The Loop

I love books. I really do. I have since I was a child, but during high school and college the love waned because I started to associate books with studying and subsequently felt guilty about reading something for pleasure. Then when I was living in Sapporo I couldn't justify the high price of English-language books, so I barely read novels. But then I came to Tokyo and discovered Amazon.co.jp.

It changed my life.

Now I buy books up like they're going out of style. I have them piled in my living area/bedroom. I love passing them on after I've read them, unless I have come across that rare book that was so good I might feel the need once in a while to pull it off the bookshelf and read a certain passage that makes me giggle, cry, or sing.

Every time I buy a new book, however, I have to remind myself that in only two and a half months (eek!) I have an exam coming up that I have barely studied for and that I desperately want to pass. I have no business reading novels!!! But it's impossible to resist slipping one in my bag for the train ride to work.

I wasn't expecting much from "The Loop" by Joe Coomer. I had read on the Internet that it was a bit wacky (with it being about a talking parrot and such), and I tossed it in my bag one brisk February morning on my rush out the door to work because it was thin and would fit nicely in my purse. But once I started, I could not put this book down!!! I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I will say that it's all about searching for something and the unexpected things you find on the way. This was an exception piece of writing - clear, humorous, fast-paced, unique, and more than anything else, it made me think after I had finished it.

It looks like the book is out of print, so you might have trouble getting your hands on it, but if you do find a copy, buy it!! It's worth a read, and if your taste is anything like mine, you'll like it!!