To be honest, I’m a little bit sick of marriage books. I read so many when I was doing research for my books that I kind of subconsciously swore off of them for the next couple years. Sometimes, I feel like they’re all just saying the same ol’ thing.

However.

Can I just say that I REALLY enjoyed Kathi Lipp‘s The Husband Project? Not the same ol’ thing.

I love her writing style. Natural, flowing, FUNNY, not cheesy, REAL, not overly poetic.

And The Husband Project? What a great idea! Loving on your husband in such practical (and easy) ways. I sometimes shy away from “idea” books because I know I’ll never actually implement them. And while I’ve totally cheated on the HP (21 Days of Loving Your Man–on Purpose and with a Plan), I’ve really done some of them too. She’s inspiring!

Kathi tells you right off the bat to hide the book from your husband. (I wonder if she’s going to get flak for it, because a woman wrote me once and said that my book encouraged keeping secrets from/lying to my husband. Uh…)

I can totally see why you shouldn’t let your hubby see the book. I wanted to blog about it quite awhile ago, but Mr. T. reads my blog. And then he found the book. And then he was all, “So, you’re going to be nice to me for three weeks?” and a bunch of other stuff. Grrrr…

It’s not dishonesty. It’s just not full disclosure. And believe me, the projects work better if your husband isn’t reading ahead in the book.

What are some of the projects? Give him 30 minutes of nag-free Free Time when he gets home. Say something nice about him to someone else (and make sure he finds out). Give him a food treat he doesn’t have to share with you or the kiddos. Help him with a project. Wear something he really likes. Get rid of one of the stressors in his life. Watch a guy movie with him.

See? Not so hard! And actually, they’re all really sweet things you can do to show your husband you love and appreciate him.

The longer we’re married, the more nice things Gabe does for me. And I’ve fallen into the trap of taking much of it for granted. NO MORE! I’m going to start making mental lists of every tiny thing he does to bless me, and I’m going to bless him back double. God picked me a good one, and I’m hanging on to him.

And, oh, I should mention the 3 BONUS projects. They each involve the same 3-letter word. Nice.

Generous Kathi sent me 2 copies of the book–one to keep and one to give away to a lucky reader. (It’s signed and everything.)

Here’s how you can win this very-funny, very-well-written, very-helpful book:

Leave a comment answering one of the following questions:

1. What is your husband’s favorite food/restaurant?

2. What is your husband’s favorite movie?

And you know what? If you’re not married and would like to win the book for a friend who is, tell me YOUR favorite food or movie.

U.S. addresses only. I’ll draw the winner first thing on Monday, September 28. Thanks for sharing your book with us, Kathi!

Have a great weekend, friends!!