Saturday, May 31, 2014

Off the Menu

By Stacey Ballis

This is a complete antithesis of the book I read just before. It was a light, easy read, entertaining - kind of a feel-good book. Actually, it often felt too good to be true. The girl has a perfect job, the most perfect friends, the most adorable, caring family, the best dog in the world. So yes, there's the somewhat pesky boss/friend but even he has more good sides than bad ones. And then she meets the most perfect guy! The most romantic, considerate person in the whole wide world. Yes, it took her a while to find him. But seriously? It sounded a little bit too perfect.
Despite all that, I enjoyed reading the book. Perhaps it's because I thought that somehow things will turn out badly at some point. It'll turn out the guy was just a con man. Or something. But no. Well, the dog does get into an accident.
Finishing the book felt like the end of a good romantic comedy, where everything turns out the best possible way. It's definitely a good feeling. And I wish Scobie from the previous book would have had a friend like Maria, who'd tell him "Don't think about the "orrrrrrr", figure out the "and". Overall, it was way better than I expected based on the description on the back. [401 pp.]

Check out the book here.

Monday, May 26, 2014

The Heart of the Matter

By Graham Greene

This book took way too long for me to finish. I have read Graham Greene before, and enjoyed his books, but this one was different, for some reason. It was hard for me to get into, but eventually I did, and even then I can't say that I liked what I read. It seemed too unreal, the way things happened to the main character, like he has no control over anything, while the book makes it seem like he does. Maybe it's the scortching sun for six months out of the year that makes a man so miserable?  Maybe it's the rains that fall without a stop for the other six months? I don't know. Throughout the reading I kept thinking "poor Scobie", but the last few chapters of the book made me really feel bad. [256 pp.]

Link to the book here.