This was a really cute and enjoyable book. Not saccharine cute and it has wholesome message to it. It was light even though it touches on some harder subjects like mental health and suicide. It was a bit slow to start off because the main character is depressed at the beginning but it came along nicely. I knew the ending early one but the ride was fun. In fact, the novel stayed with me the next day because it offers so many different stories.

The format of the novel involves the protagonist trying various different lives which made it interesting. It felt like a series of connected short stories and possibilities. The book was easy to read. It has a lot of dialogue. I read it one sitting.

This book is popular for a reason and I can see the appeal. Book lovers probably like especially female ones. The format and the main character Nora made it easy for the reader to inhabit and relate too. She is at times athletic, intellectual, and artistic. She doesn’t seem to be described as drop dead gorgeous or plain. She’s a great reader insert based on her interests and even her own struggles. Her love interests are even relatable in context to how they affect her. They do not actually have much character development, but the point was more about how Nora felt about them. For example, her selfish ex boyfriend/fiance is very typical of a lot of ex’s. Her ideal love interests are idealistic but not out of this world romantic heroes.
One of the love interests is a thinking woman’s real world dream partner: a dorky surgeon who is a great dad and adores his wife.

The Britishness of this book was nice. It feels like it’s been awhile since I read a modern English novel especially one that was not overly literary. I like the author’s style so I’ll try more from him. It was quirky. A good novel.

Read March 8, 2021.

I originally started this book over a year ago when I read about the Morning Pages (MP) from a blog. I I was getting back into stationery, pens, and notebooks. I am surprised I hadn’t really encounteed this earlier. Then again, I have been keeping a journal on and off since since I was 8. I have become even more consistent with my journal over the last couple of years ago after neglecting it recently.

I really took to the morning pages technique. I have been writing in my MP notebooks every day for over a year now. At first, it was a difficult to write 3 pages everyday, but I persevered. Now I write about 1-2 A4 pages a day. I find it really does help me organize my day. There are thoughts which I can exhume out of my brain. I do not know if it’s made me significantly more creative. I can’t pinpoint all the benefits but I like it a lot. When we can travel again, I’ll probably have to let it lapse. However, this past year, I’ve had time to really develop the routine of the Morning Pages which I think I will continue for many more years.

Back to the actual book, I had to put it on pause during the first lockdown as my library was closed for a couple of months. It’s also an in demand book from the library. I was finally able to read it recently.