One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
One Plus One is the story of a single mom of three – a mathematical wunderkind daughter, the son of her estranged husband and his ex, and a stinky, lovable dog – and her fight to give her children a better life. When her daughter is offered a spot at a prestigious school with a generous scholarship, she must find a way to afford the rest. A math competition is announced, and the top prize is enough money to pay the school fees. The only […]
How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie & Associates
“Every man is entitled to be valued for his best moments.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson’s quote above sums up this book quite nicely. How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age is a lesson on effective relationship building, which can be applied to anyone in your life – personally or professionally. The authors write, “Which relationship is most strained in your life right now? What would it look like if you began focusing on that person’s best moments and sought to affirm […]
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
My complaint against Conversations with Friends is wholly not the fault of the novel, the writer, or the characters within. My complaint is petty. I am being spoiled in lamenting that Conversations with Friends is not another Normal People. I know. It’s a wild assumption, I should know better, and the like- but Normal People was perfect. Conversations with Friends is a stepping stone on the path of Sally Rooney, and I wish that I had heeded a friend’s recommendation and read this one first! That being said, Conversations with Friends also worms a way into […]
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Normal People is the feeling that immediately takes hold in your hands when you first pull away from someone that you love. It’s the deep, dull ache that comes from within your bones. The only way to ease the sensation is to try to take slow breaths- but you can’t and they rock through your lungs short and ragged. It’s packing up your car and driving away without an idea of when or how you’ll ever be near that person again. It’s the feeling when you […]
Eight Dates: Essential Conversations for a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman, Julie Schwartz Gottman, Doug Abrams, Rachel Carlton Abrams
Dr. John Gottman and Dr. Julie Schwartz Gottman are renowned psychologists who specialize in what makes happy, healthy, long-lasting romantic relationships work. One of John Gottman’s claims to fame is to be able to determine, with 94% accuracy, which couples are headed for divorce on the strength of a five minute snippet of conversation. I read Dr. Gottman’s Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work before I married my husband. Neither of our parents have marriages we wished to emulate, and research is my love language. […]
Like eleven million other Americans (literally!), I bought Gary Chapman’s 5 Love Languages at some point in my relationship. The gist of the book is that there are five “love languages” and everyone prefers one of them: time, touch, gifts, service, and words of affirmation. I remember liking it when I read it several years ago, but I was engaged at the time and it didn’t really stick. I remembered what it said about me (quality time!), but unfortunately not enough about what it said about […]
