Still Me by JoJo Moyes is the third book in a series following the life of one Louisa Clarke, starting off with a significant period of her life involving Will Traynor back in the first book, Me Before You. Still Me picks up on her life as she reconnects with Nathan, who was a big part of Will’s life (medical caregiver) when she was helping care for Will as well. Nathan found her a job as an assistant to the wife of the man he was helping out, hence her move from England to New York.
As you know, I read quite a lot of books. In addition to that, these books fall into a wide ranges of genres, lengths, et cetera. Since I read so much, I have to think about what books I am going to read next almost constantly. However, since I do read a lot, this also means that I need a variety of different ways to choose my books. I figured I would extend some of my methods in an effort to help those of you looking for your next read. Let me know if any of these end up working for you, or if you have some methods of you own you would like to share.
Let’s begin!
If I love a book, or series of books, by an author, I am quite likely to give one or more of their other books a short. The biggest example of this is how I grew up loving the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Thus, it made sense for me to give her following books a shot, which lead to me reading The Casual Vacancy as well as the ones she wrote under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Did I love them more than Harry Potter? No, but I understood that was extremely unlikely when I started reading. They were great books regardless, and all of them have a place on my bookshelf.
I tend to follow many publishing companies on Twitter and look at media related to books elsewhere on the Internet. This tends to bring new books onto my radar. For example, I was seeing Kate Hudson’s Pretty Happy in quite a few places online, so I decided to give it a try. I also see a lot of books on The Savvy Reader’s 50 Book Pledge website through their featured reads.
Of course, I do not pick every book I hear about when it makes the headlines. If I did that, I would likely have to read at least a few books I would hate. As such, I do take a little longer to decide if a book I see around will make it onto my bookshelf. I will explain what I do now.
With both methods I have already explained, as well as the rest of them, I will always take the time to read a synopsis or other bits of information about the book and the story it contains within its pages. When I do read this information, I am not looking for specific things. The only sense I want is this: “Does this story peak my interest? Does it excite me in some way? Am I intrigued?”
It does not matter what the subject is, so long as something about the story interests me. After all, there are so many books to read, so why try struggling through one I know I do not have an interest in right from the beginning?
I have found that another good avenue for choosing my next book is from a recommendation given to me from a friend, relative, et cetera. Now, I do not get a lot from my family given that, as far as I am aware, I am the most voracious reader in the family. With that said, I do get a recommendation from time to time. They are generally good recommendations, so I have no issues with them when they come along.
Many of my friends also read a decent amount, and since they have different favourites or will be reading different things at different times, they do end up reading things I may not have gotten to yet. When I talk to my friends about books, which does come up, a recommendation is likely to happen! Sometimes I do not like the book, but I do like them more often than not. The one I am thinking of now is S. by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams. This was a good read, though it was quite complicated (mostly because of its unique nature).
If I am part of a book club and the reading list is already set (which I am), how is this a choice for me? It is still a choice for a few different reasons.
When I first joined the book club I am currently in, it really was not a choice about the books I would read as a part of that club. I was joining partway through the year, and as such, they had already decided on the list of books. They had to decide early, since the club is part of the library and they have to get a hold of enough copies. With that said, it was a choice to be a part of the book club and, by extension, the books were choices too.
However, I have now been a part of this book club for over a year now. Not too long ago, the coordinator for our group sent out a survey. The library had many potential books picked for a list, and they invited us to vote for up to ten (I think) of our favourites. The ones with the most votes in the end would end up on the book list for the next year! Thus, I had a say in the books I would get to read. This actually includes The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes, though I have already read that one. I am only a little ahead of schedule, I swear!
Sometimes, I do not know which new book I want to read next. This could be for a few reasons, including feeling overwhelmed at the number of choices in front of me or simply craving something familiar. This is when I end up rereading some of my favourites.
As I write this, I am rereading JoJo Moye’s Me Before You. Last year, I went through the Harry Potter books. I have a feeling I will be rereading Lord of the Rings soon (something I have not done for about three years now).
Regardless of what triggered it, sometimes rereading an old favourite is the perfect choice for me. If you are stuck, it may be a good choice for you as well!
I hope some of this tips will help you choose your next book. If they do, I would love to know which tip (or tips) it was and what book you ended up reading. Who knows, you may be picking my next read!
Whenever I read my first book from an author and it absolutely hooks me, I always look into their other works and see what they offer. More often than not, I find myself reading most, if not all, of their other books. Last year I read Me Before You by JoJo Moyes and it was one of the best books I have read in a very long time. Thus, I went looking into JoJo’s other books. I decided to start with this one: The Last Letter From Your Lover.
The book surrounds two different periods. The first is in 1960 (and the following years) when Jennifer Stirling wakes up in the hospital. She was in a car accident and cannot remember anything, who she is and her husband. However, she stumbles upon a love letter signed only “B.” In 2003, a journalist named Ellie finds the same letter in archives and becomes enchanted. She works on the story, with her job on the line, and by all accounts, her search into the past will almost rewrite history and change her own life in terms of her modern romance.
So now you know the premise behind the book. Intriguing, is it not? That is precisely why I decided to start with this one as my next foray into reading JoJo Moyes. Of course, going into this I knew I was probably going to compare it to how I felt about Me Before You. If I were to compare it, I would have to say this book was probably average quality. However, I want to shy away from doing that.
I love the idea behind this book. I am, of course, a complete “sap” when it comes to romance. The intrigue and the time span of this story also added additional layers to the story and lifted it a bit beyond simply average.
I do, however, have a personal issue with the novel. Despite how I think it is a good story and good writing, which comes as no surprise given how much I enjoyed Me Before You, I do not like the idea of people cheating on their spouses. I do not care whether it is a man or a woman doing the cheating. Certain reasons, while they may tug on my heartstrings, still leave a sour taste in my mouth. I understand that in the past (1960s) divorce was a much bigger issue. However, I wish that if people really were going in the direction of cheating, there has to be something off in the marriage. What about counselling before it gets there? Beyond that, if you loved your spouse…why cheat? I do not understand.
I could go on, but as I said that is a personal issue with some of the subject matter. I still believe The Last Letter From Your Lover is a great read. If you read Me Before You and enjoyed that, I would definitely recommend giving this one a try. I suspect I might feel the same about the rest of JoJo Moyes’ books, to a certain degree because I doubt anything will top Me Before You, but I have to read them first. Keep your eye on this blog (and my Twitter) for news about the rest of her books.
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Title: The Last Letter from Your Lover
Author: JoJo Moyes
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Romance
I don’t think I have ever posted about a book twice on this blog, but I wanted to…no, I needed to in this case. Today, the trailer for the movie adaptation of Me Before You by JoJo Moyes was released. If you have not seen it yet, take the time now and follow this link to YouTube to watch it before continuing.
Caught up? Okay, I can keep going now.
When I read this book last year in August, I was floored. It is not often that I come across a novel that affects me in the way as Me Before You. I remember posting something in that particular post about books just being okay more often than not. By okay I mean I like them, but the ones that stick with me and never really go away do not come around that often. I guess it makes them all the more special when they do.
I still stand by my initial assessment of Me Before You, and if you have not read the book already I highly suggest you do. Even if you do not normally read books, I would recommend you read this one. I think it is extremely unlikely that you will walk away feeling nothing. I will not repeat my full review of the book, but if you wish to read a little bit about it, without major spoilers, head over to my post from August called Me Before You: Two People, Six Months.
There are a couple things that make me nervous about the film adaptation, which is released in June 2016. The first things is the same feeling I get with any film adaptation: Will it live up to the book? I believe I always fall on the side of the book is better. I do not expect this to change for this adaptation, but there is a difference between a good adaptation and a terrible one. However, I am comforted by two things: the trailer and the author. Yes, the trailer can lie, however it immediately sparked emotions in me. However, the fact that JoJo Moyes wrote the screenplay for this book assures me that, while some parts may be left out or condensed, the essence of the novel and story will still remain.
The second element that has me a bit nervous is how Sam Claflin is going to play Will Traynor (technically he has already, but I digress). By that I mean is Will Traynor is a quadriplegic, and in his case, he cannot move his arms or legs. Essentially, Will can only move his head. I say in his case because, from a brief search, the specific outcome can vary and you can find cases where the individual could move their arms but not their fingers. I do not know too much about that though, so do not quote me on the details.
However, Sam Claflin is obviously not a quadriplegic, and most of the roles I have seen him in have been quite athletic type roles. Here, he is extremely limited in what he will be able to do with his body to help his performance. Not that it needs help, but it is very different and very difficult, I would imagine, to portray something of this nature.
This element also has some comfort attached to it. Articles I read today have indicated that Sam did quite a lot of research regarding the disabled community in order to try to understand what they go through. Additionally, there are a couple seconds in the trailer that tell me he is very expressive with his face even without saying a single word.
Despite my nerves, I look forward to the day when I can step inside the theatre and watch what I believe will be a fantastic film. I am not nearly ready for it, nor will I be on that day, but I will be there.
And if you need another reason to read the book and watch the film:
“All I can say is that you make me… you make me into someone I couldn’t even imagine. You make me happy, even when you’re awful. I would rather be with you – even the you that you seem to think is diminished – than with anyone else in the world.”
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes is just one of those books that hit you in the gut. Hard. I knew what the book was about before I started reading, but I was not really expecting what actually happened.
2 years before the novel begins, a man named Will Traynor, active and at the top of his game, suffers a life-altering accident. The accidents leaves Will confined to a wheelchair and forces him to rely on others for the rest of his life as a quadriplegic. He cannot move, save for his head and some minor movement in his arm on occasion.
At the outset of the novel, 26-year-old Louisa Clark is searching for a new job after the café she worked at closes. After a visit to the local Job Centre, Will Traynor’s mother employs her on a six-month contract to help take care of her beloved son. She is meant to be a caring companion—Nathan, Will’s other carer, would take care of the complex medical nature of Will’s care.
Lou consistently finds life difficult with Will when she begins her job caring for him. He is a grumpy man and consistently snaps at her. In any case, she pushes herself to stay at the job as her family is in desperate need of money. When he wants her to leave him alone, Lou finds herself cleaning the house. She begins to notice the utter falsity of life in the Traynor house. Life for Lou at home isn’t easy either. Her family relies on her, but she is still disrespected on a regular basis. She comes to understand that she may not really love her boyfriend Patrick. Then one day, after she has finally gotten her footing at her job and is friendly with Will, news about him overturns her entire world. She finally understands why Mrs. Traynor hired her above all the other candidates. Despite her initial desire to leave her job because of the gravity of the situation, the scars she sees, Lou stays. She is filled with a desire to change the mind of who could very well be the most stubborn man in the world in a seemingly impossible situation.
Me Before You isn’t fantasy or science fiction. But it is still extraordinary and heart-wrenching in perhaps one of the most human ways possible. JoJo Moyes’ work reminds me in many ways of Jodi Picoult. JoJo Moyes wrestles with one of the hardest moral questions in her novel. She forces you to question what you would do in a seemingly impossible situation. Would you decision change depending on what side of the equation you fell on?
I read countless books. More often than not, they are just okay. They are nothing particularly special, but they are not terrible either. Then, there are books like Me Before You. It has only been a few days, but I know that his one is something that will come back again, especially with the movie coming out in 2016. While reading, I thought about what I would do if I were Louisa, Will’s family, or Will. I could clearly see where every single person was coming from in the novel, something that I sometimes find difficult while reading. But even knowing where every character was coming from, I don’t know that I could definitively say what I would do in any of their positions. What I do know? If I were Louisa? Regardless of my final reaction, even if it differed from hers, my heart would never be the same again.
I would highly recommend giving this a read. If you do choose to read it, I would like to know if you agree with my final thought about this novel: There is no way I could say what I would do in this situation unless I were actually in it.
Let me know what you think about this novel. Did you enjoy it? Do you believe that it will stay with you?
Walking The Forest Floor 