book recomendation

Hey All!

I know I've been gone from the site for a long time now, but I just finished reading a book that I thought a lot of people here might find interesting. It's called Eleanor Rigby, and the author is Douglas Coupland.

It's slightly unrealistic, and some of the plot points are bizarre, but all in all it's a really enjoyable, smootly composed novel. The main reason why I'm suggesting it here is that the main character, Liz, is written as a very true-to-life lonely person. Seriously, I feel like she could be me, or one one of the many people that I met on this site. She's in her mid-thirties; she's never been in a relationship; she has no friends; she feels like her life is as dull as it could possibly be. As I said, some of the action in the book is a bit far-fetched, but Liz's thought processes, emotions, and self-image are all extraordinarily realistic. Throughout the whole book, I kept thinking "That's me!" or "That's almost exactly what I've seen people on a lonely life say!"- the honesty of this character's portrayal really got to me.

Anyway, if you're like me and enjoy reading a book that has characters to whom you can actually relate, you might want to give this book a try.

I'm putting a quote from the book below. It's one that practically screamed at me.

Cheers everybody!


One of my big problems is time sickness. When I feel lonely, I assume that the mood will never pass- that I'll feel lonely and bad for the rest of my life, which means that I've wrecked both the present and the future. And if I look back on my past, I wreck that too, by concentrating on all the things I did wrong. The brutal thing about time sickness is that naming it is no cure.

---Eleanor Rigby, by Douglas Coupland

Hi Elaeagnus,

I've read Girlfriend In A Coma by Douglas Coupland, and I know how mind-melting his books can be. I'll have to check Eleanor Rigby out. Thanks =¬)

I have a few books that I'd recommend to people, but I guess it depends on what genres people are into.

Hi Elaeagnus

Welcome back, I haven't seen you on this forum for ages, and thanks for the book recomendation.

Thanks guys. I think I'll see if I can get Girlfriend in a Coma the next time I'm at the library.

Yeah, Blue Sky, I know I've been gone for ages, but I really haven't needed to come back. It's just when I was reading that book, the whole time I kept thinking about this site and the people here, and I knew I had to tell you guys about it.

It's funny though. This is the first time in months that I've visited, and I was just going to post my recommendation and leave. But it feels like when I go back to the town I grew up in. You know- I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to poke around and see what's changed and what's stayed the same, catch up with people I used to know, check out the new people in the neighborhood...

Hey elae ..thanks 4 the recomendation... its good to hear that you've been good as well :0)

Thanks for the recommendation, Elaeagnus- I'm definitely looking for some great reads coming this summer (other than school I don't really do anything else anyway). Another crazy/deep/adventurous book I just finished reading was Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I think its being made into a movie...anyway, it's a semi-true story about a former heroin addict who escapes from jail and goes on a soul-searching journey through India and abroad....aside from the obvious adventure and the insane (and mostly true) plot, there are a ton of awesome quotes, reflections on humanity, etc. It's one of the best books I've ever read. Long tho- about 1000 pages, but worth it.