The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks

A book set in two different time periods

Nicholas Sparks drives me crazy and I've only read one and half of his books.  Admittedly, I haven't read The Notebook.  I saw the movie and bawled, but I didn't feel the need to read it. Several years ago I tried to read True Believer but I just couldn't get through it.

I was gifted The Best of Me a few years ago and it's been sitting on my bookshelf, untouched.  On a whim, I decided to give Sparks another whirl. Ugghhh....

So here's the thing that perplexes me about Nicholas Sparks - people absolutely love his books. Why????  Eleven of his books (including The Best of Me) have been adapted into full feature films. Again, mind boggling.

The Best of Me is ridiculous in plot. By the halfway point, the main character Dawson Coles has almost died on an oil rig explosion, has killed a man (albeit accidentally), has served time in prison, has seen a ghost, and has grown up in a backwaters a la Deliverance hill billy family complete with an abusive alcoholic father and thug cousins who carry glocks and run a drug operation.  Wait, doesn't Nicholas Sparks write romance novels?

I debated giving up on this book as well. But I was compelled to read on just to find out how this absurd book ended. It was a doozy. Without spoiling the ending, let's just say I cringed and rolled my eyes. I doubt I will ever pick up another Nicholas Sparks novel. Just not my taste.  

419 - Will Ferguson

A book involving travel. 

For the past 10 years, I've belonged to the Well Red Book Club. No that's not a typo, it's a pun on our love for red wine which is of course the perfect accompaniment for reading and discussions.  We have been 10 strong since the club's inception in 2000 with a few members leaving and new members joining (I was a lucky latecomer to the group). What's unusual about our group is that we actually still discuss books when we meet. Isn't the term book club now code for a girls night out, away from the kids and hubby?

Each month we choose a book.  One member hosts and provides dinner for 10.  What we've discovered over the years is that the books that generate the best discussions are the ones that not everyone likes.

419 by Will Ferguson will be our January discussion book.  I'm curious to know what everyone thought of it.  I'm going to predict that not everyone liked it.  While I appreciated the topic and the complexity of the storytelling, I have to say that I had a hard time immersing myself in the narrative.  I found the characters on the shallow side and the multiple story lines disjointed. Perhaps it was because I did not connect with many of the characters. I understood the main character's need for vengeance but I didn't believe that she could follow through with what she did. I didn't think that her character had the chops to even dream up of the revenge scheme. The scenes in Nigeria were intense but lacked vibrancy. Last fall, I read Lawrence Hill's The Illegal and in that novel, Hill successfully breathed life into a foreign country - as a reader, I felt immersed in the sounds, smells, and life of the setting.  This is where Ferguson fall short. What's most surprising to me is that Will Ferguson won the prestigious Giller Prize for this novel. Maybe someone in my book club will be able to enlighten me on how that happened.

Tell No One - Harlan Coben

Espionage Thriller - Check!

Not exactly espionage in the true sense but it involves a ton of surveillance and suspense. I can't get enough of Harlan Coben's books.  I've read all of his books save the most recent one.  I've got that one on hold from the library and am patiently waiting.

There's something about Coben's stories that are so compelling.  They're fast paced and unpredictable.  So many twists and turns!  I never get tired of them.  I think what I love most about Coben's books is his narrative.  As cheese ball as some of the characters can be, their narrative voices ring authentic.

Tell No One begins with an abduction and murder.  Dr. David Beck is left to believe that his wife was the most recent victim of the KillRoy murderer but eight years later, he receives a mysterious email indicating otherwise.  The roller coaster ride begins at that moment and doesn't let up until the very last page. I loved every moment of it.

Possession - A.S. Byatt

A book that's been on your TBR list way too long

I've had AS Byatt's Possession on my bookshelf for at least 10 years.  I picked it up at the Times Colonist Book Sale years ago, long before I started e-reading.  So, I've started it and so far, I have to say I'm having troubles getting into it.  But, I'm going to persevere.  I like the concept of the story and I think I've seen the movie (wasn't Gwyneth Paltrow in it?).  It also won the Booker Prize in 1990.  It just, at the moment, feels very wordy.

2017 Reading Challenge

For the past two years, I've participated in the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge.  Then partway through the year, I forget about it until January 1st of the following year.  So I'm journaling my readings this year in an attempt to make a good dent at the reading challenge.

Here's the list if you'd like to take on the challenge yourself.  Happy reading!