Tanner Life

The Time Traveler's Wife
by: Audrey Niffenegger

This book is absolutely one of the greatest books I've ever read! (EVER) It's one of my top 5 for sure, could be top 3 books ever. I am such a reader and have lists of things I want to read. However; buying for a reader isn't always easy. I know, because I have friends & family members that are readers and I buy books for them. You never know just what will interest them, what they've read before, what genre they are into. Dawn, who became my assistant and great friend this year at preschool, gave me this book at the end of the year. Dawn, you rock!! This book also rocked, rocked my socks off!!

When I read the title, I wasn't so sure. Time travel, seriously? I read the back, hmmm... still not so sure. Sounds like a cross between science fiction and fiction, I just don't know about this one. But.. I love to read on cruises, so I'll pack it along with some others.

HOLY MOLY, WOWIE ZOWIE, HOLD THE PHONE! This book is edge of your seat, very complex, makes you smile, a little shocking, what in the world is going to happen, a deep love story and are you kidding me? All thrown into one!! I spent a good deal of the first half of the book confused, but it's ok. Confusion is expected in a way with this book. You really aren't meant to put it all together, that's the way the story flows. I became WILDLY obsessed when I got home though, with websites on the book and rereading sections of the story to put it back in order, for my small brain to comprehend. Do NOT think about trying to figure it out the first time though, just read it.........

Oh and I found out through the website, there is a movie coming out in December, Christmas Day! Rachael McAdams, whom I adore from The Notebook, plays Clare. Eric Bana plays Henry and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll continue to love the book more, but I love when the books & movies go hand in hand. (For you Nicholas Sparks readers, did you know "Nights in Rodanthe" is coming to theaters in September? Diane Lane & Richard Gere!)

The website forum is very interesting for anyone who enjoys that type of thing. The author actually comes on from time to time answering questions. It was her first novel and to win so many awards, gain so much success, it's awesome to hear what she thought as she wrote it.

Clare befriends Henry, he's the time traveler. When they first meet she is 6 and he is in his 40's. This is the beginning, well .. the beginning for Clare anyway. The story unfolds in just amazing ways and I'm not sure I can even describe it to you. Read it, I say!

I have a ton of quotes I love. I just recently found two HUGE boxes of notes myself from my past. They were in my parents attic, instead of long ago tossed out like I'd thought. So I have been reading through them all again, slowly but surely. They are bringing back all sorts of hilarious (albeit somewhat dramatic) moments of my life from 4th grade-high school. Craziness. Things I'd long forgotten, but it all comes back in such great detail as I read it through the eyes of my closest friends. That makes me love and appreciate this top favorite quote all the more. In this age of email, instant messages and texts, most people wont have these to go back and read through. Times change for sure. Though I've tossed away garbage bag after garbage bag of these old notes, I am keeping a box of them to remember, the craziness that made me, me!

"...take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. sit. feast on your life..." by: Derek Walcott

(that feast on your life part, I love it more each time I read it)

A funny quote that is typically how complex the book is.

"I don't usually tell myself stuff ahead of time ... I don't even like having myself around, so I try not to drop in on myself unless there's no choice." - P.21

When Clare, at the young age of 6, is trying to figure out what in the world is going on with her new friend.
"I worried all day about pants for the man cause he seemed like he really wanted pants." . . . "Well, I guess he just made up that he was coming and he didn't want pants so bad after all." P42 & P43

And one more before I get carried away, there are SO many!


"... it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you loose it, than to be just okay for your whole life." ... P239


My Mom tried to read it twice and couldn't. She tried too hard to figure it out. If you buy this book (and you SHOULD, no matter what kind of books you like) please, please be patient with it when you begin. Do not try to figure it out, you can't. It's the beauty of it though and eventually you will understand and it will flow, it will all unfold in it's own time. I tried to read so fast through the last chapters because I was so caught up, I couldn't get going fast enough. I read it in a day and again, took this book on our cruise everywhere I went. I took it with me to eat, to shows, to bingo, I stayed awake until I was done. Go ahead, pick it up .. then you wont be able to put it down.....