wily wiley reads.


one day by david nicholls ::: the novel that everyone has been talking about.  i read this after lin texted me over and over again as she read, completely in love with the book.  i have to say that i really did love this novel, and especially the way nicholls writes about the same date each day for twenty years.  it gives a great perspective on emma and dexter, the book's protagonists.  i'll admit that for the first few chapters i felt as though i had a lot in common with emma.  (i later came to realize she is a much better person than i am. ha.)  the way the conversation between these two very different individuals evolves over two decades is beautiful and well thought out.  i think nicholls did a great job of writing from dual perspectives while showing the changes of one's personality as they move through their lives.  this is a love story, a comedy, and mostly, a type of tragic tale.  i would liken this to 'when harry met sally,' but with more heart and a little less curly hair.

who will run the frog hospital? by lorrie moore ::: do i admit when i really didn't enjoy a book?   i think since this is my personal forum, i can be honest.  i didn't love this book.  i didn't stop reading it either, but my feelings are still up in the air.  i found moore's writing to be a bit to descriptive and i left the book without either having any real feelings about either of the main characters.  perhaps if i had similar experiences to the two teenage girls the novel focuses on, my feelings may be different.  in general i found the storyline to be disconnected: a grown woman in paris realizes her marriage is a failure and remembers the days she spent with her wild bestfriend in her teens.  i don't think i quite understood how one brought up the other.  i will say that i loved the references to a place called storyland, which sounds a heck of a lot like storyland in new hampshire.

what have you read lately?