Do you ever get tired of reading traditional novels or
non-fiction? Sometimes it seems like you just get into the story when some
minor disaster steals you away from your book. Or maybe you’re the type of
person that only has 5-10 minute spurts to devote to reading. Perhaps you enjoy
a quick bathroom read (gasp!) or are just plain sick and tired of reading ‘regular’
books. In between non-fiction (which I really do love) and fiction (ok, I love
that too…), I had the pleasure of reading two books that were a little bit
quirky, entertaining and different.
First, Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony
I can’t take credit for finding this young adult novel, one
of my classmates brought it to my attention this spring, but it was worth the
time I spent “reading” it. The story follows Glory and Frank’s high school love
story with a few twists. Glory is a piano prodigy and is taken to Europe to perform concerts and slowly begins developing mental health issues which become clear
as she starts playing chopsticks at her concerts instead of her traditional
classical pieces. The catch is that the story is primarily told through pictures.
There are pictures of Glory and Frank together, pictures of gifts they send
each other, pictures of moments and the occasional picture of their IM
conversations, and all of it comes together to tell their story. It opens a lot
up to interpretation and really makes you question what is happening to the two
of them. It’s likely that you’ll fly through their story but want to go through
again and search for hidden bits and pieces you may have missed the first time.
The second “different” book that I thoroughly enjoyed was The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan. I must admit that I have enjoyed quite a
few books by David Levithan, so I figured this book was a safe bet (check
out Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Boy Meets Boy if you enjoy YA fiction!). It
also kept showing up on my Goodreads recommendations and the cover jumped out
at me (yes, I’m a book cover judger). The entire story of a couple is told
through dictionary entries. Each word in the dictionary is described through a
moment, thought or conversation between the couple and the story plays out
definition by definition. One of the most intriguing things about this story is that it
does not only describe the happy pieces of this couple’s relationship—it brings
the angry parts of the relationship in too, but it describes the exhilaration
of new love so well that the negative pieces are not overwhelming. This, like
Chopsticks, could be a very short read if one were to sit down and spend time
on it, but it is also a fabulous book if you don’t have the time to devote to reading, and it’s likely that you’ll spend your non-reading time pondering what
has and will happen to them.
What is the best non-traditional book you've read? Any recommendations?
And just in case you're a book cover judger too...
No comments:
Post a Comment