Since I started this book journal in the middle of the year, there are about 16 books I’ve already read that won’t get the full morethanabookreview.com treatment. Some of these titles include books by my favorite authors and also one of my new favorite books! Landline is one of those books, written by one of my current favorite authors, Rainbow Rowell. While it may not include all of my first reactions, it stuck with me enough to be able to write this reflection.

Landline by Rainbow Rowell (Publication July 8, 2014)
Finished reading January 2015

Brief synopsis:
Landline is a story about a marriage in trouble. Georgie McCool and her husband, Neale, have been together since college. Georgie puts in long hours writing a sitcom while Neale cares for their two daughters. As the pressure of her career continues to impact her family life, Georgie is faced with some difficult decisions when Neale leaves at Christmas to visit his family and takes the girls along. The plot line is further complicated by the fact that Georgie’s work partner is her long-time college friend, Seth. Much of the story centers on a seemingly magical, bright yellow landline phone that allows Georgia to communicate with the past.

Why this book and why January 2015:
Landline was my first book of 2015. I was on a bit of a Rainbow Rowell kick after reading Attachments, Eleanor & Park, and Fangirl. This was the last Rowell book I had to read and I was very eager to do so. Rainbow’s book Attachments is one of the first books I recommend to any of my girlfriends that ask. That book had me laughing so hard I was crying a mere three pages in! As I mentioned in my About Page, Rainbow Rowell is one of my current favorite authors.

The time frame of the story is around Christmas, the fact that I was reading it just after the holidays was entirely coincidental, however being surrounded by snow, family, the looming date of going back to work, did very much help me relate to Georgie in ways that reading this book during the summer would have made different.

At one point in this book, Georgie sees snow for the first time. Growing up in the Midwestern United States, I found it a bit mind boggling that another American had never experienced snow before! I’m sure there are lots of people in the United States that have never touched snow, I just had never even consider the fact. This part of the book was a lot of fun to read as Rainbow Rowell described what her character experienced when she touched snow, leaving an imprint of her hand and being amazed by it.  Which makes me wonder, what is something that you, reading this right now, have never experienced that others might be surprised by? Leave a comment using the link at the top of this post to share.

One of the reasons I enjoy Rainbow Rowell’s writing so much, is that her characters are realistic. She lets us inside the minds of these characters and what we find is a “normal” person, not some highly dramatized version of a person facing a difficult life situation. Georgie McCool’s, thoughts and feelings about her family, husband, career, friendships, and marriage are relatable and believable.

Recommended reading for:
Landline is a perfect read for young adult or grown adult. If you are looking for a book that provides another perspective on the difficulties of navigating a marriage, this is a book worth reading. The relationships among the female characters in the book remind me of my relationship with my mom and sister in different ways. A great book overall that I don’t think you will be disappointed with reading.