6 Rainier Drive is the 6th book in a series about a town called Cedar Cove; it is not necessary to know the first five books in order to enjoy this one, but I suppose it would have helped me to feel a bit closer to the various characters. As it was, I never really got "into" the story; I'm afraid I hardly cared about how things were going to turn out for everyone.
Maybe the main "problem" for me with this book was simply that there were too many characters to follow, too many plot lines to keep up with, each of the 46 chapters dealing with one family or household, taking turns between enough of them for me to sometimes come across a name, stop for a second and think "Who's that Gloria again?"
Admittedly, there is a list of characters at the start of the book, almost 3 pages long, but I couldn't be bothered to consult it while I was reading, and after a few more sentences, I always remembered who was who; this certainly took away something of an otherwise pleasant reading experience for me.
The things the characters are going through range from the mundane to the dramatic; there are family reunions, births (no deaths), a crime is solved that was commited already in the previous installment of the series, romances begin and end. Only one relationship between a male and a female character does not go the way the woman would like it to go; everything else really ends well, which is probably one reason why Debbie Macomber's books are so popular.
Someone who has been following this series from the start is probably eagerly looking forward to more stories from Cedar Cove; I doubt I'll read another one anytime soon.
A question to everyone who knows anything about horses: Can you really say that a horse is "pawing frantically" the air when upset? Last time I looked, horses had hooves, not paws...
And if you were to ring your daughter-in-law, would you say "This is Ellen Bowman, your mother-in-law", instead of just saying "Hello, it's Ellen", trusting that your daughter-in-law would know which of the dozens of Ellens she knows is on the phone?
(Yes, I know - that's again me being a bit particular about details.)
Oddly, Meike, I think that 'pawing the air' is commonly used in respect of horses. I'd never thought about it. Others will no doubt have a view.
ReplyDeleteIt just sounds plain wrong to me - but of course, me not being a native speaker, it is probably perfectly acceptable and only makes that "wrong" impression on me. (Although the mental image of a horse with paws is quite entertaining, actually!)
DeleteHello Meike:
ReplyDeleteFrom what you write, Meike, we do not see ourselves rushing to our bookshop to seek out Debbie Macomber. Like you, we do not mind if we do not read books in sequence but we do expect them to be at least satisfying in themselves. It does not sound as if this is the case here but, no doubt, Miss Macomber's fans eagerly await each new novel and carry on from where they left off. A good marketing strategy no doubt but not for us we think!
Hello Jane and Lance, I doubt I would have been interested in any Debbie Macomber books had I come across them at a bookshop or library, but since I did not pay for either of them, the most I "wasted" on them was a bit of my time - which wasn't too bad because, after all, both books were relaxing reads after full working days.
DeletePerhaps I'll pass this up! But I did just finish The Beach House and agree with your assessment. Not terribly realistic, but very feel good, and I don't mind that sometimes.
ReplyDeleteExactly my thoughts, Kristi.
DeleteI believe that out of pure politeness it is always nice to begin a phone conversation with "Hi Sally, it's me Linda" that way, should your friend be pre-occupied with cooking dinner or just being absent minded like I am most of the time (I sometimes don't recognize my best friends voice!) you are not into a conversation and don't know who you are talking to! Believe me it has happend to me and I have hung up the phone and questioned...who the world was that and felt so DUMB not knowing! and had to dig deep into my memory bank about what I was suppose to be doing for this person! LOL silly me I know...but to me I always begin my conversation with "Hello Sally, it's me Linda" blah blah blah..... :)
ReplyDeleteWell, of course it is the proper way of starting a phone conversation by saying your name, but - within family or your circle of friends - your first name should be enough; as I said, how many Ellens is the woman going to know, and how many of these will have the same voice as her mother-in-law?
DeleteI earn my living by talking on the phone, and I NEVER start a conversation without giving my name; the company's name and my full name when it is a business call, and my first name when it is private.