Natalie has just been dumped by her long-term partner instead of the proposal she was expecting. Seeking comfort on the shoulder of her best friend, Tom, he suggests they participate in Alphabet Weekends as a way to cheer her up and to also get her to see how good they are for each other. Starting with A for Abseiling they make their way through the alphabet, as well as navigating their feelings for one another.I read this book during a very long train trip to a friend's wedding. Having this book as my travelling companion made the trip seem like one that would never end. It was like having my own invisible seat companion who continually ran their nails down a chalkboard, or talked incessantly about themselves throughout the journey. I really wish I could get back the time I spent reading this atrocity. You may ask why I continued reading. Well, unfortunately for me I must be masochistic, as I have this nasty habit of always having to finish books, no matter how bad they may be. As you can imagine, I now try to be a bit more selective about the books I start reading. On a scale of bad to horrible, this was definitely beyond the worst. Cardboard cut-out characters? Check. Plot that makes no sense whatsoever? Check. Contrived angst? Check. Laughably bad? Check. Honestly, whilst reading this book I wanted to pull out my hair, it was that frustrating. So, having described my state of mind during reading this gem of a book, I shall now move on to the content itself.This book was such a bore to read. It is desperately in need of some editing, as it had lots of long unnecessary details that played no part in developing the story. In parts it goes into detail about even cleaning. Yes, cleaning. Not only that, but the author continually states the obvious, as well as ignores the golden rule of showing not telling. There was also a complete lack of descriptions about the characters, and not much is known about them except superficial details. The shifts in narration was particularly frustrating, and at times there would even be shifts mid-sentence. It was also hard to keep up with the various perspectives, as so little details are given about each character that it was difficult to understand the connection between the three separate couples. Also, some of the character’s perspectives only went for a few pages, which was quite jostling as a reader.The dialogue was unrealistic, with characters throwing in words that do not fit the context, and therefore attempting to appear more intelligent than what they really are. I’m sure everyone knows someone like this in their own life. You know the type who thinks it’s cool to throw in academic words into a conversation about something mundane with their uneducated friends to belittle them. Really they just appear insecure and unintelligent because part of intelligence is knowing when and where to use such words.The book is really quite derogatory towards women as well. Tom claims in one paragraph that women never see their beauty clearly, and then in the next breath refers to a woman that Natalie is talking to as a hippo. He makes out that Natalie is an amazing person because she will supposedly talk to anyone including an overweight woman. Somehow to Tom, being an overweight female equates to having no personality or any worthwhile qualities whatsoever. Also, those who do not wish to have children are referred to as being selfish within the book. I find this particularly hilarious as they should instead be praised for their ability to stand up against the norm, rather than bringing unwanted children into the world.I did find it hard to believe that feelings could develop suddenly between best friends who have known each other since early childhood, although I suppose that does occasionally happen in real life. Their relationship is very one-sided, with Natalie always taking from Tom and never giving anything back. She insults him regularly, betrays his trust, and gets herself involved in matters that have nothing to do with her. Really, I have no idea what Tom sees in her. The take-home message from this book is that your life must be defined by your partner, as Natalie is so obsessed with this throughout. She doesn’t even seem to have any interests outside of relationships. A lack of a conclusion for certain side characters was also quite frustrating, as their story was equally important to that of Natalie and Tom, especially considering that part of the story had been narrated from their perspective as well. Suffice to say, I'd recommend running barefoot over hot coals than reading Alphabet Weekends.More reviews at Nic's Bookshelf.
This book on the surface was about two best friends trying out dating to see if there was chemistry between them. However as I read farther into the book, it was about all types of relationships. While best friends Tom and Natalie are working their way through alphabet themed dates, his brother and sister-in-law are dealing with marital problems in the form of a lost job, lost communication, and infidelity. Natalie's mother is going through clinical depression and no one in her family knows what to do with her. Bridget, Natalie's sister has a brand new baby. Throughout all this, Tom insists on taking Natalie out on these dates so that she can get over Simon, her selfish ex, when he is really hoping she will fall in love with him. When Simon appears back in her life, both Natalie and Tom think this might be the end for their dates until Natalie comes to her senses and realizes what has been right in front of her all along. While there is a happy ending for Tom and Natalie, not all the couples in the story are lucky enough to stay together.
What do You think about Alphabet Weekends (2007)?
This book is about Natalie and Tom, best friends since they were kids who may be exploring the possibility of more, Anna and Nicholas, Natalie's older parents who as they are aging have to try to redefine their role and how their love for each other falls into those roles, and Patrick and Lucy who are Tom's brother and Sister in Law who are each going through identity and fidelity crisis of their own. In my opinion Natalie and Tom are the main ones in the book since the alphabet weekends are about them. Natalie just got dumped by her long time boyfriend, who she though was getting ready to propose, and Tom steps in to pick up the pieces. He suggests that every Saturday they do a different activity that starts with a different letter in the alphabet and work from A to Z trading off on letters. Tom is hoping that in doing this Natalie will finally realize that he is the one she should be with, which he and their family has though for years. During this Anna and Nicholas are having some health problems, but still understanding that they need each other as a couple and their family. Patrick loses his job and kind of his self esteem at the start of the book, it is them him working through that while his wife Lucy seeks comport in the arms of someone else and she has to deal with the consequence of that. I really enjoyed this book and didn't find it to be the typical chick lit, especially the looking at the different generations and the completely different situations they are in. Also, it wasn't all a happy work out perfect ending. I would suggest this book to people who like chick lit and it would probably be a good introduction to chick lit too.
—Emily
This was a sweet, simple,and short story. It centered around two characters, Natalie and Tom, who have been friends forever. After Natalie's boyfriend dumps her, Tom tells her that he could make her fall for him over the course of 26 dates, the twist is that each date needs to be centered around a different letter of the alphabet. It's actually a really cute idea, I might borrow it!It also follows two other couples as they face obstacles/ rough patches in their relationships. I enjoyed reading about Natalie's parents, her dad is the man, but I wasn't a huge fan of Tom's brother and sister-in-law's story. I didn't feel like it added anything to the main story line, it just added new characters, which I thought was a little confusing.I liked the English setting, and overall writing style. The author did lose me during a few discussions where they mentioned English current events/references. But aside from that it was a really cute read.
—Kendra
I found this a little slow to get into initially as it felt like too many characters were introduced too quickly for it to be possible to grasp who was who and care about what was going on. It actually wasn't really a problem though because as soon as the intros were out the way we got to know the characters more. The story is really about three different relationship - Natalie, who has just broken up with her long term boyfriend and her best friend Tom, her father and mother and Tom's brother P
—Marianne
