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56th out of 302 books
—
350 voters
The Silver Linings Playbook
by
Matthew Quick (Goodreads Author)
Pat Peoples has a theory that his life is actually a movie produced by God, and that his God-given mission in life is to become emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending – which, for Pat, means the return of his estranged wife Nikki, from whom he's currently having some 'apart time.' It might not come as any surprise to learn that Pat has spent several...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
April 27th 2010
by Sarah Crichton Books
(first published September 2nd 2008)
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Mar 13, 2013
Elaine
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
cover-lust,
book-turned-movie,
adult,
contemporary,
own,
2013-in-2013-team-a,
2013-reads,
kindle
Also posted on rabbitsfortea
Warning: This book will spoil some classics if you have yet to read them.
1. The Scarlet Letter
2. The Great Gatsby
3. A Farewell to Arms
4. The Catcher in the Rye
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
6. The Bell Jar
Alright, consider yourselves warned, now onward to my short review.
Silver Linings is one of those books that I wouldn't normally pick up and probably wouldn't if not for wanting to read it before I watch the movie. From the trailer, I expected a pretty light he...more
Warning: This book will spoil some classics if you have yet to read them.
1. The Scarlet Letter
2. The Great Gatsby
3. A Farewell to Arms
4. The Catcher in the Rye
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
6. The Bell Jar
Alright, consider yourselves warned, now onward to my short review.
Silver Linings is one of those books that I wouldn't normally pick up and probably wouldn't if not for wanting to read it before I watch the movie. From the trailer, I expected a pretty light he...more
Really a 4/5 star book but because I loved it...
Perfection is boring. This book, its plot, dialogue and characters are flawed - Which is exactly why I loved Matthew Quick’s debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook.
Pat People’s is convinced that his life is a movie directed by God and is therefore destined to have a happy ending. He just got out of ‘the bad place’ (a mental facility) and is determined to recreate himself so that ‘apart time’ between him and his wife Nikki will end. He’s living un...more
Perfection is boring. This book, its plot, dialogue and characters are flawed - Which is exactly why I loved Matthew Quick’s debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook.
Pat People’s is convinced that his life is a movie directed by God and is therefore destined to have a happy ending. He just got out of ‘the bad place’ (a mental facility) and is determined to recreate himself so that ‘apart time’ between him and his wife Nikki will end. He’s living un...more
34 likes · like · see review
Mar 03, 2013
Nikki
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
book-to-movie
I.. LOVED this book. So heartbreakingly honest... so funny and real.
Pat Peoples has been in "the bad place" for years. He is, by anyone's definition, crazy. He's violent, he has forgotten years of his life, and his arch nemesis is jazz musician Kenny G... but he's endlessly and relentlessly hopeful. He believes in silver linings above anything else... and he believes that by trying to become the best man he can, he will eventually reach his own silver lining. His father seems to have his own iss...more
Pat Peoples has been in "the bad place" for years. He is, by anyone's definition, crazy. He's violent, he has forgotten years of his life, and his arch nemesis is jazz musician Kenny G... but he's endlessly and relentlessly hopeful. He believes in silver linings above anything else... and he believes that by trying to become the best man he can, he will eventually reach his own silver lining. His father seems to have his own iss...more
33 likes · like · see review
After spending a long time in a mental health facility, Pat Peoples returns home and is ready to get his life back together. Pat is convinced that his destiny is to become more physically fit and to read more classic literature so that his estranged wife Nikki will come back to him. But now that he's at home, things aren't quite right. His family refuses to talk about his wife, his favorite football team (the Philadelphia Eagles) keeps losing games, and now a strange woman named Tiffany is start...more
17 likes · like · see review
Dec 04, 2012
Greg
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
if you like Perks of Being a Wallflower
Recommended to Greg by:
The Weinstein Company
The reductive takeaway: The adult Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Sometimes I wonder if I read the same book as other people. That's usually when I hate something that other people love. It's rarer when we both like the same book, but for vastly different reasons and have vastly different interpretations. But of course, the power of literature is interpretation, so it's to be expected.
For some reason, people keep calling this book "fun" and "entertaining." I'm sure someone probably called it a "ligh...more
Sometimes I wonder if I read the same book as other people. That's usually when I hate something that other people love. It's rarer when we both like the same book, but for vastly different reasons and have vastly different interpretations. But of course, the power of literature is interpretation, so it's to be expected.
For some reason, people keep calling this book "fun" and "entertaining." I'm sure someone probably called it a "ligh...more
106 likes · like · see review
What a fun book! I’m sure it’s enjoyable for anyone that doesn’t have a stick up their ass, but it’s the kind of book that even non-readers will love, too, because it’s an easy read, and the chapters are short, and it’s entertaining the whole way through, and it’s funny as hell.
Our narrator, Pat Peoples, is pretty crazy by society’s standards. He’s been in “the bad place” for years, and once out, with the help of his sweet mother, he’s trying to get his life back on track so he can reunite with...more
Our narrator, Pat Peoples, is pretty crazy by society’s standards. He’s been in “the bad place” for years, and once out, with the help of his sweet mother, he’s trying to get his life back on track so he can reunite with...more
56 likes · like · see review
May 30, 2013
Marion Hudson
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
good-literature,
favorites
I read many, many, many books. I am happy to read anything from classic fiction to pure escapist chic lit. I don't mind mediocre writing, gratuitous sex scenes or week predictable plots since the authors allow me to enter another world for a one or two hours every day, and for that I am grateful. Even if their books are easily forgettable, for the time that I am reading them, they are a fun way to spend my time. But every now and again a book comes along that makes me rethink my strategy of read...more
I truly loved this book. The characters are all so incredibly quirky and somewhat demented - my kind of book. Pat Peoples has recently been allowed to leave "the bad place," where he went after a complete breakdown several years ago. He has remade himself into the modern day Rocky, working out and running constantly, in order to win back his former wife, Nikki.
Throughout his path of improvement, Matthew Quick introduces us to the many other twisted characters with their own issues - his father...more
Throughout his path of improvement, Matthew Quick introduces us to the many other twisted characters with their own issues - his father...more
6 likes · like · see review
Who cries after listening to Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart?
Pat Peoples, the offbeat hero of The Silver Linings Playbook.
When in a difficult situation where retaliating through violence or similar abuse is probable, he runs away, literally, from the situation, until he can feel his tears mixing with his sweat. Yes, Pat is a man who cries when he's being unkind.
He's special that way.
So everyday he improves his mind by reading books and everyday he improves his body by running and lif...more
Pat Peoples, the offbeat hero of The Silver Linings Playbook.
When in a difficult situation where retaliating through violence or similar abuse is probable, he runs away, literally, from the situation, until he can feel his tears mixing with his sweat. Yes, Pat is a man who cries when he's being unkind.
He's special that way.
So everyday he improves his mind by reading books and everyday he improves his body by running and lif...more
14 likes · like · see review
“Pat Peoples has a theory that his life is actually a movie produced by God, and that his God-given mission in life is to become emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending - which, for Pat, means the return of his estranged wife Nikki, from whom he's currently having some 'apart time'. It might not come as any surprise to learn that Pat has spent several years in a mental health facility. When Pat leaves hospital and goes to live with his parents, however, everything seems ch...more
Matthew Quick's The Silver Linings Playbook tells the story of narrator Pat Peoples's return to real life after four years in a "neural health facility." Pat is determined to win back his wife, Nikki, after their "apart time," which Pat, with somewhat pitiable naivete, takes to be a trial separation. But then Pat meets Tiffany, who offers, on one rather arduous condition, to act as a liaison between him and Nikki. Needless to say, things don't go quite as he planned.
I will confess to being a bi...more
I will confess to being a bi...more
Apr 17, 2013
Joy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All my friends
Loved this book! Will write a longer review soon. Do yourself a favor and read this one!!
I liked that it has a positive message - believing in silver linings is to remind you to keep on trying. The old saying that every cloud has a silver lining is what Pat is counting on in his life now that he is back home living with his parents. I don't want to write too much about the story since I don't want to give away any key plot points. But I will just say that there is a happy ending for Pat and Tiff...more
I liked that it has a positive message - believing in silver linings is to remind you to keep on trying. The old saying that every cloud has a silver lining is what Pat is counting on in his life now that he is back home living with his parents. I don't want to write too much about the story since I don't want to give away any key plot points. But I will just say that there is a happy ending for Pat and Tiff...more
4 likes · like · see review
Jan 20, 2013
Alex
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-romance,
reviewed
Just saw the movie and I cried like a little girl..
The next day, after reading the book...
Well, I'm a little disappointed in the book. The movie was excellent. I loved the chemistry between the actors, their wonderful performances and the story.
I found myself skipping pages in the book whenever Pat talked about football. I didn't find Pat and Tiffany's romantic relationship credible because the book lacked the proper detailed descriptions of their heated encounters.
I'm going to compare the book...more
The next day, after reading the book...
Well, I'm a little disappointed in the book. The movie was excellent. I loved the chemistry between the actors, their wonderful performances and the story.
I found myself skipping pages in the book whenever Pat talked about football. I didn't find Pat and Tiffany's romantic relationship credible because the book lacked the proper detailed descriptions of their heated encounters.
I'm going to compare the book...more
46 likes · like · see review
Well, thank god that's over. I don't know what's wrong with me, considering everyone else seems to think this is a good book (4 stars). Me - not so much. I can see how I would like the movie though. I should just stick with that. Maybe you just can't go from Pat Conroy's "Lords of Discipline" and Herman Koch's "The Dinner" to this ... I mean, I understand the construct - but I kind of felt like the "diary style" writing limited the author's ability to let me really feel the story. I was so distr...more
18 likes · like · see review
I don't remember when was the last time that I finished a book in one sitting, but I forgot what a nice feeling it is. Though, I must add that this might not be my most coherent or grammatically correct review, considering that it is 4:30am.
Anyway, the moment I read that Matthew Quick, the author of the novel, has backpacked around Southern Africa, the feeling, which I already had after watching the trailer for the film, that this might be some philosophical-psychoanalytic crap a la Paulo Coelho...more
Anyway, the moment I read that Matthew Quick, the author of the novel, has backpacked around Southern Africa, the feeling, which I already had after watching the trailer for the film, that this might be some philosophical-psychoanalytic crap a la Paulo Coelho...more
6 likes · like · see review
Nedense bu kitabı okurken ben zorlandım ve dahada ilerleyemedim şimdilik bir kenara bıraktım daha sonra tekrar denemeyi düşünüyorum :))
Mar 27, 2013
Lynai
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lynai by:
Maria Ella
Shelves:
ebook
Do I believe in silver linings? Thoughts later. :)
REVIEW UPDATE***
Every cloud has a silver lining.
This is what Pat Peoples, the main protagonist, firmly believes in. He just came out from a mental institution — the bad place as he calls it — and vows never to return there again. So he works hard on improving himself by (over) exercising daily, practicing being kind than being right, and reading books that Nikki, his wife, loves. He believes that his life is a movie moving towards a happy ending,...more
REVIEW UPDATE***
Every cloud has a silver lining.
This is what Pat Peoples, the main protagonist, firmly believes in. He just came out from a mental institution — the bad place as he calls it — and vows never to return there again. So he works hard on improving himself by (over) exercising daily, practicing being kind than being right, and reading books that Nikki, his wife, loves. He believes that his life is a movie moving towards a happy ending,...more
3 likes · like · see review
Jan 23, 2013
Nyamka Ganni
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone, specially men
Shelves:
favorite-couple,
book-spoilers
Every cloud has a SILVER LINING!
I just loved the book. It is even mysterious to me why I like it so much. It is a kind of book that is always on the thin line between liking and disliking of it.
Story is very delicate and kind of sad. But hey, every cloud has a silver lining! It has plenty of silver linings in it! Dozens of messages are waiting to be received. The good messages!
Loved it so much when "Total eclipse of the heart" starts playing... lalalala jingling in my head... dancing in the ba...more
I just loved the book. It is even mysterious to me why I like it so much. It is a kind of book that is always on the thin line between liking and disliking of it.
Story is very delicate and kind of sad. But hey, every cloud has a silver lining! It has plenty of silver linings in it! Dozens of messages are waiting to be received. The good messages!
Loved it so much when "Total eclipse of the heart" starts playing... lalalala jingling in my head... dancing in the ba...more
3 likes · like · see review
Read it in less than a day, because I was that desperate to find out what happened to turn Pat Peoples from a functioning high school history teacher into a man recently released from a mental institution, obsessed with working out and winning back his ex-wife.
One of the themes of this book is redemption through literature. Pat Peoples reads the books on his ex-wife's English syllabus, hoping to impress her when they are reconciled, and finds many of the books to be very depressing. You would t...more
One of the themes of this book is redemption through literature. Pat Peoples reads the books on his ex-wife's English syllabus, hoping to impress her when they are reconciled, and finds many of the books to be very depressing. You would t...more
Pat Peoples is just out of ‘the Bad Place’ – an institution where he’s been for the past four years after a massive breakdown. He believes his life is a movie written and directed by God. He has a terror of Kenny G who haunts him in the night. He’s lost his life and his home, and only lives to build the perfect body so he can win back his beloved wife, Nikki.
Pat is so angsty and damaged and utterly adorable. He knows he screwed up before the breakdown, with his rages and selfish demands. Now he...more
Pat is so angsty and damaged and utterly adorable. He knows he screwed up before the breakdown, with his rages and selfish demands. Now he...more
2 likes · like · see review
Aww, it was so quirky and cute.
I'm so glad they carried that part across to the movie. They are both great in their own respects, but they have the most important parts in common.
For a while I wasn't sure I'd like the book, but as I kept reading, it kept getting better and better. So glad I read it.
This seems to be a big deal for a lot of people, that other book's plots get divulged, but to me, I found that wonderful. Now I actually want to read some of them (and as I thought, give others a mi...more
I'm so glad they carried that part across to the movie. They are both great in their own respects, but they have the most important parts in common.
For a while I wasn't sure I'd like the book, but as I kept reading, it kept getting better and better. So glad I read it.
This seems to be a big deal for a lot of people, that other book's plots get divulged, but to me, I found that wonderful. Now I actually want to read some of them (and as I thought, give others a mi...more
Feb 11, 2013
Mark Bennett
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
unsettling-inspiration,
fiction
Blown away by how different the book is from the film. Loved the film and it will certainly win a few Oscars, but I hadn't imagined how marvelous David O. Russell's adaptation was, stirring and compelling, dramatically intense and laugh-out-loud funny, and ever so heartwarming, and full-on, a killer "silver lining" ending.
Equally blown away by Quick's novel. I had peeked in after it arrived in the mail yesterday and I put it by the bed. Figured to dip in at night. Woke up this morning and blew t...more
Equally blown away by Quick's novel. I had peeked in after it arrived in the mail yesterday and I put it by the bed. Figured to dip in at night. Woke up this morning and blew t...more
I really liked this book, even tho there are parts wherein Pat's optimism is just plain unbearable for me. His optimism was so detached from reality. He's so busy being an optimist that he missed out some important lessons in life but I'm glad he had this sudden realizations or epiphany in the end. I just hated the parts where Pat talked about football all the time, it's very tiresome. So yeah, I skipped those parts and all those "AAAAAAAAAHH" "E-A-G-L-E-S!"
I also think that he doesn't love Nikk...more
I also think that he doesn't love Nikk...more
1 like · like · see review
Pro jednou jsem porušila svoje pravidla, a prvně se podívala na film copak můžu Jen odolávat donekonečna?!, což často nedělám (proto jsem doteď neviděla Hostitele). Vtipné bylo, že za tři dny po shlédnutí filmu jsem se pustila do knihy... Musím říct, že je to jeden z mála případů, kdy se mi víc líbí film-protože je prostě geniální, a Jen... to snad ani nemusím komentovat, vždyť vyhrála Oscara! Každopádně ta knížka je o ničem. Pětatřicetiletý chlap, který věčně brečí, posiluje, přemýšlí o svojí p...more
1 like · like · see review
The book was fairly different from its movie version.
Sometimes Pat felt that his mother treated him as if he was a child, which was somehow what I felt listening to him and his story, not that it meant he made any less sense =o) I did enjoy his narrative style =o)
I loved the fact that he usually looked up at the sky to see the cloud, which was his favorite thing. Also, his belief about silver linings and happy endings was beautiful. Was he crazy? I don't know. Maybe his reality was a bit diffe...more
Sometimes Pat felt that his mother treated him as if he was a child, which was somehow what I felt listening to him and his story, not that it meant he made any less sense =o) I did enjoy his narrative style =o)
I loved the fact that he usually looked up at the sky to see the cloud, which was his favorite thing. Also, his belief about silver linings and happy endings was beautiful. Was he crazy? I don't know. Maybe his reality was a bit diffe...more
When I started reading this book, two novels and a movie immediately came to mind: The Catcher In The Rye, She's Come Undone<\b>, and Regarding Henry<\b>. The main character, Pat, has just been released from the hospital after an indeterminate length of time, and it's obvious that he is not thinking like a 30+ year old man, and that he has memory lapses about what has happened to him. Pat's goal, and our goal as readers, is to find out why Pat is the way he is; for example, why does...more
2 likes · like · see review
The movie is better than the book. Normally, it is the reverse but this is one of the exceptions.
The movie got nominated in the 2013 Oscars for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role (won), Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Directing, Film Editing and Writing.
I finished reading the book yesterday and so I bought a pirated DVD copy and watched it today. The movie people made the dull book somewhat better. Dull because it is all a rehash. I've seen...more
The movie got nominated in the 2013 Oscars for Best Picture, Actor in a Leading Role, Actress in a Leading Role (won), Actor in a Supporting Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Directing, Film Editing and Writing.
I finished reading the book yesterday and so I bought a pirated DVD copy and watched it today. The movie people made the dull book somewhat better. Dull because it is all a rehash. I've seen...more
17 likes · like · see review
As much as I loved the film for its top-rate acting performances (and Bradley Cooper ain't bad to look at either), I left the theatre feeling cheated somehow. The plot just didn't add up. The characterizations unraveled toward the conclusion, which was too pat, and ultimately unsatisfying. When I saw the novel had been published by Farrar, I had to read it--how could a publisher of high quality fiction accept such an uneven story?
Happy to report the novel is both a good read and a highly plausi...more
Happy to report the novel is both a good read and a highly plausi...more
5 likes · like · see review
I did the unthinkable here...I watched the movie before I read the book. Here's the thing though...I was unaware it was based on a book. However, based on what I felt after reading the book, I think I need to start reading the book after I see the movie. I'm one of those people that will pick apart all the differences in the movie and it often makes me enjoy it less.
The movie was outstanding...let me start out by saying that.
The book was incredible. There were a lot of major differences. A lot....more
The movie was outstanding...let me start out by saying that.
The book was incredible. There were a lot of major differences. A lot....more
7 likes · like · see review
Pat, fresh from an institution, tries to change himself so that he can have a desperately wanted reunion with his wife.
Pat's goal is simple-a reunion with his wife. He believes he and his wife began "apart time" a few months ago when he had to go to the bad place, aka, an institution filled with unattractive nurses, pills, and music therapy. Pat now lives with his parents and works out constantly so that Nikki will see how hard he has worked for her.
This whole plan cracks around the edges as he...more
Pat's goal is simple-a reunion with his wife. He believes he and his wife began "apart time" a few months ago when he had to go to the bad place, aka, an institution filled with unattractive nurses, pills, and music therapy. Pat now lives with his parents and works out constantly so that Nikki will see how hard he has worked for her.
This whole plan cracks around the edges as he...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book Compared to Movie | 1 | 2 | 4 hours, 37 min ago | |
| The Book Vipers: * The Silver Linings Playbook | 32 | 45 | 18 hours, 34 min ago | |
| Books2Movies Club: The Silver Linings Playbook - A Book and the Movie | 20 | 122 | Jun 16, 2013 06:58pm | |
| Movie was better than the book?? I don't believe that theory! But what do you think? does this book/movie change the idea? | 11 | 47 | Jun 15, 2013 10:59am | |
| Question for those who have already read the book | 15 | 362 | Jun 13, 2013 09:58am |
Matthew Quick (aka Q) is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, which was made into an Oscar-winning film. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, among other accolades. Q lives with his wife, novelist/pianist Alicia Bessette.
More about Matthew Quick...
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More quizzes & trivia...
“I don't want to stay in the bad place, where no one believes in silver linings or love or happy endings.”
—
467 people liked it
“If clouds are blocking the sun, there will always be a silver lining that reminds me to keep on trying.”
—
368 people liked it
More quotes…
Jun 09, 2013 12:49pm
Jun 10, 2013 03:05am