The premise of One Day sounds completely intriguing: the relationship of two friends, confidantes, and possible soul-mates is revealed with a peek at just one day – the same day – over the course of twenty years. I gave myself a good two weeks to read One Day before the movie came to theaters, and hoped to love it enough to eagerly anticipate the movie (author Nicholls is the screenwriter too, always a good sign). Unfortunately, the book was such a disappointment that I could barely finish reading it, much less even consider watching the movie. Saved a good 20-30 bucks on movie tickets – my husband thanks you, Mr. Nicholls! In fact, I probably won’t even spring the dollar for Redbox – that’s how much I don’t want to see this movie (and of course, how much I did not like the book).

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Reading a good novel is always an eye-opening and boundary-expanding experience, and indeed, Shriver’s novel opened up an entire new world to me – the world of snooker. Maybe I’m not so up-to-date on my British billiard sports, but I had never heard of this pool-like competitive sport. Apparently it’s a pretty big deal over on the other side of the pond. Beyond snooker, though, the most intriguing feature of this novel is that it takes place simultaneously in two alternate, parallel universes.

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