The Rosie Project (Don Tillman, #1) in Aussie Readers

Jul 31, 2013 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, library-bookclub-reads, contemporary-fiction, first-in-a-series, borrowed-from-library, 2013-release

Professor Don Tillman, genetics scientist and a person who lived by his schedules, time-tables and lists, right down to the meals he cooked himself each night, the time allocated to each task and definitely OCD, wanted a wife. At 39 years old he decided it was time, and would go about it in the same manner as everything else he did. The questionnaire he finally decided on, after much cutting and tweaking, plus approval from best friend Gene and his wife Claudia comprised sixteen pages.

But when G ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 PattyMacDotComma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: chcc-library, fiction, australian-author, award-win-listed, aa-col, aa

5★s
G’day, Dr Sheldon Cooper. . . mate! Well, not exactly, but Don Tillman must be an Aussie Aspie cousin of The Big Bang Theory character.

I am very fond of Don—I couldn’t live with him—but I get him. If you aren’t familiar with the Asperger Syndrome end of the Autism Spectrum, you may have difficulty caring about him. Aspies can be outspoken and tactless, like Sheldon.

Foot-in-mouth disease is universal, but only occasionally for most people. For Don, it’s chronic. He knows he is different, he k ...more

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Jan 06, 2015 Nancy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: australia, humour, romance

I honestly didn't think I'd like this book. I tend to dislike chicklit but this book really wasn't in that category. And I normally don't like humour, but this had me laughing out loud. I had also thought it was going to be like The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night Time which I hated, so I was so surprised when I started reading it and realised how much I loved the characters, and how invested I became in the story. I really couldn't put it down. I was so hoping for a HEA ending, and, well, ...more

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Apr 02, 2015 Joy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: recommended, contemporary, romance, adult-fiction, 2015-goodreads-challenge

The Rosie Project definitely elicited a whole range of emotions from me. As my first audiobook ever (!!!), I didn’t really know what to expect when going into it, but it’s safe to say that I am now an audio convert and I absolutely LOVED listening to this story told through audio.

Don is an odd university professor of genetics, who’ve come up with his own ‘perfect’ way to find a wife. When I say odd, I mean he’s odd in an adorkable way like Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Don has Asperge The Rosie Project definitely elicited a whole range of emotions from me. As my first audiobook ever (!!!), I didn’t really know what to expect when going into it, but it’s safe to say that I am now an audio convert and I absolutely LOVED listening to this story told through audio.

Don is an odd university professor of genetics, who’ve come up with his own ‘perfect’ way to find a wife. When I say odd, I mean he’s odd in an adorkable way like Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Don has Aspergers, and you realise that pretty early on even though it’s never really told. He likes to speak his mind without filtering what comes out of his mouth, so sometimes you really can’t help but be annoyed because what he says can be quite inappropriate in ‘normal’ social settings. What I mean by this is that his method of finding the perfect wife is to have women fill out a questionnaire so he can filter out the ones that he knows would not match him, all without having to go through the tedious task of attending multiple dates.

See what I mean by odd?

Don is a stickler for the rules and has his own way of doing things. That is until Rosie comes into his life. She does not fill any of the requirements on Don’s questionnaire, but he quickly becomes fascinated by Rosie’s search for her biological father. As a professor of genetics, he has the means to help her test the DNA samples of men she thinks might be her dad, and soon they develop an unlikely relationship.

I’m just going to put it out there – Don can be pretty frustrating, but he also means well so you can’t help but like him. He’s so socially awkward sometimes that you can’t help but laugh along as he tries to understand why people think he’s inappropriate at times — a good example is the wife project. Don cannot seem to comprehend how sexist such a thing is because his mind is so set on the efficiencies of removing the need to go through a whole date only to realise the person is not right for you.

What I love about this book is the slow character development, which is of course highlighted through Don’s growth. There is no defining moment where you see Don changed completely, and that is because the change is gradual. Rosie plays a large part in this change, although it’s not obvious. Everything about the gradual change is realistic, which makes it all the more relatable.

And you know what’s even better?! THE ROMANCE. Yes, it was perfect. With Don’s head being so out of this world half the time, he almost lost his chance with Rosie. Both characters are so vastly different, yet so right for each other as their personalities balance each other out. It was so cute when it suddenly clicked for Don that love isn’t defined on paper. Seriously such an awwww moment!

The Rosie Project was simply brilliant and I would highly recommend the audiobook as well. Dan’s interpretation of Don is pretty much spot-on, and I really enjoyed his voice! Is that odd to say? Oh well heh.

Highly recommend this for everyone, even if you’re mainly a YA reader. It’s also set in Melbourne so Aussie pride guys. Read this book! ...more

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Feb 10, 2016 Catsalive rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016

Great fun.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/1... ...more

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Sep 14, 2013 Gerda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I had a smile on my face almost the whole time I was reading this book. Although nobody would think I am Aspergers I recognised a bit of myself and other people in Don. Perhaps we all have a bit of Don in us.
My only gripe with this book is that just about all characters are academics. I think it would have been better if Rosie had been "just" a barmaid. You don't have to be an academic to be intelligent and I felt there was quite a bit of stereotyping in this book.
Apart from that, it was an en ...more

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Aug 05, 2016 Jacinta Hoare rated it liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, audio-book, 2016

Another audio book to while away the hours driving between Cairns and Port Douglas.

This book was amusing but became a little tedious and the jokes wore a little thin. A cute idea and a fun easy listen.

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