I picked up David Levithan's THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY because a) the cover is awesome and b) the structure (a love story transcribed by a nameless narrator over the course of "dictionary" entries) blew my mind. This is probably the only book I have ever read in a single day. It is a fast and quick read, but in no way light. This book is both funny and maddening, sweet and cruel. It is amazing how much complexity and honesty and emotion Levithan packed into these short dictionary entries. They read like poetry. Examples: 
 arrears, n. 
 My faithfulness was as unthinking as your lapse. Of all the things I thought would go wrong, I never thought it would be that. 
 "It was a mistake, " you said. But the cruel thing was, it felt like the mistake was mine, for trusting you. 
 ineffable, adj. 
 These words will ultimately end up being the barest of reflections, devoid of the sensations words cannot convey. Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough. 
 See? If you need more reasons to pick up this book than the two above, maybe it's just not your kind of book. 
 Originally reviewed here