Finishing Up The Silent Wife & Starting The Husband's Secret

I liked The Silent Wife but did not love it. I was happy with the way it ended though. What did you think about The Silent Wife?

Here are a couple questions about The Silent Wife. Let me know what you thought about this chilling book. :)

1. Describe Jodi and Todd—separately and together as a couple. How would you define the quality of their 20-year relationship? Why has Jodi looked the other way with Todd's occasional affairs? What does it say about her expectations for the relationship...and what does it say about Todd and his expectations?

2. Then there is Natasha—what do you make of her? Why is Jodi's reaction so powerful to this particular dalliance of Todd?

3. To what degree does Harrison's use of psychology elucidate the mental state of her characters? Did you find the author's information on psychotherapy helpful...interesting...overdone...distracting?

4. Harrison's novel switches back and forth between Jodi's and Todd's points of view. Why might the author have used this technique? What does it add to the story? Or would you have preferred a single point of view?

Our next book is The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. We will be starting it today Sunday July 31st and ending on Sunday August 7th. 

Synopsis From Goodreads: 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.

Lets Get Reading! 

Finishing Up The Deep & Starting The Silent Wife

I absolutely loved The Deep. It was such a creepy book and really kept me guessing. I was shocked with how it ended and wanted to know more. I wish this was a series and there was another book to read because I feel it could've kept going. 

What did you think of the book? Did you expect it to end the way it did? 

Our next book is The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison. We will be starting it Friday June 1st and ending on Friday June 15th. 

Synopsis From Goodreads: Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept. Expertly plotted and reminiscent of Gone Girl and These Things Hidden, The Silent Wife ensnares the reader from page one and does not let go.

Lets Get Reading! 

Quinoa Breakfast Scramble

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. For a long time I was only having a protein shake with protein powder, oatmeal and flax milk for breakfast. This was a good and nutritious breakfast but it was not enough food to fuel my body for the hard workouts I am doing. 

I have been eating this quinoa breakfast scramble for breakfast for a week now and can already tell a difference in my energy levels and I am not as hungry at night. 

Here is the recipe for this easy and nutritious breakfast. 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup cooked quinoa

1 eggs, scrambled

½ avocado, cubed

1 tablespoon salsa

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions

Place quinoa in a serving bowl

Top with eggs and avocado.

Top with salsa and sprinkle with lemon pepper and garlic salt.

Ever wonder what makes quinoa a nutritious superfoods. Here are seven health benefits that quinoa has. 

1. Quinoa is one of the most protein-rich foods we can eat. It is a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids.

2. Quinoa contains almost twice as much fiber as most other grains. Fiber lowers cholesterol and glucose levels, may lower your risk of developing hemorrhoids and may help you to lose weight as it takes a longer time to chew than does other foods because it makes you feel fuller for longer and is less “energy dense” which means it has fewer calories for the same volume of food.

3. Quinoa contains Iron. Iron helps keep our red blood cells healthy and is the basis of hemoglobin formation. 

4. Quinoa contains lysine. Lysine is mainly essential for tissue growth and repair.

5. Quinoa is rich in magnesium. Magnesium helps to relax blood vessels and thereby to alleviate migraines. Other health benefits of magnesium include transmission of nerve impulses, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production, and the formation of healthy bones and teeth.

6. Quinoa is high in Riboflavin (B2). B2 improves energy metabolism within brain and muscle cells and is known to help create proper energy production in cells.

7. Quinoa has a high content of manganese. Manganese is an antioxidant, which helps to prevent damage of mitochondria during energy production as well as to protect red blood cells and other cells from injury by free radicals.

Enjoy! 

Finishing Up My Name Is Lucy Barton & Starting The Deep

My Name is Lucy Barton was a sweet book. I liked the idea and thought it was laid out nicely. But, I did get kind of bored after a while. I felt like it never really all came together. It was just a bunch of little stories put into a book. 

What did you think of the book. Here are a couple questions about the reading.

1. Lucy’s husband asked her mother to visit her in the hospital, and paid for her trip. Do you think that was a gesture of love on his part?
2. What role does the gossip Lucy and her mother share play in the book?
3. Do you think Lucy blames her mother for the more painful parts of her childhood? Could her mother have done better?
4. What did Sarah Payne mean, when she said to Lucy: “We only have one story”?

Our next book is The Deep by Nick Cutter. We will be starting it Wednesday June 15th and ending on Friday July 1st. 

Synopsis From Goodreads: A strange plague called the ’Gets is decimating humanity on a global scale. It causes people to forget—small things at first, like where they left their keys…then the not-so-small things like how to drive, or the letters of the alphabet. Then their bodies forget how to function involuntarily…and there is no cure. But now, far below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, deep in the Marianas Trench, an heretofore unknown substance hailed as “ambrosia” has been discovered—a universal healer, from initial reports. It may just be the key to a universal cure. In order to study this phenomenon, a special research lab, the Trieste, has been built eight miles under the sea’s surface. But now the station is incommunicado, and it’s up to a brave few to descend through the lightless fathoms in hopes of unraveling the mysteries lurking at those crushing depths…and perhaps to encounter an evil blacker than anything one could possibly imagine.

Lets Get Reading! 

Finishing Up This Census-Taker & Starting My Name Is Lucy Barton

I thought that This Census-Taker was kind of an odd book. But, I did enjoy it. It was way different than what I was expecting.

What did you think about This Census-Taker?

Was it what you were expecting?

Our next book is My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. We will be starting it Wednesday June 1st and ending on Wednesday June 15th.

Synopsis From Goodreads: Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn’t spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy’s childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable.


Lets Get Reading!

Finishing Up The Grownup & Starting This Census-Taker

All I can think right now is "what did I just read". I honestly could not even finish this short story. I got halfway through and could not read anymore. I am so disappointed. I loved Sharp Objects, Dark Places, and Gone Girl but this one I did not like at all. 

Book Club Questions About The Grownup:

1. If you have read Sharp Objects, Dark Places, or Gone Girl how do you think The Grownup compared? 

2. Did you enjoy this short read and wish it would of been longer? Or like me did you just want it to end?

3. If Gillian Flynn were to offer another short story would you be interested in reading it? 

Our next book is This Census-Taker by China Miéville. We will be starting it Monday May 16th and ending Wednesday June 1st. 

Synopsis From Goodreads: For readers of George Saunders, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell,This Census Taker is the poignant and uncanny new novella from award-winning and bestselling author China Miéville. After witnessing a profoundly traumatic event, a boy is left alone in a remote house on a hilltop with his increasingly deranged parent. When a stranger knocks on his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation are over—but by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? Is he the boy’s friend? His enemy? Or something altogether other?

Lets Get Reading! 

Finishing Up Confess & Starting The Grownup

I thought that Confess was a very sweet book. I usually don't really enjoy romance books but Confess was great. I really enjoyed reading it and wondering what was going to happen next. And when I finished Confess it just felt like all the puzzle pieces finally fell into place. It was a great read. 

What did you think of Confess? Were you happy with the way it ended? Were you sad that it was over? 

Our next book is The Grownup by Gillian Flynn.  We will be starting it Monday May 9th and ending it on Monday May 16th. 

Synopsis From Goodreads:'I watched the house. It watched me back through long, baleful windows so tall a child could stand in the sill. And one was. I could see the length of his thin body: gray trousers, black sweater, a maroon tie perfectly knotted at the neck. A thicket of dark hair covering his eyes...'

A young woman is making a living faking it as a cut-price psychic (with some illegal softcore sex work on the side). She makes a decent wage mostly by telling people what they want to hear. But then she meets Susan Burke.

Susan moved to the city one year ago with her husband and 15-year-old stepson Miles. They live in a modern Victorian house called Carter Hook Manor. Susan has become convinced that some malevolent spirit is inhabiting their home. The young woman doesn't believe in exorcism or the supernatural. However when she enters the house for the first time, she begins to feel it too, as if the very house is watching her, waiting, biding its time..

Lets Get Reading!