gone. finally.

Things I Accomplished Yesterday:

1. Read Gone Girl cover to cover.

...and...that's the end of my list. Oops. One accomplishment. But at 420ish pages...it was at least kind of a legit accomplishment, right?

I feel like I'm the last person on Earth to read the book, but seriously-- I signed up to be on a waiting list for it at the library in SEPTEMBER. I got the book FRIDAY. Let me help you with the math: that's like a million months or something. So I very well might be the last person in the world (or at least the Athens Regional Library System) to read it, but it was definitely worth the wait. And like almost everyone else I know who's read it-- the minute I finished (12:15 a.m. this morning, actually) I was DYING to talk about it to someone (ANYONE!) else that's read it. That book just BEGS to be discussed. So here I am to discuss it-- if you've read it, feel free to share your thoughts!! If you haven't read it, then you should. I'll warn you before I throw out any spoilers. Not that spoilers bother ME in the least (I usually read the end of a book first, just to make sure I'll like it)...but I know some people prefer to not know.

General Thoughts:

Loved it. Five stars. First of all-- the writing style just killed me. How Gillian Flynn managed to take such dark and creepy situations and topics and make it feel light-hearted and witty, I'll never understand. This book was fun to read, without being dumbed-down or lacking in depth. At the same time-- this book was CREEPY AS ALL GET OUT. Nick and Amy are incredibly complex, messed up characters, and their marriage is toxic as hell. This book could have been really scary. But it wasn't. But I'm pretty sure my eyeballs were as wide as dinner plates the whole time I read. Are you SERIOUS?!?! Can anyone actually BE THIS CRAZY??!?! 

Since I was the last person on Earth to read it, I already knew enough about the book to know that there'd be some crazy twists. I was watching for them. I was waiting. I was trying to guess what they'd be. I totally failed. HOLY CRAP. Gillian Flynn is a genius. Maybe a sadistic genius, but a genius nonetheless. I kind of want to be her best friend. And read other books she's written (anyone read any? are they any good?). The ending of the book totally blew me away. On the one hand, I hated it. On the other hand, it was absolutely perfect. How she managed to keep me reading 400 pages about two characters I basically grow to hate and then wrapped it up with an ending that is far better than either of them deserve and yet I still loved and it thought it was brilliant? I mean, wow. 

SPOILERS ARE IN PURPLE. If you haven't read it and don't want to have it spoiled, skip the purple stuff.

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I wanted Nick to kill her. I really did. I never cheer for murder, but seriously??!?! Amy needed killing. I feel like those two are excellent candidates for a murder-suicide, actually. But then the way it did end? Wow. Just...wow. Of course I had to be a little bit bitter that she so easily impregnated herself with the frozen sperm (really??? REALLY???!! Cause it's that easy. No shots, no IUI, just...oh yeah, I decided I wanted to get pregnant to trap you and BAM I DID IT...here's me giving you the finger, Amy.), but then again she is easily the most evil-genius character ever, so I'm not surprised. 
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In conclusion, this book was freakin awesome. It is by no means 'family-friendly.' If it were a movie, it would be R. But it's easily the most entertaining, intelligent, and well-written thriller I've read in a long, long time. 

So that's what I accomplished yesterday. Oh, I also ate some Mint Moose Tracks ice cream. That's about it. Basically it was the kind of day I dreamed about as a kid: when I grow up, I can read ALL DAY and EAT ICE CREAM WHENEVER I WANT and NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!!!!!!!! ...so, here's to being a grown up. And here's to being decidedly less psycho than Amy. Gillian Flynn, I lift my glass (of Mint Moose Tracks ice cream) to you. Thanks for a fabulous Saturday.