The Year of Pleasures

I picked up Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures off of Paperback Swap (which I LOVE by the way). I remember picking up some of Ms. Berg's other books, but I can't remember the plots to any of them, or even specifically which one's I've read, which isn't usually a good sign for me.

Still, the premise of this book sounded interesting--recently widowed Betta sells her house and moves to a small town, fulfilling her dying husband's last request. Along the way, she finds that her husband has left behind a collection of words scribbled on a piece of paper that at first seem like incoherent ramblings. Eventually, Betta realizes the meaning behind many of the words that her husband left behind for her. His words, coupled with advice from a friend to intentionally do one small thing every day that would bring Betta pleasure, help Betta to grieve and start again.

I liked the premise, and overall, I liked the book. It was a very quick read, which was nice. It was odd though that barely ANY of the book was devoted to this "Year of Pleasures." I would have enjoyed more discussion about those small intentional things that brought Betta healing. Overall though, according to the Amazon reviews, it seems that people either loved this book or hated it--the fact that Betta "moved on" so quickly after her husband's death will probably be controversial for some readers, and from what I can tell, those on Amazon who didn't like the book disliked it for that reason.

Still, not a bad waste of an afternoon, especially if you're getting the book for free!