So hey, happy Monday friends! If you're new here, let me start by letting you know this isn't a book review blog, although I very much enjoy reading. I even set up a little nook in my bedroom just for me to get lost in the pages of a book. I love reading so much that when my girlfriend Cassie asked me to join a little blogger book club last year I just couldn't refuse. We read one book a month, take turns choosing books for the group to read, and then once a month post our reviews of that month's book on our blogs. So if you're visiting Our Fifth House for the house stuff and could care less about the book stuff...........no worries at all. I usually post my monthly reviews on Sunday evening, but last night I had the worst headache. And because I'm already behind posting my review of February's chosen book I decided not to wait to next Sunday. Hope you don't mind.
February's book was I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum. I totally love the cover!
However the story............not so much. So basically this is the story of a married man who has an affair. The premise of the story is pretty darn typical in that we've seen this happen so many times before.....in books, in movies.......in real life. Man cheats on his wife......the wife finds out........the cheating man then decides he doesn't want his marriage to end. Trying to repair a marriage after you have had an extramarital affair, in my opinion, is like trying to superglue your wedding china back together after you threw it on a hardwood floor. It's almost impossible to pick up the pieces after so much damage has been done. And this book, this story, explores that scenario in a very real to life way. In many ways I found this story so close to real life that it left me feeling a little depressed. It probably didn't help that the main character (the cheating man) wasn't very likable. Not so much so because he was a cheater but because he was just so. darn. selfish.
I will say, the setting if nothing else kept me entertained. It's hard not to enjoy a story set in Paris and London. What I mostly pulled away from this book was confirmation that what I believe about marriage is true - love is a verb, it's an action word, it's something you choose to do every day, it's not a noun, it's not a place you can fall in and out of, it's you deciding on a daily basis to put someone else's feelings above your own, and when you decide to stop choosing love........that is when a marriage falls apart. Maybe that's naive......but that's what I know to be true.
I can't say this book was a favorite. I will say I think Courtney Maum is a great writer. Sometimes the stories that stick with you aren't the ones that leave you inspired, they're the ones that make you think. For that reason I think it's a worthy read.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? What was the last book you read that really made you stop and think? One that kind of got under skin?
Next month's book is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I already finished it and can't wait to share my review!
Curious about what our club has read in the past? Scroll down on the sidebar to the left for a list with clickable links to those reviews.
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