Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Two latest books I've read

I had time on my lunches to read. I have read two books lately.
1."Ella Minnow Pea" which was very good. I loved the concept.
The note from the publisher is this (from barnesandnoble.com):

FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ella Minnow Pea is an epistolary novel set in the fictional island
of Nollop situated off the coast of South Carolina and home to the
inventor the pangram The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The
Lazy Dog. Now deceased, the islanders have erected a monument
to honor their hero, but one day a tile with the letter "z" falls
from the statue. The leaders interpret the falling tile as a message
from beyond the grave and the letter is banned from use. On an
island where the residents pride themselves on their love of
language, this is seen as a tragedy. They are still reeling from
the shock, when another tile falls and then another....
Mark Dunn takes us on a journey against time through the eyes
of Ella Minnow Pea and her family as they race to find another
phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet to save them
from being unable to communicate. Eventually, the only letters
remaining are LMNOP, when Ella finally discovers the phrase
that will save their language.

2.I also read "Love, Rosie", which was previously published as
"Rosie Dunne". It was a nice book, but not my favorite. I liked
the concept of this, too. (barnesandnoble.com, again):

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way . . .

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully
enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are
meant to be together just can't seem to get it right.

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to
know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets
closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving
Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started
to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make
plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. She gets into Boston
University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place,
when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change
their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while
on the rebound from Alex. Her dreams for college, Alex, and a
glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single
mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston.
But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series
of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities,
Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

Both were fast reads. Both were written in the forms of letters
back and forth from the characters.
Oddly enough, the character in one
has the last name of Dunn and author's name of the other is Dunn...

1 comment:

Pam said...

Goodness, suddenly you've sprung into life in the blogging department. Excellent! I'm reading "Cloud Atlas" at the moment - it's a bit strange. Haven't got very far but so far there have been two apparently completely unconnected stories. Quite intriguing.