luvtoread

It’s the first Saturday of the month, and that means it’s time for Six Degrees of Separation! That fun meme hosted by Kate at booksaremyfavouriteandbest where she gives us bloggers a title and then we use that title to link to other titles. I always have such a fun time with this meme!

*** This post contains affiliate links. The links to Amazon are affiliate links which means that if you click the link and make a purchase, then I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.***

This month we’re heading to a book that I haven’t read, and to be honest, I hadn’t heard of this title before! So we’ll see where this title will lead me. This month’s starting title is:

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

 Official Synopsis from Goodreads: Desire as we’ve never seen it before: a riveting true story about the sex lives of three real American women, based on nearly a decade of reporting.

It thrills us and torments us. It controls our thoughts and destroys our lives. It’s all we live for. Yet we almost never speak of it. And as a buried force in our lives, desire remains largely unexplored—until now. Over the past eight years, journalist Lisa Taddeo has driven across the country six times to embed herself with ordinary women from different regions and backgrounds. The result, Three Women, is the deepest nonfiction portrait of desire ever written.

We begin in suburban Indiana with Lina, a homemaker and mother of two whose marriage, after a decade, has lost its passion. She passes her days cooking and cleaning for a man who refuses to kiss her on the mouth, protesting that “the sensation offends” him. To Lina’s horror, even her marriage counselor says her husband’s position is valid. Starved for affection, Lina battles daily panic attacks. When she reconnects with an old flame through social media, she embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming.

In North Dakota we meet Maggie, a seventeen-year-old high school student who finds a confidant in her handsome, married English teacher. By Maggie’s account, supportive nightly texts and phone calls evolve into a clandestine physical relationship, with plans to skip school on her eighteenth birthday and make love all day; instead, he breaks up with her on the morning he turns thirty. A few years later, Maggie has no degree, no career, and no dreams to live for. When she learns that this man has been named North Dakota’s Teacher of the Year, she steps forward with her story—and is met with disbelief by former schoolmates and the jury that hears her case. The trial will turn their quiet community upside down.

Finally, in an exclusive enclave of the Northeast, we meet Sloane—a gorgeous, successful, and refined restaurant owner—who is happily married to a man who likes to watch her have sex with other men and women. He picks out partners for her alone or for a threesome, and she ensures that everyone’s needs are satisfied. For years, Sloane has been asking herself where her husband’s desire ends and hers begins. One day, they invite a new man into their bed—but he brings a secret with him that will finally force Sloane to confront the uneven power dynamics that fuel their lifestyle.

Based on years of immersive reporting, and told with astonishing frankness and immediacy, Three Women is a groundbreaking portrait of erotic longing in today’s America, exposing the fragility, complexity, and inequality of female desire with unprecedented depth and emotional power. It is both a feat of journalism and a triumph of storytelling, brimming with nuance and empathy, that introduces us to three unforgettable women—and one remarkable writer—whose experiences remind us that we are not alone.

Links:   Amazon |   Goodreads

Well, this is a title that I will probably never read. It just doesn’t sound all that interesting to me, and instead of linking based on the content of the novel here, I’ll instead go a more chaste route and do a link based on the title of the book. The title of Three Women instantly made me think of the book:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Links:   Amazon |   Goodreads

 There’s a new movie based on the book coming out this Christmas, and I’m looking forward to it! The preview looks amazing, and has a slightly different focus than other Little Women adaptations, as this one looks to have a bit more of Meg and Amy. We’ll see! The actress playing Jo is Saoirse Ronan, and she stars in the movie adaptation of my next link:

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

Links:   Amazon   |   Goodreads

 I haven’t actually read this book yet, nor have I seen the movie, but I hope to at some point! I’ve heard good things about both! The setting of Brooklyn is the link to my next selection:

The Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Links:   Amazon   |   Goodreads   |   My Review

 This is a story set in Brooklyn in which two women make a decision that has drastic repercussions for each of their families. Another book that involves childbirth, decisions, and sticky situations is:

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Links:   Amazon |   Goodreads

 An interesting book that brings up many moral issues. The Light Between Oceans is a great discussion book, and while I remember the main plot points of it, what I remember most about it is that it was set in Australia. I believe the last book I read that was set in Australia was:

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Links:   Amazon   |   Goodreads   |   My Review

 Set at a health spa out in the middle of nowhere in Australia, the main character in this novel is named Frances. I’ve heard that Nicole Kidman will be bringing this novel to the screen, and that she’ll be playing the role of Frances. Now, there is nothing about the character of Frances that brings Nicole Kidman to my mind. I was shocked to hear that she’d be playing Frances, but I did read a book recently that had a perfect role for Nicole Kidman in it:

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Links:   Amazon   |   Goodreads

My review of this read will be coming out soon, and I immediately pictured Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Barbour when I read this! I haven’t seen the movie yet, but so far it looks to be perfectly cast!

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There’s my Six Degrees for this month! Have you read any of these books? Seen any of these movies?