Jodi Picoult seemingly can do no Wrong

Jodi Picoult has the power, like no one else, to convince me that what I am reading at the time I reading HER book is THE GREATEST book I have ever read in my life as well as the most realistic story I have ever read.  Wow.  I had a difficult time getting started with LEAVING TIME.  Not because of the story, but because I was very busy with the end of the semester.  Once I had a few minutes to sit down and actually read the book, though, I found it next to impossible to put down.  Wow.  As I was nearing the end, I felt that I should have seen THAT ending coming, but wonderfully, I did not.  I love it when I get to the surprise without having figured it out.  I can still enjoy a book when I have figured out the surprise before getting there, but for me, it is simply more fun being able to read the surprise and experiencing it in its full force and effect.  Wow.  Great job, Jodi.  

I have always loved elephants, but LEAVING TIME has given me a much greater appreciation for them.  Wonderful.  

LEAVING TIME is a wonderful reminder of the fact that we have to be careful to pre-judge someone or simply to pass judgment on people before we know the whole truth.  There are certain characters in this book who I found myself drawn to and others I wanted to disappear simply because I didn't agree with them, didn't like their philosophy, or more importantly, I didn't like or agree with something they were doing.  But by the end of the book, I found myself changing my way of thinking about each of those characters!!!  

Picoult's books never fail to keep me riveted.  The best part is that with LEAVING TIME, we also get the back story of her novellas that she published online prior to the release of the book!  Awesome.  I can't say enough good things about LEAVING TIME by Jodi Picoult.

Didn't like it....but didn't NOT like it

I've had WATER FOR ELEPHANTS on my shelf for several months.  Lauren had brought it with a stack of other books for me to read.  I just had a very busy semester, though, so I hadn't had time to pick up any of them to read.  Then, right at the end of the semester, for a student's presentation, he brought the movie version for us to watch.  When I asked him why he chose that movie, he said that the elephant in George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" goes on a rampage and, apparently, an elephant is involved in a rampage in WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.

So we watched the movie.

I wasn't that impressed, but it did inspire me to pull out the book and start reading.  I hate watching a movie based on a book without reading the book first.  This is one of only a few times when I've seen the movie first.

I don't really know what to say about WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.  I didn't hate it.  But I didn't really like it--yet I didn't dis-like it, either. 

It didn't really hold my attention the way I like for books for hold my attention, but it wasn't boring, either.

I guess my real problem with the book as a whole is that I just wanted more of the elephant, Rosie.  She doesn't come into the story until at least a quarter of the way through, if not later than that, and then she's just not in the story often enough to make me happy.  With the title having "elephants" in it, I wanted and expected for elephant(s) throughout the whole novel.

I knew from previews before I ever saw the movie or read the book that a major portion of the story was a forbidden love story, but I still expected--ok, wanted--more about the elephant.

It's not a bad book at all; in fact, I think most people who read it will enjoy it which is obviously why the book has sold as well as it has and why it even has been made into a movie starring one of our favorite hotties Robert Pattinson.  So please don't let me comments about the book dissuade or keep you from reading WATER FOR ELEPHANTS.  I'd love to hear what you think of it!