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