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I quite enjoyed this read, even though it took me a little longer to read this book than I would have liked (I had other books to complete at the time. which meant that I had to set aside this book). While it wasn't a book that won't exactly blow one's mind, it definitely did its job and is a example of what I would expect from what is coined as a cozy mystery. In otherwords, it does its job and doesn't try to be something that its not. And its the sort of book that one could easily read in a few days and even if you had to put it down for a bit, it wouldn't be hard to pick up the book where you left off.
If I wasn't for the TV series airing on PBS, I probably wouldn't have picked up the book, as I hadn't heard of the book prior to the series. While the book is an interesting look at the life of Henry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges, the author seems to get bogged down in the sort of details that most people wouldn't be interested in, including myself, especially those about the financials, which made me bored to tears. As you can probably tell, I was more interested in his personal life, but I guess since that his personal life was intertwined with that of the store, one couldn't exactly ignore the business side of his life.
After watching the movie, I thought that I would give this a try and it would be interesting to see how much of the book was used in the movie (and from what I can recall, the movie was pretty accurate to what was written in the book). Maybe it wwas the visual nature of the movie, but I honestly felt that the book was tad dull and lacked the emotional depth that the movie had.
It also felt like somebody was telling another person what they felt about a particular event and not as engrossing as maybe hearing it from the person talk about the events; it felt like I was reading the transcript of a really amazing speech after seeing the video recording of the same speech online or in person.
 - Solomon Northup)
I first heard about this book either through the Bookrageous or through Books on the Nightstand, but I pretty sure I heard about the book through both at some point, and then heard about the book through the New York Times Book Review Podcast, which convinced me that I really did need to read the book and that it did appeal to me.
And I wasn't disappointed with it at all. While I felt that it took a bit of the story to actually get going, once the story did get going, I really got into the story. What I really liked was the shift between the characters and how very different their narratives ended up being from each other and reflected their personalities well. I also liked how they interacted with each other and was really surprised how involved I got with the various characters, especially with Jules. In fact, I got so involved with the story that I found myself bawling as I finishing up the book.
I don't know why the book struck a chord with me in that manner, but while I didn't like it so much as to garner a higher rating, it was a book that probably will stay with me for a long time.
Saw this book recommended on a blog somewhere (this may be a bit redundant, as most books I read come from blog recommendations) and it intrigued me. Luckily for me, I was able to get a library copy fairly quickly and hence I was able to finish the book within fairly short order.
What appealed me to the book was the fact that it reminded a lot of the plot line of Downton Abbey and it also appealed to me in that it looked to be a fairly easy read and something that I could read in short order, which I was able to.
Now that I have had sometime to let the book soak in and my thoughts to be properly formulated, I was reminded of Sarah's Key, in that it was a book that I could easily put down for a period of time and pick up just as easily without missing too much of the storyline.
While the book was nothing too memorable, the writing was decent enough and I liked the characters, even if the book became a bit too cliched for my liking.
I can't recall where I had first hear about this book, but wherever I saw it, it definitely piqued my interest.
At first I was quite impressed with the author's ability to express his thought and feelings in a fairly coherent manner, but as I moved on in the book I started to become skeptical of how much a 13 year-old would truly know about living with ASD (Austim Spectrum Disorder), especially since it is something that is so varied. I also found that the voice of the author to be irritating at times, especially towards the end of the book. I really was hoping for more, but was unable to find what I was hoping for and actually quit reading the book with one section left to complete.
1
First heard about the book in the lead-up to the movie being released this past winter and hence why I requested the book. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't attest to how accurate the adaptation is as this isn't a review of the movie. While the book was at least for me a decent read, it wasn't a read that was memorable for me. I realize that this is clearly meant for readers that enjoy this sort of a read, not for those that like something that allows one to think more deeply.
The book is well written, but didn't satisfy me as a reader, in that while Ms. Maynard gives very vivid descriptions of one weekend (a memorable one at that) of a 13 year-old boy, the story falls flat, especially in the last third, where it seems as though she wanted to tie the story up into a nice package that clearly was aimed to those that like endings that aren't for the most part, ambiguous. Personally I would have liked the story to end on an ambiguous note and let the reader to decide as to what the ending of the book was to be, rather than have the ending decided for me, unless of course I happen to love the book.
First heard about the book in the lead-up to the movie being released this past winter and hence why I requested the book. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't attest to how accurate the adaptation is as this isn't a review of the movie. While the book was at least for me a decent read, it wasn't a read that was memorable for me. I realize that this is clearly meant for readers that enjoy this sort of a read, not for those that like something that allows one to think more deeply.
The book is well written, but didn't satisfy me as a reader, in that while Ms. Maynard gives very vivid descriptions of one weekend (a memorable one at that) of a 13 year-old boy, the story falls flat, especially in the last third, where it seems as though she wanted to tie the story up into a nice package that clearly was aimed to those that like endings that aren't for the most part, ambiguous. Personally I would have liked the story to end on an ambiguous note and let the reader to decide as to what the ending of the book was to be, rather than have the ending decided for me, unless of course I happen to love the book.
I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book. And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more. And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it. What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.
While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here. She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.
I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book. And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more. And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it. What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.
While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here. She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.
I first read this book back in November when doing the Unputdownables readalong for this book. And like I said my previous review of this book, this book needed a second reading to understand it better (I read it the first time for the sake of saying said I had read the book) and also to appreciate it more. And as I was reading it this last time, I did enjoy the book more than I did the first time I had read it. What also made the difference is that I wasn't really juggling too many books at the time and that by reading basically this book, I was able to focus on the book and really appreciate what this book for what it is.
While it isn't Austen's best work, I can definitely see elements of her other books in this book The book showed elements of themes that Austen tends to focus with more depth than she did here. She also showed her appreciation of literature and also how somebody can get so obsessed with a book that you think that you are living it.
I had a bit of difficulty getting into this book, but I ended up actually enjoying the book. I think if there had been a little bit more editing to the book (the first section should have been cut maybe by about 100 pages), I think that I may have enjoyed the book a little bit more than I did. Overall, it is a pretty good read and once I was able to get more into the book, I was able to enjoy a little more than I had. It is one of those books that the payoff comes later on in the book, as you are given so much information in the first section that I felt that there was too much to digest.
