So if you live in America (or the west) you are probably thinking, "well duh! These books have only been advertised all over town from B&N to Target and in theaters..." But if you are like me and don't get out much they are new and fresh. Either way they are good books so if you haven't read them, get to it.
I'll start with One Day since I have already finished it. First off I saw the previews for the movie first but thought it would be good to actually read it. Last summer while crashing on a friends couch I had asked her what she thought about it and she had recommended it. She works in publishing and seems to be a fairly good reader so I knew she would know what she was talking about. I normally don't read love stories (or stories falling in the Romance Genre) but I liked the idea of this book having a "thing."
That "thing" is the stories follow the lives of a boy and girl who meet in University. It follows them by showing one day, the same day- June 15th, every year. They aren't always together on that day and sometimes they aren't even friends anymore on that day, but they are connected in a way, even if it is just a fleeting thought at the end of the chapter. You have a feeling that somehow it is leading all to something so you continue reading so the book goes quickly.
The book follows Emma and Dexter, the brain and the cool kid, as they experience adulthood from 1988-2007. Like most books they struggle with careers, find and lose love, get old and lose sight of their dreams. Unlike most books it is set in a lot of grand locations (Edinburgh, London, Greece, Paris) and reads as part love story, part "blast from the past" as the pages are littered with references to the current year through music, movies, politics, and world events.
A lot of people read things and think, "Oh that is so me!" or "I can totally relate to that," but with this book I can definitely say, "I've been there." I'm not exactly like the main character, Emma, but I know this situation intimately. I know what it is like to have that friend "be there" even when they are in fact miles away and when we haven't spoken or exchanged mails in over half of a year. For me what got me with this book were the little moments. The one line at the end of the chapter that said something along the lines of, "I wish that friend could see this..." or "If it is any consolation to my embarassment, my friend will get a kick out of the story."
I will say that I felt the story was fairly fresh until the ending which seemed a little stock and aimed at a theater audience, but I will forgive it that. The book is claimed as being, "Hilarious!" and I will say that it is clever. I didn't "L O L" like I do with David Sedaris, but I did smile and think about quoting some spots on facebook. And I will give the male author huge credit for writing a female character so well. It was interesting to read a love story that showed both the male and female equally and accurately.
Anyway, if you don't know this book I highly suggest it.
The second book, Major Pettrigrew's Last Stand is one that I just started last night. I have only read two chapters but I am hooked, hooked, hooked. It is about the story of a widow getting involved with a widower. Seems like your average premise for a novel except that the widower is a 68 year old English man and the widow is a Pakistani/English woman who runs the local shop. The book starts with a death so already there is drama from the get go. Will write later whether it continues or falters...
It occurs to me that you are writing the book reports that most of us dreaded growing up. Some HS kid will find your blog and "write" reports on the books you are reading. I will say, though, that I can tell if I will like the book before I start.
ReplyDeleteI was the kid that loved doing those- especially in the class where you got extra credit if you did more. Or in PE where if you didn't bring clothes you had to write a book report. This made a lot of kids work harder at remembering their stuff, but I used it as an excuse to get out of days when we were doing push-ups, volleyball, etc
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started reading blogs I found one where a girl did this and I liked it because it shows me what is out there. Thought I would do the same for others.