Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

When you hear that two people came together to write a book, you expect it to be all over the place with different tones and opinions. But Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is completely opposite of that. After reading the title I started thinking of some normal, romantic, love story. I thought that it would be like any other romantic novel, such as The Notebook, but I soon realized it was nothing like that. The book took me inside the two character's heads and made me feel what they were feeling. I felt their anger, happiness, and sadness. While reading it I could also relate to most things in my life that have happened. I thought it was one of the best books I have ever read.Nick and Norah are two normal teenagers who both have recently had their hearts broken. They never think they'll be able to love again, but what happens when they decide to be a five minute couple? It soon takes their two worlds spiraling out of control. Nick's Yugo takes them all around Manhattan on an adventure that will change their lives. They have more in common then they think. They have one major connection...music. Their same taste in music brings the closer together as the book progresses on. It keeps bringing them together again, even when they try to go separate ways. But in order to be together, they need to learn to let go of past loves and find new ones. But, nobody knows if they'll be able to do that.The plot of this book reminds me a lot of the book Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. They both have two characters who meet through one certain object. As the stories go on, that object keeps pulling the two people together even after everything else tries to pull them apart, even themselves. In the end the only way that they can ever end up together is learning to let go of the past and fight for what they want, even if they are unsure if that is what is right.Most people while reading will fall in love with the protagonist character and learn to dislike the antagonist character. Norah, being the protagonist character, I thought was very bossy and rude. Sure, at times she was nice, shy, sweet, and even funny, but there were times when she would just be so mean that I would hate reading about her. The antagonist character, Tris, starts off as mean. She's cruel, annoying, and your basic mean girl. She breaks Nick's heart and Norah thinks Tris used him but "he said 'I love you' and, you know, I was just not feeling it back...I felt like now it was time to set him free, so he could find someone else...so I took the brutal route"(Cohn/Levithan91) which means Tris broke up with him so she wouldn't lead him on, but in the end she still looked like the bad guy. As the story goes on I soon realized why she did the things she did and how there is a more deeper meaning to them than I thought. She may be mean and cruel, but she doesn't hide herself behind a wall of innocence, and most of what she does is out of kindness, even if nobody else can see that.Most of the book is seeing things from Norah's and Nick's thoughts. Every chapter will switch over to the other character's point of view and I got to see their point of view on the current situation. I feel like that was an important element that the 2 authors put into the book simply because I got to see how they reacted differently in their head to each situation that was happening, I thought it was much better than reading the dialogue which never really went into depth. The dialogue never really taught me anything about the characters, but reading their thoughts helped me understand what kind of people they are.To me, this book would more appeal to teenage girls. It may be interesting for some guys, but it is nothing but love and music. For the music part, I recommend people who like metalcore and alternative to read it. That is what most of the music in this book is and if they listen to that genre of music, they may feel some sort of connection to it like I did.In the end, I thought this book was amazing. I liked the storyline and how they switched between two characters, especially one being a boy and one being a girl. The plot kept me interested. I like how the music genre in it was more metalcore and alternative because most books that have to do with music never think to use those genres. I thought the book was excellent and it is a definite read.

NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST has such a pounding and infectious beat that it's as if a mp3-saturated microchip were implanted in the book. From the instant you crack open the cover, screams of loud, moaning guitar come slicing through your synapses, to be followed immediately by a vocalist's machine-gun rapid rant caressing your face. And then, when you succeed in getting your eyes back into focus for a moment, you realize you're hovering slightly above a tightly packed, pulsing crowd and that something's compelling you to focus on the goings-on taking place in one little corner of the evening's virtual insanity.There they are: Two young, complete strangers who in the same moment of desperation and fortuitous fate are attempting to avoid the very same person and are about to send their parallel universes irretrievably crashing into each other."All the tables have been shoved aside now."Fuse: lit."Fuse: burning."Ready."Set."Explode."And, so, the evening -- and the story -- begins.Nick:"She sees me. She can't fake surprise at seeing me here, because of course she f---ing knew I'd be here. So she does a little smile thing and whispers something to the new model and I can tell just from her expression that after they get their now-being-poured drinks they are going to come over and say hello and good show and--could she be so stupid and cruel?--how are you doing? And I can't stand the thought of it. I see it all unfolding and I know I have to do something--anything--to stop it."So I, this random bassist in an average queercore band, turn to this girl in flannel who I don't even know and say:" 'I know this is going to sound strange, but would you mind being my girlfriend for the next five minutes?' "Norah:"I answer NoMo's question by putting my hand around his neck and pulling his face down to mine. God, I would do anything to avoid Tris recognizing me and trying to talk to me.""I've just seen a face I can't forget the time or place where we just metShe's just the girl for me and I want all the world to see we've metMm mm mm mm mm mmHad it been another day I might have looked the other wayAnd I'd have never been aware, but as it is I'll dream of her tonightLa la la la la la."--Lennon and McCartney, "I've Just Seen A Face"If it weren't for what she so erroneously spews about how the Beatles are completely overrated, Norah Silverberg would easily be contending for my favorite female character for 2006. And after reading and rereading NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, Norah Silverberg has become such a part of my reality that I'm illogically wishing she actually reads this so that I can bring her down a notch by snapping back about how overrated SHE is."I extract my wrist from his grip. But for some reason, instead of walking away, I pause for a moment and return my hand to his face, caressing his cheek, drawing light circles on his jaw with my index finger."I tell him, 'You poor schmuck.' "The fact is that I'd been aware for quite a while that these two YA authors whom I've long adored individually had been collaborating on a project together, but only in my dreams could I have imagined that the fruits of that shared labor would morph into the unforgettable evening-long, sensual, thrillingly adventurous, utterly charming and sweet, head-bangingly lyrical story that has our students passing a precious advance copy from one to another to another and begging us to organize a trip down to the City when the David and Rachel tour passes through SF in June.Tune into NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, or be way sorry you missed it.

I picked this up (insomuch as you can pick a kindle version of a book up) after recently watching the film version for a second time. I'm always a bit wary about this, as more often than not, the 'second' version of something doesn't live up to the original - even if the 'second' version came first. Which was the case here - the film was an adaptation of the book.Well I thoroughly enjoyed the film so I thought I'd give this a whirl.I was slightly put off by the fact that it was described as teen, or young persons, fiction. As far as I'm concerned, once you're past 'The Hungry Caterpillar', books are for everyone, unless they're particularly violent, sexual etc. And this one, apart from apparently being sponsored by the 'F' word, given its prevalence, isn't.It's the just the story of Nick, Norah, and the night they spend in New York after a chance meeting.I really enjoyed it. As others have mentioned, the mechanism used by the authors, whereby the chapters alternate between Nick, and then Norah's viewpoint may not be wholly original, but it works extremely well.And credit to the authors too, for the seemingly breathless pace they inject into the writing, particularly in the middle section of the book. Your eyes race across the page in an effort to keep up.It helps if you're a music fan - if you aren't, then deduct one star - not for any particular mention of a band or song, but just for the way the writers evoke that familiar buzz you get from going to see a band, or just sitting around with your friends discussing music to the nth degree.So to sum up - if you liked the film, I think you'd like the book. It's similar enough that you won't think 'Oh, it's been spoiled because they didn't do x, y or z.', but it differs in sufficiently subtle ways that it keeps your interest despite the fact that you think you know where it's going.It's a bit short - you could probably read the whole thing in one sitting - but given that plenty of books outstay their welcome, short isn't necessarily a bad thing.,Recommended.

This book has lingered near the top of my to-read pile for close to a year now, but I took my time in making the leap to actually picking it up. I don't know why, especially after I read and enjoyed Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by the same authors, earlier this year. It's a short read and sounded exactly like the kind of story I really enjoy. But all that matters not is that I have finally picked it up and read it. I'm so glad I did.Seeing as it's so short (just shy of 200 pages), I read it in less than 24 hours, but I think, even if it had been longer, I would have read it just as fast.The first chapter was pretty good, introducing the reader to Nick, but I wouldn't say that I really got pulled into the story until the end of the second chapter, when I had not only seen things through Nick's perspective for the first time, but also Norah's. It was immediately clear that the two characters were pretty similar to one another (both in personality and predicament), an I knew that the chemistry between them would not take long to show.Both are music-obsessed; Nick is the bassist and only straight member of a 'queercore' band, and Norah, who is in the crowd at their gig at the beginning of the novel, happens to be the daughter of a rich and influential music producer. As a result, both characters talk about music a lot - sometimes I understood what and who they were on about, and sometimes I didn't (my musical knowledge does not extend very far) - but I found that, either way, my enjoyment of the book was not too badly affected. I think if I had greater knowledge of the music that was being discussed I may have gotten a little more out of the book, but I don't think, overall, that it made much difference at all. I mention this because, having spoken to other readers who are yet to read this book, this seemed to be a fairly large concern, but I'm here to say that even if, like me, you have a limited knowledge of all things musical, it's still more than possible to seriously enjoy this book.As I said, I didn't think it would be too long until the chemistry between Nick and Norah began to show, and I was right on two counts. Neither character initially knows it, but the physical attraction is mutual from the first hasty kiss that begins their packed and unforgettable night together that spans the length of the novel. But it wasn't just a physical attraction that showed (initially from the characters' thoughts in their individual chapters), but also an intellectual, deeper attraction, that became increasingly obvious as the two of them talked and began to get to know each other. In fact, I would say that this attraction, for Norah, began almost as soon as she realised who he was, through mix tapes and song lyrics he'd created for his ex-girlfriend, Tris, who happens to be a kind-of0but-not-quite friend of Norah's.I never quite got tot he point of feeling frustrated by the constant ups and downs of Nick and Norah's fledgling relationship because I was so utterly convinced that things were going to work out between them, so I decided to sit back and enjoy the ride, and enjoy it I did. The conversations between them were witty, humorous, sometimes profound and deep, and the situations they got in together were intense, and often laugh-out-loud hilarious (particularly towards the end - you'll know what I mean, if you've read it, or decide to). I enjoyed every moment of their rollercoaster relationship.Aside from Nick and Norah, there was another character that I really feel I should mention. Obviously there are other characters in the book beside our leading couple, but most of them took a back seat, in my opinion. Apart from one; Nick's ex, Tris.She starts out being an almost-antagonist, 'evil-ex' kind of figure - even Norah seemed to dislike her, and I was inclined to agree, from what I'd already seen through Nick's eyes. But as is sometimes the case, the male had misunderstood pretty much everything, and the female had purposefully confused. As the novel goes on, Tris' role in it evolves, and her final appearance really surprised me. It totally changed my opinion of her, and made her a much more interesting character.The only reason I have not given Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist the full five star rating is because it did not have the unforgettable 'wow-factor', but I did really, really enjoy it. It was infinitely entertaining, witty, funny and compelling. The characters are intelligent, well-developed and loveable, and the prose is absorbing, clever and in places, beautiful.This is a wonderful read, especially if what you're looking for is a quick, fun and uplifting story. I highly recommend it.Originally written for my blog, Pen to Paper ([...])

You have to read this! I don't know why I waited so long. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is proof that books don't have to have 300+ pages to have great character development and amazing storytelling. Fair warning though; if you don't like swearing this is not for you.The story takes place over one night and is told in alternating chapters by Nick and Norah. Yes it is a love story but there is so much more. Both Nick and Norah bring their own set of problems and it's fun to read how differently they view the same situation. Norah might have known about Nick before they met but the reality is not the guy she pictured.During their adventure the reader is treated to a tour of a New York I'd love to see. The club, Toni and a performance of Sound of Music like no other. Nick's band mates plus Caroline and Tris all have their parts to play and as sidekicks are much more developed than expected. Tris is particular. And let's not forget the Jessie the Yugo.Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is one marvelous adventure you do not want to miss out on.

I have wanted to read this book for as long as I can remember and when I got round to it, I couldnt help but be disappointed. All set in one night, I couldnt help but question the relationship, question that it wouldnt happen like that and why things like this would have happened. I would have much prefered it if the book was written about a few months, and not just one night which is a one in a million opportunity. I would recommend it, but its not on the highest of my read lists. Maybe I just didnt connect with the Characters, but I didnt find it difficult to read.

Personally, I really liked the movie and that's what lead me to the book.While the plot of the movie doesn't follow the book all the way, it does have the characters, the same spirit and the same general idea.Two young people meet at a concert, are pushed together by circumstance and with each other's company they go out into an adventure that goes on until the early morning. They have a life-changing night colored by strange mishaps and even stranger people.The book is capturing, oddly heartwarming and genuinely funny, plus it leaves you with a sudden need to go explore a city and have an adventure of your own.