A globetrotter's wedding adventure!

Genre: f(r)iction--"where fact and fiction rub up against each other, and nobody wants to know it regardless"

I was torn between rating Wedding Chronicles a 3 star or 4 star review. Some parts of the book I really enjoyed, and other parts, not so much. In the end, I settled on 3.5 (rounded up to 4 stars when rated on other sites.)

Wedding Chronicles is certainly one of the more eclectic books I've ever read. This work of literature is a collection of wedding adventures experienced first hand by the author himself. With nearly 100 weddings under his belt, Bob is no stranger to attending weddings, having criss-crossed the entire world. From Mexico to California to Europe--Boguslavski has already been there and done that.

In this particular book, the author recounts 13 memorable weddings, each one unique in one way or another. Readers get to learn about how different cultures manage weddings and also the conversations Boguslavski finds himself engaged in are often either humorous/mind-provoking.

However, for any spelling Nazis out there--be warned! There are some pretty innovative spelling of words in Wedding Chronicles. For example, business is spelled bidni$$ and iPhone is spelled iFone. Personally, this didn't bother me and I actually found some of these avant garde spelling of words to be quite witty. Plus, I would like to give bonus points to Mr. Boguslavski for using the word tintinnabulation in his writing. Aside from Edgar Allen Poe's work, I have never seen that word used in literature, which is really a shame since tintinnabulation is such an underrated word!

You can clearly hear the author's voice/personality through his writing. He seems to take everything in life all in stride and is willing to engage in very interesting topics of conversation at weddings.

I think my only major quip with Wedding Chronicles is that several outside references were made and I didn't understand them. (Guess I'm not as pop culture savvy as I would like to be!) However, readers who are more knowledgable in pop culture are sure to chuckle along. (I mean, I did find the references he made to be funny if I knew what Bob was talking about--like Lord of the Rings:-)

With all that being said, DO NOT READ THIS LIKE A NORMAL BOOK. I tried to do that at the beginning (meaning, I sat down, thinking I could finish this book in 1-3 sittings), but it soon became obvious it was not the way to go (at least for me.) This book ought to be read in small chunks (1-3 wedding "chronicles" at a time) to give readers time to mull over what they had just read (topics range from China's rise in global trade to different types of wine to global warming--all topics are complemented with commentaries, courtesy of Boguslavski, of course.) Also, if you're the type of person who enjoys reading stories with a strong plot line, it would probably be best if you read it in smaller chunks as well, as this book is rather like an anthology.

Final thoughts: After reading Wedding Chronicles, I think it's safe to say that my view of the world has definitely been broadened!

Rating: 4 / 5 ^* on Amazon.com and Goodreads; 3.5 / 5 ^* on blog

Original Posting: Tina Chan | March 22, 2014 | Source Link: The Book Landers