BOOKBOARD - PAIRS IN PAIRS

PAIRS IN PAIRS

This year’s spring book review was inspired by the magic number of 2022. I am not too familiar with numerology, but somehow this year with the twos seems to be a positive energy bomb. Lo and behold: it is. According to specialists of the topic, examined from

CSILLA TÖRÖK-PAPP ALFÖLD TELEVISION BUSINESS UNIT MANAGER several perspectives (for example, if we add the digits, we get 6), this year could be the year of harmony, love, family, and peace. In selecting the six books, for the first time in my life I decided in pairs and based on their covers. It was a bit like telling the waiter of an unfamiliar restaurant during a trip to bring me anything and surprise me. So I began reading books and I can say—as it has proven to be true countless times before—that there were no coincidences. Let’s see the pairs:

Mary Ann Marlowe: Dating by the book

The title of Dating by the Book is very pertinent because the protagonist, Maddie Hanson, is a novice writer and bookstore owner, which foreshadows mentions of countless books. All the books a bookworm like me will know feature here. The mention of Jane Austen’s female characters and the discussion of the decisions of Louisa May Alcott’s Jo were a bit clichéd, and when characters talked about Gone with the Wind without mentioning the fact that a lot of signifi cant moments were omitted from the fi lm, such as Scarlett’s fi rst child, I was starting to suspect that the book was written by a romantic movie fan. It was well designed alright because the elements dovetailed nicely. It featured a rocker, a handsome boy, a hero, and even online dating, and, of course, all men in the countryside desired Mad. Not an epic novel, more of a one-time read, but perfect for that purpose.

Matt Haig: The mindnight library

Books covers often carry recommendations from other authors, whose words are there to pique our interest. When I picked up this book, I found the words of Joanne Harris on the inside cover. The writer of the Chocolat series declares for the book this way: “It’s a rare light shining in the dark.” That was enough for me. Nora is the protagonist of the novel. Opening the books in the Midnight Library, she experiences how her life would have changed if she had made other decisions, and is now trying to fi nd the life that is perfect for her. We go on a dynamic adventure with Nora, something that makes us think that even we could live our own lives as well as possible, even if there is no Midnight Library nearby. This book can prove to be therapeutic, where, by examining ourselves, we may take a bird’s eye view of our own lives. This would sometimes be helpful at any stage of our lives.

WHY ARE THEY A PAIR? Based on their titles, both books are related to books. SIMILARITY: The topic itself. Books play signifi cant roles in both novels. DIFFERENCE: It is enough to read the Dating by the Book novel once, The Midnight Library requires a high amount of openness.

The genius of Boston-based author Gary Braver is shown by his being the only writer who has three thrillers on the Amazon TOP 10 list simultaneously. I hadn’t known anything about this until I held this exceptional blue-cover book in my hand. The mystery of the subtitle was heightened by the blurb, which says that a man walked out of the hospital on his own two feet after clinical death was diagnosed, and a boy speaks in Jesus’s mother tongue after his bicycle accident. The afterlife or neurobiology? There’s plenty of both here. The elaborateness of medical details suggests thorough research, and the crime thread in the story evoking the spirit world is often creepy. The writer works with strange characters who have their own truth. It’s worth taking the time to read this one. Rachel Hollis’s name may be familiar to millions of Americans: she has over 1.5 million followers on Instagram in addition to making podcasts and producing self-help YouTube content. She is also on TikTok and her motivational performances fi ll rooms the size of sports halls. I just paired this book up with Tunnel Vision because of their rather similar blue-covered Hungarian editions, not knowing any of the above before reading the book. Roughly after the third chapter, I became really interested in this woman with her terribly good sense of humor, whom I assumed to be a powerhouse. This the book confi rmed. There is a fl esh-and-blood woman behind the arguments who reveals the twenty lies and misconceptions that keep women from living joyful and productive lives. Hollis’s career began in 2015 when an Insta photographer celebrated her stretch marks after pregnancy. I would prescribe to everyone the vitality that fl ows from this woman. I recommend “taking her as a package,” because that is much more interesting than just reading the book.

WHY ARE THEY A PAIR? Because the covers of their Hungarian editions have similar colors. SIMILARITY: In both books, the issue of faith plays a major role without resorting to clichés. DIFFERENCE: Tunnel Vision is a medical thriller, and the other book is a thesaurus of the experiences of a self-help woman. There seems to be little in common, but after reading the two books, I still think there are more similarities than differences.

Rainbow Rowell: Eleanor and Park

If based on the cover one thinks that this is an ordinary YA novel, they might be very disappointed. Despite its 2013 publication, the plot takes the reader back to an American small town setting in the ’80s. This can all be inferred from the appearance of a Walkman and soime comics as well as mentions of songs, as the year is not appropriately noted. The story is thus somewhat removed from the lives of youth today, but the themes of high-school mockery, problems of puberty, and fl ashes of self-acceptance prove that these are ever-present problems. Park fi ghts his own struggles despite his ordered family circumstances, and Eleanor’s tragic fate is heart-wrenching. I read all of Eleanor with apprehension, lest it should become what I feared. However, even this depressing feeling could not overshadow the intimate sincerity of experiencing fi rst love. I was expecting something else when I chose this book, thinking it would be on par with the average YA line, but it wasn’t. It is a markedly beautiful story.

Elif Shafak: 10 Minutes 38 Seconds

IN THIS STRANGE WORLD

Shafak is the most-read female author in Turkey, publishing in Turkish and English, and her works have been translated into fi fty languages. This novel is a painfully beautiful story. It is my fi rst book from the writer but surely not the last. I chose it based on a recommendation and enjoyed every sentence. The blurb writes: “In the fi rst minute following her death, Tequila Leila’s consciousness began to ebb, slowly and steadily, like a tide receding from the shore. Her brain cells, having run out of blood, were now entirely deprived of oxygen. But they did not shut down. Not right away…” The story sets off with Leila’s body ending up in a trash can, and step-by-step recollections reveal the serious life situations behind her decisions and her fate. We get to know the shadow side of Istanbul, the fi lthy underbelly, yet we can love this story because there is hope lurking between the lines: the essential feeling of pure love and friendship.

WHY ARE THEY A PAIR? The wavy shapes that weave through the cover of Shafak’s book promise a kinship with the twisting cord of the earphones connecting the two youngsters, and somehow they both suggested a unifi ed togetherness to me. SIMILARITY: Both novels depict profoundly honest and painful situations. They are beautifully written, unique stories. DIFFERENCE: The Rowell novel is about initial feelings of adult life, and the Shafak book is about the importance of wisdom that we can obtain towards the end of our lives.