Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Two Books, Two Extremes

It's already time for Steph and Jana's monthly book link-up!


Life According to Steph


I only have two books to talk about this month and my feelings on them are completely opposite.

The One & Only by Emily Giffin - Last month I mentioned that I had started this book. By chapter four I was pretty sure I knew where it was headed and I was so creeped out that I didn't finish it. I flipped through to confirm my suspicions. Jana, you were right, and even the football aspect couldn't get me through it.



Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult - I bought this book when it first came out but didn't start reading it right away. I knew that the loss of a mother was a big part of the story, and I wasn't so sure about the elephant side of things, but I've read a lot of Picoult and have loved most of her books.




Then one of my BFFs, Kim (and since we've been friends since 6th grade I think BFF is totally appropriate), recommended it to me and even said that she thought it would be good for me to read it with what all I've been going through.

You guys. THIS. BOOK.  I can't talk too much about it because I don't want to give away any spoilers. And while it is about loss, it's also about love. And the loss part of it got turned upside down in a way I never saw coming. I cannot recommend this book enough.

There are a couple quotes from "Leaving Time" that will stick with me for a long time, and I want to share them (don't worry, no spoilers).

"I think grief is like a really ugly couch. It never goes away. You can decorate around it; you can slap a doily on top of it; you can push it to the corner of the room -- but eventually, you learn to live with it."

The funny thing about that one is that we have a couch that we're currently looking to replace. It's not necessarily ugly, just old and tired. But still, I understand the sentiment. Grief doesn't go away, but eventually it becomes something that you get used to and maybe barely notice.

"She threw words at me like handfuls of mud, and now that they've dried, I can brush them off."

This one is something I have a hard time with. I like the idea, but the truth is that words can and do hurt and it's not always easy to brush them off.

Now I'm off to find out what other bloggers are reading so I can figure out my next book!


11 comments:

  1. It's great when you really connect with a book! I read this book and enjoyed it well enough but it sounds like you really felt in tune with the story.

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  2. I love when a book comes in at exactly the right time, when we need to read it. Like a friend.

    I ended up loving the elephant parts a lot.

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  3. Leaving Time is a great book, even though, for me, it got to be enough with the elephants. The twist at the end was spectacular.

    And right about The One and Only? HORRIBLE book. At least you had the sense to stop reading it after 4 chapters. I hate-read the whole damn thing.

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  4. LOVED Leaving Time!!! What an awesome book, huh??

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  5. I really really liked this book as well. Which was nice because I've always been a huge Jodi Picoult fan but before this, the last 2 or 3 had been so-so for me.

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  6. I'm going to have to consider Leaving Time after your review. I've read a few Jodi Picoult books, and after two I felt like they were all so similar. I'm going to have to give her another try I think.

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  7. haha! I read The One and Only...and I finished it...but I was just weirded out the entire time I was reading it!

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  8. ooh i'm so glad to hear you liked leaving time. i've read several reviews where people didn't like it, but your review convinced me i need to read it.
    aaannd removing the one and only from my list. what made it so creepy? do tell.

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  9. The Piccoult book is on my list though maybe it'll hit home to me if I recently experienced a loss.

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  10. Leaving time is on my list to read. So great you were able to connect with it so much.

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  11. I will have to read that Jodi Picoult book! I got a few of hers at a thrift store a few months ago and I'm hooked!

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