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Attachments
"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you..."
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now—reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers—not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained—and captivated—by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ?
Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now—reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers—not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.
When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained—and captivated—by their stories.
By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.
What would he say . . . ?
323 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2011
About the author
Rainbow Rowell
136 books141k followersRainbow Rowell writes all kinds of stuff.
Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).
Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .
Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).
Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.
She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
More at rainbowrowell.com.
Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS, LANDLINE, SLOW DANCE).
Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK, FANGIRL) .
Sometimes — actually, a lot of the time — she writes about lovesick vampires and guys with dragon wings. (THE SIMON SNOW TRILOGY).
Recently, she’s been writing comics, including her first graphic novel, PUMPKINHEADS, and the monthly SHE-HULK comic for Marvel.
She lives in Omaha, Nebraska.
More at rainbowrowell.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 23,393 reviews
July 24, 2016
I had attempted to read this book a couple of weeks ago, but I wasn't feeling it and gave up after 40 pages. Man, am I happy that I gave it a second chance! This was so dang cute and surprisingly not cheesy despite the plot sounding like a total cheese-fest. I love how this wasn't just an adorable slow-building romance, but it also follows Lincoln and his difficulties with growing up and moving on. Definitely read this if you are a fan of Rainbow Rowell's other novels or romantic comedies!
February 7, 2017
December 2015: I love you, book.
(Sidenote: After my first re-read, this may not be my favorite Rainbow Rowell book anymore? I still love it beyond reason, but I think she's just matured so much as an author, Carry On or Fangirl might overtake it when I get to them. I guess we'll see!)
February 2013: Falling in love with a book is exactly like falling in love with a person. In both cases, most of the time you just can’t help yourself, and what happens during the falling is almost entirely out of your control. This is an especially appropriate metaphor to be making when talking about Rainbow Rowell’s delightful little book, Attachments, which is about a man falling in love in a very inappropriate way. This is what I wrote on Goodreads approximately one minute and thirty-one seconds after finishing the last page at 2 AM on Saturday night:
I believe that sentence and my five star rating should speak for itself, but I would like to elaborate anyway because when you fall in love with something you want to tell everybody about it as loudly and in as many ways as possible.
Attachments takes place in 1999, just before the turn of the millennium and all the madness of Y2K (remember Y2K? It was like practice for the Mayan apocalypse!). Twenty-eight year old perpetual student Lincoln is fresh off his latest graduate degree and is stuck in a rut in basically every area of his life: he lives with his mother, he has no foreseeable career objectives (he can’t even figure out what it is that he might be good at), he has no social life to speak of excepting Saturday night games of D&D with his lifelong friends, and he hasn’t even attempted a romantic relationship since his heart was smashed into pieces eight years before by the girl he thought he’d be with forever.
As the novel opens, Lincoln has just taken a job in a Nebraska newspaper’s IT department where he is in charge of the newly developed email security program that monitors employee’s email accounts for inappropriate usage. It’s a bit of a creepy job reading other people’s emails and sending them warnings, not to mention tedious and boring, but it’s at least a job. He spends most of his time reading books and doing other non work-related activities. That is, until he accidentally becomes wrapped up in the correspondence of two employees, film critic Beth and copyeditor Jennifer, who are smart and funny and who little by little begin treating their work email accounts as a personal chat service. After about the fourth or fifth flagged conversation, Lincoln realizes it’s too late to send them a warning and with not a little guilt begins looking forward to each flagged email, especially when it becomes clear to him that not only is he developing feelings for Beth, but she has a little crush on him as well. The only problem is, if he wants to be with her, how can he do so knowing that he’s just spent a ridiculous amount of time violating her personal privacy?
The novel is a mix between Lincoln’s 3rd person POV and a delightful modern epistolary confection consisting of Jennifer and Beth’s increasingly personal emails to one another. Jennifer and Beth are immediately very likeable. Their conversations with one another are funny and warm and occasionally sort of surprisingly heart-rending. That they were so likeable is key, because the novel wouldn’t have worked if we as readers were not able to overcome the basic creepiness of Lincoln’s actions. We want Lincoln to keep reading about Jennifer and Beth because WE want to keep reading about Jennifer and Beth. His actions as Rowell writes them, while a bit icky, are also completely understandable. There’s also the fact that Lincoln himself is a wonderful character, and I quickly found myself wishing he was real because I have been looking for him all my life. But it’s not only that he’s likeable. His struggles as an aimless and confused young adult unsure of what he wanted to do with himself was one I could relate to in very specific ways. The sharp wit of Rowell’s dialogue and prose doesn’t hurt, either. This was also the perfect time period to set this book. The transition from tradition to technology at the newspaper echoes Lincoln’s own stumbling transition to adulthood.
This is probably not a book many other readers will give five stars to, but it hit all of my personal buttons in all the right ways. Like, to the point where I was all, Rainbow Rowell, either get out of my head or be my best friend. But even if you don’t fall crazy in love and over-identify with it like I did, it’s still worth checking out as the perfect example of this kind of romancey, character-driven novel. It’s well-written, funny, has great characters, and is overall a super-fun read. If you like good romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and Love, Actually, just imagine that this is like a book version of that and you’ll have a pretty good idea. I am now eagerly anticipating the two (!) books Rainbow Rowell is publishing later this year.
(Sidenote: After my first re-read, this may not be my favorite Rainbow Rowell book anymore? I still love it beyond reason, but I think she's just matured so much as an author, Carry On or Fangirl might overtake it when I get to them. I guess we'll see!)
February 2013: Falling in love with a book is exactly like falling in love with a person. In both cases, most of the time you just can’t help yourself, and what happens during the falling is almost entirely out of your control. This is an especially appropriate metaphor to be making when talking about Rainbow Rowell’s delightful little book, Attachments, which is about a man falling in love in a very inappropriate way. This is what I wrote on Goodreads approximately one minute and thirty-one seconds after finishing the last page at 2 AM on Saturday night:
“FUCKING HELL, MAN. Why is this so . . . GUH . . . and it’s the middle of the night and I’M SO ALONE.”
I believe that sentence and my five star rating should speak for itself, but I would like to elaborate anyway because when you fall in love with something you want to tell everybody about it as loudly and in as many ways as possible.
Attachments takes place in 1999, just before the turn of the millennium and all the madness of Y2K (remember Y2K? It was like practice for the Mayan apocalypse!). Twenty-eight year old perpetual student Lincoln is fresh off his latest graduate degree and is stuck in a rut in basically every area of his life: he lives with his mother, he has no foreseeable career objectives (he can’t even figure out what it is that he might be good at), he has no social life to speak of excepting Saturday night games of D&D with his lifelong friends, and he hasn’t even attempted a romantic relationship since his heart was smashed into pieces eight years before by the girl he thought he’d be with forever.
As the novel opens, Lincoln has just taken a job in a Nebraska newspaper’s IT department where he is in charge of the newly developed email security program that monitors employee’s email accounts for inappropriate usage. It’s a bit of a creepy job reading other people’s emails and sending them warnings, not to mention tedious and boring, but it’s at least a job. He spends most of his time reading books and doing other non work-related activities. That is, until he accidentally becomes wrapped up in the correspondence of two employees, film critic Beth and copyeditor Jennifer, who are smart and funny and who little by little begin treating their work email accounts as a personal chat service. After about the fourth or fifth flagged conversation, Lincoln realizes it’s too late to send them a warning and with not a little guilt begins looking forward to each flagged email, especially when it becomes clear to him that not only is he developing feelings for Beth, but she has a little crush on him as well. The only problem is, if he wants to be with her, how can he do so knowing that he’s just spent a ridiculous amount of time violating her personal privacy?
The novel is a mix between Lincoln’s 3rd person POV and a delightful modern epistolary confection consisting of Jennifer and Beth’s increasingly personal emails to one another. Jennifer and Beth are immediately very likeable. Their conversations with one another are funny and warm and occasionally sort of surprisingly heart-rending. That they were so likeable is key, because the novel wouldn’t have worked if we as readers were not able to overcome the basic creepiness of Lincoln’s actions. We want Lincoln to keep reading about Jennifer and Beth because WE want to keep reading about Jennifer and Beth. His actions as Rowell writes them, while a bit icky, are also completely understandable. There’s also the fact that Lincoln himself is a wonderful character, and I quickly found myself wishing he was real because I have been looking for him all my life. But it’s not only that he’s likeable. His struggles as an aimless and confused young adult unsure of what he wanted to do with himself was one I could relate to in very specific ways. The sharp wit of Rowell’s dialogue and prose doesn’t hurt, either. This was also the perfect time period to set this book. The transition from tradition to technology at the newspaper echoes Lincoln’s own stumbling transition to adulthood.
This is probably not a book many other readers will give five stars to, but it hit all of my personal buttons in all the right ways. Like, to the point where I was all, Rainbow Rowell, either get out of my head or be my best friend. But even if you don’t fall crazy in love and over-identify with it like I did, it’s still worth checking out as the perfect example of this kind of romancey, character-driven novel. It’s well-written, funny, has great characters, and is overall a super-fun read. If you like good romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and Love, Actually, just imagine that this is like a book version of that and you’ll have a pretty good idea. I am now eagerly anticipating the two (!) books Rainbow Rowell is publishing later this year.
July 25, 2015
CONTAINS SPOILERS
This book would have been sooo much better if not for the pathetic characters.
Meet Lincoln:
A 29 year old nerd who has multiple degrees, lives with his mom, plays dungeons and dragons on the weekend, is cripplingly awkward and hasn't been able to get over his high school sweetheart breakup for the past NINE years.... BUT WAIT! LINCOLN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE THIS:
Ya.... I don't get it either.
Lincoln works as an internet cop. He snoops through people's emails and web histories, to make sure no one is slacking off during work... welcome to the 90's.
Obviously, this is not the funnest job in the world; which is how Lincoln ends up amusing himself by reading the explicit emails between coworkers and friends, Beth & Jennifer.
Jennifer is infinitely terrified of getting pregnant, yet she possibly wants to since Mitch, her husband, wants a baby. When she finally does get pregnant she whines about it all the time but you can tell deep down she's happy. It's like the girl that complains all the time about this one guy who keeps flirting with her although she will encourage him and is enjoying the attention. Just shut up and stop being bitter and lying to yourself.
Beth on the other hand, has been dating an intense and flaky musician for the past 9 years. She's dying to get married and have kids. However, Chris, the B.F. is not interested. Que some more female whining.
Lincoln falls for Beth through the emails she sends to Jen, although he's never met her.
We follow the characters through their pathetic lives and how they all get over themselves, grow some balls and make life changing decisions... finally.
It's a cute idea which was executed poorly in my opinion. The characters did not have to be disgustingly weak.
I did enjoy Beth and Jen's emails. They were witty and amusing. I also admire the author's decision of attempting a Chick Lit. from a man's POV. We have countless of Chick Lit's starring pathetic females. In this one we have a pathetic male instead.
Interesting, yet not fulfilling.
This book would have been sooo much better if not for the pathetic characters.
Meet Lincoln:
A 29 year old nerd who has multiple degrees, lives with his mom, plays dungeons and dragons on the weekend, is cripplingly awkward and hasn't been able to get over his high school sweetheart breakup for the past NINE years.... BUT WAIT! LINCOLN ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE THIS:
Ya.... I don't get it either.
Lincoln works as an internet cop. He snoops through people's emails and web histories, to make sure no one is slacking off during work... welcome to the 90's.
Obviously, this is not the funnest job in the world; which is how Lincoln ends up amusing himself by reading the explicit emails between coworkers and friends, Beth & Jennifer.
Jennifer is infinitely terrified of getting pregnant, yet she possibly wants to since Mitch, her husband, wants a baby. When she finally does get pregnant she whines about it all the time but you can tell deep down she's happy. It's like the girl that complains all the time about this one guy who keeps flirting with her although she will encourage him and is enjoying the attention. Just shut up and stop being bitter and lying to yourself.
Beth on the other hand, has been dating an intense and flaky musician for the past 9 years. She's dying to get married and have kids. However, Chris, the B.F. is not interested. Que some more female whining.
Lincoln falls for Beth through the emails she sends to Jen, although he's never met her.
We follow the characters through their pathetic lives and how they all get over themselves, grow some balls and make life changing decisions... finally.
It's a cute idea which was executed poorly in my opinion. The characters did not have to be disgustingly weak.
I did enjoy Beth and Jen's emails. They were witty and amusing. I also admire the author's decision of attempting a Chick Lit. from a man's POV. We have countless of Chick Lit's starring pathetic females. In this one we have a pathetic male instead.
Interesting, yet not fulfilling.
February 19, 2017
This romance contemporary was creepy. Not cute. It felt like I was reading YA, not Adult and it was literally one step away from You by Caroline Kepnes.
The main character is basically described as a “loser”. He's 28, plays D&D, has no social skills, lives with his mom and has never gotten over his high school sweetheart... BUT WAIT he’s actually tall, muscular, hot and has multiple degrees!!!! Right.
I honestly don’t understand the hype.
With a few changes it could have easily been a thriller/horror book!
The main character is basically described as a “loser”. He's 28, plays D&D, has no social skills, lives with his mom and has never gotten over his high school sweetheart... BUT WAIT he’s actually tall, muscular, hot and has multiple degrees!!!! Right.
I honestly don’t understand the hype.
With a few changes it could have easily been a thriller/horror book!
November 3, 2015
Brilliant! I loved everything about it, definitely a new favorite. <3
May 24, 2014
This was such a good book! It's one of those books that just makes you feel ridiculously happy. I'm glad that booksplosion chose it as the book of the month for May!
June 12, 2015
My office’s IT support guy has a blonde ponytail and once serenaded me with an Enrique Iglesias song while I was stuck at the copy machine waiting for a fax to go through. He was INTO IT. He was acting like it was some deep, deep rock anthem that TOUCHED HIS SOUL. Air acoustic guitar was involved. I did what any normal person would do: studiously avoided eye contact and went directly back to my desk to email my work best friend about it.
Actual email excerpt:
And then we watched this video ten times and laughed until we forgot how much our jobs suck.
Ahem. ANYWAYS. As you might guess, I thought this book was so freaking charming! It's based in the late 90s and told from the perspective of Lincoln, who starts off the book leading a pretty pathetic, lonely existence. He has no social interaction that doesn't involve his mother or Dungeons and Dragons. He left a majority of his self-esteem sprinkled across the countryside on the long just-been-dumped-by-the-love-of-his-life bus ride home from college. He works the IT security night shift at the local newspaper, has no social skills and basically walks around in a beige, directionless haze.
But then, Beth and Jennifer's email chains get flagged in his security filters and Lincoln is immediately drawn to their infectious personalities. They are lively and funny and Lincoln is charmed. Instead of sending them a warning letter as dictated by company policy, Lincoln continues to read the emails and quickly becomes invested in their lives, unable to resist the bright spot they create in his otherwise tedious, mind-numbingly boring job. Things get even more complicated when he finds himself falling for Beth. Of course this is a huge invasion of privacy, but never underestimate the potential for trouble-making and bad decisions with hours of bored free time in an unfulfilling job.
Just scrolling through my sent box in my email I see subject lines of: "My Cubicle is Draining My Life Force", "Data Entry: Totally Worth All of That Student Loan Debt!", "Is Liking Three Songs in a Row on the Lite Rock Less Talk Station a Sign of Stockholm Syndrome?" so I definitely empathized with some of Lincoln's life and job frustrations. But my favorite part of this book by far (besides the swoonage of course) was Beth and Jennifer's relationship. I couldn't blame Lincoln for being so charmed---I was charmed! They were awesome and a perfect representation of the wonderfulness of BFFs. I loved them. Oh, and I realized if I had a mysteriously hot guy in my office that unbeknownst to me could read my emails, he'd have enough for a restraining order within the week. I admire Beth and Jennifer's restraint.
In closing: this book is so cute. It gave me a happy buzz the whole way through. Thank you Maggie for steering me to it! (And for always emailing me back! :D)
Actual email excerpt:
Me: I just got "I will be your hero, baby"-ed by tech support.
Friend: I'm pretty sure HR frowns on that.
Me: I'm pretty sure they frown on any mention of trembling.
Friend: But do they know what it feels like loving someone that's in a rush to throw them away?
Me: Do they know? Do they know? Do they know? Do they?
And then we watched this video ten times and laughed until we forgot how much our jobs suck.
Ahem. ANYWAYS. As you might guess, I thought this book was so freaking charming! It's based in the late 90s and told from the perspective of Lincoln, who starts off the book leading a pretty pathetic, lonely existence. He has no social interaction that doesn't involve his mother or Dungeons and Dragons. He left a majority of his self-esteem sprinkled across the countryside on the long just-been-dumped-by-the-love-of-his-life bus ride home from college. He works the IT security night shift at the local newspaper, has no social skills and basically walks around in a beige, directionless haze.
But then, Beth and Jennifer's email chains get flagged in his security filters and Lincoln is immediately drawn to their infectious personalities. They are lively and funny and Lincoln is charmed. Instead of sending them a warning letter as dictated by company policy, Lincoln continues to read the emails and quickly becomes invested in their lives, unable to resist the bright spot they create in his otherwise tedious, mind-numbingly boring job. Things get even more complicated when he finds himself falling for Beth. Of course this is a huge invasion of privacy, but never underestimate the potential for trouble-making and bad decisions with hours of bored free time in an unfulfilling job.
Just scrolling through my sent box in my email I see subject lines of: "My Cubicle is Draining My Life Force", "Data Entry: Totally Worth All of That Student Loan Debt!", "Is Liking Three Songs in a Row on the Lite Rock Less Talk Station a Sign of Stockholm Syndrome?" so I definitely empathized with some of Lincoln's life and job frustrations. But my favorite part of this book by far (besides the swoonage of course) was Beth and Jennifer's relationship. I couldn't blame Lincoln for being so charmed---I was charmed! They were awesome and a perfect representation of the wonderfulness of BFFs. I loved them. Oh, and I realized if I had a mysteriously hot guy in my office that unbeknownst to me could read my emails, he'd have enough for a restraining order within the week. I admire Beth and Jennifer's restraint.
In closing: this book is so cute. It gave me a happy buzz the whole way through. Thank you Maggie for steering me to it! (And for always emailing me back! :D)
May 22, 2022
im honestly not a rainbow rowell fan, but this book is adorable in every way possible.
so if thats not an endorsement, i dont know what is. lol.
so if thats not an endorsement, i dont know what is. lol.
June 9, 2023
I AM GUSHING FROM THE CUTENESS
February 22, 2022
This book was cute.
A little too slow for me (and my lack of patience), but cute overall. I really loved the mail chatter betweeen Beth and Jennifer, they made me laugh a lot. And Lincoln, he was really sweet and I think he is the kind of boyfriend I would love to have (not only because of his personality, but because he's so tall, haha. And awkward and shy).
There were some quotes that made me giggle and others that made my heart all warm inside <3. This book was about to get 3 stars, but the ending made it earn a whole star more. I wasn't really expecting it and when it happened it made me so so so happy!
I really liked this book :). Not as much as Fangirl or Eleanor & Park, but I sure enjoyed it a lot.
A little too slow for me (and my lack of patience), but cute overall. I really loved the mail chatter betweeen Beth and Jennifer, they made me laugh a lot. And Lincoln, he was really sweet and I think he is the kind of boyfriend I would love to have (not only because of his personality, but because he's so tall, haha. And awkward and shy).
There were some quotes that made me giggle and others that made my heart all warm inside <3. This book was about to get 3 stars, but the ending made it earn a whole star more. I wasn't really expecting it and when it happened it made me so so so happy!
I really liked this book :). Not as much as Fangirl or Eleanor & Park, but I sure enjoyed it a lot.
June 22, 2017
I’m genuinely sad right now. I wish I was made up of enough faith and romanticism and cotton candy and rainbows to buy into this book, or at least suspend my own version of reality for long enough to enjoy it fully. But alas, I’m a cynic with a 3.1 average rating. Swoony romance is just not how I roll.
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
You have to concede to some big-ass, brand-name concepts if you wanna enjoy this book. Chief among them? True love and love at first sight. The Big Two, as I call them.
But we’ll get there. That doesn’t really come into play until the end. And before that, we get hundreds of pages of fun with some great characters!
Wow. Warning sign to self: when genuine enthusiasm sounds sarcastic, you may need to check your pessimism. Yikes.
So: the year is 1999. We follow Lincoln, a guy in his late twenties whose appearance is described as a mid-twentieth-century interpretation of the Hulk with Jason Bateman’s face.
No, that’s not a joke. I wish I was funny enough to make that up.
Anyway, at the beginning of the book, Lincoln is still in love with his high school girlfriend, lives with his mom, has no social encounters but for Dungeons & Dragons games, and works nights reading people’s emails at a newspaper. But, as Justin points out, my boy Linc is still hot enough to inspire obsession in the hearts of no small number of coworkers.
Lincoln’s life is pretty boring, but I didn’t mind, most of the time. He’s pretty funny and smart and shy and nice - all around adorkable. A real Zooey Deschanel. (Just kidding, he’s not a manic pixie dream boy...oh my god wait is he a manic pixie dream boy?! He does enjoy profound conversations about modern romance with strangers at bars and sheet sets with violets on them for the prettiness of it…)
F*ck, I can’t like ANYTHING! I need to stop thinking about this. Let’s talk about Beth.
Beth doesn’t really understand how emailing on a business account works, and thus sends a metric sh*t ton of personal emails back and forth with her BFF Jennifer. They, like, always contain cursing or ~sex lingo~ or something, so her emails always get flagged. And guess where they end up?
You got it.
With OUR BOY LINCOLN.
(Living to forget my previous Lincoln realization!!! Manic pixie dream? More like manic pixie nightmare!) (Oh, wow, you guys, I just got word. I’m officially now the funniest person on Earth.) Anyway, instead of sending Beth a warning message, or at least not reading her mail anymore, Lincoln keeps on keepin’ on (all up in that inbox). UNTIL HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH BETH!!!! Can you believe it? Gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Well, not until. He keeps reading them. Keeps on lovin’ from afar. Creepily walking past her cubicle. Fixing her not-broken mouse. Attending her boyfriend’s concerts. Etc, etc. It’s all a mess, really.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Beth is super cool. She’s really funny, and a great friend, and has what Lincoln refers to as a job straight out of a romantic comedy (ironic, no?): movie reviewer for a newspaper. Aw. It’s sad to think about the job of a current-day Beth being at risk, as newspapers continue to underperform.
That seriously wasn’t even funny. What the hell is wrong with me? I think I’m severely thrown off by my mixed feelings on this book.
Okay. Here’s the deal. Lincoln knows everything about Beth. How she met her boyfriend, what their life together is like, her interests, her job, her family members’ names, plus everything about her best friend Jennifer. ALL BETH KNOWS ABOUT LINCOLN IS HIS APPEARANCE!!! And, later on, the fact that he’s been reading her emails and grossly invading her privacy for months.
But this doesn’t stop Beth’s reaction to seeing Lincoln again being a full-on makeout session in a movie theater.
Again, Lincoln knows so much about Beth, an impossible amount, enough to lead to this lovely quote:
“He knew why he wanted to kiss her. Because she was beautiful. And before that, because she was kind. And before that, because she was smart and funny. Because she was exactly the right kind of smart and funny. Because he could imagine taking a long trip with her without ever getting bored. Because whenever he saw something new and interesting, or new and ridiculous, he always wondered what she'd have to say about it--how many stars she'd give it and why.”
And I love that quote, I really do. I went so far as to grant it a coveted spot on my Goodreads quotes list. All my best friendships are some sort of version of that (minus the kissing part, obviously, and the implications of non-platonic attraction) and I’d assume a strong relationship is, too. (No, I’m not that into the concept of relationships. Can you believe it? I come off so sentimentally in reviews!)
So essentially, what you have to buy into here - what Rainbow Rowell has Beth ask you to buy into - is that Beth’s love for Lincoln (“love at first sight”) is equal to Lincoln’s love for Beth (“love before first sight”). Or at least allow for them to be on the same playing field. (Did I sport talk right?)
But I’m not into it. See, Lincoln’s love for Beth blossoms like the world’s creepiest flower, but it’s PURE AS ALL GET OUT. It’s entirely based upon her personality. He’s never seen the gal! Hers is all, “I saw a cute guy at work and now I’m obsessed with him and I tried to follow him home.” NOT. THE. SAME.
The ending was just bananas gushy and mushy and cheesy and excessive. I cringed really hard throughout it (excluding the lovely quote above, which stood out like a Mindy Kaling book in a sea of John Green.) (This is a new expression I’m trying to popularize instead of “diamond in the rough.”)
On top of that, there were traces of general women hating and a bit of slut shaming in here, which sucked. Rainbow Rowell tends to be woke as hell, so that was a disappointment.
Bottom line: I didn’t hate this book. There were some parts I hated, yes, but also some parts I liked a lot. So I don’t not recommend it. (But I am going to go cry for 2 hours about dropping a 5 star down to 2.5.)
https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...
You have to concede to some big-ass, brand-name concepts if you wanna enjoy this book. Chief among them? True love and love at first sight. The Big Two, as I call them.
But we’ll get there. That doesn’t really come into play until the end. And before that, we get hundreds of pages of fun with some great characters!
Wow. Warning sign to self: when genuine enthusiasm sounds sarcastic, you may need to check your pessimism. Yikes.
So: the year is 1999. We follow Lincoln, a guy in his late twenties whose appearance is described as a mid-twentieth-century interpretation of the Hulk with Jason Bateman’s face.
No, that’s not a joke. I wish I was funny enough to make that up.
Anyway, at the beginning of the book, Lincoln is still in love with his high school girlfriend, lives with his mom, has no social encounters but for Dungeons & Dragons games, and works nights reading people’s emails at a newspaper. But, as Justin points out, my boy Linc is still hot enough to inspire obsession in the hearts of no small number of coworkers.
Lincoln’s life is pretty boring, but I didn’t mind, most of the time. He’s pretty funny and smart and shy and nice - all around adorkable. A real Zooey Deschanel. (Just kidding, he’s not a manic pixie dream boy...oh my god wait is he a manic pixie dream boy?! He does enjoy profound conversations about modern romance with strangers at bars and sheet sets with violets on them for the prettiness of it…)
F*ck, I can’t like ANYTHING! I need to stop thinking about this. Let’s talk about Beth.
Beth doesn’t really understand how emailing on a business account works, and thus sends a metric sh*t ton of personal emails back and forth with her BFF Jennifer. They, like, always contain cursing or ~sex lingo~ or something, so her emails always get flagged. And guess where they end up?
You got it.
With OUR BOY LINCOLN.
(Living to forget my previous Lincoln realization!!! Manic pixie dream? More like manic pixie nightmare!) (Oh, wow, you guys, I just got word. I’m officially now the funniest person on Earth.) Anyway, instead of sending Beth a warning message, or at least not reading her mail anymore, Lincoln keeps on keepin’ on (all up in that inbox). UNTIL HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH BETH!!!! Can you believe it? Gives me the heebie-jeebies.
Well, not until. He keeps reading them. Keeps on lovin’ from afar. Creepily walking past her cubicle. Fixing her not-broken mouse. Attending her boyfriend’s concerts. Etc, etc. It’s all a mess, really.
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Beth is super cool. She’s really funny, and a great friend, and has what Lincoln refers to as a job straight out of a romantic comedy (ironic, no?): movie reviewer for a newspaper. Aw. It’s sad to think about the job of a current-day Beth being at risk, as newspapers continue to underperform.
That seriously wasn’t even funny. What the hell is wrong with me? I think I’m severely thrown off by my mixed feelings on this book.
Okay. Here’s the deal. Lincoln knows everything about Beth. How she met her boyfriend, what their life together is like, her interests, her job, her family members’ names, plus everything about her best friend Jennifer. ALL BETH KNOWS ABOUT LINCOLN IS HIS APPEARANCE!!! And, later on, the fact that he’s been reading her emails and grossly invading her privacy for months.
But this doesn’t stop Beth’s reaction to seeing Lincoln again being a full-on makeout session in a movie theater.
Again, Lincoln knows so much about Beth, an impossible amount, enough to lead to this lovely quote:
“He knew why he wanted to kiss her. Because she was beautiful. And before that, because she was kind. And before that, because she was smart and funny. Because she was exactly the right kind of smart and funny. Because he could imagine taking a long trip with her without ever getting bored. Because whenever he saw something new and interesting, or new and ridiculous, he always wondered what she'd have to say about it--how many stars she'd give it and why.”
And I love that quote, I really do. I went so far as to grant it a coveted spot on my Goodreads quotes list. All my best friendships are some sort of version of that (minus the kissing part, obviously, and the implications of non-platonic attraction) and I’d assume a strong relationship is, too. (No, I’m not that into the concept of relationships. Can you believe it? I come off so sentimentally in reviews!)
So essentially, what you have to buy into here - what Rainbow Rowell has Beth ask you to buy into - is that Beth’s love for Lincoln (“love at first sight”) is equal to Lincoln’s love for Beth (“love before first sight”). Or at least allow for them to be on the same playing field. (Did I sport talk right?)
But I’m not into it. See, Lincoln’s love for Beth blossoms like the world’s creepiest flower, but it’s PURE AS ALL GET OUT. It’s entirely based upon her personality. He’s never seen the gal! Hers is all, “I saw a cute guy at work and now I’m obsessed with him and I tried to follow him home.” NOT. THE. SAME.
The ending was just bananas gushy and mushy and cheesy and excessive. I cringed really hard throughout it (excluding the lovely quote above, which stood out like a Mindy Kaling book in a sea of John Green.) (This is a new expression I’m trying to popularize instead of “diamond in the rough.”)
On top of that, there were traces of general women hating and a bit of slut shaming in here, which sucked. Rainbow Rowell tends to be woke as hell, so that was a disappointment.
Bottom line: I didn’t hate this book. There were some parts I hated, yes, but also some parts I liked a lot. So I don’t not recommend it. (But I am going to go cry for 2 hours about dropping a 5 star down to 2.5.)
December 3, 2014
Finally! Twenty days and seventeen books into 2012 and I've finally, finally found something I can honestly say I loved. I knew it was going to be good from the very first chapter (which I promptly read to my mother while we both laughed). Giving it five stars might be a bit much, but I can't help it. This was funny, engaging, sweet, and, more importantly, smart. None of the characters were perfect, but they were written so realistically that their flaws added to their appeal. It felt like reading about real people, not the cliche's of people one normally gets in a piece of modern fiction.
The premise is pretty basic; Lincoln is a shy and socially awkward individual who never quite got over the heartbreak caused by his high school sweetheart. Having recently moved back to his hometown (and back into his overindulgent mother's house), he gets an IT security job at the local paper. His job involves reading through flagged email and sending out warnings to anyone in the office who breaks company rules regarding internet use. When he starts getting flagged emails between Beth and Jennifer, he knows he should send them a warning and move on, but he can't seem to bring himself to do it. Before he knows it, he's read so many of their conversations that he feels like a total creep, but he still can't bring himself to stop. It's when he begins to fall for Beth, however, that Lincoln's torture truly begins.
Told from a third-person perspective with Lincoln at center stage, we only get to know Beth and Jennifer through their emails to each other. While this is often a difficult method for an author to use to truly portray a character (especially since people only project a certain amount of themselves to others, especially through emails), Rainbow Rowell managed to really make it work. I felt like I really got to know Beth and Jennifer through their emails, and for the first time in too long, I can actually understand why the male protagonist fell in love with the female. Beth and Jennifer are genuinely good people, devoted friends, and beautifully flawed individuals. We see Jennifer's fears about becoming a mother are caused by her rocky relationship with her own mother. We see Beth's ignorance regarding the myriad ways love can manifest and exist. We see Lincoln's insecurities unfold as he attempts to struggle out from beneath his mother's apron and live his own life. While the underlying theme is romance, the story also focuses on family, friends, and personal growth.
I know this makes Attachments sound paralyzingly dull, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it's really quite funny. It's probably the funniest book I've read in the last few years. I understand it's probably not for everyone. The pop culture quotes and nerdly references to things like Dungeons & Dragons and The Lord of the Rings might put some readers off, but they were right up my alley. I read the entire book in one sitting, neither needing nor wanting a break. I can't wait to read more from Rainbow Rowell.
The premise is pretty basic; Lincoln is a shy and socially awkward individual who never quite got over the heartbreak caused by his high school sweetheart. Having recently moved back to his hometown (and back into his overindulgent mother's house), he gets an IT security job at the local paper. His job involves reading through flagged email and sending out warnings to anyone in the office who breaks company rules regarding internet use. When he starts getting flagged emails between Beth and Jennifer, he knows he should send them a warning and move on, but he can't seem to bring himself to do it. Before he knows it, he's read so many of their conversations that he feels like a total creep, but he still can't bring himself to stop. It's when he begins to fall for Beth, however, that Lincoln's torture truly begins.
Told from a third-person perspective with Lincoln at center stage, we only get to know Beth and Jennifer through their emails to each other. While this is often a difficult method for an author to use to truly portray a character (especially since people only project a certain amount of themselves to others, especially through emails), Rainbow Rowell managed to really make it work. I felt like I really got to know Beth and Jennifer through their emails, and for the first time in too long, I can actually understand why the male protagonist fell in love with the female. Beth and Jennifer are genuinely good people, devoted friends, and beautifully flawed individuals. We see Jennifer's fears about becoming a mother are caused by her rocky relationship with her own mother. We see Beth's ignorance regarding the myriad ways love can manifest and exist. We see Lincoln's insecurities unfold as he attempts to struggle out from beneath his mother's apron and live his own life. While the underlying theme is romance, the story also focuses on family, friends, and personal growth.
I know this makes Attachments sound paralyzingly dull, so you'll just have to trust me when I say it's really quite funny. It's probably the funniest book I've read in the last few years. I understand it's probably not for everyone. The pop culture quotes and nerdly references to things like Dungeons & Dragons and The Lord of the Rings might put some readers off, but they were right up my alley. I read the entire book in one sitting, neither needing nor wanting a break. I can't wait to read more from Rainbow Rowell.
April 12, 2016
Buddyread with my big sister Rachel (who thought this was going to be boring-look who's laughing now. bahaha).
I don’t know who is more pathetic: characters leading pathetic lives or the reader who loved reading about these characters. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter although I could care less about what this says of me because I just inexplicably adore this novel. Many may disagree but I think the premise of this novel is completely original and IMO, the most creative plot yet in the four books of Ms. Rowell I have already read. Just a peek at the plot:
Set in the Year 1999, Lincoln has everything a 28 year old dude needs. He’s smart, cute, funny, earns a lot of money (didn’t mean for that to rhyme) but he has no sense of direction, completely aimless, a wanderer. He absolutely has no idea what to do with his life which is the reason he still lives with his mom. He lands a most unrewarding job, an internet security for a newspaper company and has to read to censure inappropriate e-messages sent by employees but instead of reproaching Jennifer and Beth for sending hilarious personal e-mails to each other, he starts enjoying their stories and here begins the cutest story/ies, some of which will end up being romantic but totally ship-worhty ! <3
It doesn’t have the most exciting introduction so for those who started this and decided not to finish because the beginning seemed dull, I suggest you give it another chance because if you read on, you will get to read genuine stories of the characters that feel so real, I feel like I could be one of them. The authenticity of their situation and dialogues that perfectly harmonize with the story’s setting made the novel completely adorable. It's at par with romantic 90s movies I adore like “While You Were Sleeping”, “Only You” and “You’ve Got Mail”. Just wonderful. <3 *sighs* I have a new favorite from Rainbow Rowell. <3
Happy Birthday, Jenny! Make the most out of your special day! <3
November 1, 2015
**Rainbow to Justin** Hi, Justin. I'm Rainbow Rowell. You may recognize my name because it shows up on your Goodreads update feed on, like, every other line or so. I've written popular novels for young adults and regular adults as well like Eleanor and Park, Fangirl....
**Justin to Rainbow** ...Landline, Carry On, yeah yeah yeah. People love your books, but I don't know if they're really my thing. I mean, aren't they like Nicholas Sparks books that have more wit and biting humor? Are guys even supposed to be reading this stuff?
**Rainbow to Justin** Justin, everyone is supposed to read my books, and everyone IS reading my books except you. You are seriously the last person left on the planet who confidently refers to himself as a quote unquote reader who hasn't read anything I've written. When are you going to get off of your high horse and join the rest of the world? What makes you so special?
**Justin to Rainbow** You know, I was just scrolling through my Overdrive app and your first book is available right now. I'll read that one. I'll read it. Fine. But, I'll be honest, just by reading the synopsis I can tell where this is going. You're so predictable, Rainbow Rowell.
**Rainbow to Justin** That's my first book, Attachments. That's not even my best one. I've gotten so much better as a writer since 2011, but I guess you gotta start somewhere. It's also written from a male perspective so that should help since you're a male. You already have one thing in common with my protagonist, Lincoln.
............................................
**Justin to Rainbow** Sorry I've been away for a few days. I, uh... I couldn't put your book down. I just kept reading and reading because all of the chapters were so short and the story sucked me in with its Catcher in the Rye meets every John Green book meets.... yeah, the end was a little smushy. Is smushy a word? It means too rom-com, a little too unbelievable-but-works-out-perfectly, you know? And can we talk about Lincoln for a second? Rainbow, come on.... he works night shift reading emails, lives at home, can't get over his high school girlfriend, but he's... gorgeous? That's your cute guy? That kind of stuff bugged me at times, but I didn't really get caught up in the details as much because of the story. You did a nice job creating vibrant characters with a fantastic 1990s setting. Blockbuster? Sega Genesis? Hahahaha... Oh man, that stuff took me back. You crafted a very fun story even if it wasn't the best ending in the world. I guess you can say I'm now....
**Rainbow to Justin** A Rainbow Rowell fan? I've already got your copy of Eleanor and Park in the mail.
**Justin to Rainbow** Gee, thanks Rainbow. You're the best!
**Justin to Rainbow** ...Landline, Carry On, yeah yeah yeah. People love your books, but I don't know if they're really my thing. I mean, aren't they like Nicholas Sparks books that have more wit and biting humor? Are guys even supposed to be reading this stuff?
**Rainbow to Justin** Justin, everyone is supposed to read my books, and everyone IS reading my books except you. You are seriously the last person left on the planet who confidently refers to himself as a quote unquote reader who hasn't read anything I've written. When are you going to get off of your high horse and join the rest of the world? What makes you so special?
**Justin to Rainbow** You know, I was just scrolling through my Overdrive app and your first book is available right now. I'll read that one. I'll read it. Fine. But, I'll be honest, just by reading the synopsis I can tell where this is going. You're so predictable, Rainbow Rowell.
**Rainbow to Justin** That's my first book, Attachments. That's not even my best one. I've gotten so much better as a writer since 2011, but I guess you gotta start somewhere. It's also written from a male perspective so that should help since you're a male. You already have one thing in common with my protagonist, Lincoln.
............................................
**Justin to Rainbow** Sorry I've been away for a few days. I, uh... I couldn't put your book down. I just kept reading and reading because all of the chapters were so short and the story sucked me in with its Catcher in the Rye meets every John Green book meets.... yeah, the end was a little smushy. Is smushy a word? It means too rom-com, a little too unbelievable-but-works-out-perfectly, you know? And can we talk about Lincoln for a second? Rainbow, come on.... he works night shift reading emails, lives at home, can't get over his high school girlfriend, but he's... gorgeous? That's your cute guy? That kind of stuff bugged me at times, but I didn't really get caught up in the details as much because of the story. You did a nice job creating vibrant characters with a fantastic 1990s setting. Blockbuster? Sega Genesis? Hahahaha... Oh man, that stuff took me back. You crafted a very fun story even if it wasn't the best ending in the world. I guess you can say I'm now....
**Rainbow to Justin** A Rainbow Rowell fan? I've already got your copy of Eleanor and Park in the mail.
**Justin to Rainbow** Gee, thanks Rainbow. You're the best!
November 8, 2020
A double entendre title: we get to know not only just about attachments as in letters/msgs but also about attachments as in how people work together, how the build up their feelings towards each other and themselves and how they get over unhealthy attachments (as in when life at home is a teensy wheensy tad dysfunctional). How they find each other and maybe, maybe, if they are really lucky and the stars bless them, they stay that way, happily ever after.
Here we observe some loner IT guy and learn how he got that way. We observe him reading certain letters (at work, for work, for getting into life finally which he needs!) and obtaining from this practice almost therapeutic experience.
I've always said that writing therapy is an effective one. What I rarely say is that reading therapy could another important facet of getting well. Well, if one reads the right material, of course. For everyone that would be a different material, BTW. Here go all the people who turn up their noses at, I dunno, the light-hearted type of lit. For Lincoln, his catharctic material came in the form of sneaky reading of corporate messenger material. Huh. Who would've guessed that.
I really loved how tenderly the author weaned Lincoln from his self-imposed isolation. A much more profound novel than expected. An insightful, well thought out one. It's insanely engrossing, and I haven't the slightest idea why it's so immensely comforting.
We see how some parents go to become overprotective, ruining their children lives along the way, while doing good, only good and nothing but the good. And the lives? They got that way on their own! It's so frigging nice to get to see kids wholived got out!
Q:
“It’s not the music,” he said. “It’s that, well, you came here to meet somebody, right? To meet a guy?”
“Right.”
“To maybe meet the guy, right?”
She looked down at her drink. “Right.”
“Well, when you think about that guy—who, by the way, we both know isn’t me—when you think
about meeting him, do you think about meeting him in a place like this? In a place this ugly? This loud? Do you want him to smell like Jägermeister and cigarettes? Do you want your first dance to be to a song about strippers?”
She looked around the bar and shrugged again. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? No, of course you don’t.” (c) Can't help admitting this is epic)
Q:
Given: This is not my first pregnancy scare. I will acknowledge that thinking I’m pregnant is practically a part of my monthly premenstrual regimen. (c)
Q:
<> I think I’m pregnant.
<> What? Why do you think you’re pregnant?
<> I had three drinks last Saturday.
<> I think we need to have a little talk about the birds and the bees. That’s not
exactly how it happens.
<> Whenever I have too much to drink, I start to feel pregnant. (c)
Q:
<> ... Last night, I got a call from my little sister. She’s getting married.
<> Doesn’t her husband mind? (c)
Q:
I think I want the wild-haired music man. The guy who wakes you up at 2 a.m. to read you the poem he just wrote on your stomach. I want the boy with kaleidoscope eyes. (c)
Q:
Lincoln never would have applied for this job if the classified ad had said, “Wanted: someone to read other people’s e-mail. Swing shift.”
The Courier ad had said, “Full-time opportunity for Internet security officer. $40K+ Health, dental.”(c)
Q: The worst thing about the Internet, as far as Greg’s bosses were concerned, was that it was now
impossible to distinguish a roomful of people working diligently from a roomful of people taking the What-Kind-of-Dog-Am-I? online personality quiz. (c)
Q:
An especially filthy-minded person (maybe Greg) had defined the program’s mail filters. There was a whole list of red flags: nasty words, racial slurs, supervisors’ names, words like “secret” and
“classified.”
That last one, “classified,” beached the entire network during WebFence’s first hour by flagging and storing each and every e-mail sent to or from the Classified Advertising department.
The software also flagged large attachments, suspiciously long messages, suspiciously frequent
messages…. (c)
Q:
You don’t have enough work, I know. I don’t care. Do the crossword. Learn a foreign language. We had a gal who used to crochet … Use that time to read What Color Is Your Parachute? Start working on your five-year plan.(c)
Q:
Knowing someone had read an e-mail you’d written about whether someone was reading your e-mail? If you were an excessively paranoid person, it could make you wonder whether all the other things you were worried about were also true. It might make you think, “Maybe they are all out to get me.”(c)
Q:
“If you don’t get a date,” Eve kept threatening, “I’m going to start fixing you up with nice, Lutheran girls. Hard-core Lutherans. Missouri Synod.” (c)
Q:
“Oh, yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” (c)
Q:
And by the time Chris gets around to asking you, I’ll bet everyone will get married in silver jumpsuits. (c)
Q:
I am so ready for new people... In two days, I’m going to be in a place where I can walk around without recognizing a single face. Every person will be brandnew. Just, like, fresh and full of potential. Nothing but potential. I won’t know any of their stories. Nobody will be on my last nerve. (c)
Q:
“Mom, do you find Tom Cruise attractive?”
His mother set down her chisel. ... “Honey, do you find Tom Cruise attractive?” (c)
Q:
“Pithy,” that’s what I would call my band.
I would call your band “Pithetic.” (c)
Q:
Lincoln didn’t get why a hospital needed a marketing department; who did it market to, sick people? (c)
Q:
“Where are the speakers?” Lincoln shouted. “Are they in the seats?”
“Hell, yes. Fucking awesome, right? It’s like having Axl Rose in your asshole.” (c) That was imagery I didn't need.
Q:
It was terrible music to dance to; all you could really do was nod and hunch to the music. The girls all looked like they were listening to the same sad story. “Yes, yes, yes, that’s awful. Yes, yes, yes.” LOL!
Q:
Strangely, he wasn’t nervous. This place and this girl were so far outside his everyday life, they didn’t seem quite real... She was pretty …probably. In this green and black light, she looked like a week-old bruise. Everyone did. (c)
Q:
“Why are you looking at me like that?”... “Would you really rather hear that I’d spent the night having premarital sex with a girl I’d just met at The Steel Guitar?” (c)
Q:
LINCOLN WAS NEVER going to send Jennifer Scribner-Snyder and Beth Fremont a warning... He liked how they teased each other and looked out for each other. He wished that he had a friend at work he could talk to like that. (c)
Q:
... my mother has a way of spinning those facts into a bad thing. Her take is that I’m just a late
bloomer—that I’m taking forever to ruin my life, and she’s running out of patience. (c)
Q:
It was a viper pit. A drunken viper pit. (c)
Q:
<> I think I’ve figured out why we weren’t friends in college. You were kind of
scary.
<> Not scary. Single-minded.
<> Scarily single-minded.
<> I was focused. I knew what I wanted in life. (c)
Q:
I’m glad you finally told me all this. I hated feeling like there was this major part of your life that we couldn’t talk about.
That said, I don’t think you ever have to worry about me running away with or making a drunken pass at Chris. He’d make me insane. (c)
Q:
<> I thought you stole his fingernail clippers …
<> I did. He has new ones. I’m not sure what bothers me more …the constant
clip-clip noises or knowing that his cubicle is completely contaminated by tiny fingernail slivers.
<> If we ever need any of his DNA for a paternity test or a voodoo spell, we’ll
know where to look.
<> If we ever need any of Tony’s DNA for a paternity test, one of us deserves to
be pushed off a cliff. (c)
Q:
Does this mean you’re softening on the baby issue?
I think it means I’m softening on the sanity issue. I’m viewing this as a dysfunctional appendage to my general psychosis about babies. I still dread getting pregnant. But now I’m buying clothes for the child I’m terrified to have, and guess what, it’s a girl.
Q:
“Everything has been a disaster since I decided my life as it was wasn’t good enough.”(c)
Q:
Just assume that my response to your next 12 statements is, “Say what?” (c)
Q:
I like to work late because I don’t like to work early—and I have to work sometime. If I get here first thing in the morning, I feel like I have to iron my clothes. But by 2 o’clock, nobody cares. And by 7, nobody’s here. (Well, except copy editors, and they only half count.) Besides, it’s kind of cool, being here at night. It’s like being in the mall after it closes. Or at school on a Saturday. Plus, sometimes I legitimately have to work late. Like, if I have to write a review on opening night or something. (c)
Q:
<> Take it back. You didn’t follow him home.
<> I tried. I lost him on the freeway.
<> That’s something a scary person would do.
<> Really? It felt more nosy than scary.
<> How did you lose him? Was he driving evasively? (c)
Q:
“Well … ,” she said, “I just got off the phone with a woman named Doris.”
Lincoln quickly looked up from the floor. His mother was already looking down at him like she’d just confronted him with damning criminal evidence. (c)
Q:
Maybe I’ll start talking to my eggs. Pep talks. Like William Wallace’s speech in Braveheart. (c) LOL!
Q:
“I’m sort of …coming off a bad relationship.”
“When did it end?”
“Slightly before it started,” (c)
Q:
I feel like I kicked one of my own kidneys out of the apartment. (c)
Q:
<>... I don’t deserve a baby.
<> Nobody deserves a baby.
<> I feel like we should be having this conversation over a bottle of Blue Nun.
<> My bad. I thought we were.
<> The idea that you’re hard to love is ludicrous. (c)
Q:
There are moments when you can’t believe something wonderful is happening. And there are
moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening. (c)
Q:
She was throwing stars at him. It was hard to listen. It was hard to look at her. He still felt like he was stealing something. (c)
Q:
“A girl who never got tired of her favorite movies,” he said softly. “Who saved dresses like ticket stubs. Who could get high on the weather …
“I pictured a girl who made every moment, everything she touched, and everyone around her feel lighter and sweeter.
“I pictured you,” he said. “I just didn’t know what you looked like.
“And then, when I did know what you looked like, you looked like the girl who was all those things.
You looked like the girl I loved.” (c)
Q: I didn’t know it could be like this... I didn’t know love could leave the lights on all the time. (c)
Q:
“I didn’t know someone could love me like this,” she said. “Could love me and love me and love me without …needing space.”...
“There’s no air in space,” he said.
Here we observe some loner IT guy and learn how he got that way. We observe him reading certain letters (at work, for work, for getting into life finally which he needs!) and obtaining from this practice almost therapeutic experience.
I've always said that writing therapy is an effective one. What I rarely say is that reading therapy could another important facet of getting well. Well, if one reads the right material, of course. For everyone that would be a different material, BTW. Here go all the people who turn up their noses at, I dunno, the light-hearted type of lit. For Lincoln, his catharctic material came in the form of sneaky reading of corporate messenger material. Huh. Who would've guessed that.
I really loved how tenderly the author weaned Lincoln from his self-imposed isolation. A much more profound novel than expected. An insightful, well thought out one. It's insanely engrossing, and I haven't the slightest idea why it's so immensely comforting.
We see how some parents go to become overprotective, ruining their children lives along the way, while doing good, only good and nothing but the good. And the lives? They got that way on their own! It's so frigging nice to get to see kids who
Q:
“It’s not the music,” he said. “It’s that, well, you came here to meet somebody, right? To meet a guy?”
“Right.”
“To maybe meet the guy, right?”
She looked down at her drink. “Right.”
“Well, when you think about that guy—who, by the way, we both know isn’t me—when you think
about meeting him, do you think about meeting him in a place like this? In a place this ugly? This loud? Do you want him to smell like Jägermeister and cigarettes? Do you want your first dance to be to a song about strippers?”
She looked around the bar and shrugged again. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? No, of course you don’t.” (c) Can't help admitting this is epic)
Q:
Given: This is not my first pregnancy scare. I will acknowledge that thinking I’m pregnant is practically a part of my monthly premenstrual regimen. (c)
Q:
<> I think I’m pregnant.
<> What? Why do you think you’re pregnant?
<> I had three drinks last Saturday.
<> I think we need to have a little talk about the birds and the bees. That’s not
exactly how it happens.
<> Whenever I have too much to drink, I start to feel pregnant. (c)
Q:
<> ... Last night, I got a call from my little sister. She’s getting married.
<> Doesn’t her husband mind? (c)
Q:
I think I want the wild-haired music man. The guy who wakes you up at 2 a.m. to read you the poem he just wrote on your stomach. I want the boy with kaleidoscope eyes. (c)
Q:
Lincoln never would have applied for this job if the classified ad had said, “Wanted: someone to read other people’s e-mail. Swing shift.”
The Courier ad had said, “Full-time opportunity for Internet security officer. $40K+ Health, dental.”(c)
Q: The worst thing about the Internet, as far as Greg’s bosses were concerned, was that it was now
impossible to distinguish a roomful of people working diligently from a roomful of people taking the What-Kind-of-Dog-Am-I? online personality quiz. (c)
Q:
An especially filthy-minded person (maybe Greg) had defined the program’s mail filters. There was a whole list of red flags: nasty words, racial slurs, supervisors’ names, words like “secret” and
“classified.”
That last one, “classified,” beached the entire network during WebFence’s first hour by flagging and storing each and every e-mail sent to or from the Classified Advertising department.
The software also flagged large attachments, suspiciously long messages, suspiciously frequent
messages…. (c)
Q:
You don’t have enough work, I know. I don’t care. Do the crossword. Learn a foreign language. We had a gal who used to crochet … Use that time to read What Color Is Your Parachute? Start working on your five-year plan.(c)
Q:
Knowing someone had read an e-mail you’d written about whether someone was reading your e-mail? If you were an excessively paranoid person, it could make you wonder whether all the other things you were worried about were also true. It might make you think, “Maybe they are all out to get me.”(c)
Q:
“If you don’t get a date,” Eve kept threatening, “I’m going to start fixing you up with nice, Lutheran girls. Hard-core Lutherans. Missouri Synod.” (c)
Q:
“Oh, yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.” (c)
Q:
And by the time Chris gets around to asking you, I’ll bet everyone will get married in silver jumpsuits. (c)
Q:
I am so ready for new people... In two days, I’m going to be in a place where I can walk around without recognizing a single face. Every person will be brandnew. Just, like, fresh and full of potential. Nothing but potential. I won’t know any of their stories. Nobody will be on my last nerve. (c)
Q:
“Mom, do you find Tom Cruise attractive?”
His mother set down her chisel. ... “Honey, do you find Tom Cruise attractive?” (c)
Q:
“Pithy,” that’s what I would call my band.
I would call your band “Pithetic.” (c)
Q:
Lincoln didn’t get why a hospital needed a marketing department; who did it market to, sick people? (c)
Q:
“Where are the speakers?” Lincoln shouted. “Are they in the seats?”
“Hell, yes. Fucking awesome, right? It’s like having Axl Rose in your asshole.” (c) That was imagery I didn't need.
Q:
It was terrible music to dance to; all you could really do was nod and hunch to the music. The girls all looked like they were listening to the same sad story. “Yes, yes, yes, that’s awful. Yes, yes, yes.” LOL!
Q:
Strangely, he wasn’t nervous. This place and this girl were so far outside his everyday life, they didn’t seem quite real... She was pretty …probably. In this green and black light, she looked like a week-old bruise. Everyone did. (c)
Q:
“Why are you looking at me like that?”... “Would you really rather hear that I’d spent the night having premarital sex with a girl I’d just met at The Steel Guitar?” (c)
Q:
LINCOLN WAS NEVER going to send Jennifer Scribner-Snyder and Beth Fremont a warning... He liked how they teased each other and looked out for each other. He wished that he had a friend at work he could talk to like that. (c)
Q:
... my mother has a way of spinning those facts into a bad thing. Her take is that I’m just a late
bloomer—that I’m taking forever to ruin my life, and she’s running out of patience. (c)
Q:
It was a viper pit. A drunken viper pit. (c)
Q:
<> I think I’ve figured out why we weren’t friends in college. You were kind of
scary.
<> Not scary. Single-minded.
<> Scarily single-minded.
<> I was focused. I knew what I wanted in life. (c)
Q:
I’m glad you finally told me all this. I hated feeling like there was this major part of your life that we couldn’t talk about.
That said, I don’t think you ever have to worry about me running away with or making a drunken pass at Chris. He’d make me insane. (c)
Q:
<> I thought you stole his fingernail clippers …
<> I did. He has new ones. I’m not sure what bothers me more …the constant
clip-clip noises or knowing that his cubicle is completely contaminated by tiny fingernail slivers.
<> If we ever need any of his DNA for a paternity test or a voodoo spell, we’ll
know where to look.
<> If we ever need any of Tony’s DNA for a paternity test, one of us deserves to
be pushed off a cliff. (c)
Q:
Does this mean you’re softening on the baby issue?
I think it means I’m softening on the sanity issue. I’m viewing this as a dysfunctional appendage to my general psychosis about babies. I still dread getting pregnant. But now I’m buying clothes for the child I’m terrified to have, and guess what, it’s a girl.
Q:
“Everything has been a disaster since I decided my life as it was wasn’t good enough.”(c)
Q:
Just assume that my response to your next 12 statements is, “Say what?” (c)
Q:
I like to work late because I don’t like to work early—and I have to work sometime. If I get here first thing in the morning, I feel like I have to iron my clothes. But by 2 o’clock, nobody cares. And by 7, nobody’s here. (Well, except copy editors, and they only half count.) Besides, it’s kind of cool, being here at night. It’s like being in the mall after it closes. Or at school on a Saturday. Plus, sometimes I legitimately have to work late. Like, if I have to write a review on opening night or something. (c)
Q:
<> Take it back. You didn’t follow him home.
<> I tried. I lost him on the freeway.
<> That’s something a scary person would do.
<> Really? It felt more nosy than scary.
<> How did you lose him? Was he driving evasively? (c)
Q:
“Well … ,” she said, “I just got off the phone with a woman named Doris.”
Lincoln quickly looked up from the floor. His mother was already looking down at him like she’d just confronted him with damning criminal evidence. (c)
Q:
Maybe I’ll start talking to my eggs. Pep talks. Like William Wallace’s speech in Braveheart. (c) LOL!
Q:
“I’m sort of …coming off a bad relationship.”
“When did it end?”
“Slightly before it started,” (c)
Q:
I feel like I kicked one of my own kidneys out of the apartment. (c)
Q:
<>... I don’t deserve a baby.
<> Nobody deserves a baby.
<> I feel like we should be having this conversation over a bottle of Blue Nun.
<> My bad. I thought we were.
<> The idea that you’re hard to love is ludicrous. (c)
Q:
There are moments when you can’t believe something wonderful is happening. And there are
moments when your entire consciousness is filled with knowing absolutely that something wonderful is happening. (c)
Q:
She was throwing stars at him. It was hard to listen. It was hard to look at her. He still felt like he was stealing something. (c)
Q:
“A girl who never got tired of her favorite movies,” he said softly. “Who saved dresses like ticket stubs. Who could get high on the weather …
“I pictured a girl who made every moment, everything she touched, and everyone around her feel lighter and sweeter.
“I pictured you,” he said. “I just didn’t know what you looked like.
“And then, when I did know what you looked like, you looked like the girl who was all those things.
You looked like the girl I loved.” (c)
Q: I didn’t know it could be like this... I didn’t know love could leave the lights on all the time. (c)
Q:
“I didn’t know someone could love me like this,” she said. “Could love me and love me and love me without …needing space.”...
“There’s no air in space,” he said.
January 26, 2016
Rainbow Rowell has a gift for writing beautiful and unconventional love stories. Her characters always feel vibrant, energetic, quirky, and rich in emotion. "Attachments" follows a shy, socially-awkward, (he loves playing Dungeon & Dragons) deeply insecure 28 year-old named Lincoln. Lincoln still loves at home with his mom, and works at a job he absolutely despises (his job is to read/filter his co-workers emails). Without giving away too much of the plot, I will say that Lincoln grows tremendously though out the course of this novel. I also like that "Attachments" takes place in the late '90s. I love all the pop culture references, and the casual but hilarious banter of Jennifer and Beth's daily emails. Rowell's writing and sense of humor is simple and refreshing but never feels flat or monotone. Her novels ALWAYS make me smile which is really saying something because I'm such a jaded person when it comes to matters of the heart. This book is cute, cute, cute! I highly recommend it. Enjoy! :)
March 2, 2011
As the only dude to win this book from Goodreads' First-Reads I feel a bit o' pressure.
I liked this book a lot. It's not Chick-lit. It's not Lad-lit. I'm putting this down as a Plane book. Go read it on a airplane.
Plot- Lincoln's the guy who monitors email at his work. He's supposed to report Beth and Jennifer, but he finds their emails entertaining. And he falls for Beth.
It's easy to see why he does. Over the course of the book we learn: Beth has a Sandman poster, She quotes Field of Dreams deeper than "If you build it", She made a LOTR reference that I didn't catch, She referenced The movie Heathers, and had an astute observation on Julia Roberts[(Chap 9- page 38ish)at this point I was fully hooked]. In my notes I also have that she knew about the Marvel Comics hero Black Panther. (That might've just been the author.)
The curves near the end were nice. 3 Ninety degree serves means who knows where it's going.
I was going to donate this to the Library, but I don't think I want to give this book away. I have loaned it out already, but it will be mine again. Hopefully it'll get another review soon.
I have only two nitpicks. Two typos in the book (I'm sure they'll get fixed) and a mention of Fantasy Football in 1999. I don't think it was around as the leagues I was playing we were still betting points through Y2K.
+++++++++++++++ +++SWEAR WORD COMING UP+ +++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++
NEW
I added a star two weeks later because I can't get the line about "She Smelled like the Fifth of July" out of my head.
And in an argument I quoted one of Lincoln's friends views on a specific sect of Christianity- "Those c*cks*ckers barely believe in Jesus". Shut up the other guy.
I liked this book a lot. It's not Chick-lit. It's not Lad-lit. I'm putting this down as a Plane book. Go read it on a airplane.
Plot- Lincoln's the guy who monitors email at his work. He's supposed to report Beth and Jennifer, but he finds their emails entertaining. And he falls for Beth.
It's easy to see why he does. Over the course of the book we learn: Beth has a Sandman poster, She quotes Field of Dreams deeper than "If you build it", She made a LOTR reference that I didn't catch, She referenced The movie Heathers, and had an astute observation on Julia Roberts[(Chap 9- page 38ish)at this point I was fully hooked]. In my notes I also have that she knew about the Marvel Comics hero Black Panther. (That might've just been the author.)
The curves near the end were nice. 3 Ninety degree serves means who knows where it's going.
I was going to donate this to the Library, but I don't think I want to give this book away. I have loaned it out already, but it will be mine again. Hopefully it'll get another review soon.
I have only two nitpicks. Two typos in the book (I'm sure they'll get fixed) and a mention of Fantasy Football in 1999. I don't think it was around as the leagues I was playing we were still betting points through Y2K.
+++++++++++++++ +++SWEAR WORD COMING UP+ +++++++++++ +++++++++ +++++
NEW
I added a star two weeks later because I can't get the line about "She Smelled like the Fifth of July" out of my head.
And in an argument I quoted one of Lincoln's friends views on a specific sect of Christianity- "Those c*cks*ckers barely believe in Jesus". Shut up the other guy.
May 1, 2016
La trama de este libro me ENCANTO, la forma en que Rainbow Rowell nos introdujo a este libro fue maravillosa, nos dio una historia realista, divertida, tierna, con una escritura ligera que no te aburres en ningún momento, con unas referencias que te harán sonreír y claramente con unos personajes MARAVILLOSOS Y CARISMÁTICOS que te van a hacer reír desde el primer capítulo.
Este libro fue mas de lo que esperaba, fue algo diferente, algo mas fresco, entretenido, con una historia tan real que sentías que estabas en ese lugar con los personajes, Beth y Jennifer son unas chicas estupendas, con unas personalidad tan únicas, sus conversaciones me hacían reir demasiado, las referencias con las que hablaban de películas, libros, actores, me fascinaban y mucho, y algo que ME ENCANTO DEMASIADO fue la amistad entre estas chicas, la forma en cómo se contaban todo, en como hablaban la una con la otra, se me hizo algo muy gratificante, LincoIn fue sin duda alguna mi personaje favorito, me sentí identificada con el con su forma de comportarse, de ver como su sentimiento hacia estas chicas y sobre todo hacia Beth fue creciendo, la forma en cómo el se divertía y cambiaba mediante transcurrían las conversaciones entre Jennifer y Beth, LincoIn fue un personaje carismático un poco soso, pero nunca dejo de ser divertido y de sacarme en una sonrisa con sus ocurrencias.
Algo que tengo que resaltar mucho fue la forma en cómo Rainbow unió a estos personajes sin ni siquiera ellos conocerse o hablarse, la autora supo desarrollar esta historia, y supo unirlos para darnos un final que para mí fue bueno, pero siento que le falto un poco más para que fuera MEMORABLE, aun así disfrute mucho de este libro, de su trama, de sus personajes, de esos momentos divertidos y los pocos momentos románticos que tuvimos estuvieron PERFECTOS que literal estaba saltando de la emoción.
En conclusión Attachments es un libro maravilloso con una trama realista, con unos personajes que te van a encantar, con una escritura ligera que no te va a hacer aburrir en su lectura, van a ver unos momentos en los que te rías hasta no poder mas y otros que te van a hacer suspirar, en fin, espero y se den una oportunidad de leer este libro, ya que de verdad Rainbow Rowell supo hacerlo de nuevo, hacer que te maravilles con otra de sus historias encantadoras.
Este libro fue mas de lo que esperaba, fue algo diferente, algo mas fresco, entretenido, con una historia tan real que sentías que estabas en ese lugar con los personajes, Beth y Jennifer son unas chicas estupendas, con unas personalidad tan únicas, sus conversaciones me hacían reir demasiado, las referencias con las que hablaban de películas, libros, actores, me fascinaban y mucho, y algo que ME ENCANTO DEMASIADO fue la amistad entre estas chicas, la forma en cómo se contaban todo, en como hablaban la una con la otra, se me hizo algo muy gratificante, LincoIn fue sin duda alguna mi personaje favorito, me sentí identificada con el con su forma de comportarse, de ver como su sentimiento hacia estas chicas y sobre todo hacia Beth fue creciendo, la forma en cómo el se divertía y cambiaba mediante transcurrían las conversaciones entre Jennifer y Beth, LincoIn fue un personaje carismático un poco soso, pero nunca dejo de ser divertido y de sacarme en una sonrisa con sus ocurrencias.
Algo que tengo que resaltar mucho fue la forma en cómo Rainbow unió a estos personajes sin ni siquiera ellos conocerse o hablarse, la autora supo desarrollar esta historia, y supo unirlos para darnos un final que para mí fue bueno, pero siento que le falto un poco más para que fuera MEMORABLE, aun así disfrute mucho de este libro, de su trama, de sus personajes, de esos momentos divertidos y los pocos momentos románticos que tuvimos estuvieron PERFECTOS que literal estaba saltando de la emoción.
En conclusión Attachments es un libro maravilloso con una trama realista, con unos personajes que te van a encantar, con una escritura ligera que no te va a hacer aburrir en su lectura, van a ver unos momentos en los que te rías hasta no poder mas y otros que te van a hacer suspirar, en fin, espero y se den una oportunidad de leer este libro, ya que de verdad Rainbow Rowell supo hacerlo de nuevo, hacer que te maravilles con otra de sus historias encantadoras.
December 22, 2015
If I hadn't listened to this on audiobook, there's no way I would have been able to finish it. Horribly boring. I literally fell asleep twice while listening to this and missed about 5 chapters, but I couldn't be bothered to rewind and listen to what I missed. The entire premise is creepy and voyeuristic, and I didn't agree with their relationship. I love Rainbow's writing, but this one was my least favorite of hers. It definitely doesn't compare to her newer releases. Overall, I did not enjoy this very much at all, but it did provide a twinge of humor and lighthearted dialogue.
June 30, 2020
Attachments, Rainbow Rowell
Attachments is the first novel written by Rainbow Rowell, published in 2011. The story follows a man whose job it is to read email correspondence for the employees of his company, to make sure they are in compliance with policy.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز هجدهم ماه آوریل سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: عشق در یک کلیک: رمان؛ نویسنده: رینبو راول؛ مترجم: نوشین حیدری ثانی؛ ویراستار محسن چراغ پور؛ تهران، آذرباد، 1397؛ در 413ص؛ شابک 9786008537540؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 21م
داستان درباره ی مردی ست، که شغل او، خواندن ایمیلهای همکاران، و اطمینان یافتن از همسو بودن آنها، با سیاستهای شرکت است؛ اما نمیداند ماجراهای ناباورانه ای در انتظارش هستند...؛
نقل از متن: «سلام، من کسی هستم که ایمیلهای تو رو میخونه، و همچنین، عاشقتم...»؛ پایان نقل
دو کارمند شرکت «بث» و «جنیفر» میدانند، که یکی هست که ایمیلهای کاری آنها را زیر نظر دارد (همه در محل کار این را میدانند؛ این یکی از قوانین شرکت است)؛ ولی آنرا جدی نمیگیرند؛ آنها هر روز برای یکدیگر ایمیل میفرستند، ایمیلهای خنده دار، که در آنها جزئیات زندگیشان را، برای همدیگر بازگو میکنند؛ در این مدت «لینکلن» نیز، باورش نمیشود، که کارش، خواندن ایمیلهای دیگران است؛ آن روز که برای شغل ماموریت امنیت اینترنتی شرکت درخواست کار داد، خیال میکرد، کسی باشد که قرار است، برای دستگاههای شرکت، «فایروال» بسازد، تا «هکر»ها را، دور نگهدارد، نه اینکه هرگاه خبرنگاری ورزشی، یک شوخی چندش آور را، برای دیگری میفرستد، او گزارش بنویسد! وقتی «لینکلن» به پیامهای «بث» و «جنیفر»، برخورد میکند، میداند که باید آنها را گزارش دهد، ولی نمیتواند؛ «لینکلن» عاشق «بث» شده، و برای معرفی کردن خودش خیلی دیر شده است؛ او چه حرفی برای گفتن دارد...؟؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 10/04/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Attachments is the first novel written by Rainbow Rowell, published in 2011. The story follows a man whose job it is to read email correspondence for the employees of his company, to make sure they are in compliance with policy.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز هجدهم ماه آوریل سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: عشق در یک کلیک: رمان؛ نویسنده: رینبو راول؛ مترجم: نوشین حیدری ثانی؛ ویراستار محسن چراغ پور؛ تهران، آذرباد، 1397؛ در 413ص؛ شابک 9786008537540؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان امریکایی - سده 21م
داستان درباره ی مردی ست، که شغل او، خواندن ایمیلهای همکاران، و اطمینان یافتن از همسو بودن آنها، با سیاستهای شرکت است؛ اما نمیداند ماجراهای ناباورانه ای در انتظارش هستند...؛
نقل از متن: «سلام، من کسی هستم که ایمیلهای تو رو میخونه، و همچنین، عاشقتم...»؛ پایان نقل
دو کارمند شرکت «بث» و «جنیفر» میدانند، که یکی هست که ایمیلهای کاری آنها را زیر نظر دارد (همه در محل کار این را میدانند؛ این یکی از قوانین شرکت است)؛ ولی آنرا جدی نمیگیرند؛ آنها هر روز برای یکدیگر ایمیل میفرستند، ایمیلهای خنده دار، که در آنها جزئیات زندگیشان را، برای همدیگر بازگو میکنند؛ در این مدت «لینکلن» نیز، باورش نمیشود، که کارش، خواندن ایمیلهای دیگران است؛ آن روز که برای شغل ماموریت امنیت اینترنتی شرکت درخواست کار داد، خیال میکرد، کسی باشد که قرار است، برای دستگاههای شرکت، «فایروال» بسازد، تا «هکر»ها را، دور نگهدارد، نه اینکه هرگاه خبرنگاری ورزشی، یک شوخی چندش آور را، برای دیگری میفرستد، او گزارش بنویسد! وقتی «لینکلن» به پیامهای «بث» و «جنیفر»، برخورد میکند، میداند که باید آنها را گزارش دهد، ولی نمیتواند؛ «لینکلن» عاشق «بث» شده، و برای معرفی کردن خودش خیلی دیر شده است؛ او چه حرفی برای گفتن دارد...؟؛
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 10/04/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
December 12, 2017
Re-read in 2017 - sigh, nothing new to add here, except, this book gets better and better with each read
Re-read in 2016 - this book, an all-time favourite, was just what I needed this week!!! Loved it just as much this time around. Every word was perfection. sigh!
**Original review 04/24/15**
Oh, my poor heart, how I loved this book. How is it possible that Rainbow Rowell, no matter who the character is, no matter what the storyline, can get inside and make me feel every minute of her stories? What a fantastic storyteller!
This was such a unique story, told in a unique way. Throughout the story, we get to read email correspondence between best friends Beth and Jennifer as well as read all about Lincoln, the IT guy hired to read company emails flagged for inappropriate use.
It was set in 1999/2000, which totally brought me back to that time in my life. I, too, was working for a newspaper around that time and email was a relatively new thing in the workplace. I think I would have died of embarrassment if anyone had been reading any of the emails send back and forth between my friends and I during that time. How naive we were back then with no concept of big brother and the digital trail left behind with our correspondence.
This was a sweet story with great characters.
I was able to get a real picture of who Beth and Jennifer were through their emails. Their friendship was funny and heartwarming.
Lincoln, true to Rainbow's typical writing style, is a perfect hero. I loved him. I loved his desire to find a place in this world, his friendship with Doris, his relationship with his D&D friends (which I found endlessly amusing) and his ability to surprise me in his quest to fit in.
I really liked the interaction between Lincoln and his sister Eve.
I have to specially call out to a secondary character in the book, Justin (Lincoln's friend), who stole every scene he was in with his foul language and over the top attitude:
I am predicting this book will fall into my list of favourites that I reread every year. It's such a feel-good book!!
Re-read in 2016 - this book, an all-time favourite, was just what I needed this week!!! Loved it just as much this time around. Every word was perfection. sigh!
**Original review 04/24/15**
Oh, my poor heart, how I loved this book. How is it possible that Rainbow Rowell, no matter who the character is, no matter what the storyline, can get inside and make me feel every minute of her stories? What a fantastic storyteller!
This was such a unique story, told in a unique way. Throughout the story, we get to read email correspondence between best friends Beth and Jennifer as well as read all about Lincoln, the IT guy hired to read company emails flagged for inappropriate use.
It was set in 1999/2000, which totally brought me back to that time in my life. I, too, was working for a newspaper around that time and email was a relatively new thing in the workplace. I think I would have died of embarrassment if anyone had been reading any of the emails send back and forth between my friends and I during that time. How naive we were back then with no concept of big brother and the digital trail left behind with our correspondence.
This was a sweet story with great characters.
I was able to get a real picture of who Beth and Jennifer were through their emails. Their friendship was funny and heartwarming.
“Beth to Jennifer - My Cute Guy has a kid.
Can you believe it? A kid! And probably a wife, too. How could he do this to me?
Jennifer to Beth- ???
Beth to Jennifer- My thoughts exactly.
Jennifer to Beth- What I meant by that was: give me the information that you have and I don't--that is making you talk like a crazy person.”
Lincoln, true to Rainbow's typical writing style, is a perfect hero. I loved him. I loved his desire to find a place in this world, his friendship with Doris, his relationship with his D&D friends (which I found endlessly amusing) and his ability to surprise me in his quest to fit in.
“Troy has been dragging your unconscious dwarf on an earth sled, just to keep you in the campaign. You're a constant drain on his magic.”
“He brought the house down during 1999 charades with a two-minute, completely silent reenactment of The Sixth Sense. "When you mimed the ring falling on the ground," Chuck said, applauding, "I forgot that I already knew you were dead.”
I really liked the interaction between Lincoln and his sister Eve.
“So, what if, instead of thinking about solving your whole life, you just think about adding additional good things. One at a time. Just let your pile of good things grow."
"This is investment advice, isn't it? You're personal-banking me."
I have to specially call out to a secondary character in the book, Justin (Lincoln's friend), who stole every scene he was in with his foul language and over the top attitude:
"He forgot to take the price tag off, so Justin called him "Minnie-fucking-Pearl" and "XXLT" all night"
“Well, all right. Let me change into something I can afford for Dena to puke on, and then we'll get this motherfucker started.”
“LINCOLN! DUDE! YOU'RE alive!"
"Justin, hey."
"Sorry to call you at work, but I've been calling your house so much, your mom probably thinks I'm trying to get into her pants. I feel like I haven't seen you since the sixth grade.”
I am predicting this book will fall into my list of favourites that I reread every year. It's such a feel-good book!!
December 31, 2014
بهذه الرواية الجميلة (والمراجعة) أودع عام ٢٠١٤
عندما تخرجت من الجامعة وحصلت على أول وظيفة، كنت أستغل ساعة البريك في قراءة الكتب الإلكترونية، ولأنني كنت في فترة ما مهووسًا بالرافعي، كنت أبحث عن كتبه ومقالاته التي سبق لي قراءتها وأعيد قراءتها. في كتابه "على السفود" الذي يرد فيه على العقاد أذكر أنه عنون أحد الفصول ب"عضلات من شراميط" ولا أعرف ماذا كان يدور في ذهني وأنا أكتب ��ي قوقل "شراميط" باحثًا عن هذا المقال باستخدام كمبيوتر العمل، فقد ظهرت لي صفحة نتائج البحث بروابط لمواقع إباحية ومنتديات يسرد فيها أعضاؤها تجاربهم مع "الشراميط". من فرط المفاجأة نزعت الكابل الكهربائي بدلاً من إغلاق المتصفح على أمل ألا يتمكن الشخص المسؤول في قسم تقنية المعلومات من معرفة ما كنت أبحث عنه!
عشت يوما كاملا من الخوف، وتخيلت سيناريوهات مختلفة نتيجة العمل الأحمق الذي قمت به، كأن أفصل من العمل بسبب استخدام الكمبيوتر المخصص للعمل في البحث عن المواقع الإباحية، أو أن يهز المدير العام رأسه شفقة وإزدراء وهو يسلمني ورقة فصلي من العمل وهو يردد خيبت ظني فيك، فهو بالتأكيد لن يعرف ولن يقتنع إن أخبرته بأن شراكيط لا تعني سوى الأسمال أو مزق الملابس التي تستخدم للتنظيف!
لحسن الحظ لم يحدث شيء من هذا، وإن كنت تعلمت من هذه التجربة ألا أكرر البحث عن حماقات باستخدام كمبيوتر العمل!
لذلك عندما وقعت في يدي هذه الرواية التي يقوم بطلها، بحكم وظيفته، بالتجسس على إيميلات الموظفين للتأكد من عدم خرقهم لقوانين وأخلاقيات العمل سارعت يشرائها وقراءتها في يوم واحد!
لن أجد أفضل من هذه الرواية الممتعة جدًا لأنهي بها عام ٢٠١٤!
كل عام وأنتم بخير يا أصدقاء وسنة سعيدة عليكم وعلى من تحبون!
عندما تخرجت من الجامعة وحصلت على أول وظيفة، كنت أستغل ساعة البريك في قراءة الكتب الإلكترونية، ولأنني كنت في فترة ما مهووسًا بالرافعي، كنت أبحث عن كتبه ومقالاته التي سبق لي قراءتها وأعيد قراءتها. في كتابه "على السفود" الذي يرد فيه على العقاد أذكر أنه عنون أحد الفصول ب"عضلات من شراميط" ولا أعرف ماذا كان يدور في ذهني وأنا أكتب ��ي قوقل "شراميط" باحثًا عن هذا المقال باستخدام كمبيوتر العمل، فقد ظهرت لي صفحة نتائج البحث بروابط لمواقع إباحية ومنتديات يسرد فيها أعضاؤها تجاربهم مع "الشراميط". من فرط المفاجأة نزعت الكابل الكهربائي بدلاً من إغلاق المتصفح على أمل ألا يتمكن الشخص المسؤول في قسم تقنية المعلومات من معرفة ما كنت أبحث عنه!
عشت يوما كاملا من الخوف، وتخيلت سيناريوهات مختلفة نتيجة العمل الأحمق الذي قمت به، كأن أفصل من العمل بسبب استخدام الكمبيوتر المخصص للعمل في البحث عن المواقع الإباحية، أو أن يهز المدير العام رأسه شفقة وإزدراء وهو يسلمني ورقة فصلي من العمل وهو يردد خيبت ظني فيك، فهو بالتأكيد لن يعرف ولن يقتنع إن أخبرته بأن شراكيط لا تعني سوى الأسمال أو مزق الملابس التي تستخدم للتنظيف!
لحسن الحظ لم يحدث شيء من هذا، وإن كنت تعلمت من هذه التجربة ألا أكرر البحث عن حماقات باستخدام كمبيوتر العمل!
لذلك عندما وقعت في يدي هذه الرواية التي يقوم بطلها، بحكم وظيفته، بالتجسس على إيميلات الموظفين للتأكد من عدم خرقهم لقوانين وأخلاقيات العمل سارعت يشرائها وقراءتها في يوم واحد!
لن أجد أفضل من هذه الرواية الممتعة جدًا لأنهي بها عام ٢٠١٤!
كل عام وأنتم بخير يا أصدقاء وسنة سعيدة عليكم وعلى من تحبون!
April 20, 2017
2017: Yep, still perfection. I love it more than I could say.
This was just perfection. I adored the premise and the format it was written in was phenomenal. I LOVED that we got into Lincoln's head and only knew Beth and Jennifer in the same way Lincoln did.
Beth is the sort of friend I want to have. I want to hang out and get drunk and probably arrested with her. She's smart as hell, quick with a comeback and hilarious.
Lincoln is sweet and every descriptive word that Beth and Jennifer use for him is correct. He's heartbroken at first, but it's clear that he knows how to bring the swoon.
This book has definitely become one of my go to books to read when I'm in a slump. I will be pimping it out and rereading it forever.
This was just perfection. I adored the premise and the format it was written in was phenomenal. I LOVED that we got into Lincoln's head and only knew Beth and Jennifer in the same way Lincoln did.
Beth is the sort of friend I want to have. I want to hang out and get drunk and probably arrested with her. She's smart as hell, quick with a comeback and hilarious.
Lincoln is sweet and every descriptive word that Beth and Jennifer use for him is correct. He's heartbroken at first, but it's clear that he knows how to bring the swoon.
This book has definitely become one of my go to books to read when I'm in a slump. I will be pimping it out and rereading it forever.
October 28, 2015
What a fantastic read! Straight into my favourites for the year :)
- So this is one of Rainbow Rowell's adult novels - before this one I had read Eleanor and Park (5*) and Fangirl (4*). I would now say that Attachments has taken the top spot for my favourite Rowell novel - I enjoyed it immensely and have since recommended it to many of my friends.
- So this story follows a guy named Lincoln who works in IT - Lincoln's job is to monitor the emails of all of the employees at his workplace (he also works at night - ha). Not long into the job the emails of two women in particular keep getting flagged by the system, so when an email gets flagged it is Lincoln's job to read it and send a warning (employees are not meant to use their work emails for personal conversations). But a problem arises when Lincoln not only neglects to send a warning - he inherently seeks out the emails of these women and reads them most nights. He becomes wrapped up in their lives and feels like he knows them - that sounds really creepy but it's actually quite sweet! Completely to Lincoln's surprise he begins to have feelings for one of the women - although he has never actually met her!
- This was such an adorable story. When I read the blurb I thought it was going to be some weirdly creepy story of some guy stalking women via their emails BUT it's so much more that than (and only a wee bit creepy ha). This book had me in stiches - it was so incredibly funny and just my type of humour. When Lincoln is reading the emails of the two women we actually have the emails set out on the page which made for a very enjoyable reading experience. I found myself rooting for Lincoln and hoping everything turned out okay. I have not laughed this much at a book in a very long time! The quick wit in the emails of the women reminded me so much of the way I speak with my girl friends - so I could really envisage the events of this book happening.
- 5 out of 5 stars and into my favourites for the year! Definitely at the top of my Rainbow Rowell collection now - I have just got my hands on Landline so I look forward to sharing my thoughts once I have read it.
- So this is one of Rainbow Rowell's adult novels - before this one I had read Eleanor and Park (5*) and Fangirl (4*). I would now say that Attachments has taken the top spot for my favourite Rowell novel - I enjoyed it immensely and have since recommended it to many of my friends.
- So this story follows a guy named Lincoln who works in IT - Lincoln's job is to monitor the emails of all of the employees at his workplace (he also works at night - ha). Not long into the job the emails of two women in particular keep getting flagged by the system, so when an email gets flagged it is Lincoln's job to read it and send a warning (employees are not meant to use their work emails for personal conversations). But a problem arises when Lincoln not only neglects to send a warning - he inherently seeks out the emails of these women and reads them most nights. He becomes wrapped up in their lives and feels like he knows them - that sounds really creepy but it's actually quite sweet! Completely to Lincoln's surprise he begins to have feelings for one of the women - although he has never actually met her!
- This was such an adorable story. When I read the blurb I thought it was going to be some weirdly creepy story of some guy stalking women via their emails BUT it's so much more that than (and only a wee bit creepy ha). This book had me in stiches - it was so incredibly funny and just my type of humour. When Lincoln is reading the emails of the two women we actually have the emails set out on the page which made for a very enjoyable reading experience. I found myself rooting for Lincoln and hoping everything turned out okay. I have not laughed this much at a book in a very long time! The quick wit in the emails of the women reminded me so much of the way I speak with my girl friends - so I could really envisage the events of this book happening.
- 5 out of 5 stars and into my favourites for the year! Definitely at the top of my Rainbow Rowell collection now - I have just got my hands on Landline so I look forward to sharing my thoughts once I have read it.
September 21, 2020
I remember reading this book when I felt just as lost as Lincoln. Rereading this now, I feel slightly hopeful seeing how some things hit a brighter light, thanks to this great psychopathology course I took this summer that gave me clarity on so many questions I held about mental health.
I think that's the power of revisiting the same books: seeing the (hopeful) growth in your life from the last time you read the book.
I was wondering why the events of this book were so fresh in my mind... turns out I reread Attachments just a couple of months ago. Oops. This just goes to show how much I rely and depend on Rainbow Rowell books. They're the only ones I know I can reread from start to finish. Theres something new to discover in each reread.
But I give in to Lincoln’s mom every time I read this next scene.
“You were just this little kitten, and you cried if I set you down even for a second. I don’t know how I managed to ever take a shower or make dinner. I don’t think I did. I was afraid to hold you too close to the stove.”
Lincoln stared down at the eggs. He hated when she talked like this. It was like accidentally seeing her in her nightgown.
“Why do you think I can remember that,” she asked, “when you can’t? Why does nature do that to us? How does that serve evolution? Those were the most important years of my life, and you can’t even remember them.”
Update June 2020:
I realized while scrolling through my extensive ravings for Rainbow Rowell's books, I've failed to include Attachments in the excitement. We're gathered here today to mend that mistake.
“Or maybe he was just afraid to do something real.”
Funny to consider that Attachments used to be my least favorite Rowell book, maybe a bit above Landline, simply because I could not be bothered to even think about the adult world when I first read those books. And now, Attachments is like my second favorite book of hers right after Fangirl. You know what that is?
Who knew I'd become an adult so soon? They grow up so fast.
If you asked in short, why I love this book, I'd say it's because of the characters: Like, Lincoln's fear of moving forward in life, yet afraid of standing still. And the moms in this book are something to behold. Attachments is full of Rainbow Rowell's excellent dialogue, thanks to Beth and Jennifer's email exchanges. Also, it's an obvious biased reason to love a character, but Lincoln is such a Cath (Fangirl).
“If he didn’t look, he didn’t risk accidental eye contact.”
I guess I really love my introverted representation. For a minute there, I let myself wonder how Cath and Lincoln would get along. But given that they’re both main characters taken from Rainbow’s mind, it feels taboo crossing them over, as if they’re related or something because they were created by the same person.
Okay, that's it in short. But you know we don't do short around here, so let me rave extensively about the beauty of this storyline:
• I think I secretly love Attachments so much, mainly for the fact that all I ever wanted is a guy to interpret my telepathic gestures at him. So of course, I secretly took joy in Lincoln's adjusted behavior upon reading Beth's thoughts on him. It's like he has insider info. I mean not like - he actually does, but still... It’s kind of a dream not having to actually approach the guy. He knows your opinion, feels the same, and is secretly reciprocating your thoughts to show 'I’m here. I like you too.' Mr. Darcy would approve.
“If this were a Jane Austen novel, it wouldn’t be so bad—if you were intercepting my letters, and I was peeking over your garden hedge …Computers make everything worse.”
• You know it's a lot to take in the invasion of privacy that happens so I felt a tiny bit relieved when Beth would do the same to him, like trying to follow him home, and planning an imaginative life with him and feeling betrayed when she thinks he's already settled down
“Wondering what his name is. And whether he’s as nice as he seems. And whether he likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain …”
Would you believe it if I said that song was stuck in my head for hours after..
Also, funny that this isn't her first rodeo of creeping on a guy. See below how she met Chris, her douche boyfriend, who we all, including Beth, ignore (does it still count as ignoring if he ignores you first?)
“One Tuesday night in November, I saw him at the library. I spent the next four Tuesday nights there, hoping it was a pattern. It wasn’t. Sometimes I’d allow myself to follow him to his 11:30 class in Andrews Hall, and then I’d have to run across campus to make it to my class in the Temple Building.
By the end of the semester, I was long past the point of starting a natural, casual conversation with him. I stopped trying to make eye contact.
I admire her sheer power of will to see something through.
• The humor in Rainbow's books remains impeccable. The amount of times I simply wrote "lol" in my notes (the quickest way to keep reading but pinning what made me laugh) is astronomical. Just to state a few examples:
“Jennifer to Beth: Hmmm …I think I’d like to be a stay-at-home mom with no kids.”
Seriously, where does she come up with these gold one-liners?
“Like Lincoln, most of the girls had eyes only for the guitarist.”
Just the wording of that phrase alone is hilarious.
Oh, any and all conversations with any and all of the moms in this book receives an instant five-star rating.
“You came to kindergarten with me for the first month.”
“You asked me to.”
“I was five,” Eve said. “You should have told me no.”
“You were scared.”
“I was five.”
“I didn’t send Lincoln until he was seven, and I’m so glad. He was so much more prepared.”
Lincoln had been prepared for kindergarten. He could already read and do some addition and subtraction.”
What a mom gem.
Another one: “I think they were happier about my breakup than Kiley’s wedding. “I knew it was a mistake to let him be in the family picture,” my mother said.
They don't make them like this in other books. I want more!
“Doris clucked and choked on her cake. She put her hand on his shoulder. Lincoln hoped that Beth wasn’t about to walk in.”
Ha! So she won't write about it the next day accusing her Cute Guy of cheating (with an elderly woman)? It's like he hears Beth’s voice narrating his life. I love it.
• I also adore this book so much for giving us that “Falling …Was he falling? Or was he just bored?" This hits the spot! Both Lincoln and Beth are on standstill in their personal lives with no way out so they use each other as this safe haven in their head... I want more.
“I can’t give him up. What would I have to look forward to?"
Above all, these two represented the way we can let our fantasies take over so we'll never have to do anything real.
“No, he was just going to kiss her. He wasn’t going to wait. She’d kiss him back. He was absolutely certain that she would kiss him back.
And then he’d tell her that he loved her.
And then he’d tell her his name.
And then and then and then … what?”
Me creating scenarios in my head be like...
• Reading the email with the phrase “trying not to bite his shoulder.”
• There's so much longing present in this book that it only hit me toward the end when they finally kiss that it is the only kiss in the book. They live so vicariously in their head, I almost forgot no one actually instigates anything in their real-life until they do. What a shock that was. I WANT MORE! It was like hitting the play button after being stuck on rewind for so long.
“because I’m not 16 anymore. That’s when it hit me— I’m not 16 anymore.And I don’t mean that in an offhand “well, obviously” way. I mean it like “Jack and Diane.” Like, “Oh, yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.”
This made me hit the same realization. Help. Oh, to be young and... and what? I love the idea of reverting to my younger self but there's also so much pain that accompanies those teen years that it's honestly not worth it. But oh, to think of all the books that await to be read for the first time...
• Lastly, I'll indulge in sharing random moments of resemblance to Fangirl because it's my favorite book and I look for it in everything:
“Jennifer to Beth: Really. I think you’re pathetic. It’s almost painfully embarrassing to read your messages when you’re like this.”
Reagan before Reagan existed.
“Beth to Jennifer: How did he win you over?
Jennifer to Beth: He just wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept sitting behind me in our poetry- writing class and asking me if I had plans for lunch. Like I wanted this muscle-bound blond guy to watch me eat.
Beth to Jennifer: I can just see him. A farm boy with sexy sousaphone shoulders …”
(Puts on best Jeopardy game-voice) What is Levi for 100 points
Also, Lincoln kissing Christine in their college days while studying for a final? What is Cath and Levi for 200 points.
Okay, thank you for letting me indulge in that. I'll leave at that, since I don't want Jennifer calling me pathetic.
This review has been a long time coming. So I'm glad to have it up to revisit time and again, as I commonly do with my reviews for Rainbow Rowell books.
This review and more Rainbow Rowell ravings can be found on my blog.
2019:
The classic tale of two introverts liking each other and being unaware of it. It reminds me of when Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves revealed, years down the line, to liking each other on set. It's like, please, get together.
And because this is Rainbow Rowell, I have to feature some top notch quotes that just get it:
“I wanted you to come with me,” Sam finally said, “because I was scared to go by myself. And I told myself that it was okay, letting you follow me …because it was what you wanted. And because you didn’t have any other plans. And … because I guess I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you.”
That last line really helped me put some pieces together in my own head.
“The strange thing about seeing someone for first time in nine years is the way they look totally different, just for a second, a split second, and then they look at you the way they always have, as if no time has passed between you.”
I recently got to experience this feeling, and I couldn't put it in words till I saw it here.
I think that's the power of revisiting the same books: seeing the (hopeful) growth in your life from the last time you read the book.
I was wondering why the events of this book were so fresh in my mind... turns out I reread Attachments just a couple of months ago. Oops. This just goes to show how much I rely and depend on Rainbow Rowell books. They're the only ones I know I can reread from start to finish. Theres something new to discover in each reread.
But I give in to Lincoln’s mom every time I read this next scene.
“You were just this little kitten, and you cried if I set you down even for a second. I don’t know how I managed to ever take a shower or make dinner. I don’t think I did. I was afraid to hold you too close to the stove.”
Lincoln stared down at the eggs. He hated when she talked like this. It was like accidentally seeing her in her nightgown.
“Why do you think I can remember that,” she asked, “when you can’t? Why does nature do that to us? How does that serve evolution? Those were the most important years of my life, and you can’t even remember them.”
Update June 2020:
I realized while scrolling through my extensive ravings for Rainbow Rowell's books, I've failed to include Attachments in the excitement. We're gathered here today to mend that mistake.
“Or maybe he was just afraid to do something real.”
Funny to consider that Attachments used to be my least favorite Rowell book, maybe a bit above Landline, simply because I could not be bothered to even think about the adult world when I first read those books. And now, Attachments is like my second favorite book of hers right after Fangirl. You know what that is?
Who knew I'd become an adult so soon? They grow up so fast.
If you asked in short, why I love this book, I'd say it's because of the characters: Like, Lincoln's fear of moving forward in life, yet afraid of standing still. And the moms in this book are something to behold. Attachments is full of Rainbow Rowell's excellent dialogue, thanks to Beth and Jennifer's email exchanges. Also, it's an obvious biased reason to love a character, but Lincoln is such a Cath (Fangirl).
“If he didn’t look, he didn’t risk accidental eye contact.”
I guess I really love my introverted representation. For a minute there, I let myself wonder how Cath and Lincoln would get along. But given that they’re both main characters taken from Rainbow’s mind, it feels taboo crossing them over, as if they’re related or something because they were created by the same person.
Okay, that's it in short. But you know we don't do short around here, so let me rave extensively about the beauty of this storyline:
• I think I secretly love Attachments so much, mainly for the fact that all I ever wanted is a guy to interpret my telepathic gestures at him. So of course, I secretly took joy in Lincoln's adjusted behavior upon reading Beth's thoughts on him. It's like he has insider info. I mean not like - he actually does, but still... It’s kind of a dream not having to actually approach the guy. He knows your opinion, feels the same, and is secretly reciprocating your thoughts to show 'I’m here. I like you too.' Mr. Darcy would approve.
“If this were a Jane Austen novel, it wouldn’t be so bad—if you were intercepting my letters, and I was peeking over your garden hedge …Computers make everything worse.”
• You know it's a lot to take in the invasion of privacy that happens so I felt a tiny bit relieved when Beth would do the same to him, like trying to follow him home, and planning an imaginative life with him and feeling betrayed when she thinks he's already settled down
“Wondering what his name is. And whether he’s as nice as he seems. And whether he likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain …”
Would you believe it if I said that song was stuck in my head for hours after..
Also, funny that this isn't her first rodeo of creeping on a guy. See below how she met Chris, her douche boyfriend, who we all, including Beth, ignore (does it still count as ignoring if he ignores you first?)
“One Tuesday night in November, I saw him at the library. I spent the next four Tuesday nights there, hoping it was a pattern. It wasn’t. Sometimes I’d allow myself to follow him to his 11:30 class in Andrews Hall, and then I’d have to run across campus to make it to my class in the Temple Building.
By the end of the semester, I was long past the point of starting a natural, casual conversation with him. I stopped trying to make eye contact.
I admire her sheer power of will to see something through.
• The humor in Rainbow's books remains impeccable. The amount of times I simply wrote "lol" in my notes (the quickest way to keep reading but pinning what made me laugh) is astronomical. Just to state a few examples:
“Jennifer to Beth: Hmmm …I think I’d like to be a stay-at-home mom with no kids.”
Seriously, where does she come up with these gold one-liners?
“Like Lincoln, most of the girls had eyes only for the guitarist.”
Just the wording of that phrase alone is hilarious.
Oh, any and all conversations with any and all of the moms in this book receives an instant five-star rating.
“You came to kindergarten with me for the first month.”
“You asked me to.”
“I was five,” Eve said. “You should have told me no.”
“You were scared.”
“I was five.”
“I didn’t send Lincoln until he was seven, and I’m so glad. He was so much more prepared.”
Lincoln had been prepared for kindergarten. He could already read and do some addition and subtraction.”
What a mom gem.
Another one: “I think they were happier about my breakup than Kiley’s wedding. “I knew it was a mistake to let him be in the family picture,” my mother said.
They don't make them like this in other books. I want more!
“Doris clucked and choked on her cake. She put her hand on his shoulder. Lincoln hoped that Beth wasn’t about to walk in.”
Ha! So she won't write about it the next day accusing her Cute Guy of cheating (with an elderly woman)? It's like he hears Beth’s voice narrating his life. I love it.
• I also adore this book so much for giving us that “Falling …Was he falling? Or was he just bored?" This hits the spot! Both Lincoln and Beth are on standstill in their personal lives with no way out so they use each other as this safe haven in their head... I want more.
“I can’t give him up. What would I have to look forward to?"
Above all, these two represented the way we can let our fantasies take over so we'll never have to do anything real.
“No, he was just going to kiss her. He wasn’t going to wait. She’d kiss him back. He was absolutely certain that she would kiss him back.
And then he’d tell her that he loved her.
And then he’d tell her his name.
And then and then and then … what?”
Me creating scenarios in my head be like...
• Reading the email with the phrase “trying not to bite his shoulder.”
• There's so much longing present in this book that it only hit me toward the end when they finally kiss that it is the only kiss in the book. They live so vicariously in their head, I almost forgot no one actually instigates anything in their real-life until they do. What a shock that was. I WANT MORE! It was like hitting the play button after being stuck on rewind for so long.
“because I’m not 16 anymore. That’s when it hit me— I’m not 16 anymore.And I don’t mean that in an offhand “well, obviously” way. I mean it like “Jack and Diane.” Like, “Oh, yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.”
This made me hit the same realization. Help. Oh, to be young and... and what? I love the idea of reverting to my younger self but there's also so much pain that accompanies those teen years that it's honestly not worth it. But oh, to think of all the books that await to be read for the first time...
• Lastly, I'll indulge in sharing random moments of resemblance to Fangirl because it's my favorite book and I look for it in everything:
“Jennifer to Beth: Really. I think you’re pathetic. It’s almost painfully embarrassing to read your messages when you’re like this.”
Reagan before Reagan existed.
“Beth to Jennifer: How did he win you over?
Jennifer to Beth: He just wouldn’t leave me alone. He kept sitting behind me in our poetry- writing class and asking me if I had plans for lunch. Like I wanted this muscle-bound blond guy to watch me eat.
Beth to Jennifer: I can just see him. A farm boy with sexy sousaphone shoulders …”
(Puts on best Jeopardy game-voice) What is Levi for 100 points
Also, Lincoln kissing Christine in their college days while studying for a final? What is Cath and Levi for 200 points.
Okay, thank you for letting me indulge in that. I'll leave at that, since I don't want Jennifer calling me pathetic.
This review has been a long time coming. So I'm glad to have it up to revisit time and again, as I commonly do with my reviews for Rainbow Rowell books.
This review and more Rainbow Rowell ravings can be found on my blog.
2019:
The classic tale of two introverts liking each other and being unaware of it. It reminds me of when Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves revealed, years down the line, to liking each other on set. It's like, please, get together.
And because this is Rainbow Rowell, I have to feature some top notch quotes that just get it:
“I wanted you to come with me,” Sam finally said, “because I was scared to go by myself. And I told myself that it was okay, letting you follow me …because it was what you wanted. And because you didn’t have any other plans. And … because I guess I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to you.”
That last line really helped me put some pieces together in my own head.
“The strange thing about seeing someone for first time in nine years is the way they look totally different, just for a second, a split second, and then they look at you the way they always have, as if no time has passed between you.”
I recently got to experience this feeling, and I couldn't put it in words till I saw it here.
December 27, 2019
The ending made my heart swell.
January 26, 2021
This book is on my last nerve and I think the problem is me. DNF@ 25%
April 6, 2022
4.25 stars
I really enjoyed it!
I really enjoyed it!
August 20, 2018
5 'read all my personal emails for an entire year' stars
this shit got me fucked up. basic premise is lincoln, the hopeless romantic and perpetual bachelor, gets a job in IT in the early 2000s. which means his sole duty is reading flagged emails. he develops attachments (pun intended) to a lovely lady by the name of beth who uses her work email as personal email with her pal jennifer. lincoln, as previously mentioned is sort of a sad sac so he falls in love reading the aforementioned emails.
i mean that is literally it. lincoln kind of finds himself. beth finds some self worth. they get together after some plot type things happen. it's just good, wholesome, late 90s fun.
i shouldn't have liked this as much as i did. i brought it with me to a beach weekend where i "talked to people" and "had fun" so i was surprised that i wanted to keep picking this up. but the almost instant message style emails were fun to read and the characters were pretty damn funny.
and maybe i sort of kind of want my own stalker. or at least a guy who has been literally dreaming of a girl like me. and falls in love before even seeing my face. i can see why not everyone would like this. the premise could be conceived as creepy. and it's definitely not EXCITING HELLO PLOT. but it got me. and i cried. 10/10 will read again.
this shit got me fucked up. basic premise is lincoln, the hopeless romantic and perpetual bachelor, gets a job in IT in the early 2000s. which means his sole duty is reading flagged emails. he develops attachments (pun intended) to a lovely lady by the name of beth who uses her work email as personal email with her pal jennifer. lincoln, as previously mentioned is sort of a sad sac so he falls in love reading the aforementioned emails.
i mean that is literally it. lincoln kind of finds himself. beth finds some self worth. they get together after some plot type things happen. it's just good, wholesome, late 90s fun.
i shouldn't have liked this as much as i did. i brought it with me to a beach weekend where i "talked to people" and "had fun" so i was surprised that i wanted to keep picking this up. but the almost instant message style emails were fun to read and the characters were pretty damn funny.
and maybe i sort of kind of want my own stalker. or at least a guy who has been literally dreaming of a girl like me. and falls in love before even seeing my face. i can see why not everyone would like this. the premise could be conceived as creepy. and it's definitely not EXCITING HELLO PLOT. but it got me. and i cried. 10/10 will read again.
February 17, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5/5
Having already read Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, I expected to enjoy this - and I did (obviously). However, it wasn’t as good as the other two, which is fine I guess. Either way, it was still a good “Valentine’s Day” read and I’m glad Rainbow Rowell didn’t disappoint, once again.
The beginning was sort of difficult to get into. For me, I tend to have trouble getting into male perspectives - I prefer reading through a females eyes because I can usually connect, for obvious reasons. But, surprisingly, this one wasn’t too bad (once I'd read a few more chapters). I could connect to Lincoln and his painful introverted-ness. I used to be like him in high school, so reading this brought me back to those years where I preferred to stay home and read alone. Now, I still read, but I don’t mind going out to a cafe or a library to read around people. After all, people watching is so much fun.
When I realized that half of the novel was going to be in e-mail format, I got worried. Again, I never had good experiences with reading through a texting or email format, and I wasn’t expecting a good outcome from this one either. Thankfully, Rowell proved me wrong! I felt like I knew Beth and Jennifer, even though I was only learning about them through cyberspace. So this was great, because it made me believe that Lincoln actually fell in love with Beth, ‘cause she grew on me, too. Jennifer and Beth were just hilarious and oh-so real.
Overall, I like how once Beth found out Lincoln had been reading her e-mails (and had undoubtedly told Jennifer), and Jennifer had been super against it and had wanted to turn him in. That made this novel more realistic than it already was, because that would’ve been me - so I like how Rowell made her characters believable and didn’t make them all agree with one another. Even Jennifer with her whole fear of pregnancy is totally me.
Oh, oh, and I’m glad Lincoln never met up with Sam after they ran into one another. It showed how much he’d grown; that he’d finally gotten over her. ’Cause lets be honest, she wasn’t too nice of a person.
So yeah, it was a fun read. Good job, Rowell. I might just have to read all your other books!
Having already read Eleanor and Park and Fangirl, I expected to enjoy this - and I did (obviously). However, it wasn’t as good as the other two, which is fine I guess. Either way, it was still a good “Valentine’s Day” read and I’m glad Rainbow Rowell didn’t disappoint, once again.
The beginning was sort of difficult to get into. For me, I tend to have trouble getting into male perspectives - I prefer reading through a females eyes because I can usually connect, for obvious reasons. But, surprisingly, this one wasn’t too bad (once I'd read a few more chapters). I could connect to Lincoln and his painful introverted-ness. I used to be like him in high school, so reading this brought me back to those years where I preferred to stay home and read alone. Now, I still read, but I don’t mind going out to a cafe or a library to read around people. After all, people watching is so much fun.
When I realized that half of the novel was going to be in e-mail format, I got worried. Again, I never had good experiences with reading through a texting or email format, and I wasn’t expecting a good outcome from this one either. Thankfully, Rowell proved me wrong! I felt like I knew Beth and Jennifer, even though I was only learning about them through cyberspace. So this was great, because it made me believe that Lincoln actually fell in love with Beth, ‘cause she grew on me, too. Jennifer and Beth were just hilarious and oh-so real.
Overall, I like how once Beth found out Lincoln had been reading her e-mails (and had undoubtedly told Jennifer), and Jennifer had been super against it and had wanted to turn him in. That made this novel more realistic than it already was, because that would’ve been me - so I like how Rowell made her characters believable and didn’t make them all agree with one another. Even Jennifer with her whole fear of pregnancy is totally me.
Oh, oh, and I’m glad Lincoln never met up with Sam after they ran into one another. It showed how much he’d grown; that he’d finally gotten over her. ’Cause lets be honest, she wasn’t too nice of a person.
So yeah, it was a fun read. Good job, Rowell. I might just have to read all your other books!
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