44 Chapters about 4 Men [BB Easton- Book Review]

Rating: 4 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Forever Publishing

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. I chose it for the title alone, and then I was even more intrigued when I saw it was going to made into a Netflix series.I knew I was going to dive into this book uninhibited, but I had no idea I was going to stay up until 3 AM reading this book because I became so invested. This is probably one of the best memoirs I have ever read, which is strange because it is the opposite of the majority of the ones I read.

There is just something so addictive about a memoir where someone shares their sexual history and gives a glimpse into what their life is like. It is like a voyeuristic thrill I could not get enough of.

BB Easton has lived an interesting life. This memoir is a collection of her journal reminiscing about her boyfriends before she met and married her husband. I did not expect for the memoir to be so detailed, but she does not hold anything back. It also turns out she wrote fiction about each one of her ex boyfriends, and I was like, wow those are books I will be picking up sometime soon to compare with what I read in this book.

BB Easton talks about her 4 partners in life. 3 ex boyfriends and her husband. She writes the truth about her past, but she also embellishes because she wants her husband to be more attentive with her in certain ways.

Knight was her first boyfriend, and it became this very intense relationship. She holds nothing back as she talks about the sex they had, but she also touches on how tumultuous the relationship was. Knight was the scary first boyfriend who doesn’t know how to let go,, but when her husband reads her journal, it helps improve their sex life. I was a little bothered by her husband invading her privacy, but it seemed to make their life better so I think all things work differently for each person.

The other two boyfriends were Harley and Hans. Harley had gross teeth and weird tattoos. Hans was a musician. She also talks about sex with them, but I was not super interested in these stories.

Talking about her husband and modern life was what appealed most to me regarding this book. BB works as a school psychologist, her husband is an accountant, and they have two kids. I loved the domestic aspect of her life because she is honest in all things. She talks about her relationship not being perfect. But she loves her husband. She talks about how hard it is to have kids, but how they are amazing as well. Yes, this is a story about how she wants to make her husband different to make herself happy. But their relationship grows, and it is apparent they love each other deeply. Despite all of the TMI aspects of this book, I would definitely recommend it.

This book is funny, interesting, and insightful. It reminded me of being young and made me thankful for the person I became. I look forward to the series on Netflix to make a full comparison.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Know My Name [Book Review/Blogmas]

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Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Format: physical library book

Let me begin this by saying I wasn’t going to rate this. Not because it wasn’t amazing, because it was. But because I think a rating of such a personal story trivializes the story. So, I’m a little iffy about giving this a rating. Still, it’s such a beautiful and much needed story.

All I’m going to say is as someone who is a rape survivor, this book was hard to read. I was a victim for years at the hands of a family member and it’s still a painful experience.

I loved this book. It took me longer to digest because there is so much to process. It’s such a well written book, but it’s not easy to read. I’m sure you could just sit down and read it in a day, but I felt much better taking my time so I could get the full impact.

Chanel is such a strong person. I admire her for taking back her narrative and saying she’s a victim but not his victim. I just… wow. She is claiming herself back and showing her tenacity . She talks about the whole process of the journey embarked upon from going to a party and waking up to find out she was raped. There’s a lot of sadness in this book, but there’s a lot of beautiful elements. Chanel talks about her family and childhood… her life… everything. Yes, it’s hard to read about her dark times but those are so important. She shares about how she felt fine… then dealing with her trauma and finally telling her story. I don’t have enough words to commend her spirit and how amazing she is. Chanel is so bad ass.

Chanel also touches on other events happening around the same time. Things I had forgotten about and that others probably have too. She frames them in the context of the world around us and the injustices still happening today. We have become so numb to events happening we just accept them and never ask why is this occurring or what we can do to stop them. The events are Isla Vista shooting, the murder of Philando Castile, the election of Trump, the concession of Hillary Clinton, the Cosby trial, and a few others I can’t recall. But they are all important. Reading this books makes you realize how much we should be paying attention to the world and seeing we need to be better and do better. Victims are speaking all of the time, and we all need to listen.

I absolutely adore this book, and I think everyone should read it. Definitely one of the best books of 2019 and in general.

Sorry I’m Late… [Book Review]

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Format: Ebook via Hoopla

I knew I needed to read this book as soon as I saw it. I’m a shy introvert as well. Or as this book calls it, shintrovert. I love books like this because I can read about someone else’s experience from the safety of my own home. Yes, I’m the full on introvert. It’s why I read so many books, binge so much Hulu, and usually avoid leaving my house. Reading this book was terrifying and exhilarating.

Jessica Pan really puts herself out there. She goes from shintrovert to full extrovert. I literally couldn’t imagine doing some of the things she’s doing, but I did love to read about them. I don’t want to give away the entirety of the memoir since I think it’s so worth reading, but I want to highlight two things she did I really could not stop reading about.

Jessica joins Bumble BFF.

Jessica lets a company choose where she travels to.

Both of these are interesting but scary prospects. I have always wanted one of those best friends you read about or see on television where you’re so connected it’s like you’re the same person. It’s a pipe dream. But still. She takes initiative to meet total strangers and try to form friendships. I can’t imagine doing something like this, but I admire her doing it. I know I need to get better to try to make more friends. Just don’t know if I could do it via an app.

The travel thing is just… no. I want to know where I’m going and plan everything perfectly. Especially so I don’t get murdered. That’s just me.

This entire book is so interesting, because if you’re an introvert, you’re screaming at her to stop the madness. I’m sure extroverts just do these things as like part of their life. I definitely enjoyed this book and would read it again. I think it’s good for introverts to see there’s a whole big world and extroverts to see sometimes people just don’t want to do things. I would also read more from Pan.