One Day

One Day is the title of the book I've just finished reading.

In the last few months here in London, it's one of those books that you see loads of people reading on the tube or bus.

I have to say I loved this book. It's a funny, intelligent and emotional story of the love and friendship between two people, Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley.

I was reading in the Sunday Times Culture magazine that the book's been a literary sensation with nearly 400,000 copies sold in the UK already this year.

Not only that, I was surprised to hear how a story which has such an English setting to it has proved to be so popular around the world.

300,000 copies have been sold in America since June, and 31 publishers have brought the rights to translate the book.

Now I've discovered it's being turned into a film. Can the film do the book justice?

One Day is your classic 'will they/won't they love story and is written by David Nicholls.

Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley first meet on 15 July 1988 following their graduation from Edinburgh university.

On that first night they imagine what their lives will be like when they reach 40. The story then tracks their lives as they grow older, and we continually catch up with them every few years on the same date, the 15 July.

Reading the feature in the Sunday Times, it made the interesting point that the book is unusual for a romantic novel in that it appeals to both men and women in equal measures.

This is true. A lad who I work with told me his girlfriend had read the book, and I think he read it as well they both really enjoyed it.

When I first bought the book I didn't realise it was a romantic novel, and I didn't know whether to buy it as I had another book I wanted to read first, but something made me think I should get it.

I think I like novels that track the lives of characters over a number of years, and this is what you have with the Dexter and Emma.

You're with them on their journey which begins as young adults entering the real world after university, and you're still with them as they approach middle age.

You watch them grow up, evolve and mature through their 20s and 30s dealing with life and their own special relationship.

The backdrop of living in London during the 90's and Noughties makes it feel really contemporary and that you've lived in the world that they grown up in during the last 20 years.

Although One Day is a romantic novel, I think one of the things I loved most, is that it tells the story of a great friendship between two people.

In many love stories the idea of the friendship between two people is sometimes overlooked.

According to figures in the book publishing world, the fact that One Day has been sold into 31 languages has propelled it into the league of a modern classic.

With a film coming out as well, I'm sure it's only going to make the book even more popular.

If you're looking for a book that's funny, clever and incredibly moving then make sure you read One Day.

If anyone reading this post has read the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.