Hi, I’m Megan. I read books, love books, love bookstores, love the smell of paper, etc. etc. Every month, I’ll be writing a short review on a few books that stayed with me long after I read them, bought them, lost them, spilled coffee on them, etc. etc. I hope you enjoy!
Modern Romance is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year. Go buy this book, and “Treat yo’ self!” as Tom Haverford would say. Modern Romance is not strictly a humorous autobiography, which I originally thought this would be. It’s a hilarious, eye-opening sociology book presented in Aziz Ansari’s distinct voice (at one point, he asks the reader to whisper “snooping” in a “quiet, sneaky, Aziz whisper voice”). Ansari and sociologist Eric Klinenberg teamed up to untangle the many, many complexities behind the effects of modern technology on love.
Favorite tidbit: The paradox of choice that’s presented through the endless potential soulmates, waiting to be found on the world wide web and tinder.
Landline by Rainbow Rowell is marketed as a love story, and it is a love story, but what I liked most about it is the focus on the couple’s flaws. Love stories aren’t shiny and perfect in reality, and more often than not, I think you and I can agree that there are things we would change if we could go back and redo our pasts. Landline explores this idea. Georgie McCool (I’ll admit that I found the name a little ridiculous and unrealistic, but this is fiction) is spending Christmas vacation alone. Her husband, Neal, took off with their two daughters after yet another argument, and it doesn’t look likely that he’ll come home. But, Georgie has just discovered that the old landline in her childhood bedroom has a direct connection to “past” Neal. This is her chance to fix everything before it all went downhill.
Landline is a study of a relationship between two people who don’t seem like they’re supposed to be soulmates, and how they love each other despite their hardships. This journey isn’t easy for either of them, and there were times I thought they should just forget about each other and move on. Both Georgie and Neal hold pent-up guilt, blame each other, and act selfishly. For me, this is what makes Landline all the more interesting to read. Landline is compelling not because of the popular narrative of finding true love, but because of its story of love’s perseverance.
Favorite tidbit: I have a few tidbits I liked besides the main characters’ storyline. Georgie’s sister, mom and stepdad each have their own colorful characteristics, and I loved reading about their quirky family dynamic.
Persuasion by Jane Austen has been on my list of classics to read for a long time. When I finally got around to it, it took me a day and a half to finish. I couldn’t stop. Persuasion will resonate with anyone who has dealt with pressure and regret.
Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth were in love, until Anne’s haughty family deems Wentworth unworthy and below their station. Listening to her family’s judgement, Anne breaks off her engagement with Wentworth. Seven years later, he returns. Both Anne and Wentworth struggle over unanswered questions and their reluctance to approach the other. They don’t know what the other is truly feeling, and they don’t know how to act around each other. Even back in the Regency era, social awkwardness existed.
For those who want a romance on their Valentine’s Day, Persuasion tells one of the best. It’s more than a romance, with snides about the proud aristocracy, but if you’re looking to smile and be irrationally happy the rest of the day, Persuasion is for you.
Favorite tidbit: That infamous letter.
The Lighthouse Journal 