the reader of books

I extended my lunch break to finish this because it was so good.

So, I knew much about the book going in but I think this may be the rare book that I wish I had no preconceptions or prior information about before reading. I was truly surprised by how much I liked this book because:

1. I read The Jane Austen Book Club (which I should have absolutely loved) and could not stand it, and

2. Primates make me extremely nervous.

But Ann Patchett called this her favorite book of the summer, and I love Ann Patchett and will read whatever she tells me to. And she was right! It was terribly sad, engrossing, tense, wacky, and still very funny.