This novel was okay. I did not hate it, but I did not think it was a credit to Agatha Chistie or a particularly great mystery.

Poirot is not quite Poirot. The character felt a bit forced, but I could overlook that. I had more issues with Detective Catchpool who is insecure, inept and I suspect, deeply repressed in some way. I found the character a very poor narrator and simply annoying. He never spoke up. He never wanted to trust in Poirot even though Poirot is well respected and well known. He seemed surprised Poirot was right. I do not how the author could make such a bad detective character. Christie’s novels have good police detectives who are great friends with Poirot and don’t display Catchpool’s incessant anxiety about his work and value. The ending suggested that the author would like to write more about the bumbling Catchpool which I will not partake in reading.

The mystery was alright until it became ridiculously convoluted. At the ending and resolution, I was trying to figure out why there so many random puzzle pieces. It made me miss Christie’s cleaner denouements and closing acts wherein all the facts were laid bare, but without all the extraneous details. Clever, but not cumbersome or padded.

The lesson here is that I need to read much more of Christie before I consider reading another of these adapted works.

Read September 17-18, 2015

This was a lovely novel. I finally found a Tóibín work I adore.

Set in the 1950s, the novel follows an Irish girl as she emigrates to Brooklyn, away from her family and friends. The prose is simple. The characters lightly drawn, but not overly simplistic. The period details were evocative. The themes were classic.

I related to a lot of this novel. Like the protagonist Eilis, I made a journey across an ocean to a place I’d never been, without family or friends, and it took me awhile to adjust. I experienced homesickness in a different way because I do not have siblings, and I chose to move away in away that Eilis did not. Still, living in a new place among st strangers and a different culture will always affect you.

Also like the protagonist, I fell in love for the first time when I went away and the moments Eilis shared with Tony reminded me of those times. It really brought me back. Eilis’s mother also reminded me of my own parents which was unnerving. I find the story very realistic to anyone who has been an immigrant before.

I read this novel in anticipation of the upcoming movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, and Domhnall Gleeson with an adapted screenplay by Nick Hornby. I knew the general story based on the trailer and this is a love triangle though it’s obvious what Eilis will do however tempting it is. I’m excited for the movie not only because I enjoyed the book. I adore Ronan and think she’s my curent favourite ingenue actress. She’s talented and beautiful. I have a crush on Gleeson, but I know his part will be small. My penchant for Hornby’s work has been documented on this blog before. I think he’s the right author to adapt this work.

All in all, a satisfied book experience in anticipation with what will probably be a satisfied film one.

Read September 6-7, 2015.

I like Bill Bryson’s writing. I like history. I didn’t really like this book.

Certain sections and certain figures were interesting, but the design of the book was disjointed. It moved from one thing to another. I actually like when Bryson writes like this and it works in his memoirs and his previous nonfiction works, but the restrictive timeline of this book limited the topics.

I was really bored during certain sections and found it slow going. I only finished it because after a boring section, it would become mildly interesting again. After the half way point, I decided to just finish it. It was well researched. However, I really have to consider each new Bryson books more thoroughly from now on.

Read August 15-September 6, 2015.

One reviewer on GoodReads called this Kate Middleton fanfiction.

It really is and I don’t even like Kate Middleton. I picked this up from the library Express/popular reads. I have not done that in a long time. I’ve been very behind on my reading this year and have too many books already. I picked up this book for two reasons. First, it was chicklit and I haven’t read that in a long time. I thought it would help me back on the reading horse. Secondly, the authors are the Fug Girls. That cinched it.

I have a lot of fanfiction in the past, but this kind of author self-insertion fanfiction is not something I’ve been keen on. While all the names have been changed, it was still very easy to picture all the real life characters. I think there were a good amount of characters and dialogue for this kind of novel. Prince Nick was a tad too generic romantic hero at times. Then again, that was in line with who he was based on.

This novel was addictive at times. It had enough drama, character moments, and plot twists to keep me reading. I liked the moments between Bex the protagonist and her sister. I found the whole love triangle bit realistic in a complicated way. The ending was a bit rushed though. As a former London dweller, I adored the references to various streets and buildings. However, it also didn’t feel like the authors had actually lived there. Still not a bad research for a chick lit novel.

All in all, a nice quick read. I enjoyed it. For the record, I am a Freddie girl. 🙂

Read September 3-5, 2015.

Even though I am a perpetually single person, I find reading books about relationships and romance interesting from a sociological and psychological point of view.

This is one of the most well known of relationship self-help books and I knew most of the concept of it by reading the author’s website awhile back. This book was very easy to read which is probably one of the reasons it was so popular. The book also has a very Christian
bent which is something that I did not need. I think the themes in the book are rather universal for couples.

I noticed some of the advise in the book came natural to me. For example, the idea that people should write their feelings at various times and places in their day as a way to help them express their feelings. As an uberintrospective person, I do this naturally, but it’s a good technique for those who are not analytical or whom assess their relationship often.

A couple of lines from the book that I felted echoed with my own experience of relationships (romantic or otherwise: “Being sincere is not enough.” and “Love is a choice and cannot be coerced.” I think both are things that fairy tale movies do not necessarily tell you.

Reading the book confirmed my “love language”. My rankings:

1. Quality Time
2. Acts of Service
3. Words of Affirmation
4. Physical Touch
5. Receiving Gifts

At first, I felt like Words would above Acts, but if I look at my own childhood, Acts is more important for me. I grew up in a culture where my parents did not verbally tell me they loved me nor would they compliment me. As I grew older, I knew and appreciated that they loved me through their acts of service.

Overall, I think this book reaffirms what most relationship and psychology experts think is the best way of maintaining a long term relationship: kindness and generosity. The Atlantic had an article about this specifically last year. I feel like reading that article more or less was the same as reading this book.

Read July 11, 2015.

This book took me a bit longer to read. I kept putting it off for other books and had to return it to the library twice. In the end, I finished it on the Kindle. As a typical introvert, I’ve wanted to read this book for awhile, but I didn’t get into it easily. The more I read this book, the more I related to it. Continue reading →

A funny and light autobiography. I actually read this book straight through rather than choose any choices as I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. While not completely linear, going by the actual page numbers was fine. NPH and the book publisher made it relatively cohesive if you read it straight through.

I laughed a couple of times which is all one can really ask for from a biographic work of an actor known for comedy.

Content wise, I was amused by the celebrity gossip and most of the stuff did not shock me. I like NPH, but I didn’t really start to know him until “How I Met Your Mother”. I enjoyed that show in its early years (not so much later). Harris’s insight on the show tickled me because he addresses how he himself loved the Robin character and engineered it so that Barney and Robin would get together. I was a Barney/Robin shipper because I saw the attempts at chemistry. I’m glad it was intentional.

All in all, a night and frothy cocktail of a memoirs.

Read June 16-17, 2015.