Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I've had a somewhat interesting relationship with this book, although I didn't get around to reading it until this past week.  A former co-worker of mine lent this book, and its sequel, to a second co-worker, probably two years ago now.   I was next in line to read it (them), but said second co-worker never returned the books.  I was given Something Borrowed as a going away gift over a year and a half ago.  The book sat on a bookkshelf, unread, for over a year.  I ended up regifting to someone I thought would enjoy it, as I tend not to be a big chick-lit person.

Then the movie came out.  I missed it in the theater, but finally saw it available in a Redbox, rented it, and watched it over and over and over again.  I lent my rented copy to a current co-worker, and then ended up re-renting it again last weekend.  After my seventh or eighth viewing, I trekked over to Target to purchase the book, a book I once currently owned and never read.

Something Borrowed is a little about friendship, a little more about love, a lot about not letting people walk all over you.  Rachel is the doormat of the fabulous, fun, beautiful Darcy.  Best friends since childhood, their relationship hasn't changed much despite growing up.  Only now there's men involved.

I won't rehash all the details, since its been a wildly popular book, but my biggest frustration was why Rachel continued being friends with this girl, especially after consciously realizing Darcy is self-absorbed and manipulative.  I was rooting for her and Dex the whole way, because the relationship was right even though the circumstances were wrong.  Go Team Rachel.

Emily Giffin obviously went to law school.  Another chirp on the book is the amount of legalese.  None of it was necessary.  Or interesting.  Otherwise, she did a fabulous job of not letting the infidelity take over the book.  The characters were honest and well-developed, excepting maybe Dex, who made it most of the way towards being well-developed.

I haven't started Book 2 yet, but I can't wait to read it.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

It's been awhile since I've read a book I've been so utterly pleased with as I am with Life of Pi.  Pi, is Piscine Patel, a young Indian boy being raised with his brother in Pondicherry India.  The family makes their living owning a zoo, and Pi grows up surrounded by monkeys, lions, tigers, and other exotic animals. At fifteen Pi almost simultaneously converts to Christianity, Islam, and Hindu.  That's just who Pi is.  Political turmoil in India forces the family to pack up, sell most of their animals, and board a Japanese freighters bound for Canada.  Partway through the trip, the freighter sinks, and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat, with a zebra, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger.  A few days after the ship sinks, an orang-utan floats by on a raft of bananas.  The hyena eats the zebra and the orang-utan, the tiger eats the hyena.  To help ensure Pi doesn't get eaten, he establishes himself as the alpha male and works to train the tiger, Richard Parker, as best he can on a lifeboat using turtle shells as a shield.

So begins seven months on board a lifeboat with an Indian adolescent and a huge tiger.  He eats through the rations stored on the boat, then begins catching fish, turtles, and sharks to feed him and the tiger.  After months at sea, they come across an island inhabited only by meerkats.  Pi feasts on algae, Richard Parker feasts on the meerkats.  Eventually Pi leaves the boat at night to sleep in a tree, and notices strange things happening.  The island is carnivorous at night!  The next day Pi and the tiger leave the island, and eventually wash ashore in central Mexico.

Yann Martel is a talented writer.  He's poetic without being verbose, easy to read without being simplistic.  Such a fantastic story.  I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book.  Pi is an awesome teenager; inventive, creative, brave, and strangely funny.  This book makes me remember why I love reading.