40 regular and 12 advanced books. 52 weeks to complete them all. Doable? I am about to find out.
When I was younger my nose was always in a book. On the bus to/from school, before classes started, during study hall, up late at night in bed. I remember one summer, probably around 2001 or so, I worked full time at a convenience store – 7a to 3p, M to F. Each day I would come home, shower, grab my best dog Hero and a book and sit outside in the sunny yard until my mom called for dinner. I would wriggle my shoes off and enjoy the touch of grass on my toes, the sun warming my skin and the breeze rustling my hair. It was bliss.
When medical school happened there was no time for pleasure reading. You could still find my nose buried in a book, but these were heavy books, both in content and size.
Now a days it’s rare to see me with a book in hand. Too little time is my excuse but that’s not really true. Like so many, my phone has replaced a good book. Not any longer.
My mom and I are doing this together. I chose the first book, she will do the next.
Book #1: A book recommended by a librarian.
I don’t have a library card and will have to wait a while before I can acquire one, so this topic was a bit hard. Thankfully there is always The Google and it didn’t take long to find a list of books recommended by librarians.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
This book. I couldn’t put it down. Seriously, I read it in one sitting. It was that captivating.
The book begins with an unnamed girl stating that she is thinking of ending things. She is in the car with her boyfriend as he drives out to his family farm to introduce her to his parents. She questions the timing, but goes along hoping to find an answer by the end of the trip. Would meeting his parents make their relationship any better?
I won’t ruin the plot for anyone wanting to read it, and everyone should read it, but I will talk about the book in general.
The writing style is easy to follow and consume. With modern day topics and language, the book puts you right at ease from the beginning in terms of accessibility of the character and plot.
Straight away though you get a sense of eeriness. The first half only has two characters: the girlfriend and boyfriend (Jake). While they converse, a lot of the book is spent inside the internal musings of the girlfriend as she tries to wrap her head around the value of relationships and if she is happy in her current one.
This feeling of something being a bit off continues throughout the meeting of his parents and the return drive home until it reaches a crescendo in an ending that left me reeling.
5 stars from me. Go read it. It won’t be a waste of your time.
The Roaming Rider 