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Highschool, true love, and glitter.

Through the next few weeks I thought I'd write a bit about the books I read in 2009 and never said anything about.

I decided that no blog about books by me could ever be complete if I didn't at least say something about the Twilight Saga. I originally read Twilight in the spring of 2008 when a friend tossed it to me and said, "Here. You'll like it." I was skeptical at first when she tried to tell me what it was about. Vampires in love with humans? Glitter instead of turning to dust? What kind of weird-ass book is this?

I read through Twilight in the matter of 2-3 days and went out immediately for New Moon. I read New Moon in 2 days and went out for Eclipse while on a trip to Indy. I drove home that evening with visions of Bella and Edward and Volturi swimming around in my head; eager to be stationary so that I could read my new book. I finished Eclipse in the wee hours of the morning with barely enough time to shower and brush my teeth before stumbling off to work. I stopped by Borders on my way home to pick up Breaking Dawn only to find out that it was not yet released! I have no idea how anyone else read the series book by book waiting for each new one to be released because the month or two I spent waiting for the last installment of Edward and Bella's story was excruciating. I went back and re-read the whole set I had so it would be fresh in my mind. I went out early the day it was released and sat in a coffee shop reading for hours before going to work. After work that night I went home and read the rest of the book.

Through each book I had moments where I laughed; moments where I cried; moments where I threatened the book with a flight across my room when I got angry; and moments where I just sat dumbfounded at something that was happening. Many a Facebook status went something along the lines of "Bella and Edward did WHAT?" "Jacob imprinted on ____?!?!?!?" Not to mention all of the calls and texts to Prose (the friend that gave me the first book to read).

Though the word vampire normally conjures an image of a pale Bella Lugosi in a cape with oiled hair; Stephanie Meyer asked readers to envision an attractive 17-year-old with amber eyes and skin that sparkles in the sun. Though it took a little time to come to grips with the 'new' vampire image, the book did a good job of giving some background. Through 'ancient legends' from the native tribe in the area as well as personal account from the vampires themselves; the story made it seem almost natural. There were even a few comments about "Hollywood not getting it right".

Skeptical at first, I did find that the story pulled me in. I found my heart breaking for Bella time and again as she dealt with her feelings of inadequacy and abandonment. In later books I found myself holding my breath through the tense moments and my heart beating harder with the intense emotion. I have no idea how Stephanie Meyer made me feel what her character was feeling.

I do have a small objection to Bella thinking that she cannot survive without Edward by her side. The fact that she falls apart when he leaves and is unable to function is worrisome. In addition, in the later books she seems to be attached to his side with a weird gravitational pull. I don't think that it portrays a healthy relationship. In fact, in real life anyone would look at that relationship as codependent and tell them to seek professional help. I hope that anyone allowing younger children to read the books has a serious conversation with their child about real love and what a healthy relationship is. The Twilight Saga is a little heavy on the drama.

I am a total Twilight-aholic. I took the day off work and bought tickets a few days ahead of time to watch the first daytime showing of the Twilight movie. I was unable to do the same for the recent New Moon movie, but I did see it during its first few days. I had both soundtracks before the movies were released, and I can tell you what is happening in the movie during each song. I have more Twilight related flair on my Facebook flair board than any other type of flair.

I am that lame.

I know some people think Twilight is lame. I really don't care. I enjoyed the series. I read for fun and I read what makes me happy. If it isn't something that would make you happy, don't read it. I won't read things that don't make me happy so I don't expect anyone else to either.

A Year In Review

So, I have been a terrible blogger this year. I started the blog with the best intentions and then life got in the way. I spent January though July taking classes in addition to my full-time job. Then I focused on work and a new relationship letting everything else take a back seat to love and money. I've read plenty of books. I've thought about blogging most of them. 2009 had me reading 30+ books and re-reading at least 4.

Quick list of 2009 reads:

Enemies and Allies by Kevin J. Anderson--Novel about Superman and Batman set during the 1950s. The two begrudgingly team up to stop the world from total destruction. 4 stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen--Classic chick lit. 5 stars

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith--The classic regency romance with added zombie mayhem. 4.5 stars

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters--More classic literary romance with some slimy, tentacled or clawed disaster. 4 stars

Persuasion by Jane Austen--Classic tale of a girl letting herself get talked out of love based on a mistaken emphasis on wealth and status. To my knowledge there are no plans to add vampires or ghosts. 5 stars

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen--More classic chick lit. Poor girl lives with rich relatives and finds herself between the two worlds trying to find love and happiness. Also no plans to add any strange apparitions as far as I know. 5 stars

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery--French-American girl goes off to Japan and become separated from her family through fire and choice. Passes herself off as a Japanese lady's maid in a respectable teahouse. 3 stars

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte--More classic lit about two selfish people and their love for themselves and each other and their inability to function in their worlds apart. 2 stars

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown--Intrigue with a art history geek trying to solve the mystery, murder, and win the pretty girl. 3.5 stars

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown--Same hero as The DaVinci Code with a new mystery, murder, and pretty girl. 3.5 stars

White Oleander by Janet Fitch--Dysfunctional family at its finest. Plus a look into the foster care system through the eyes of a teen. 3 stars

Mary Called Magdalene by Margaret George--Novel of the possible and probably life of Mary Magdalene. Rich with history and a little possible blasphemy. 3.5 stars

Death of a Darklord by Laurel K. Hamilton--Weird novel filled with magic, zombies, and a witch hunter. 4 stars

Why Mermaids Sing by C.S. Harris--Murder mystery set in England. Part of a series. 3.5 stars

Chocolat by Joanne Harris--French lady opens a chocolate shop in a rural village and turns the town upside down. I believe I actually reviewed this one. 4 stars

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by Bobby Henderson--Hilarious blasphemy. No way to really explain this. You just have to read it. 3 stars

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini--By the author of The Kite Runner. About 3 separate females and how their lives intersect in Afghanistan. 5 stars

A Widow for One Year by John Irving--Reviewed last January. About a family and how their actions impacted them and those around them. 4 stars

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd--Reviewed already. About a girl looking for her roots and finding them in unexpected ways. 4 stars

Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster--Snarktacular chick lit. 4.5 stars
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster--More Snarktacular chick lit. 4.5 stars
Pretty In Plaid by Jen Lancaster --Less snarktacular but totally hilarious chick lit. 4.5 stars

The Host by Stephenie Meyer--Alien being inhabiting human bodies and a band of refugees trying to survive without detection. 3 stars

Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer (re-read)--Sparkly vampired and teen love. If you haven't already heard about Twilight; you're probably hiding under a rock. 4.5 stars

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison--Can't even really describe it. 3.5 stars

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton--Mystery about a lost child with amnesia trying to find the truth and her granddaughter who finally figures it out. 4 stars

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson--Non-traditional Patterson safe for the whole family to read. Daniel is an alien hunter with a few advantages trying to get revenge for the death of his family by killing the most dangerous aliens in the U.S. 3.5 stars

Swimsuit by James Patterson--Killer on the loose ravaging models. Sort of standard for Patterson. 2.5 stars

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath--Whiny, depressed, suburban girl. 0 stars

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks--Love story spanning a few decades about reconnecting with first love. 4 stars

The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner--Short stories about everyday women finding their Prince Charming. 2 stars


I also failed two books (Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert and Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift). I may try them again later but I have plenty to keep me busy right now.

All in all it really wasn't a bad year for reading. Despite a lot of happenings I truly read 2-3 books each month with a full time job and classes.

Here's hoping 2010 is even better.

Austen and Sea Monsters

One might not think of sea monsters as having a place in regency England. Much like Quirk Classic's zombies enriched the story of Pride and Prejudice the sea monsters have livened up Sense and Sensibility.


Another Austen tale of English ladies and their suitors has been altered thanks to the wonderful writers that Quirk Classics has managed to dig up. The original Sense and Sensibility follows the lives of the Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. When their father passes away the estate goes to their older half brother and his cold and selfish wife. The older Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters seek another home at a distant relative's estate and thus experience romance, love, and heartbreak.


Elinor is attached to Edward, the brother of her sister-in-law. She is also introduced to and courted by Colonel Brandon who is nearly twenty years older than she. Elinor thinks that loving and marrying a man so many years older is grotesque but does decide that being friendly with Colonel Brandon would be acceptable.


Marianne is swept off her feet by a wealthy adventurer after falling while out for a walk. John Willoughby is dashing and very similar to Marianne and many mutual friends believed them to be engaged.


Through the course of the story both girls have their hearts broken. One girl gets her happy ending after some turns of events take place, and another finds that what she thought she wanted was not correct anymore at all.


That's all that should be said in hopes of not ruining the book.


Sense and Sensibility is a little dry, much like most other books written in and around the 1790s. The story often lags on talk of money and how so-and-so has so many pounds a month and how no one could possibly wish to marry into so little amount and so on much like the talk in Pride and Prejudice. However, the story was definitely worth reading with its themes on emotion vs. sense, money, propriety, love, and many more. The ladies Dashwood and the gentleman acquainted with them all learned something by the end of the book, and the outcomes were suprising and in some aspects a little disappointing.


Now, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters used the same story line with subtle and not so subtle additions of tentacled beasts, water dangers, and facial disfiguration. In Sea Monsters, all places in the story are either near water or under water and many hours each day are dedicated to keeping sea monsters at bay. Estates were fortressed, weapons skills were mandatory, and traveling too near or over water was usually met with death by at least one character of little consequence. Instead of the Dashwoods traveling to London at one point they travel to an underwater city called Sub-Marine Station Beta. In addition to romantic intrigue, family drama, and sisterly bickering and love is the giant tentacled monsters and oversized lobsters out for human blood.


Sea Monsters, no matter how entertaining, loses something of the story when all changes were said and done. Colonel Brandon with a tentacled face, Willoughby as a treasure seeker, a lady competing for a gentleman's attention as a witch, and a sea creature large enough to disguise itself as land detract from the Dashwood daughters and their personalities and choices made.


In doing some research it can be found that though Pride and Prejudice and Zombies had 90% of the original novel's content with only about 10% additional content added; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters started with only 60% original content with 40% added (source for Sea Monsters numbers, but cannot re-find the Zombie's numbers at this time).

In conclusion, whereas Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was worth reading because the integrity of the story did not change; the same cannot be said for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. In this case it is best to stick to the original.

New Purchases

I'm a horrible blogger, I know. I have been reading and I have been buying books though. I've just been a little wrapped up with work, sleep, and Netflix. :)

Recent book buys:

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (another QuirkClassics interpretation of Austen)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky

My roommate has made a number of purchases recently too. I have a nice stack of things to read that she's finished already. I love that it's winter and I'll have more inside time to read too.

I hope to get my desk cleared off so I can sit and write a few reviews in the VERY near future. To anyone following, I'm happy you're here and sorry that I'm not a little more punctual with the updates.

A revelation

I arrived at a moment of revelation the other day. I may have a goal of reading the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" plus personal additions. However, if I am doing this for enjoyment there is no reason to complete books that I abhor.

Recently I've been trying to read Madame Bovary. I detest this book. I have no sympathy for the main character. She's a whiney brat that knew what she was getting in to. Rumors from friends who did read the book for some class or another lead me to believe that I will detest her more and more. I hate this book because I hate this character and I'm wondering where the point is.

I've decided not to finish Madame Bovary. I also may not finish Gulliver's Travels. The story is good, but the language (or more the poor grammar and random capitalization and punctuation) is driving me batty.

So, from now on I allow myself to quit a book if I want to. It makes no sense to not have fun doing something that is supposed to be fun. I can make myself read the awful things later IF I ever take a class that requires them.

Zombie Mayhem reviewed

I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a few days ago. I must say that all in all it was wonderful. The original integrity of the story Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is maintained with small additions to the characters. All of the Bennet girls are Chinese trained zombie slayers as is Mr. Bennet. Mr. Bingley is a pansy who loses his dinner at the sight of zombies consuming brains. Mr. Darcy is quite skilled at zombie slaying, as is his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

I found only a few things unnecessary. First and foremost was the sexual innuendos. Sure a comment about "his most English parts" in his trousers or a play on words while tossing about gun ammunition (balls) is ok. But, there were a few places where the additions took away from the stry somewhat. They altered the perception of Elizabeth Bennet's proper decorum. The second thing that I had issues with was Charlotte turning into a zombie. It added nothing to the story and actually seemed silly in some places.

Other than just a few areas that I thought could do without the additions it was still very much the same story. The zombie mayhem actually made the story progress faster than the original because there was action to spur a reader on.

I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. It was a few sexual innuendos off from a perfect rating in my book.

In telling an acquaintance about the book I recieved the following comment: "Jane Austen is probably turning over in her grave!" My response is: Perhaps she wants to join in the brain munching mayhem.

A moving story

It has been a while since a book has touched me in a way to make me cry while reading. The last I remember is a few years ago when I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (which I hear was made into a really awful movie). I'm sick at home and decided to spend some time reading when I wasn't napping. I managed to read the whole of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook this evening. I must say that near the end I choked up and cried. I spent a good ten minutes once I read the last page just sitting with tears running down my face. The love between Allie and Noah is so amazing. It makes me long to find even a fraction of that in my own life. I can't wait to see the movie version to see if it lives up to the book.

ZOMBIE MAYHEM!

I totally bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at Borders a few days ago. All I can say is that all classic literature needs a little zombie mayhem (or vampires, frankensteins, etc) to lend a little action and make things more interesting. So far the integrity of the original has not been affected. I'm excited to see how it progresses.

A tasty read

Who doesn't like chocolate? (If you answered that question saying that you don't, you don't count because chocolate is perfect and everyone should love it.) Well the book Chocolat by Joanne Harris is not really only about chocolate.

Vianne Rocher and her young daughter Anouk are free spirits that settle down for a time in a small town in France. They come right at the beginning of Lent and start turning the town upside down with their chocolatier shop and different ways. Vianne becomes the nemesis of the town priest Reynaud as he thinks she is leading his sheep astray. In truth, he's battling his own demons of memory and shame. Near the end of the story the big Easter Festival is planned and prepared for, and Reynaud plots to sabotage it. Does he succeed? I'll not tell, it would spoil the book.

The main themes play on right and wrong, good an evil, catholic and pagan, and a great many others. The classic underdogs are working hard to have something of their own and looked down on by the high and mighty.

The book is a quick read. There's a bit of female empowerment going on, a great deal about friendships, and a taste of love.

I hear it's been made into a movie. I should check that out now that I've read the book.