Tag Archives: What I’m Reading

What I’m Reading: Me Before You

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From Goodreads.com:
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

My review:

I think I’m a few years late getting on the Jojo Moyes train, but after seeing this book pop up on my “Recommended Reads” list more than once I was delighted to receive it as a birthday gift! It took me longer to read because real books don’t come with backlights like ebooks do, but I found myself picking it up and chewing through it whenever I had the chance!

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading it, to be honest. Love story? Survival story? The subject matter is a touchy one, even four years after Moyes penned this book, but I think it was “handled” very well. It wasn’t tip-toed around, but it wasn’t in-your-face either.  I’m so glad that Lou & Will’s romantic feelings towards one another didn’t overshadow the “real” story of the book. As much as I wanted Lou & Will’s romantic storyline to develop more, I’m glad it wasn’t the main focus.

Is it obvious that I loved the characters? Lou’s free spirit balanced out Will’s (understandable) stubborn arse behaviour, and I enjoyed their friendly banter.

Honesty time: I never expected Lou to change Will’s mind. Did I want her to? Absolutely. As much as I believed that Lou could make Will unbelievably happy, I understand that there would always be something missing for Will. Will’s ultimate decision just goes to show that despite how “happy” a person may seem on the outside, you cannot deny how they actually feel on the inside – especially when they go through something as traumatic and life-altering as Will did. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to help a person see the brighter side of things, a part of them will always dwell on the life that’s no longer theirs. It hurts the heart, but a person’s choice. I will not judge Will one bit for the decision he made.

I’ve already added the sequel to me “To Read” list and I’m looking forward to reading more about Lou and her life after Will. I gave Me Before You 5 stars out of 5.

 

What I’m Reading: Where’d You Go, Bernadette

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13526165From Goodreads.com:
Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.

My review:
I really wanted to enjoy Where’d You Go, Bernadette after hearing so many rave reviews. I wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but I felt a little let down by it in the end.

The characters themselves were all great. I loved reading about Bernadette and all her craziness, although sometimes she seemed to be a little too crazy. Why her husband didn’t intervene earlier and try and get her help is beyond me, especially considering the state of their “house” and her agoraphobia.

The way the story was put together didn’t quite make the mark for me. When I read the book cover I thought the story would be more about Bee trying to figure out where her mother disappeared to. Instead, it was a little discombobulated and when Bernadette finally does disappear, the remainder of the story seems rushed and plot lines seem unfinished. (What about Soo-Lin? Audrey?) I was rapidly turning the pages to see what happens, only to feel a little let down.

(I’d also like to know what Bernadette has against us Canadians, haha!)

Still, Where’d You Go, Bernadette is still an OK read. There a hint of satire and sarcasm that really spoke to me, so I’m still going to give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

 

What I’m Reading: Crazy Rich Asians

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18373213From Goodreads.com:
When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.
 
On Nick’s arm, Rachel may as well have a target on her back the second she steps off the plane, and soon, her relaxed vacation turns into an obstacle course of old money, new money, nosy relatives, and scheming social climbers.

My review:
Perhaps it’s my Asian genes, but I was really drawn to this book when I was browsing through the online bookstore. It sat on my Wishlist for a while and I finally decided to download it last week. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down!

There are SO many things that made to go, “THAT’S MY FAMILY!” Not the rich part, obviously, but there were elements that I could totally relate to. (My husband lovingly refers to me as ‘Chincy Chow’ from time to time.)

Aside from the bits of relatability, Crazy Rich Asians is a fun, easy read. The lack of character development and plot seems to be a bone of contention with many people who have read the book, but I think the author wanted the main focus of the book to be the ricidulous over-the-top spending of the Singaporean wealthy rather than the character’s inner hopes and dreams. (I noticed that there’s a sequel to Crazy Rich Asians, so perhaps we’ll learn more there.)

I truly enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud a lot! Sure, the characters are shallow, but what crazy rich person isn’t? I still gave Crazy Rich Asians 5 stars out of 5.