Thoroughly recommend this book - lots of ‘feel good factor’ and a real tonic!

Love this book. Don started off sounding like 'Sheldon' but soon became better and a very enjoyable discovery.

I devoured this book and as several have said, I didn't want it to end. Funny, thought provoking - just so absolutely delightful.

I think it's important when reading "The Rosie Project" to separate any message regarding autism that you expected the book to spotlight. If you're ok with gratuitous laughs and stereotypes of autism and aspergers, you can laugh at the content. If, like me you're uncomfortable with this mass generalisation, you need to make a decision to read it as a work of fiction, and not expect anything deep and meaningful for the cause.

So having made the decision to take "The Rosie Project" as a an easy dig at symptoms of the above, I was able to enjoy the novel.

The first half of the book had me making comparisons to "Forrest Gump" in terms of the slapstick situations that Don finds himself in that were reminiscent of our other favourite savant, Forrest. Don is a loveable character, and it's easy to determine that there is little malice behind his actions and words, which makes him entirely relatable as a character (and I'm not scared to admit that a lot of his stream of consciousness dialogue reminded me of my own thought processes from time to time).

There is a lot of value in the set ups, and the best books are ones that make you feel so involved with the story that you can't turn the next page because you know it's going to cause shame, embarrassment or sadness for the character. But then again you can't stop yourself and continue on because you're in this with Don.

By the halfway mark in the book I changed my opinion of comparing Don to Forrest, and considered him more of a House MD type but without the snarky, bitter angle that House brings to the tv series. Indeed the correlation between the characters in both continue to stack up - Don's got his BFF/bromance happening with Gene, who schools him on societal norms but is not the best person to be handing out this type of advice (similar to House/Wilson), you've got the overbearing Dean who foils Don's plans (covered by many characters such as Cuddy but also people like Tritter) and you've got the similar love interest with an inability to communicate acceptably, causing shenanigans to occur.

I know others have mentioned that this is a carbon copy of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, but that was never a comparison that came to my mind. Don lacks the geekery that makes Sheldon unique.

The angle that saved "The Rosie Project" from feeling like a rehash and mix up of the various other mediums which have dealt with similar characters in the past is the honest, Australian narrative and down to earth characters.

So my only caveat is don't be too upset by the commercialisation and simplification of autism spectrum disorders, and allow yourself to laugh along with Don as he finds out who he is.

I have yet to meet someone who hasn't enjoyed this book. Romantic without being sappy, funny without being stupid and surprisingly poignant - Graeme Simsion's Rosie Project is my go-to gift recommendation. Looking forward to the sequel.

This truly is a good read. If you like the TV show "Big Bang" this is Sheldon. Love it.

This book is not something that i would normally read,but somehow i was drawn to it. It made me laugh a lot and was quite witty. A good read indeed!

Very heartwarming story.

I have to admit this is not the type of book I would normally read and was a gift from a friend. I also have to admit that my friend was right. This was such a good read I couldn't put it down!(Without giving anything away) It is a great insight into a mind of a person who may think slightly differently, and the story line was catchy. Definitely a re-read at some stage.

A light, humorous read. The main character Professor Don Tillman reminded me a bit of Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. He timetabled his life, didn't like it when he had to re-adjust activities, he was a scientist and socially awkward. His main goals in life were reached by organising a project.

The Wife Project, The father project, The Rosie Project!

Rosie, the main female character, was not like Don. She was socially comfortable and approached life casually without the need for projects. Both characters could be annoying but both were likable and strongly connected.

What did they have in common? Both had a strong desire to love, be loved and to be accepted. I can recommend this book, particularly if you are looking for light holiday read.

This book seemed to read itself.. no effort required!

Hahahahahaha,

I loved this book - it is rare to read a book that you really don't want to finish, not because you find it hard work, but because you don't want to arrive at the end.

It will not resonate with everybody, but those of us who have always felt slightly outside of the 'Norm' - whatever that is? - will maybe feel that they are not so strange after all.

Great book, it made me laugh out loud. In fact, a couple of times, I had to put the book down because I was crying with laughter. Highly recommended by me, so it must be good!

The Rosie Project is the first novel by Australian author and playwright, Graeme Simsion. Professor Don Tillman is unmarried, and a consideration of the statistics leads him to conclude he needs a wife. While Dons physical attributes and career should make him an attractive prospective husband, his social ineptitude has resulted in a track record of unsatisfactory dating experiences, the Apricot Ice Cream Disaster and the Pig Trotter Disaster being just two examples. He therefore decides to vet applicants for his Wife Project with a 16-page (double-sided) questionnaire, in the interests of efficiency. When Rosie Jarman sweeps into his life, Don quickly concludes that this smoking, swearing barmaid with punctuality problems is entirely unsuitable, yet, against all his rational instincts, he decides to offer his expertise in genetics in the search for her father. Soon his regimented, logical life is turned upside down: Don learns the danger inherent in judging a person by their occupation, and that not everything in life follows a formula.

Simsion has created a very funny novel which also has the reader thinking about emotion and logic, love and friendship, conventionality and non-conformists, and what it takes to modify ones behaviour. This is a fast-paced love story with an interesting twist. Simsions characters have plenty of depth and the fact that none of them is perfect adds to their appeal. While Don may be wired differently (mentally assessing the age and BMI of everyone he meets, reacting to stress with a spreadsheet or a schedule), he has integrity, focus, enthusiasm and determination, and it is impossible not to feel empathy with him even while laughing at his missteps. And impossible not to shed a tear when he suspects he is incapable of love and therefore unacceptable. This novel is filled with laugh-out-loud moments: a madcap cocktail party, a dance fiasco and a novel escape from a bathroom, to name just a few. Dons highly embarrassing moment with an instruction book, a skeleton and the University Dean is utterly hilarious. The irony of Don delivering a lecture on Aspergers is quite delicious, and who could guess there would be so many inventive ways to obtain a DNA sample! This is a brilliant debut novel. It is no surprise to learn that it won the Victorian Premiers Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript in 2012, and that the rights have been sold to over 30 countries. I look forward to more from Graeme Simsion.