At the beginning of this year, like most years, I came up with a list of goals to work towards this year, and just like every other time, I’ve failed on just about all of them, but there is still one that I have in my sights. Although it will be tough, and is very unlikely, there’s still a chance that I can achieve one of my goals, reading 52 books in the year, averaging one per week. After starting the year off strong, reading ten books in January, it’s been downhill from there, wherein there are some months, like November, where I didn’t read a single book, but still, the goal is within reach. As of today, December 12th, I’ve read 40 books, which means I’ve got twelve more to go, with nineteen days left, and I’m almost finished with the book I’m currently reading, so that really only leaves eleven. My point is, I’ve got a lot of reading to cram in here at the end of the year, which means I’ll be reviewing more books through the rest of December, so bear with me. On the bright side, I’ll be giving you some good gift ideas for the book lovers in your family. You can thank me later.
Last Thursday I started reading “This is Where it Ends” by Marieke Nijkamp, a book that piqued my interest on Amazon. I’m not sure how I came across it, whether it was on the list of bestsellers or recommended based on what I’d been viewing, but regardless of how I found out about it, it sounded really interesting, so with an Amazon gift card given to me for my birthday, I purchased it. When it came in the mail mid September, I opened up the book and read the description on the jacket, and it sounded like one of the most thrilling books I’d ever seen. Unfortunately, what would have been the blood chilling, shocking point of the book, was given away by the synopsis, so I knew that a gunman would be in the school auditorium surrounded by and terrorizing his former classmates.
Each chapter composed of four different perspectives and only spans a couple of minutes as the story is told through their eyes. It’s interesting, but a bit tiring at times. It’s a pretty good story and a quick read which I finished in less than twenty-four hours, but it’s just not that exciting since you already kind of know what’s going to happen before you even start reading the book. believe it’s Nijkamp’s first novel, and I would definitely be open to reading more of her work in the future because “This is Where it Ends” was a very intriguing concept, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations of how thrilling it would be. Later that night I began “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” by Gail Honeyman, a new book I found while perusing the (somewhat) new bookstore in Memphis, Novel.
“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” is the story of a thirty year old woman who works in a graphic design office, not as an artist or designer, but in the accounts receivable department, which is as boring as it sounds, but Eleanor doesn’t mind, in fact she likes the monotonous routine of her life. She’s content to live our her days in the same exact way, until on the way home one evening, her and a coworker that she barely knows, witnesses an elderly man falling in the street, which sets in motion changes that will completely alter the course of her life, and for the better, although she doesn’t realize it at first. It’s a good story, the inner dialogue Eleanor has with herself is hilarious, and is one of the better new books of 2017. It’s not going to be the type of book that will keep you up late into the night turning the pages as fast as you can trying to find out what happens next, but it’s a good, well written and enjoyable book.
The last book I read over the weekend was “Sellevision” by Augusten Burroughs, his debut novel. Last year I fell in love with Augusten’s writing when I read “The Wolf at the Table” and having read several of his other memoirs, his words still haven’t lost their luster. I believe this is the only novel he’s written, and I have to say, as much as I love his memoirs, his novel can stand alone as a good book. “Sellevision” is about a TV channel like QVC or the Home Shopping Network and the employees that work there. Nothing is at it seems on the surface, and everyone has something to hide. It’s funny story and a quick read, I read it all on Sunday, and I would highly recommend, just like everything else I’ve read by Augusten Burroughs, that you should read this book. I’ve got to get back to reading, but I’ll be back again for another blog tomorrow, and most likely some more book recommendations near the end of the week. See you then.
Three Books: A Review
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