Tag Archives: review

Review- Attachments

Posted in Book Review by

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

41StMr9ElGL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Rating: 4/5 stars

Pages: 323

Lincoln is the IT guy, or “internet security officer”, for The Courier. His job is to read through the company’s flagged emails–the ones with inappropriate language or jokes. He begins reading email threads between two of the writers, Beth and Jennifer, and can’t seem to stop. Lincoln finds himself falling in love with Beth via snooping around on her email conversations. Lincoln ultimately has to choose between telling Beth about his actions and losing his job, or letting her go.

This book was funny and an all-around enjoyable read. I usually begin my reviews with a nice quotation from the book that spoke to me, personally, but I couldn’t really find one from Attachments. Though, I don’t believe that Rowell meant for this book to resonate deeply with people. My guess is that she wanted this to be a fun read, which it was.

There wasn’t really anything that made this book special. It was a light and quick read that left me satisfied at the end. The events were very unbelievable, but again, I don’t think that was Rowell’s point. She did a great job using unique points of view (Lincoln’s narrative and the email conversations between Beth and Jennifer) to engage the reader without making things confusing.

I found myself laughing at the absurdity of Lincoln’s life, but also at the jokes within the text. Beth and Jennifer are funny people, and their email thread reflects it. I was in a reading slump before I picked this book up, and it certainly brought me out of that slump.

After hearing so many great things about Rainbow Rowell, I finally caved in and got this book. I’m so glad I did! I look forward to reading more of her work.

Review- The Thirteenth Tale

Posted in Book Review by

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

200px-ThirteenthtaleRating: 4.5/5 stars

Pages: 406

    “How long did I sit on the stairs after reading the letter? I     don’t know. For I was spellbound. There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you   prisoner.”

 Margaret Lea is a biographer who has lived in an apartment above an antiquarian bookstore her entire life. She is contacted by a famous novelist, Vida Winter, and asked to recount her life story which has been a mystery for years. Lea takes the job and finds herself captivated by the characters and intense tale that Vida Winter weaves for her. Throughout listening to the old woman talk, Lea discovers the power of family, love, and storytelling.

Honestly, I really liked this book. To start off with, the hardcover version is beautiful with and without the dust jacket. It looks like an old book with wear to the pages. Having it physically in my hands definitely added to the experience.

Vida Winters, although not the protagonist, seemed like the most well-developed character in this novel. She was interesting, mysterious, but easy to understand by the final chapter. Margaret Lea, on the other hand, was still a confusing personality to me at the end of the novel. I wish Setterfield had taken a bit more time to develop her.

The plot was slow to start off with but absolutely gripping by a third of the way into the book. The novel uses the ever-captivating topics of twins, death, and reading to draw the audience in. Setterfield intertwines these topics very well. I read the last half of the book almost in one sitting.

My favorite part of this novel was the appreciation it showed for writing and reading. The main character is a writer, and her love for the written word is very prevalent. Like anyone who enjoys reading, this appreciation for writing resonated deeply inside of me.

Overall, this was a great book to start off my winter break. It was a great length and never seemed to bore me. The writing style and plot were excellent and the character development was good, but not superb. The Thirteenth Tale is a nice addition to my bookshelf and I’m very glad I bought the physical copy, rather than the eBook.