I ain’t gunna lie to you lovelies; I love books like strippers love glitter and tit tassels. But such love cannot be contained, hence 'Book Crushes' was birthed from my obsessive spine-cracking grubby mind. These are my favourite and best books.
Books I’ve cradled, books I’ve looked in people's eyes and lied for, books that if they were in danger, I'd commit serious fraud to save them.
This week follows the story follows Emma and Dexter in a never ending up and down and round and round, will they won't they. Mr Nicholls does well to keep the queasiness at bay.
Title:
Author:
Date of Birth:
11 of June 2009
Round up:
The story follows Emma and Dexter (don't rule him out because he has a stupid name, he'll grow on you) from their first meeting on July 15th 1988, through the next twenty years. Each chapter is written from that same day just one year later. Told through letters, both Emma and Dexter's point of view, it is a juggling trick of POV, genre and style that I'm rather impressed by.
Why it’s great:
Not a massive fan of the 'romance' genre but this book didn't make me dry heave until I've broken a good few ribs, so gold star stickers all round. I think the reason for that is the book deals with more than just two love interests, staged tangle. It's about the bitter tang of growing up, of regrets, what a massive bell end fate is. The novel asks the question, can you ever truly know yourself or someone else if we all keep changing. There is humour and sadness in every chapter and it was a delight to read.
Plus I'm a sucker for a novel that has a 'writer' as a character, because you know I'm completely shallow.
Best time to read:
Before you've seen the film. Anne Hathaway's* Yorkshire accent will ruin it for you, made me want to Van Gogh my bloody ear off with a bread knife.
*I love you Anne. In Les Misérables you made selling your teeth look classy you really did, but please... on my hands and knees, please no more Yorkshire accents.
Dinner Party Prat Fact:
After training at the New York Musical and Dramatic Academy, David Nicholls worked as a professional actor of the stage, using the stage name David Holdaway.
Best quote:
“She drinks pints of coffee and writes little observations and ideas for stories with her best fountain pen on the linen-white pages of expensive notebooks. Sometimes, when it's going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationery."
In a word:
Bittersweet.
DANGER ROAMING HASHTAGS