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krish_'s review against another edition
3.0
My aunt picked this out for me. The cover says it's "a delight". It is.
bianca89279's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up
Don't let it be said that I don't give authors a second chance ... well, there's at least one I refuse to read again. I didn't enjoy Jordan's Our Tiny Useless Hearts, but I wanted to try another novel.
Addition was a much more enjoyable experience than the above-mentioned book. Thirty-five-year-old Grace Vandenburg is obsessive compulsively counting and has very strict routines that she follows adamantly. She loves numbers and her idol is Nikola Tesla. The nerd in me enjoyed the bits about Tesla that were interspersed throughout the novel. The guy was a genius!
I enjoyed getting to know Grace. For someone so rigid, she sure had a sense of humour and could be self-deprecating. When she goes shopping she buys things in tens. When in the cashier line, she discovers she only places nine bananas in the basket. What to do, she doesn't want to miss her place in the line. So she steals one banana from the guy behind her. And that's how she meets Seamus O'Reilly.
And that is where the cynic Bianca reappears. The dude was too good to be true. And Grace's behaviour was a bit contradictory to her usual self. I guess there wouldn't be much of a plot otherwise.
With Seamus' help, Grace decides to address her issues and seek professional help. Will she be cured? Does she need to be cured? Do we all have to fit the mould? These are questions that Toni Jordon attempts to answer.
So, if you're after quirky heroines and are interested in a light romantic read, give this one a go.
Caroline Lee, one of my favourite Australian narrators, did a brilliant job, as always.
This book goes towards my Aussie Authors Challenge 2018 on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
Don't let it be said that I don't give authors a second chance ... well, there's at least one I refuse to read again. I didn't enjoy Jordan's Our Tiny Useless Hearts, but I wanted to try another novel.
Addition was a much more enjoyable experience than the above-mentioned book. Thirty-five-year-old Grace Vandenburg is obsessive compulsively counting and has very strict routines that she follows adamantly. She loves numbers and her idol is Nikola Tesla. The nerd in me enjoyed the bits about Tesla that were interspersed throughout the novel. The guy was a genius!
I enjoyed getting to know Grace. For someone so rigid, she sure had a sense of humour and could be self-deprecating. When she goes shopping she buys things in tens. When in the cashier line, she discovers she only places nine bananas in the basket. What to do, she doesn't want to miss her place in the line. So she steals one banana from the guy behind her. And that's how she meets Seamus O'Reilly.
And that is where the cynic Bianca reappears. The dude was too good to be true. And Grace's behaviour was a bit contradictory to her usual self. I guess there wouldn't be much of a plot otherwise.
With Seamus' help, Grace decides to address her issues and seek professional help. Will she be cured? Does she need to be cured? Do we all have to fit the mould? These are questions that Toni Jordon attempts to answer.
So, if you're after quirky heroines and are interested in a light romantic read, give this one a go.
Caroline Lee, one of my favourite Australian narrators, did a brilliant job, as always.
This book goes towards my Aussie Authors Challenge 2018 on www.bookloverbookreviews.com
carobcbg's review against another edition
4.0
Brilliant! A romance with a real difference. A lovable faulty heroine!
ablotial's review against another edition
3.0
This book caught my attention back when it first came out because it is about a woman with an obsessive-compulsive disorder that compels her to count. Count everything. She counts the number of steps it takes her to get from here to there, she counts the number of letters in your name when she meets you (and judges you based on your "number"), she counts the number of poppyseeds in her cake and challenges herself to take that many bites to eat it, she must do things at certain times of day (to the minute). When stressed, she measures her walls, the length of her furniture, her body parts...
I have a mild OCD tendency, though nothing that prevents me from participating in real life. And when I was younger, I loved to count things -- especially the passing dots on the road... at one point I could tell you how many passing dots there were between my house and various other towns that we traveled to ... and would get upset when someone disrupted me and made me lose my count. I like things to be evenly divisible, I like everyone to get an exactly equal share. I like patterns. I eat my M&Ms in a certain order, after lining them up by color.
So I felt like I related to this lady, somehow.
Well, I finally got around to reading this book, it turned out I didn't enjoy it so much. Partly because of the writing style. Another partly because the main character was a bit ... flaky? I mean, aside from her obvious weirdness due to the counting. She didn't seem to relate well to people (then again, the people she got to interact with was her family, who had some issues of their own.
But mostly because it seemed the focus was ... off. Her new boyfriend tries to help her by bringing her to get medicated. And the book is not really about her, it's about whether or not you should be medicated for mental illnesses. And with all the complaining about "feeling like a different person", "not caring about things anymore", how much weight she gained, how she no longer enjoyed sex (which had a much bigger role in this book than I would have expected, both when she did care about sex and when she didn't), and of course, the ultimate decision in the end to not take the medication, it's clear that the author is against it.
Which ... ok, fine, be against it. That's cool. But it does help some people, and writing books like this is going to scare people away from at least trying it out.
Not only that, but she (they?) never do address the REAL problem of the "puppy" that fell down the stairs. And the fact that she LIED about it obviously indicates that she is really NOT over it and could still use some counseling, even if medication really isn't an option for her.
One thing I did find interesting was her reaction to the "germophobes" -- when she was in her group therapy talking about the medication and how it was affecting her, and they put her in with people who were OCD about germs &etc, how she thought they were nuts and they thought she was nuts, but they all thought they (themselves) were perfectly normal and didn't need help. It's all relative.
Anyway, it was an interesting book and made me think, but I'm not sure I like the message/conclusions.
I have a mild OCD tendency, though nothing that prevents me from participating in real life. And when I was younger, I loved to count things -- especially the passing dots on the road... at one point I could tell you how many passing dots there were between my house and various other towns that we traveled to ... and would get upset when someone disrupted me and made me lose my count. I like things to be evenly divisible, I like everyone to get an exactly equal share. I like patterns. I eat my M&Ms in a certain order, after lining them up by color.
So I felt like I related to this lady, somehow.
Well, I finally got around to reading this book, it turned out I didn't enjoy it so much. Partly because of the writing style. Another partly because the main character was a bit ... flaky? I mean, aside from her obvious weirdness due to the counting. She didn't seem to relate well to people (then again, the people she got to interact with was her family, who had some issues of their own.
But mostly because it seemed the focus was ... off. Her new boyfriend tries to help her by bringing her to get medicated. And the book is not really about her, it's about whether or not you should be medicated for mental illnesses. And with all the complaining about "feeling like a different person", "not caring about things anymore", how much weight she gained, how she no longer enjoyed sex (which had a much bigger role in this book than I would have expected, both when she did care about sex and when she didn't), and of course, the ultimate decision in the end to not take the medication, it's clear that the author is against it.
Which ... ok, fine, be against it. That's cool. But it does help some people, and writing books like this is going to scare people away from at least trying it out.
Not only that, but she (they?) never do address the REAL problem of the "puppy" that fell down the stairs. And the fact that she LIED about it obviously indicates that she is really NOT over it and could still use some counseling, even if medication really isn't an option for her.
One thing I did find interesting was her reaction to the "germophobes" -- when she was in her group therapy talking about the medication and how it was affecting her, and they put her in with people who were OCD about germs &etc, how she thought they were nuts and they thought she was nuts, but they all thought they (themselves) were perfectly normal and didn't need help. It's all relative.
Anyway, it was an interesting book and made me think, but I'm not sure I like the message/conclusions.
justcrystalxo's review against another edition
5.0
i absolutely loved this book!! i could identify with a lot of things just not the counting and i really like the fact that she wanted to stay true to herself throughout the whole book.
my only other thoughts are that i got this book in the used book section of my library and it was under YA.. & i wouldnt really consider this ya.. but maybe its ok. anyways loved it!!
my only other thoughts are that i got this book in the used book section of my library and it was under YA.. & i wouldnt really consider this ya.. but maybe its ok. anyways loved it!!
5kita's review against another edition
3.0
A lovely book with an interesting writing style. Grace’s perspective and journey highlights important values of self acceptance. Finding what makes you special and making life work with you, rather than against you.
mjthomas43's review against another edition
5.0
Enjoyed the simple yet honest ups and downs of Grace's fascinating life.
elizamakepeace's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
letty_and_books's review against another edition
4.0
Read it in one sitting a while ago. It's chick-lit with a twist!
cjsjellybean's review against another edition
4.0
I so wish I could say I loved this book. I did...until about 3/4 of the way through when it took a turn I wasn't expecting. Overall, it was an interesting book and I enjoyed the relationship between Grace and Seamus. However, probably not a book I'd read again.