Pages read today: 353 for Meredith (297 of
PS, I Love You, 56 of
Running with Scissors), 157 for Ilya (107 of
What Maisie Knew, 50 of
Flowers for Algernon)
Day off from work, feeling pummeled by some kind of sinus/cold thing, what's a girl to do? Read, of course! Read lots! So that's exactly what I did. I snuggled up with the animals and had a nice relaxing day of reading (I just love these little fuzz-buckets!).
PS, I Love You is now complete and has become a favorite in the chick-lit category for me. Be warned...spoilers lie ahead! The basic premise is a bit cliche, I suppose... woman dealing with her grief after her husband's death. However the presentation was done in a way that made it feel unique. I was instantly drawn into the main character Holly's world and felt everything right along with her. Essentially, her husband Gerry had a brain tumor and died at 30 years old, which devastated her world. They had been together since high school, and as is pointed out on several occasions, Holly's life had revolved around Gerry and her marriage, so when he died she found is incredibly difficult to figure out a life on her own. i.e. "When he was alive she'd lived for him, and now that he was gone she lived for his messages." These messages being notes he had written and placed inside envelopes for each month left in the year he died (apparently knowing at a point that he wouldn't make it past March). The messages are usually instructing her in some way to do something that will help her move on with her independent life and work through . It's very emotional, these notes...in a sense they are what leads her through working out her grief and finding her way on her own. At the same time, in some ways they prolong her grief, as she sees Gerry in these messages, as if he's still there with her (so rather than just ripping the bandaid and having to come to terms with him really being gone, in a sense he continues to be with her for another 10 months). Ultimately, though, she finds a way in which to live her life without him, while always having a place for the memories of him and their life together within her. Sounds sappy, I'm sure, because it is sappy. There are also a couple of the usual unrealistic and/or cliche moments that remind you you're reading fiction/chick-lit (for example, you know how easy it always is for everyone to just decide on and get their dream job regardless of experience/skill), but nothing even remotely on par with My Sister's Keeper, and the writing here was far superior and compelling and the characters much easier to relate and empathize withPS, I Love You did that brilliantly. I recommend it for anyone who enjoys chick-lit. Just beware, as it's a very sad story and you should be in an emotionally ok place in your life before reading it. Also, it's vastly different than the movie (though for me this was kind of a good thing...while I did cry at several parts of the book, it in no way compared to the nonstop cry-fest that occurs whenever I see the movie!). Not better or worse, really...just different.
I guess for me, my enjoyment of a book largely comes down to whether or not I truly feel "in it." If I can feel along with the character, and believe in what is going on (at least for the most part), then the experience is much more enjoyable for me. Of course there can be some over-the-top moments (I mean that's part of what reading fiction is about, right? to escape the reality of everyday life), they just need to be immersed within an overall story that feels relatable.
Next up? Running With Scissors. My sister-in-law is currently reading this one as well, though I haven't had a chance to see what she thinks of it so far. Time to just dive in and find out for myself what it's all about.
Ilya and I are both still working on our reading for the day, so we will come back to fill in the blanks in this post with our complete page counts before we hit the hay (though as of right now I'm still kicking Ilya's booty!). For now, it's time to keep turning the pages!
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