Two weeks ago, I was SO excited to write a weekly book review and link up with Heather & Megan every Friday. What perfect inspiration to read a new book every week and to keep track of everything I read!
But as much as I love blogging, there is something (someone) I love more.
The boyfriend. :)
WHO SPONTANEOUSLY VISITED ME LAST WEEKEND!!!!!
As in, he bought a ticket Friday afternoon, left work early, and drove straight to the airport with nothing but the clothes on his back.
So basically I was too busy floating on air last Friday to write a book review for the AWESOME book I'd finished earlier that week for my book club.*
But hey, I'm back, and excited to post my review for Book Club Friday! Since I missed last week, I will be regaling y'all with TWO reviews. Oh, yeah.
My book club met for the first time two Sundays ago. I picked our first book, the brilliant nonfiction work Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, months ago. When did I get around to reading it? Two Saturdays ago aka the day before we met. But hey! I'm a fast reader. I can do crazy stuff like that.
I've wanted to read this book for, oh, more than ten years. I first visited Savannah, GA in middle school, on a Girl Scout trip. (Juliette Gordon Low founded the Girl Scouts of the United States of America there). But my mom said it was "too adult" for me.** My family vacationed there for spring break when I was in the ninth grade. My mom still said I couldn't read it. Ridiculous. I gave up trying, and more or less forgot about it until I signed up for goodreads.com last summer. I added it to my "To Read" list, and voila! I read it!
I don't read very much nonfiction, but John Berendt tells this story in such an intriguing way that it reads like a novel. The characters are so eccentric--it's easy to forget they are based on real people!
The book starts off slowly, but I like the introduction of all the characters and their complicated relationships with each other. It really sets the scene for the rest of the book.
The plot centers around a murder investigation and the subsequent murder trial(s). Saying much more than that gives too much away. Just take my word for it. This book is awesome.
Confession: As much as I cherish real books, the feel of thumbing through the pages to find where I stopped, the smell of ink... I also own a kindle. I don't just own a kindle; I love my kindle.
Now, in my defense, the whole inspiration behind my kindle was my desperate desire to read books in English when I worked in France my second year. It was a Christmas present from my folks, and a real boon when I traveled. One teeny kindle holds many many books, which is great when you're backpacking across France.
You know what else is great? Buying digital books for $0.99 to $2.99. Sometimes they're shit, but sometimes I get extraordinarily lucky. Like this time.
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park is a genre-defying book that left me an emotional wreck, desperate to run to my boyfriend and stay in his arms forever. At times I was laughing uproariously at the witty dialogue, so reminiscent of conversations with the boyfriend. A chapter later, I'd discover tears streaming down my face. It was seriously SO brilliant.
The novel follows Julie Seagle's freshman year of college. Her first challenge? Finding somewhere to live when she gets screwed over via Craig's List. Enter the Watkins family, nice enough to put her up... But very eccentric. Something is very... off in this family, and Julie struggles to uncover the cause of their strange behavior.
It's hard to describe without giving so much away. But I will add that Matt Watkins, the older MIT student, is SO much like my own boyfriend that he was my favorite character almost immediately. I will also say that an awesome plot twist emerges. I did predict it, but only a chapter or two in advance. It's mind-blowing.
I can't promise to write another awesome book review next week. I'm moving to Canada on Wednesday, so I'm a little preoccupied...
*I love my book club! Too bad I'll have to skype for subsequent meetings. :(
**Pretty sure she was concerned about the homosexual themes. Not the murder. Oh, Mom...
You know what else is great? Buying digital books for $0.99 to $2.99. Sometimes they're shit, but sometimes I get extraordinarily lucky. Like this time.
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park is a genre-defying book that left me an emotional wreck, desperate to run to my boyfriend and stay in his arms forever. At times I was laughing uproariously at the witty dialogue, so reminiscent of conversations with the boyfriend. A chapter later, I'd discover tears streaming down my face. It was seriously SO brilliant.
The novel follows Julie Seagle's freshman year of college. Her first challenge? Finding somewhere to live when she gets screwed over via Craig's List. Enter the Watkins family, nice enough to put her up... But very eccentric. Something is very... off in this family, and Julie struggles to uncover the cause of their strange behavior.
It's hard to describe without giving so much away. But I will add that Matt Watkins, the older MIT student, is SO much like my own boyfriend that he was my favorite character almost immediately. I will also say that an awesome plot twist emerges. I did predict it, but only a chapter or two in advance. It's mind-blowing.
I can't promise to write another awesome book review next week. I'm moving to Canada on Wednesday, so I'm a little preoccupied...
*I love my book club! Too bad I'll have to skype for subsequent meetings. :(
**Pretty sure she was concerned about the homosexual themes. Not the murder. Oh, Mom...
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