I'm having a hard time getting into The Time Traveler's Wife

[Nestof3]

Is it really good? I don't read much fiction, but I wanted something light, fun, and even romantic.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

I listened to this as an audio book and loved it. The voice actors were excellent. People gave me weird looks as I walked the track at the Y with tears streaming down my face or laughing.

[ChristusG]

I read the book....I thought it was just okay.

[Caitilin]

I really enjoyed it myself, and don't remember it's being a slow starter, although it HAS been a while since I read it. Give it 40 pages, and if you don't like it, read something else! :grouphug:

[Garga]

I wouldn't describe it as light and fun. Maybe you mean it's light because it's not Tolstoy?

 

Take seriously how the other poster talked of walking around with tears streaming down her face. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book, but if you're looking for a "happily ever after" light-hearted and happy romance, this might not be it (without totally giving anything away.)

 

Maybe try something by Cecelia Ahern. Her other books are quirky and fun and romantic. I liked "If You Could See Me Now" and "There's No Place Like Here" a lot.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Garga

[Nestof3]

Thanks. I love sad books too, but I am looking for something lighter than Pride and Prejudice. I think the whole time travel thing has my head spinning.

 

I wouldn't describe it as light and fun. Maybe you mean it's light because it's not Tolstoy?

 

Take seriously how the other poster talked of walking around with tears streaming down her face. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book, but if you're looking for a "happily ever after" light-hearted and happy story, this might not be it.

 

Maybe try something by Cecelia Ahern (but not P.S. I Love You--because that one is about a widow.) Her other books are quirky and fun and romantic.

[momof2jb]

You know I really had a hard time getting into that book. I did get through it and thought it an average book. If I didn't have friends telling me how wonderful it was I honestly would have thrown it down after about 20 pages. I also didn't like the movie and quit watching it about 1/2 way through. But others raved about it, so I guess to each her own!

 

Don't waste precious time reading something that you aren't enjoying.

 

P.S. I Love You was a fabulous book! But I love that kind of sappy story. Jodi Piccoult is another author to look into if your looking for a good read.

 

Serena

[Garga]

You know I really had a hard time getting into that book. I did get through it and thought it an average book. If I didn't have friends telling me how wonderful it was I honestly would have thrown it down after about 20 pages. I also didn't like the movie and quit watching it about 1/2 way through. But others raved about it, so I guess to each her own!

 

Don't waste precious time reading something that you aren't enjoying.

 

P.S. I Love You was a fabulous book! But I love that kind of sappy story. Jodi Piccoult is another author to look into if your looking for a good read.

 

Serena

 

I loved P.S. I Love You, too! I had thought the OP didn't want something sad, but it sounds like she doesn't mind. And P.S. I Love You wasn't sad throughout at all. (That was sort of the point--it was about grieving and coming out the other end.)

 

::Going to the library website to look for Jodi Piccoult books::

[Aggie]

I listened to it as long as I could but never finished it. I kept thinking/hoping it would get better....

 

This week I tried to watch the movie but turned it off after about 30 minutes.

[Nakia]

I hated it.

[orangearrow]

I hated it also and wish I hadn't finished it. In the end, I felt like I'd been sucker-punched.

 

I was also hoping for a light, romantic kind of book. And it started out sort of light and funny - but the end... blech. It didn't help that I really didn't care for the female character either. She just... annoyed me.

 

I did like P.S. I Love You. Hated the movie - but enjoyed the book. :)

[kokotg]

I didn't have any trouble getting into it, but I still hated it. I think Henry's a controlling jerk.

[Mergath]

I loved it. Really, really loved it. The author did an excellent job of making the fantastic elements and the problems they caused seem so real.

 

If you don't like a book after a certain point, it's best not to waste your time any further with it. A piece of advice that has stuck with me is that you should read into a book as many pages as you are years old, and if you still can't get into it, just stop.

[RoughCollie]

I didn't like that book at all. But it seemed like everybody else loved it, so I read the whole thing. I kept thinking any page now ....

[Guest Katia]

I didn't like that book at all. But it seemed like everybody else loved it, so I read the whole thing. I kept thinking any page now ....

 

Me, too. I read the whole thing thinking it would get better....sometime....someday.....

 

It never did. I think it was one of the most depressing books I've ever read. What a waste of my time.

[TravelingChris]

I didn't like the book either. I read it as part of a book club. Otherwise I would not have finished it.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Is it really good? I don't read much fiction, but I wanted something light, fun, and even romantic.

 

Hated it. Kept waiting for it to get better. It was too graphic and pathetic. Hiding from tomatoes now. ;)

[Thea]

I loved this book. This one and Water for Elephants were tied for my two favorite reads that year...

 

I cannot get into Little Women. I know--many love it, but I just. don't.

 

If it hasn't hooked you within the first 50 pages, I say move on to the next one.

[Heidi7Sue]

I absolutely loved that book. But I would not in a million years describe it as light or fun. Funny, yes; in fact it's truly hilarious much of the time. And it is romantic. But like other people have said, it's not light by any stretch of the imagination. It's not like a Jane Austen novel either, though. There's a lot more action and less analysis than in an Austen novel, and I would say it should be rated R for both sex and violence. (I don't remember what the movie was rated, but it wasn't nearly as good as the book anyway.)

 

Also, I like a book that tries to confuse me. Not by making no sense, but by requiring the reader to pay attention and remember things.

[BettyL]

I found it too graphic and promptly returned it to the library, thankful that I hadn't spent my money on it :D

[Laura Corin]

(Ducking missiles) I found it a very silly and irritating book.

 

Laura

[Rhonda in TX]

I absolutely loved that book. But I would not in a million years describe it as light or fun. Funny, yes; in fact it's truly hilarious much of the time. And it is romantic. But like other people have said, it's not light by any stretch of the imagination. It's not like a Jane Austen novel either, though. There's a lot more action and less analysis than in an Austen novel, and I would say it should be rated R for both sex and violence. (I don't remember what the movie was rated, but it wasn't nearly as good as the book anyway.)

 

Also, I like a book that tries to confuse me. Not by making no sense, but by requiring the reader to pay attention and remember things.

 

Exactly how I feel about the book.

[Pippen]

I heard such good reviews about it that I bought it to save for a long car trip.

 

It just kept going on and on...I left it at the campground on a book swap shelf.

[RegGuheert]

Was it based on the movie? ;)

 

Light and fun? Hardly. How about sci-fi action tearjerker?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

Light, fun, and romantic...not. I was very uncomfortable with the graphic-ness.

 

However, I read it through because I was intrigued by the time travel aspect. I love time travel and all its paradoxes and conundrums.

[Jen S in Va]

I didn't like that book at all. But it seemed like everybody else loved it, so I read the whole thing. I kept thinking any page now ....

 

I have to agree. Finished it, but wish I hadn't. Was anyone else creeped out by it? Maybe it was just me....:confused:

[NanceXToo]

I loved The Time Travelers Wife! My mother, on the other hand, said she had a hard time getting into it and was confused by it. I guess it's got pretty mixed reviews! I'm definitely on the loved it side of the fence though :D

[whitestavern]

This was one of my favorite reads! However, I recommended it to a few people who really disliked it, so I don't know; I'd say give it a good try and if you don't get into it, put it away, at least for now.

[Kirch]

Thanks. I love sad books too, but I am looking for something lighter than Pride and Prejudice. I think the whole time travel thing has my head spinning.

 

Hmm . . . well, if you mean "lighter" as in easier to read because of the language and cultural references, then it's lighter. P&P is much lighter and more fun in regard to story and subject matter. I loved The Time Traveler's Wife, but it did have a bit of a learning curve to follow the time travel stuff.

[6packofun]

Maybe Northanger Abbey, then? I love that one!

 

If you want something light, fun, a little romantic in a slightly quirky way and Christian (but not bang-you-over-the-head Christian, LOL) try Flabbergasted by Ray Blackston. He's written some follow-ups to that one that are pretty good, as well as 2 stand alone novels, Par for the Course and Last Mango in Texas. Good clean, light reads!

[Kareni]

I read it through because I was intrigued by the time travel aspect. I love time travel and all its paradoxes and conundrums.

 

I love time travel novels, too. I posted about one recently here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[cillakat]

Is it really good? I don't read much fiction, but I wanted something light, fun, and even romantic.

 

uh, then you're reading the wrong book.

 

it's romantic. but not light at all. It's pretty heavy and angsty and really did a number on me.

 

Seriously it'd be equivalent to hoping that _Atonement_ would be a light, fun, romantic read.

 

:)

K

[Dooley]

WAY too much s@x.

[Mommyfaithe]

Is it really good? I don't read much fiction, but I wanted something light, fun, and even romantic.

 

No, it is not that good. That book stunk. I can't believe I forced myself to finish it. I kept thinking it was going to go somewhere. It didn't. Terrible book. Don't torture yourself.

 

~~Faithe

[iquilt]

It is good, but you have to be able to leave reality behind in order to enjoy the premise that he travels thru time to see her over and over again.

[emubird]

I couldn't get through it. Too much sex -- and I'm not really offended by that sort of thing in the "normal" way. I just don't like a lot of sex in my reading because it signals to me that the author really has nothing else to say. They're just trying to cover that up by wowing the audience with R rated material.

 

My book club loved it, but after hearing their description of the ending I was just as glad I left it. (And whenever my book club starts going on about some wonderful book because of the "romance" ( "didn't you just love the sex scenes!") I decide not to read the book if I haven't already gotten to it. They're suckers for soft porn, but because it's in book form, they don't see it that way. They think it's literature. There are certain ladies in that club whose reading suggestions I never take because that seems to be all they're interested in. On the surface they seem like thinking, literate people...)

 

Pride and Prejudice, by the way, is a great book -- but you have to be prepared to laugh at all the characters. Even Elizabeth is laughable. I find it hard to believe people think she's such a perfect heroine.

 

The first few chapters of Pride and Prejudice are a bit slow going just because you have to figure out who all the characters are. It gets easier after that.

[justamouse]

I made myself slog through it to see what the hub bub was about. Nuff said.

 

Too much sex? Really? Huh. Didn't even register on my meter.

 

Light, fun and romantic? Read Welcome To Temptation by Jenny Crusie or Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Not TTW.

[justamouse]

I couldn't get through it. Too much sex -- and I'm not really offended by that sort of thing in the "normal" way. I just don't like a lot of sex in my reading because it signals to me that the author really has nothing else to say. They're just trying to cover that up by wowing the audience with R rated material.

 

My book club loved it, but after hearing their description of the ending I was just as glad I left it. (And whenever my book club starts going on about some wonderful book because of the "romance" ( "didn't you just love the sex scenes!") I decide not to read the book if I haven't already gotten to it. They're suckers for soft porn, but because it's in book form, they don't see it that way. They think it's literature. There are certain ladies in that club whose reading suggestions I never take because that seems to be all they're interested in. On the surface they seem like thinking, literate people...)

 

You do realize that some romance writers have doctorates and masters and teach in colleges, right? They're lawyers and doctors, moms and military women. They're thinking literate women.

 

Seriously, the slew of people you just insulted.

Edited April 19, 2010 by justamouse