My Favorite Wife by Tony Parsens

My Favorite Wife is the story of a lawyer, Bill Horden who brings his young family from London to Shanghai, China. He will be made partner in a couple of years so that he and his family can have better life.

However not everything in Shanghai are what they have expected. There are farmers have their land ripped away from them, babies being thrown into trashcans, and there are women selling their bodies to earn a living.

Their lifestyle also has changed a lot. Bill always leave the home early for work and come back after his wife Becca and his daughter Holly have gone to bed. He spent very little time with his family and most of his time at work, entertaining the clients after working hours.

After Holly's sudden asthma attack, Becca shock at finding a baby in the trash, and at the same time worrying on her sick father back home, Becca demands to go back to London. Leave Bill alone in Shanghai.

In Paradise Mansions, the place where Bill and his family are staying has a group of young women being kept as mistresses by rich married men – some local, some foreigners. After Becca and Holly went back to London, Bill gets lonely and strikes up much more than a friendship with the beautiful JinJin Li, one of the ladies from that group of young women. And you probably can guess what happen next.

The second half of the book mainly talks about Bill being alone in Shanghai and his interactions with JinJin Li. I dislike the fact that he knew he should not do it, he knew it is wrong and yet the next minute he has forgotten about it and go all out with her.

The story of the book made me in low mood for quite a while as it brought back some bad memories. I feel dissatisfied about the ending of the book. Not that I don't like the ending but I feel it is a bit rush. The author jumps to the ending without talking much about the interactions between Bill and Becca on this issue. In fact this book mainly focuses on Bill. There is no much mention about Becca after knowing her husband has betrayed her. There is no much details about her feelings and how she can forgive her husband on this matter.

I won't say this book is not a good read. In fact it is a very interesting book because it’s a Westerner’s point of view of Asian life. But it's not a book to make you feel comfortable, not for me.   

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Then Sings My Soul Special Edition By Robert Morgan

Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan is a compilation of 150 Christian hymns and the stories behind them, of the people whose faith led them to write these wonderful seasonal hymns and the people whose faith was affected by reading, hearing, and singing the songs. The book includes the music and lyrics for each hymn, along with a brief synopsis of the lyricist and/or composer. Hymns range from Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Patriotic, and other well loved hymns. The music and lyrics and the stories are printed side by side so it is very easy to read and make reference to each other. If you enjoy history, you will find this book to be an enjoyable and enlightening read. This book will also make a great gift for anyone who loves the religious hymns of the seasons. 

I rate this book 3 out of 5 star. 

Note: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

November

This month is my birthday month, but that does not bring any good luck to me. On the other hand, I feel I was doomed from the start of the month.

I'm still waiting for my last year birthday's prezzie. Yes last year. I did not get my birthday present last year that I requested. So I requested for something else and I'm still waiting for it. As for this year birthday present, I will only get it next month. Because it only available early next month.

And within the same week, I feel like I have lost two friendships. One of them accused me for things that I did not say and did not do. Later he realized he made a mistake. He mistaken the person was me but in fact it is someone else. I feel hurt and disappointed, because he was not a stranger to me. We know each other for quite some time and I was surprised that he believed I would say such thing. This show how weak our friendship is. On top of that, after he had realised that he made a mistake on it, he did not even come apologize to me! I know he has his other own issues and problems but hey if you made a mistake, don't you suppose to say sorry? Everyone has their own issues and problems. But I think we should be responsible on our action. Have done something wrong, then say sorry and apologize. I'm teaching my 2.5 years old to say sorry too!

Another incident happened due to some friends from other country did not understand our culture and belief. I did not blame him for not understanding but please stop attacking us. We are the victims and yet we are the one being blamed here.

I also could not get full support and help when I need it. I have been constantly helping, guiding and doing lots of favor for people but now what am I getting in return? Should I go back to the old me, close up myself from people around me?

Just when I was feeling sad and down, there is this friend who never stop cheering me up. And what most, he offered his help. I should feel grateful at least there is still someone who treats me well. Sigh. Despite he is just someone who I met in the online game, we never met each other in real life, and we also don't interact with each other outside the game, and yet hubby got jealous about him. I have never met someone that will never reject a request if within his capability. And in return, I also return all favors that he asked. In another way, I don't want to owe him anything. You help me, I help you back. That's all. To me, there's no reason for hubby to be jealous. It's not that something will happen. This guy is more than 10 years younger than me! And I'm a very rational person. Feel like hubby does not trust me. Sigh.

One and a half month more, year 2010 will end and another new year is coming. Feel like I have accomplished nothing in this year. Looks like I need to plan a day off to do things that will make me feel better.