Ugh. I can't believe I re-read this book. Literary amnesia strikes again. I didn't actually forget I'd read this before. I just forgot it wasn't that great. But can you blame me, really? The author's name isn't quite three times the size of the title, so I didn't think this was one of those books the Ape warned me about. And who could resist discovering the answer to that question posed on the cover: "What if your imaginary friend from childhood was your one true love?" Never mind the way that last phrase shouts romance novel in disguise.
I haven't read many James Patterson books, as they seem to be the haven of my friends who don't really care much about reading--honestly, now that I think about it, this may be the only one I've read. But I know about the movies Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, and I've heard of Alex Cross, so I was expecting some sort of thriller, or at least a mystery.
Funny thing is, all I remembered about the book before this re-read was that it wasn't what I expected. Not sure why I thought it might be what I expected the second time around. Have you ever heard the phrase, "anything worth reading once is worth reading twice"? Well, I will say that this book was not worth reading twice. But it was light and quick, like bubble gum and soda pop, which was a nice change from my last attempted read.
On to bigger and better things. I may actually finish The Sparrow next.
I like how you liken it to bubble gum and soda pop! I like to think of my light reads as chips. :)
ReplyDeleteWe need these short easy reads once in a while.
I didn't like this book either. I try to stay away from Patterson in general and then my mom recommended this book. I finished it and told myself I would take her recommendations with a little more skepticism.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! I think we have all made that mistake.. maybe it would be good to remember if we can't remember the book but we know we have read it, then it really isn't worth reading.. because good books are memorable right? :)
ReplyDeleteMy dad loves James Patterson along with Dan Brown and Stephen King (I like Stephen Kind). I think its because normally hes such an academic that he likes his spare time reading to be as light as possible. Needless to say we dont give eachother book recommendations ;)
ReplyDelete@Kate--but chips are good for you, right? That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
ReplyDelete@Brenna--I think I will be staying away from Patterson from now on too ;)
@Rachel--that is a really good theory and, as a literary amnesiac, I'm sure I would do well to put it into practice!
@Jessica--(and Brenna)--I'm definitely the same way--there are certain people who I just smile and nod at as they give me book recommendations.