Books Rachel is Reading (and why you should read them, too)

I’ve been telling people about the books that I have been reading lately and had the same things to say about the same books so I felt that I should just write them all down on here because WHY NOT? So a majority of these are transcribed from my memory of how I described these to my friends and try to persuade everyone to read them. I also have a page that lists all the books I have read so far in 2014 and the links to their amazon accounts for more information!

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I read Gone Girl while I was on vacation in Mexico and while you may justly think, “Rachel, why would you read a novel about a man murdering his wife during a vacation?” I will tell you: that is exactly the time to read this book! Gone Girl is a story about a man who may or may not have murdered his wife after he returns home one afternoon and their house is trashed (which we later find out is suspiciously staged from the investigation team) and his wife is missing. Are you hooked yet? Each chapter of this book alternates between the husband’s POV as he deals with his wife’s disappearance and with old diary entries written by his wife throughout their relationship. You spend the entire book in constant disagreement with yourself over the husband’s innocence – one minute you believe in him and the next you doubt yourself so entirely because of course he killed her until the next minute when you are back on his side. This book keeps you on your toes with so many twists and turns and is truly an interesting (thought that sounded better than “fun”) book to read!

 

2. The Likeness by Tana French

This psychological thriller is the second book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series but don’t worry, the first book is not necessary to follow 99.9% of the story (though it is a good book and I do suggest reading it, this one is much better.) The plot of this novel is not the easiest to understand so be patient while a try: Cassie Maddox used to be an undercover cop turned Murder Squad detective turned Domestic Violence detective. Cassie was undercover at a local college under the name Alexandria Madison years ago before getting stabbed and pulled out. Now Cassie, as a DV detective, is called to a murder scene of a stabbing victim who appears to be her doppelgänger and is identified as Alexandria (Lexie) Madison. So, naturally, the logical idea is to lie to everyone and pretend that Lexie survived and then send Cassie back undercover to expose her murderer. I keep trying to picture Tana French trying to pitch this to her publisher because it sounds crazy, I feel crazy even talking about it and definitely felt crazy for the first chunk of the book. But trust me, the book is just as intense as it is crazy and I could barely put it down.  

 

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Raise your hand if you have seen this movie with Brad Pitt. Okay. I picked up a collection of short stories by Fitzgerald years ago when this movie came out because I wanted to read the story it was based on. I liked the movie, of course I would like the story and as a reader I am very interested in the differences between the two mediums. This past week I have finally gotten around to reading the 20-page story (I find it unacceptable to not read short story collections in order meaning I read Flappers and Philosophers and then Tales of the Jazz Age in which this story is included.) So let me make a list of the things between the movie and the book that are the same:

1. Benjamin Button is born as old and grows younger

And that concludes any similarity. I am, however, not saying that either are bad; I really enjoyed the short story and the movie but view them as entirely different stories centered on characters with similar “characteristics.” This story isn’t as romantic as the movie, it has a darker edge to it: parents who get a son they don’t want, a man who can never be treated how he deserves because “he doesn’t look his age” (for example he gets chased out of Yale because he looks like a 50-year-old when he was 18 and trying to be a normal freshman.) and so on. A very good, quick read.