Beyond Reason
37. Middlesex
38. The Shack
39. The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier & Clay
40. The Joy Luck Club
41. Hinds' Feet on High Places
42. Mountains of Spices
43. A Walk in the Woods
44. Fast Food Nation
45. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing
46. The Maltese Falcon
47. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
48. The Poisonwood Bible (re-read)
49. Two Rivers
50. It's Not News, It's Fark
51. The Road
52. Persuasion (re-read)
53. The Silver Chair (re-read)
54. Lucky Man
55. Matilda
56. The Adventures of Augie March
57. Possession
58. Everything's Eventual
59. Written By Herself
60. Perelandra
61. That Hideous Strength
62. Memoirs of a Geisha
63. The Time Machine
64. Peculiar Treasures (re-read)
65. On a Whim (re-read)
66. Coming Attractions
67. Last Light
68. Night Light
69. True Light
70. Your Money or Your Life
71. The Perfect Thing
72. Moneyball
73. The Fifth Book of Peace
74. Early Bird
75. An Anthropologist on Mars
76. Exclusion & Embrace
77. A Short History of Nearly Everything
78. Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs
79. Predictably Irrational
80. Finding Battlestar Gallactica
81. Hopes and Impediments
82. The Love Dare
83. Redeeming Love
84. Sappho's Leap
85. High Fidelity
86. Pilgrim's Progress
87. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (re-read)
88. The Pillars of the Earth
89. The Confessions of Nat Turner
90. A Christmas Carol
91. Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings
92. The 158-Pound Marriage
93. The Winged Seed
94. Driving Mr. Albert
95. Notes to Myself (re-read)
96. The Emotions
97. Mel Gibson's Passion and Philosophy
98. How to Win Every Argument
99. The World As I See It
100. Twelve Steps for the Recovering Pharisee