The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is a romance for people who don’t like romances. I really did not expect much when I started reading this, but my thanks go to Matt for recommending it. I really love epic stories that span lifetimes such as the Wind-Up Bird Chronicle or Kavalier and Clay, so this was right up my alley. This is the kind of book that you hold off on finishing because you don’t want to leave the characters and you’re sad that you will never experience this book for the first time again.

The Traveler’s Wife is the story of Henry and Claire. Henry has chrono-displacement disorder, which means that he time travels, but unfortunately has no control over where he lands. He keeps visiting his wife as a child and teen. The story unfolds in fragments and the pieces fall into place later. Throughout the book, you root for them to be together “in real time,” as it were. The book is told through both Henry and Claire’s eyes.
The characters are believable and very likeable. Henry is seen as a bit of a misfit rebel and Claire seems to be the stabilizing force in his life. I don’t want to say too much for those who haven’t read it, but I am really sorry that I took a dim, dismissive view of this book before actually reading it.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

*Spoiler Alert* I will tell you the whole plot in this post!

Chick lit is a great escape for those of us who read a lot of different books. I have to say, sometimes I really like to read books that I don't really have to think about. This was not one of those books. I did not like this book at all.

Rebecca Bloomwood is dissatisfied with her life, her job, and, well, pretty much everything. She starts the book badly by getting credit card bills that she can't afford. At this point, I'm sure I'm supposed to feel sympathy for her, but I can't. She decides that to fix this, she needs to buy more things and the book just gets worse from there. She dates a guy who she hates just because he has money. Then she looks through his checkbook while at dinner. Again, I'm sure I'm supposed to feel sorry for her, but I don't. She consoles herself by spending more money. She has no idea how to fix her problems and does not succeed in doing anything but getting herself in deeper with her problems by running her mouth and not listening to anyone. Oh, and running up her credit cards.

In the end Rebecca Bloomwood is a girl I would never be friends with, can't identify with, and grew to dislike. I'm sure Sophie Kinsella didn't mean for this to happen. The only redeeming quality of the book was that is was easy to read and fairly well written. I am sure she has written other things that I might enjoy. Perhaps I will pick up one of those someday.

The Great Expectation: The Time Traveler’s Wife.

This request was brought to us by my Internet pal, Matt. The only thing I know about this book is from the trailers of the movie. I imagine that I am going to have Brad Pitt in my head throughout this book. I was informed by a friend that I was thinking of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and that I am an idiot. So I don’t really know anything about this book, only that it may be a romance. Therefore, I honestly have no expectations at all, which is often a good thing.