This is what happens when you have a full time job: things get busy. You read two books in five days and they’re both fabulous, and you want to review them, you do, but you don’t have time because there are these things called paychecks and responsibilities that take up all the damn time in the world, and also (hey there!) precedence.
Loyal, patient readers, I tore through both One Day by David Nicholls and The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams, and not only because reading is my favorite mental break but because they were excellent.
Nicholls wrote an amusing, humorous, bright and sad novel that reminds me of Nick Hornby with a less distinctive style but just as much wit. The formulaic ending was, nonetheless, surprising; one that left me aching and recommending this book to anyone who’d like to get lost in the lives of two charming, interesting people before the summer ends.
Williams penned an equally engaging book, though her subject matter was much darker, more disturbing, and spot-on for readers, YA or otherwise, looking for a breath of fresh air unpopulated by vampires.
Oh, that I could create more time! But let’s face it: I’d just end up reading more.
What have you been reading? Any books you’ve been unable to put down?
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For more information about One Day, which was published by Vintage Comtemporaries in June 2010, visit http://www.oneday-twopeople.com/, featuring some excellent YouTube “episodes” that exactly match the emotional tone of the book. To purchase this book in support of independent bookstores (which you well should), click here.
For more information about The Space Between Trees, published by Chronicle Books in June 2010, hop on over here, where you can get a free download the first seventeen pages of this gripping and excellent novel. You can also check out the author’s website here. Lastly, to purchase this book in support of independent bookstores (which you should do, again), click here.
Happy reading!
FTC Disclosure: The review of One Day was based on a copy of the book I won in a giveaway from the publisher. The review of The Space Between Trees was based on a copy of the book I borrowed from the public library.
Blue Truck Book Reviews 
I requested both of these from the library! Now these are ones I could get into.
Becky, I think you will really like The Space Between Trees. Let me know!
I’ve been reading _Great Expectations_ for about 2 months now… as far as revisiting the classics go, I should have left this one alone.
Oh, Dickens, WHY? You should stop reading it immediately. No point if you’re not enjoying it, right?
I bought a big sackful of “Beach” reads for our three daughters a couple of weeks ago before they left for their vacation. They’re back home, and last night, I groped through the sandy pile of sun-warmed paperbacks, and got absolutely lost in AS I LAY DYING.
The drab and the grim, the shiftless and the hopeless, the acceptance and the struggle, all spoken in the language of my own raising, in the hot faded places I lived and knew—those people have grabbed hold and I’m probably going to play hookey from housework today to get that poor woman buried amongst Her People.
“I could just remember how my father used to say that the reason for living was to get ready to stay dead a long time.”
I cannot imagine a more worthy reason to play hooky from housework…. Enjoy yourself!
I started “Little Bee” a week or so ago and loved it at the start. So good. What a distinct voice. I’m pretty sure I raved about it on Twitter. Couldn’t put it down. And then. It ended. Not greatly. And that really really disappointed me. I almost think I would have liked it better overall if it hadn’t started out so well, if my expectations hadn’t been so very high.
Sigh.
Ah, yes! The pleasure of good reads. I’m packing for a trip to Taipei. One of the distinct blessings of these trips is the opportunity to consume paperbacks. The risk is in the international transport of books I don’t care for. Bah! I’ve yet to invest in a Kindle so I must choose wisely. I’ll add these to the list of books I’ll consider when I get through the ~25 already in my “to-read” stack.