It's Friday and time for Book Club!
This week I read 2 books - one good and one hooorrible.
So let's start with the good - Delirium by Lauren Oliver. Which I received in a book trade from Martha @ Quick Cheap & Pretty! Thanks again Martha :)
Here's the synopsis from Goodreads.com: "They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I've always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie. Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love."
My thoughts: Ok that synopsis sucked ... The book is actually much more interesting than all that! I really like the "alterna-world" Lauren Oliver created - it's believable. Lena starts out the book as one of the whiny heroines I loathe -( a la Bella in Twilight), but she sheds it thru the book. I thought I was going to have a negative review because she was all "I'm just a plain girl" "no one thinks I'm pretty" blah blah blah - but as there are 2 more books I think it was a plot thing. At the end of the book she's a much more interesting character - and I'm excited to read the rest!
The next book I read was "The River Sweet" by Patricia Henly
Here's the synopsis from Goodreads.com: "From all appearances, Ruth Anne Bond is enviably lucky. Her husband, Johnny, still treats her like a young lover. Her grown daughter is a staunch friend. Her steady work and devotion to the church have quietly made her a pillar of the community. Then one long Indiana summer brings some unexpected communiqués—including one she has both craved and feared for thirty years. As long-hidden truths threaten to emerge, for the first time in her marriage Ruth Anne is faced with memories she and Johnny never discuss: of a year spent in Saigon in 1968—and a past she has yet to acknowledge. Probing questions of family and faith, Patricia Henley offers us a tender, far-sighted novel about seeking answers and achieving grace."
My thoughts: Sounds interesting right? But the book was so dis-jointed and overly wordy and descriptive - I feel just for the sake of being "picturesque" that it was like Get On with It! I appreciate that it was emotional in the way people really are, and that our feelings aren't always clear, but it just dragged and dragged. I rarely only read a page or two at a time, but this book bored me to pieces.
I'd love to hear about your recent reads :)
Jasmine
Glad you liked Delirium! I wasn't sure what the trilogy would be like when I first picked it up but it was interesting to see how Lena's character changes as the story goes on.
ReplyDeleteThat second book sounds like such a drag! I hate wordy books. I've put books down within the first few pages because I knew I just would not be able to slog through all of the flowery descriptions.
Thanks for sending me a good book! Yeah "The River Sweet" was just a drag... but I have this thing where in the last 12 years I have not stopped reading a book once I start it - except for twice (the Corrections & the Dr. Jonathan Strange book). I'm really OCD that way, it's like "too bad! you started it, now you have to finish it!"
DeleteI really enjoy Delirium when I read it, and actually think my favorite is Requiem, the last of the series. There's supposed to be turning it into a tv show this fall, and I'm really hoping it actually happens. Definitely think it's be an interesting series to see play out on tv.
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