Six Years by Harlan Coben

… “Amazing what we can self-rationalize when we really want something” 

Six years have passed since Jake Sanders watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.

But six years haven't come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd's obituary, he can't keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd's wife he's hoping for . . . but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she's been married to Todd for more than a decade, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life - a time he has never gotten over - is turned completely inside out.

As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can't be found or don't remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake's search for the woman who broke his heart - and who lied to him - soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on carefully constructed fiction.

“Part of the human condition is that we all think that we are uniquely complex while everyone else is somewhat simpler to read. That is not true, of course. We all have our own dreams and hopes and wants and lust and heartaches. We all have our own brand of crazy” 

WOW! … I still am suffering from a book-hangover from this book - I literally read it all in one day and am sitting here stunned still processing everything that happened.

What I liked most about this book was that even when I was 50% of the way through, I still hadn't figured out what the "big plot twist" was going to be. Usually with thriller style books, you can can form at least an idea around what the outcome is going to be, but with this book, I was left unsure and speculating right up until the very last pages. 

There was a lot going on in this storyline, with many different characters, but it was written with a great writing style so that it was never too confusing and I wasn't left behind with a plot that moved too fast. I found it easy to read and it left my biting my nails to the very end.

Some people might find the lasting-love-without-contact-for-six-years a little far-fetched, but it is written in such a way that it makes you believe it (and those doubters are obviously unlucky enough to have never experienced it themselves in the first place then…)

I don't remember if I have read other Harlan Coben books before, but after finishing Six Years he is definitely a writer that I will be seeking out more from.

Boy: Tales of Childhood (Roald Dahl Autobiography #1) by Roald Dahl

A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul and that I am sure is why he does it.” 

In Boy, Roald Dahl recounts his days as a child growing up in England. From his years as a prankster at boarding school to his envious position as a chocolate tester for Cadbury's, Roald Dahl's boyhood was as full of excitement and the unexpected as are his world-famous, best-selling books. Packed with anecdotes -- some funny, some painful, all interesting -- this is a book that's sure to please.

This book was recommended to my by a good friend to read while I was on holidays, and I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading - I guess I thought it was going to be a story as to how Roald Dahl came up with the characters and stories he wrote that I grew up with. Instead I got to read about HIS fascinating early life growing up. And it honestly really is fascinating! You just don't get to experience life quite the way you got to back then - so many opportunities, and being a young child then is so different to what it is now.

Boy is easy to read and you get the gist that even early on Dahl had a wicked sense of humour. This autobiography has Dahl growing up with his family, going to boarding school, and you leave just as he gets his first job after school has finished. There are hints about his time in the war and overseas, but I know I will get the next book so I can find out all the details.