Landline

Above: Brandon and I in 1998 after Matchbox 20 concert.
Below: In 2013, going to see the same band at the same arena!

I finally read a Rainbow Rowell book! (Pause for applause.)

Rowell has been one of those YA authors whose books have transcended the typical YA limits. Usually the mention of YA puts the book world in a tizzy, positively and negatively, but Rowell (like Ransom Riggs), seems to unify readers in a bubble of YA happiness. I liked YA usually to begin with, but it helps to know typical YA haters like Rowell's books.

Landline was indeed worth my time, though I felt a personal connection to the topic as well. Georgie McCool stays behind on a family holiday trip to see her in-laws in order to work on a career changing project. As her family drives away, she fears her marriage may be irreparable, but she isn't sure what to do. Later, trying to contact her husband Neal from her mother's landline, she discovers she is talking to the Neal she dated fifteen years ago. And so the book's premise lies in the question: What would you do if given a second chance at something? Hindsight is a powerful tool, but would you give up the good you've known to avoid the bad?

Start at the wedding picture to the left and follow around
to the center. Seventeen total years together in a few pics.

Having celebrated my fifteen year anniversary this past January (weirdly January 15, 2015 was my 15th anniversary), I've recently "looked back" to the people my husband and I were and who we've become individually and also as a couple. It's always a weird feeling and especially now as I feel we've hit a good number of years to look back upon.

Landline didn't hit me because Georgie McCool and I have endangered marriages in common, but simply because I wonder what I would do if I had the chance to act and speak differently to my young boyfriend/husband, knowing what I know now. What would I say and what would my motivation be for speaking? And would it change the future?

Either way, a good book is one that makes you think and entertains you at the same time. Looking forward to another Rainbow Rowell, which I already have waiting at my bedside.

What's your favorite Rowell book readers?