This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

This is Where I Leave You
Jonathan Tropper

“You have to look at what you have right in front of you, at what it could be, and stop measuring it against what you've lost. I know this to be wise and true, just as I know that pretty much no one can do it.”

“You're terrified of being alone. Anything you do now will be motivated by that fear. You have to stop worrying about finding love again. It will come when it comes. Get comfortable with being alone. It will empower you.” 

As  I have said in a past blog post, Jonathan Tropper is one of my favorite authors right now. He writes about hard issues in life (issues which he may or may not have went through himself) but turns them into something light and humorous. As I think back about the book, it is probably one of the most effective combinations of heartbreak and hilariousness that I have ever read! This is the first book that I had read from Tropper and now I am addicted, I want to read all of his other books as well (the other two that I have read of him - Everything Changes and One Last Thing Before I Go are fantastic as well!).

The main character, Judd, is asked to come home to mourn his late fathers death that had been battling cancer. His family is Jewish and Judd's fathers' last wish apparently was to have all the family come together for this event and mourn together - sitting shiva (lasts seven days). Meanwhile, Judd's personal life is crumbling into pieces - he caught his ex-wife in bed with his boss, she is newly pregnant, he quit his job, and doesn't know where to go now in life. The book focuses mostly on the family but through Judd's eyes as he tells the story through past and present tense. This was a really good format for this book - it is good to have a lot of background information.

The tone of the novel is funny and sad - it is a great mixture to make the story flow and for the readers to really connect with the characters. THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU - those words, this book - can take you, if not where you want to go, or at least away from where you need to not be.

This novel is actually being turned into a movie (Tropper wrote the film's screenplay). It comes out in September 2014 and I am quite excited about it, I hope the actors and the directors do the book justice. Jason Bateman is playing Judd Foxman and Tina Fey is playing his ex-wife.

Till the next review! :)
Rebekka.

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

The Lover's Dictionary
David Levithan

“recant, v.
I want to take back at least half of the “I love you”s, because I didn’t mean them as much as the other ones. I want to take back the book of artsy photos I gave you, because you didn’t get it and said it was hipster trash. I want to take back what I said about you being an emotional zombie. I want to take back the time I called you “honey” in front of your sister and you looked like I had just shown her pictures of us having sex. I want to take back the wineglass I broke when I was mad, because it was a nice wineglass and the argument would have ended anyway. I want to take back the time we had sex in a rent-a-car, not because I feel bad about the people who got in the car after us, but because it was massively uncomfortable. I want to take back the trust I had while you were away in Austin. I want to take back the time I said you were a genius, because I was being sarcastic and I should have just said you’d hurt my feelings. I want to take back the secrets I told you so I can decide now whether to tell them to you again. I want to take back the piece of me that lies in you, to see if I truly miss it. I want to take back at least half the “I love you”s, because it feels safer that way.” 

I read this book within a day. It was beautifully written and not your "typical" novel. It reads like poetry and keeps the reader intrigued all the way through the book. Levithan tells the story in a very neat way - he writes the love story as a series of dictionary entries and highlights parts of the relationship in each of the entries. The entries make a reader happy, sad, and angry - they also make you laugh and your heart may break a little bit. The love story is real - messy and complicated but touching.

The story is about an unnamed couple who's love story is being told through dictionary entries. The narrator is a guy who is writing the entries while the girl just enhances the narrator. As there relationship goes on, it gets harder for the both of them (like it typically does for everyone in a relationship). Readers are left wondering if they decide to stay together or go there own way.

The timeline of the story umps around quite a bit but it does make sense in the end. Readers are always at the edge of their seats to what comes next - what will change in their relationship. There are equal parts of sad and happy and definitely has its lovey-dovey parts. This was a great easy read, I definitely recommend it!

Just wanted to share some of the dictionary entries with you! Here are some of them:

• better, adj. and adv.
  Will is ever get better?
  It better.
  Will it ever get better?
  It better.
• bolster, v.
  I am very careful whenever I know you're on the phone with your father, I know you'll come to me eventually, and we'll talk you through it. But I have to wait - you need your time. In the meantime, I'm careful what songs I play. I try to speak to you with my selections.
• corrode, v.
  I spent all this time building a relationship. Then one night I left the window open, and it started to rust.

Read and find out what the other dictionary entries read about! Till the next review!

Rebekka.

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen

A Street Cat Named Bob

James Bowen

“People don’t want to listen. All they see is someone they think is trying to get a free ride. They don’t understand I’m working, I’m not begging. I was actually trying to make a living. Just because I wasn't wearing a suit and a tie and carrying a briefcase or a computer, just because I didn't have a payslip and a P45, it didn't mean that I was freeloading.”

I wouldn't recommend this book to any unless they are a major cat lover and want to read a heart warming story. Any cat lover would love to get to know Bob and his story. The book is kind of flat and boring at parts, same with being repetitive. This is why this is only a book for cat lovers, I think every other reader will be bored with the novel.

The story is about James Bowen, a recovering drug addict, living in a shelter and making as much money as he could to get by. A tabby cat named Bob was sitting by his shelter one day when Bowen came home. Bowen couldn't help but nursing and caring for the cat and sending him on his way. Bob didn't want to go anywhere, so he hung around Bowen.

Since Bob and Bowen became inseparable, they took on the streets with each other and helped each other out. The both have troubled pasts but still form a firm companionship and bond. Life does not get any easier for the both of them but with the love they have for each other, they manage to overcome everything that is thrown at them.

While reading this book, you may come to have a new love for cats. They are so smart and clever and know how to take care of their owners just how we take care of them. Everyone needs a cat in their life. So all of you cat lovers out there, you should definitely read this book! After the novel, you can can still follow James and Bob's story on Twitter! :)

Till the next review!

Rebekka.

The Red House by Mark Haddon

The Red House
Mark Haddon

"It wasn't about believing this or that, it wasn't even about good and evil and right and wrong, it was about finding the strength to bear the discomfort that came with being in the world."

I loved The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, so I was really excited to pick up this book and read it (this was also the first book that I read this year). By reading the first 50 pages, I was extremely disappointed but kept on reading to see if it got any better (in my opinion...it didn't). This is a book about death, it begins with a death, but nowhere is the struggle with this most human of problems made effective. Haddon provides lip service to a concept of death but he does fall short and it is in my opinion that the subject matter is beyond him.

The book doesn't have one main character telling the story, their are eight people trying to tell the reader the story all at once. A brother and sister and their families go on a week long vacation with one another after their mother dies and that is where the story begins. The point of view shifts from one person in one paragraph to the next person in the next paragraph, but there were many times where the switch occurred right in the middle of the paragraph. This made the story really confusing and I had to reread many different parts of the book to keep track of what was going on.

I thought that all the characters had great stories behind them. Mark Haddon probably could have written them all their own book if he wanted too. There was the sister who was going crazy over memories of an unborn child many years ago, the husband who was having an affair, the brother who was learning that his wife had multiple secrets and had to learn how to be a better husband, and a daughter who was coming to terms with her sexual orientation. It was too bad that you couldn't focus your attention on one character, instead you had to focus on all eight. Maybe some people would like this type of writing and likes lots of drama in their choice of books, I will leave this book up to you if you want to give it a chance or not!

Till the next review!
Rebekka.

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Trooper

One Last Thing Before I Go
Jonathan Trooper

"We don't stop loving people because we hate them, but we don't stop hating them either."

"There are some people out there who don't wait for what comes next. They decide what should come next and they go and make it happen."

First of all, all of Jonathan Trooper's novels seem life-like. It seems like he lived through all of the experiences that his fictional characters have to deal with. I am not sure though if he has or not. I haven't researched his on his own before. I have enjoyed all of his other books, including this one, because I love how he gives his main characters a poignantly funny voice as they try to get a handle on their past, present, and future. Trooper is comfortable at throwing humor into his books as he deals with some emotional, hard issues but this never feels forced. His novels flow nicely and have a nice balance to them.

This book especially, the main character (a middle-aged man) has some difficult struggles to overcome with his entire life and somehow he figures out to live his life at the end. Drew Silver is the main characters name. He used to be an almost famous drummer (had a couple one hit wonders before his band decided to go their own separate ways) and he was never all that good at being a husband or a father to his one daughter. He finds it much easier to do nothing than risk disappointing others or himself. He finds out that his ex-wife is getting remarried and that his daughter is pregnant with some random boys' baby and he doesn't know how to take all that. One day, he finds himself laying in a hospital bed after having a mini aneurysm. The doctors tell him that he needs to have an operation to save his life or else he was die, but he refuses the entire operation. Instead, Silver wants to take the short time that he has left to live to become a better man, be a better father, and to fall in love. He is caught in the middle of everyone in his life on what he should do with his life now. Some questions that will come up in the novel and to get you thinking are:

• Does he end up getting the surgery?
• Does he have a random hookup with his ex wife?
• Does his daughter end up keeping the baby?
• What is life actually all about?

Trooper takes you on an enjoyable and engrossing ride, one that makes you laugh, makes you smile, and maybe even tears you up just a little bit. I know that I did all of those things while I was reading this particular novel. I am sure all readers will love this one!

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion

“I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you.”

The Rosie Project = totally addicted.

I could not put this novel down and I tried pretty hard. This is a classic love story but written in the view point of a man. I loved it, it was a nice change having a man tell the love story rather than  a women. I fell in love with both characters of the book and ended up reading it in two and a half days.

Don, the main character, is a university professor, genetic scientist, has a schedule and a plan for everything, lives everyday the same way, and has an extreme case of OCD. But he still wanted a wife and once he has an idea in his head, he is going to follow through. Don made a questionnaire to hand out to women to find the "perfect wife" for himself - this questionnaire is hilarious and a glorified paper way of online dating.

When Don met Rosie, she was the total opposite of everything he stated in his questionnaire. She is very beautiful and smart but she has so many flaws that he doesn't think that he will be able to get over. Don knew that Rosie was unsuitable for him but she needed help finding her biological father (the Father Project). He thought that since he was a genetic scientist and that he liked building schedules and plans, this would be the perfect project for him to be in with her. In the middle of the Father Project, Don falls in love. He found himself learning about himself and also about other people. He found himself having fun in Rosie's company and begins to wonder what life was really about.

This was such an awesome book! I have already recommended it to a few friends and they enjoyed the story just as much as I did. It was a great read and a little different that other typical love stories. I can see this being made into a movie within a few years and I cannot wait! I highly recommend this book, I know for sure that you will enjoy it. :)

Till the next review!
Rebekka.

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

The First Phone Call from Heaven
Mitch Albom

"A beautifully rendered tale of faith snd redemption that makes us think, feel, and hope - - and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do." - Garth Stein

"What if the end is not the end?"

"There are two stories for every life; the one you live and the one others tell."

The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from afterlife. Now the question is: is this a miracle or is it a hoax?! Sully Harding (the main character of the novel), a single father, is determined to find out.

There are a few points in the book that stood out to me. Some of these features are:

1. There is quite a bit of history written about Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Grey. I love how Albom includes this in his book. These calls from the afterlife come from cellphones mostly and it is neat to be informed again how the phone was invented.
2. There is a scene a little over half way of the novel in which one of the people receiving calls from heaven reacts in a very surprising way.
3. It is just well written. I connected with all of the characters instantly and did not want to put the book down.

The only downside of the book I would have to say is the ending. To me, after I read the ending, I couldn't figure out why I couldn't put the novel down. I was so upset. I am not going to write about the ending because I do not want to ruin the book for anyone. The First Phone Call from Heaven is still a fantastic book (minus the ending) and I think everyone would enjoy the story. I know I still loved the book. It is sort of a mystery novel but also a heart-felt, touching novel.

"There is a time for hello and a time for goodbye. It's why the act of burying things seems natural but the act of digging them up does not."

Till the next review!
Rebekka.

Never Have I Ever by Katie Heaney

Never Have I Ever: My Life (SO FAR) Without a Date
Katie Heaney

"I've been single for my entire life. Not one boyfriend. Not one short-term dating situation. Not one person with whom I regularly hung out and kissed on the face."

Two overall words for this book:

Hilarious & True !!

After reading this book, I want to go to the nearest Indigo and buy a copy of this for all of my friends! Katie Heaney writes about dating like it is, not how every single girl on the planet makes dating out to be and what it should be. She threw all of her dating expectations out of the door and didn't stress about any boy that crossed her path in her 25 year old life. What if all women could be like Katie? We could focus on ourselves as women and not to try and prove ourselves for just some guy that comes around for a little while.

Reading this novel didn't feel like reading a novel. I felt like I was reading a really long email from an old friend. That is how she wrote this book though. At the beginning, she writes that she hopes that the book feels like you are hanging out with her, drinking, and that she's telling you about her embarrassing adventures in life so far. 

Even if you have went out on dates and kissed boys, you will surely relate to something that Katie says in her book. This is the perfect book for twenty-something women that feel lost, confused, annoyed, unresolved, or angry at their love lives, or just life in general. Katie divided the book up into parts of her life and explained her lack of love life in every part. These parts are:

1. Elementary/Middle School
2. High School
3. College
4. Grad School
5. Epilogue 

This made the book flow nicely and I never felt like I was lost or confused at any point in the book. In all of the different parts of the book, Katie was honest and familiar. She was refreshing and she was absolutely hilarious. She is a strong person and writer, has a great group of friends, is confident and sarcastic and witty, and wraps all of this into awesomeness.

I believe that any young woman would love this book, so I would drive to your local Indigo/Chapters right now or log onto amazon.com and get this book for yourself (and maybe a copy for your best friend). I promise that you will not be disappointed!

Till the next review!

Rebekka.

Reading Challenge 2014.

Welcome to Rebekka's Reading Challenge of 2014!
I could start out this blog by telling my audience all about me. My age, what I do for work and fun, how exciting of a person I am and all of that non-sense. Well...maybe I can fill you in later.

This year in January, I made a goal like most people do after their drunken New Years' parties. I made the goal that I would read 50 books by the end of December 2014. I haven't read in a long time and wanted to get back into it. Reading makes me happy...getting lost in stories and characters...escaping reality for a few hours a day.
Since the beginning of January, I have read 10 books.

1. The Red House by Mark Haddon
2. This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Trooper
3. A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen
4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
5. Everything Changes by Jonathan Trooper
6. The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
7. The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson
8. One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Trooper
9. The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom
10. Never Have I Ever by Katie Heaney

I have been told that I have been reading too fast by a few people, that I should slow down (I guess that ten books in less than two months is quite the accomplishment). My boyfriend brought up that I should be writing reviews for every book that I read and track this challenge through a blog form.

So that is why I am here. I am going to start writing reviews after every book that I read (I will also write reviews for the past ten books) and share all these wonderful and not so wonderful books with you! I am hoping to run polls and asking for suggestions for what I should read next! This should be a fun one year journey. :)

Rebekka.