Reviews

Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun

debi_g's review against another edition

3.0

"Only sometimes do I catch glimpses of how good I have it" (147).

"I know this in my heart: my life with this man is the best of all possible worlds" (148).

"Dating is poetry. Marriage is a novel. There are times, maybe years, that are all exposition" (33).

"We undergo just a few major transitions in our life--from nonexistence to existence at birth, from nonparent to parent, from existence to nonexistence at death. Marriage is the one transition that's completely under our control" (138).

"Maybe along with the standard wedding presents, we should be given a bingo card with squares fro stressors both major and minor...then we could see suffering as a game" (144).

"The way I look at it, when you get married, you have these rough edges. Everyone does. And then as you stay together, you wear down each other's rough edges, until they're smooth" (84).

annaroses's review

fast-paced

4.5

leasummer's review against another edition

5.0

I could relate to these essays - parts of all of them. I think it should be read by everyone who is married or plans to get married. Be nice, don’t get divorced.

kokenyreka's review against another edition

I expected actual toasts, but these are just essays made up of random anecdotes and way too many quotes, barely held together by a common thread. 

kit_kate's review against another edition

reflective

3.25

brothena's review

fast-paced

1.5

 I don't remember how I came to put this on my TBR, but was looking for something light as my next audiobook and this seemed a breezy "real" perspective on marriage. I was hoping for some tongue-in-cheek wisdom, which this really wasn't at all.

There's a lot of focus on viewing yourself and partner as fallible humans, which I think is good form and some of the ol' reliable "Don't want to get divorced? Stay married", but so much of this explored the spectrum of infidelity and feelings around seeking it or dealing with its aftermath that it felt like it took over the whole book. 

There were some moments I liked, but overall, not what I expected or was looking for. a quick read/ listen. I like to write in here who I'd recommend to, and the best I can think of is to those looking to normalize or feeling insecure about about wanting to seek affection outside of their marriage??? 

"Exposition establishes the plot. The boring parts don't last forever. In retrospect, they aren't even boring."

"No affair could ever be as hot as having the moral high ground" 

leannaaker's review against another edition

3.0

Really mixed feelings about this one....sometimes I loved the raw stories, sometimes I felt that the whole story was the author asking for forgiveness for her marriage mistakes, and sometimes it felt like a backwards, depressing hallmark movie. Worth a listen, but.....

katreadsalot's review against another edition

4.0

This was my first non-fiction read in a while, and it was exactly what I needed. I appreciated the perspective on marriage, and I could relate to so many of the circumstances that Calhoun described. I liked this on audio (narrated by the author), but probably would have appreciated the print/e-book copy so I could underline/notate.

literatehedgehog's review against another edition

4.0

An insightful collection of essay musings on marriage. I found myself wanting to read aloud so many passages to my husband - or at least summarizing each chapter for him. The kind of book I'd want on my shelves, to come back to at different times in our marriage.

lexiww's review against another edition

5.0

A luminescent meditation on long-term matrimony that should be required reading after year one.