Okay, so I was traveling this past weekend, and when I tell you I brought some good reading material with me…
So, one thing I read was The Plot, and this is definitely one of my new favorite books. Definitely.
It’s a clever, twisty, intriguing story that really drew me in and then ultimately left me shocked.
It is about a burned-out professor of creative writing with this arrogant student who pitches a storyline that is admittedly a guaranteed bestseller idea. But then a few years later, Jake the professor gets word this guy has died, and he decides, “Hey, I’m gonna write the book myself.” As expected, the book skyrockets him to fame and acclaim, but then he starts getting harassed online by an internet troll who knows he stole the idea.
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. There’s so much of it that pays tribute to the craft of writing and the components of good literature.
But it’s also pretty thrilling. And that twist? I did not see that coming.
I’ve heard some people say that they thought the first few chapters dragged and then it eventually picked up and became unputdownable, but I found it compelling from the very beginning.
Usually when people say that books are “unpredictable” or “original,” those descriptors don’t necessarily hold up, but this is a book where they do.
As I said, it’s one of my new favorites.
Then the second book I read was No Exit. Wow. This was one was intense—it was crazy from the start and did not let up.
It’s about a college student who is trying to get home to see her sick mom, and a blizzard forces her to take shelter at a rest stop where four other strangers are currently hunkered down and waiting out the storm.
While wandering around the parking lot trying to get cellphone service, she looks through the window of a parked van and sees a little girl locked up in a dog crate. Now the question is: Which of the strangers at this rest stop is the kidnapper? Whom can she trust? And how is she going to save this little girl while trapped at a highway rest stop during a blizzard with no phone service?
The crazy thing about this book was how the stakes kept getting higher and higher throughout. Every chapter had me thinking, “How can this situation possibly get any worse? Oh, that’s how.” I was actually squirming in my seat while I was trying to read.
Now my question is for anyone who has read this: Were you caught off guard as much as I was by this book?