One Day by David Nicholls

I don't think I would have ordinarily picked this book up were it not for a string of recommendations by book bloggers and friends.  One Day by David Nicholls turned out to be one of those books that really took me surprise.  It started off as straight-forward.  It's the story of two people who spent one night and day together following their university graduation.  We then catch up with them on the anniversary of that day (St Swithin's day) over the next twenty years.  I think the beauty of this book is that it all seems so real - Emma and Dexter are people you know, the situations they find themselves in are those that we, or our friends, go through.  It's a book about the things in life that matter - love, friendship and realising your dreams.  I started off thinking it was going to be a story that I have read a million times before and yet the brilliant thing about David Nicholls is that he manages to make this seemingly standard love story different and memorable.  For all the things about the story that are familiar, there are still moments that surprise, and shock.

There's an up-coming film adaptation of One Day, due later this year, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.  Having seen (and enjoyed) other films and tv projects that David Nicholls has written (Starter for Ten and Cold Feet) I have no doubt that this adaptation will work really well.