Reading

I love to read. After having an unusually frustrating morning with the boy and complaining a bit on facebook, a friend recommended I read the book "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks. So, I decided to take a trip to the library. I picked up "Dear John" as well as "I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced" written by Nujood Ali with Dlphine Minoui (the unbelievable title caught my eye) and Laura Bush's new book "Spoken from the Heart."

The boy's frustrating morning came in part from allergies wreaking havoc on him so I was thankful when he took an exceptionally long nap for two reasons, 1-he was back to his cantankerous, fun self when he woke up and 2-I was able to finish "Dear John" while he napped.

It's not a particularly long book and I also was told it has been made into a movie but as I've never heard of it, I can't tell you how true the movie was to the book or really if it's even out on DVD yet. I can tell you my impressions of the book (keep in mind, that's all it is, my impressions...)

SPOILER ALERT-I don't expect to go into great detail especially about the ending but if you plan to read it or see the movie, just be aware there may be a spoiler or two to follow...

The main character/narrator, John (that's a Captain Obvious) is wonderful but I also saw several similarities between him and my husband so I'm probably biased. The good news for me is that my husband was able to overcome his rebellious ways long before the Army entered our life. My biggest complaint about this book is the object of John's affection, Savannah. I don't like her. I think she's weak and selfish. She reminds me of co-dependant mil-spouse/girlfriends who can't live without their service member and use that pain to justify pouring their heart into someone else. It never makes sense to me...it's not healthy to cry about your boyfriend (or husband) to another guy. I don't understand why this book is considered romantic when in the end (ok, here's a spoiler for sure) the two people who truly love each other aren't together because one chose to stay in the military and the other didn't wait. Savannah's selfishness reminds me of Catherine from "Wuthering Heights." I really just don't like her but perhaps, if the book was from her perspective I could be more empathetic and since I know nothing of the movie, it may be totally different and I sort of hope it is.

The boy is asleep for the night and I'm now really looking forward to diving into the other two books I picked up. I plan to start with "I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced"...in addition to the title a quote from Hilary Clinton on the cover of the book caught my eye, "One of the greatest women I have ever seen...She set an example with her courage." The word "women" struck me. There is a 10 year old girl in my life whom I love dearly. She's smart and funny and strong but she is not a woman. I'm super curious to read Nujood's story and will be sure to tell you about it as soon as I can.