I recently read three books that I thought were worth sharing: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, At the Water’s Edge and The Rosie Project. These three books have a similar theme in that the main character finds love in unexpected places. They are all fictional stories with very different types of characters, but I found them to be quick reads with somewhat happy endings with the exception of one. I won’t go into details about which one and spoil it for you.
I love books, but often find it difficult to write reviews because I don’t want to give away too many details. I recently watched the old movie Alex and Emma where Kate Hudson’s character reads the ending of every book before she decides if she wants to read it. I on the other hand, don’t think I would read a book if I already knew the ending. I’m not big on surprises. However, when it comes to books and movies I like the element of the unexpected.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is about widowed independent bookstore owner, A.J. Fikry who finds his business declining. A series of events happen that reframe how A.J. runs his business and he discovers love again along the way. The book is filled with interesting characters and there are lots of fun references to books at the beginning of each chapter. Some of my favorites lines from the book are:
We are not quite novels.
We are not quite short stories.
In the end, we are collected works.
I heard tons of great things about The Rosie Project by Graeme Samson and was surprised when I couldn’t get into it until about 50 pages into the book. It is written from the point of view of a man with Asperger’s Syndrome so it takes a little while to get used to his voice. Don Tillman is a genetics professor on a mission to find a wife. His unique view of things and Rosie’s quirky character make this a delightful read. I haven’t read the sequel The Rosie Effect yet, but I will one day.
At The Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen is part historical fiction. It takes place during WWII in Scotland. Three wealthy and privileged Americans travel to Scotland in search of the Loch Ness Monster. Their stories and several truths unfold in a little Scottish village filled with some interesting characters of its own. I really liked this book despite my dislike of some of the main characters. I enjoy Sara Gruen’s writing style. Her previous book Water For Elephants is one of my favorite books. It was made into a movie and I believe At The Water’s Edge is being adapted into a movie as well.
Are you in a book club? If so, I think all three of these would make good reads for a group discussion. My book club read the The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and we will be discussing At The Water’s Edge soon.
What is one of your recent favorite reads? Please share in the comments. Learning about good books is one of my simple joys!
I’m an Amazon affiliate and have provided links to Amazon should you want to read more about each book.
I didn’t realize The Rosie Project had a sequel, I will have to check that out. I’ve heard good reviews about The Water’s Edge I will have to put that on my read list. Thanks for sharing Dawn!