From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

Landline

Rainbow Rowell

Start date: January 22, 2015

Finish date: January 23, 2015

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By Book Riot · 1 post · 5295 views

last updated Dec 16, 2014 09:22AM

Free copy of Proximity Factor this July, no reviews required. Just enjoy.
By S.S. · 1 post · 9 views

last updated Jul 18, 2024 06:08AM

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What Members Thought

Mar 03, 2015 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary-fiction, 100-book-challenge-2015, romance, marriage, magical-realism

Although this is actually a 3.5-star book, I figured if I can bump Neil Gaiman's 3.5-star books up to 4 stars just for the sake of him being Neil Gaiman, I can bump Rainbow Rowell's up for the sake of her being Rainbow Rowell, too.

I won't say anything new if I expound upon Rowell's easy, conversational writing style or her vivid and relatable characters, because all that is present here. Although I was at first put off by the Los Angeles setting, her LA characters turned out to be just as down-t Although this is actually a 3.5-star book, I figured if I can bump Neil Gaiman's 3.5-star books up to 4 stars just for the sake of him being Neil Gaiman, I can bump Rainbow Rowell's up for the sake of her being Rainbow Rowell, too.

I won't say anything new if I expound upon Rowell's easy, conversational writing style or her vivid and relatable characters, because all that is present here. Although I was at first put off by the Los Angeles setting, her LA characters turned out to be just as down-to-earth as her Nebraska ones. And after being impressed by how insightful her YA books are, it was a treat to join her as she delved into topics that are closer to the things that are on my mind now -- having a family, the meaning of marriage, the challenges of forging a lifelong union.

Rowell perfectly set up the struggles in Georgie and Neal's marriage so that no one came across as "the bad guy," and yet it was still understandable how resentment could build. It was nice to see two main characters in non-traditional roles (Georgie is the breadwinner, Neal stays home) without them being reduced to stereotypes of the power wife/stay-at-home-dad. I could feel her fear at losing him, and found the whole reflection upon marriage to be insightful and beautiful -- and sometimes painful.

With all that said, I agree with other reviewers that this book is longer than it needs to be. I wanted MORE about Georgie and Neal's present life and fewer college flashbacks; I was especially disappointed that (view spoiler). Sometimes I felt like the book just went on and on ... like, did we really need to know what she had for lunch at work? Also, anyone who reads any time-travel/sci fi, etc. will see the "twist" of the meaning of the magical phone almost as soon as said phone is introduced. In fact, my husband nailed it when I was just describing the book to him -- he didn't even have to read it.

Luckily, this isn't one of those books where everything rides on the "twist," and it does a lot of other things pretty much right -- it just does a little too much of them.

I read that Rowell wrote Fangirl for NaNoWriMo, but Fangirl felt so much more deliberate than this. This feels like a NaNo novel, or one that was pushed through to publication about six months too soon. It's good, but not as good as it could be. ...more

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Apr 03, 2014 eb rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, realistic, adult, female-protagonist, review-copy, print, new-adult

After Attachments and Fangirl, Landline didn't bowl me over. I could put it down. Sometimes I even wanted to. The underlying premise-- that of a 'magic fucking phone' that can call the past-- didn't quite work for me. I felt like it was supposed to be a metaphor, but the story doesn't treat it that way; it treats it like reality.

Georgie McCool also wasn't someone I could get behind. She's funny, and she's smart, but she makes dumb choices. Or, more accurately, she doesn't choose anything at all After Attachments and Fangirl, Landline didn't bowl me over. I could put it down. Sometimes I even wanted to. The underlying premise-- that of a 'magic fucking phone' that can call the past-- didn't quite work for me. I felt like it was supposed to be a metaphor, but the story doesn't treat it that way; it treats it like reality.

Georgie McCool also wasn't someone I could get behind. She's funny, and she's smart, but she makes dumb choices. Or, more accurately, she doesn't choose anything at all. The whole book seemed to be about how Georgie tries to straddle commitments instead of putting her chips on the table and going all in: she commits to her writing partnership with Seth, but can't dig deep and finish writing the show they have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to sell. She commits to Neal as a husband, but can't figure out how to communicate with him or make either of them happy. Neal, too, was awful. The moments when Georgie remembers their early romance were nice, but didn't balance how tight-lipped and miserable he is everywhere else. How sad and depressing their marriage felt, especially after you read that he asked her to marry him because "he loves [her] more than he hates everything else." WTF?

Even in the construct of the magic phone which can call back to a better time in their relationship and ultimately helps Georgie realize what's truly important to her-- even this didn't hold water for me. Because what she chooses is the miserable man who doesn't smile, who doesn't laugh, who doesn't know what he wants and only commits to her because there's nothing else for him. She's a COMEDY writer. And this guy doesn't laugh. It's so clearly a terrible mismatch, such a bad and draining thing for both of them. Even with the magic phone, this felt too close to real life, where things are genuinely screwed up for most people. I don't read to feel that. I read to escape that-- or to imagine that it can be another way.

The writing was fast and smart, but the story itself left me wishing there had been something else-- something better-- to buoy it. ...more

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Dec 11, 2014 alana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, females-and-feminists, time-travel, having-babies-or-not, depression, mental-health

This review will not be very articulate, because I’m still puffy-eyed and enthused from finishing up Landline. My takeaway from this book: Rainbow Rowell is magic. She writes relationships so believably, fleshing them out with such real feeling dialogue that flows naturally and conveys a broad spectrum of emotions without getting bogged down in cliché or literary angst. It’s like she’s been inside of my brain and pulled out all these thoughts and feelings and then made a story with them.

The plot ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 17, 2015 Alvin rated it it was ok

I was disappointed with this book. It won Goodreads Best Fiction book of 2014, and typically recommendations from the site are spot on. I was always hoping for something more to happen in the story. I was hoping for a storyline similar to "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," as that was the first thing that came to mind when reading the teaser. ...more

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Aug 26, 2014 Kate McCartney rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, adult-fiction, 2015

I love Rowel's writing! I heard so many mixed reviews of this book, that 90% through it I was still telling myself I wasn't going to like it. I had some moments of hate for Georgie and Neil and I had moments were they made me smile, where I wanted to talk for hours on the phone with them. Overall I really enjoyed the story, maybe it is because I am coming up on my twelfth anniversary but I could kind of relate to how you can have so much love for your partner but still not realize when you make ...more

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Dec 21, 2015 eb rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, audio-book, adult, female-protagonist

I decided to try Landline again after reading it as a print ARC a couple years ago, because sometimes really great voice acting can show me a different side to a story that I didn't get on my own, and also because Rebecca Lowman is a superb narrator.

And she was superb here, too, but I actually liked the story even less than I did the first time around. I had a bit more sympathy for Georgie, but in the end, I just could NOT understand her relationship with Neal. And Lowman's portrayal of Seth jus ...more

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Dec 24, 2013 Megan rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, m-f, contemporary, holiday-romance

You know, I really love Rowell's writing style. It's so pleasant and comforting to read! It also makes me miss living in the midwest. I always do, but more so.

I was kind of afraid it was going in one direction, but I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't. Vagueness! ...more

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Nov 21, 2014 Ehrrin rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook, completed-2014

If half points were available, I guess I would give it a 2.5. I didn't hate it, but meh. I'm really surprised this book is on several best-of-the-year lists. It was boring. I didn't like the characters, and didn't get the great love between Georgie and Neal. ...more

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