Ok so here's the deal: I already finished the first book on my list, "Where'd you go Bernadette". I know I know, I read it under 20 hours -Whaaa?- but that was only the case because I'm terribly sick and practically had the entire day to lay down. Now I looove me some lazy days but staring at the ceiling gets old and I girl can only watch too much Netflix before getting bored to death.
I didn't choose it for any particular reason other than I've been eyeing this book for almost 6 months and actually had it on iBooks but never even opened it. At first I really wanted to like it and get into it but was intimidated by the "chick-lit" looking cover which is probably the reason why I never opened it. I really am not good with chick lit and feel terrified of actually liking it for some reason? I don't know, let's just say that chick lit and I are like water and oil.
Well, I looked at some reviews and was relieved to learn that it's actually a pretty brilliant satire. That review won me over and I started eating it up. Let me tell you, I never got bored with it, Not even once. I just kept going and going and devouring with such determination like I had to cross this task out of my list but the thing is, it was actually a task I very much enjoyed. I found myself taking a couple of breaks while reading to make some tea, pick up the kiddo's mess and all the time I had this story in mind. Granted I had to try really hard not to roll my eyes over a couple of times but I knew I'd like Maria Semple's style from the first paragraph I read. The woman worked on Arrested Development!
In case you've never heard of this books its an epistolary novel about a has-been architect that went missing. This architect happens to be Bee's mother and wife to a Microsoft high profiler that is working on one of the most important projects ever to be developed by that company. The recollection of letters, medical bills, emails, and even chat's between characters are grouped together by Bee in an effort to find out what happened to her mother and where she disappeared to. Throughout the book we get to see the rise and fall of a brilliant McArthur-award-winning architect, her struggles as a mother and her problems coping with professional and personal things. She gets involved in this complex web of unfortunate events triggered by Bee's request to go to Antartica. It was so entertaining to read what was going on and feeling such a part of the story while reading letters, emails, correspondence and even FBI files. I, not even once, got bored of felt like I wish I never started.
What I truly learnt from this book is actually to never judge a book by it's cover (in a more literal way) as cheesy as it sounds. I will never again let my feelings for a cover keep me from reading a book. I never knew how much fun this book was and would've never had the opportunity to find out if I had not gotten it.
Anyways... I guess it's time to pick up another book. I think I will be starting Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Have you ever read this book? What'd you think of it?
Ps. To see my entire book list click HERE