Girl Underwater: This is the book you have been searching for

You ever read a book and think I can't wait to tell someone else to read this. That's how I feel about Girl Underwater. It was brought to my attention from one of my friends who works in a library. I think I just read her review in Goodreads. Anyway we usually like the same books so I ordered this one from the library. I have to say I was impressed. It did just what I expect my books to do, take me away from where I am and transport me into someone else's situation. Make sure that situation is so involved that I can't leave. Paint a picture that keeps me pleasantly focused. When I return to reality, make me want to run back to my book because it's nicer there. When the situation comes to an end, make me want to return. Make me a little sad it's over.

Girl Underwater is a debut novel from Claire Kells. For her first one I think she did a good job. I have read a few critical reviews and I just smile. Some people spend way too much time thinking about what they read and what was wrong with it. My philosophy is to concentrate on what was right. It's probably because I watch a lot of television that I can accept flaws, and the unrealistic. I read and watch to get away from what I live. It's a small escape, so if it isn't perfect and may be a little unrealistic at times- all the better.

This book is about a college swimmer who gets in a plane crash. She survives alongside a fellow swimmer and three little boys. It's their story of survival that keeps the book moving. It does go back and forth between the crash and present day so I am not really spoiling anything for you. You will know right away she didn't die. This is a story of how she makes it back, from the tragedy that basically takes her life even though she lived through it. Critics will say the character's relationships are not developed enough. Avery and Colin are stuck together, and right from the beginning of the book you know she does not care for him. Through their time together she learns more about him. A great message for young readers about how you can't just judge a person from the few things you know about them.

The detail that describes the plane crash and the conditions the five survivors have to live in are great. I really felt like I could see and feel what they were going through. There were times when my stomach hurt because I felt so bad for them. Now there are a few parts where Avery and Colin make some terrible choices, but this is a terrible situation.  Who knows what we would do when faced with this type of disaster. For some I think that's where the story becomes a little unrealistic, but for a person who reads alot- it's not a big deal.

Now I don't like fairy tale, and I don't do monsters, demons, vampires and werewolves, but I don't need everything to be researched fully so it mirrors real life. I also don't  know everything about a character to like them, and if a plot point gets a little off point, I am okay with that too. Considering this is this author's first book, I can now understand why some of the things I thought I was going to learn more about were missing. So I will live with some unanswered questions. Avery talks about a big mistake she made, and how she lied, and feels terrible about it, but the author never really develops that point. When it is revealed, it's a bit of a let down. That's my only criticism.  It's not worth passing up Girl Underwater.

If you are looking for something to read, this is the book you have been searching for.

#makeaminuteforGirlUnderwater
#GirlUnderwaterthebookyouhavebeenlookingfor

The Rosie Project: a sometimes difficult but always worthy read

I have been reading a lot lately. For the first time in my life I am reading more than one book at a time. I use it as a relaxation technique usually. Right before bed I engross myself in a book until my eyes get so tired I can't keep them open. Sometimes that takes 5 minutes, other times 55. It all depends on the day. The book I am reading has to have enough interest to take me away from my day,  take me to a new place where I don't have to think about the things that are happening to me. Sometimes that doesn't take much.

This book took me a while to read. That might have been because I was reading something else at the time, or maybe because the story is told by a character that has Aspergers. His attention to detail, his formal speech, his schedules and his constant quirkiness is enough to confuse you while you read. He speaks very literally and sometimes is hard to follow. The entire time I was reading this book I thought of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory (a very popular comedy on CBS). Don Tillman is Sheldon. I could hear Sheldon's voice in my head. Knowing that show and it's characters may be the reason I enjoyed this book so much, the difficulty included.

It's just makes you feel good at times because it shows a man who is different, who knows he's different, trying to do everything he can to be "normal" to impress a girl he can't even believe he likes. It all starts when a friend of his suggests that he would make a good mate. Before she makes the suggestion, Don hasn't even entertained the idea. He has always been Don, the alone scientist. He works at a university where he studies/teaches genetics. He has two friends, a husband and wife, he met while working. His mom calls every Sunday, but he is not close with his family. I think he mentions an older sister who died trying to have a child. He had an older neighbor in his apartment building he enjoyed spending time with, but she ends up getting Alzheimer's and ends up in a nursing home. It is her kind words to Don that gets him thinking. "Maybe I can find a Wife."

That begins the Wife Project. When you read about it, it will make you laugh. His idea of finding someone to spend his life with is comical. He creates a questionaire he thinks will find him the perfect wife. What he learns along the way about women, relationships and himself is the reason I kept reading.

This book is called the Rosie Project so obviously a girl name Rosie will enter the picture. She is a great character as well and the perfect match for Don as he struggles with finding a wife, and understanding himself. Don's story and his struggles give you something to root for. Even if he never finds a wife, he is working so hard to interact with people, to deviate a little from his scheduled activities, to relax a little instead of obsessing.  His efforts are worth applause and the romantic comedy told at the same time just makes the book more worthy of your time. Make a minute and read the Rosie Project, before it hits the big screen.

#makeaminutefortheRosieProject
#dontillmanissheldoncooper
#readTheRosieProjectbeforeithitstheBIGscreen

Girl on a Train: A whole lot of crazy that makes this a ride you never want to end

I don't usually advise people to do things, just because other people are doing it, but right now I am making an exception. You should Read Girl on a Train. I just recently finished, and posted on Facebook that I was done, and lo and behold, everyone I know is reading it. Imagine you sitting around reading a book, and several of your friends are reading the same book, probably at the same time. This only happens on the really popular books, and it makes reading exciting when you get caught up in the middle of the phenomenon.

I requested the book on my library's website, and used my 3 week lending period to enjoy the story. A story of a woman who sits on the train and creates a fantasy story from what she sees as she glances out the window. It's sad at first, you can tell right away her life is not what she dreamed it would be, so she daydreams on the train about others are living. Imagining a happy couple, experiencing a loving relationship. That fantasy gives her a reason to get out of bed, a reason to get on the train, a reason to keep going. It seems innocent at first, until her fantasy life, and her real life collide.

The collision is the heart of the book. It involves murder, manipulation, and madness. You see a woman who is lost and "crazy" go "crazy"trying to put all the pieces of the crime together. The characters are realistic, and the story you watch unfold as you read isn't that unlikely. A woman is missing, and Rachel who rides the train every day, gets herself into the middle of the investigation. You see Rachel feels close to the victim, because she has created a friendship in her mind. Rachel has seen the woman all the time from the train, so she thinks she can help police find her. What she doesn't know, is she can't see everything from that train window. It's what she doesn't see that ends up being a surprise for both Rachel and the reader.

There are twists and turns throughout the book, and the fact that Rachel has a drinking problem only adds to the mystery because her mind can't remember things as they really happened. There is lost time, and half memories. It's a puzzle for Rachel, and her pieces end up connecting to the missing woman's pieces and the tangled web makes for suspense and excitement.

If you are ready for a good book, the kind where you take the entire three week lending period to read it, because reading it too quickly means it will be over. It's the kind of book that brings excitement back to reading. I actually chose this book over the remote, and that is saying a lot for me. Trust me, Read Girl on a Train, you won't be disappointed. And if I haven't convinced you, then read Girl on a Train, everyone is doing it.

#GirlonaTrainWhenDaydreamsandRealityCollide
#ReadGirlonaTraineveryoneisdoingit

Me before You: A look at loving and letting go

I am sure you know this one. I felt like when I started telling people I read it,  I had been living in a hole. A hole where popular books don't make it to me, until after the whole world has read it. So I read it anyway. Loved it. Told everyone else who lives in a similar hole to read it. I have decided it doesn't matter how the book title gets to you, or when the book was published.... it's just important that you enjoy it. There isn't enough time in life for books you don't enjoy.

That last phrase is new for me in 2015. I used to read a book from cover to end, no matter what. I can remember reading Eat Pray Love. (I know some of you will disagree) but that book was torture for me. I read it anyway. The Goldfinch, less trouble, but still took too much time to read. It wasn't easy. Not that every book should be, but when live is difficult and busy, a good book should not be.

So back to the reason for this blog: Me before you, by JoJo Moyes. Published in 2012.

Sometime the cover of the book helps you remember if intend to make a minute to read it.

Right from the beginning you meet and love Louisa Clark. She is a quirky girl who needs work. She has spent most of her life working for the Buttery Bun (a coffee shop from what I gather.) When the place closes she is forced to look for work and the whole thing makes her very nervous. She decides to apply for a job where she will help watch over a man in a wheel chair. The idea of the job doesn't really doesn't interest her, but the money she can't refuse. You see, Lou Clark is not only providing for herself, but she lives with and gives money to her parents. It doesn't take long to figure out they depend on her.

The job starts off rocky but it doesn't take long for you to see the relationship that grows between these two. It's very sweet and romantic while at the same time being tragic, because you know they can't be together in the way they both want. Without ruining the entire story, I will say I couldn't read this book fast enough. I loved her energy, and I loved his constant effort to try to squash it. The back and forth banter is very believable. This story is not a fairytale romance to get lost in, it's a reality tale to keep you grounded.

It will make you think about what you have, and how it can be lost. It will also teach you about love and how it comes in many shapes, sizes and personalities. A lesson in how sometimes people just show up in your life at the most inconvenient time and change the way you think about almost everything. When the book started Lou was one person, and when it ended she was someone bigger and better. With the help of her family, a job she was forced to take, and a man she learned to let go. 

A read that I would recommend to anyone, at anytime. See if you can make a minute for this reality tale. I will drop a rope into your rabbit hole so you can climb out, or maybe someone can lower the book in. 

#WaytogoJOJOMoyes #mebeforeyouisamustREAD

#makeaminutepleaseforMEBEFOREYOU

Unbroken: See the movie and read the book

As soon as the movie came out over Christmas I had to see it. I read the book so long ago, but it was still fresh in my mind. This kind of story doesn't go away easy. It's not like a flashy easy to read fiction book, that once you put it down, you can't remember what it said. This is a story of a man's life. A man's unlucky life, that you can't help but think of every time you feel unlucky.

The movie was great. Producers, writers, actors did a great job at keeping it very close to what I read. The story is there, unfortunately the characters are not. I have to believe it's hard to cover an entire life in less than 2 hours. Especially when there is so much to tell. I don't want to tell you the whole story, the book can do that. What I will tell you is the movie is worth watching first.

I think many people feel that way after a book is written and then the movie comes out. We always say the book was better. I usually say the same. I will say my last blog talked about Gone Girl and I think you could go either way with that one. I say that because the movie was dead on the book, and I didn't feel like anything was missing. Unbroken is not only about Louis Zamperini, it's about all the people he interacted with along the way. Those characters are just as important as Louie himself. You meet them in the movie, but there is no time for development. Instead the movie focuses on Louis and his determination to survive. This movie will introduce this courageous man, tell you his story, and fill 

Now if you are familiar at all with this story you know Zamperini was slated to be a famous Olympic runner, as un-luck would have it, his status as an American Olympic athlete worked against him when he is captured as a Prisoner of War in Japan. Louis would never train again for the olympics, instead he would work even harder trying to survive prison camp, and before that a plane crash and 47 days on a raft at sea.

If you make a minute for this movie, know that there is more to Louie's story, after the movie ends. Those who only seeing the film will be satisfied, buy those who read the book know there is more to tell.  Louie comes home, after surviving many terrible events. His life is forever changed, and the book will give you a closer look at that part of the story. Not everyone needs the whole story, so the movie will be enough for them, but as a person who has done both I am telling you to make a minute to read the book.

Louie's story is great on the big screen and in print. It's inspiring, and emotional. It tells a story of struggle and triumph and gives us all a look at just how strong a person can be. Reading it first, will give you extra insight to the people who helped Louis Zamperini be who he was. Who encouraged him, who supported him, why he was able to survive what he did. Then the movie will add the visuals to help you see his survival story. Unbroken: a must read, must see add to your bucket list in 2015.

#ReadandthenseeUnbroken
#Unbroken:mustreadmustsee