Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier

This book was written in 1938, and is considered a classic. That said, we got to about 21-25% before deciding the (audio) book is way too slow. The unnamed main character is poor, and works as a paid companion to a high society lady. She meets the very rich Maxim De Winter, and they marry in a rush. Although we're promised a gothic story, there's just a lot of the main character being timid and unnerved by her own lack of high society skills, and she continuously compares herself to DeWinter's dead wife. Moving on to the next book!

DNF (did not finish). 

Twice, by Mitch Albom

We both enjoyed this book a lot. There's a time travel /slash/ magical realism element that Albom handled really well. The main character is Alfie, and we get to hear about his youth through snapshots that are written about in a journal ("the composition book"). We hear how his parents were missionaries in Africa, and during this time, Alfie befriends a girl, Gianna, whom he later bumps into at university. 

When the book opens, we see that Alfie is older, he is in Nassau, Bahamas, and he's being held by a casino security guy, who thinks Alfie cheated on roulette. The interplay between Alfie and the security guy, called Detective Laporta, gives us more and more detail on what brought Alfie to this casino. 

In the big picture, this book is about second chances. And if you were granted a do-over, what would the consequences be of not seeing your original choice through to fruition?  Oh, and it's also a love story, kinda sorta, but not in a sappy way. FIVE OUTTA FIVE STARS ON THIS ONE! Albom is a gifted writer. We also really liked Albom's book, The Little Liar. And we're going to give another of his books a try in the near future.