Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

If you haven't heard of this series by now, you might be living under a rock. People are comparing this to the Harry Potter craze. I had so many people recommend this series to me that I just had to read it. When I first started Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, I thought I was going to become obsessed and finish it over the weekend. But to be honest with you I just couldn't get in to it for the first half of the book. It was the story of this high school girl, Bella Swan, who moves to a small town in the Northwest called Forks to live with her dad. She slips easily into high school life there and meets Edward Cullen. He is beautiful, dazzling, and kind of weird at first. Of course you should know this by now- he is a vampire. All the guys are crazy about Bella at her new school, so I'm guessing she probably isn't so bad herself. But for the first 300 pages or so it was just this little high school story.

I think the turning point for me was the baseball game. After that chapter, things started moving really fast and I got into it. For those last few chapters I could almost get the Harry Potter comparisons. It was exciting and you had to use your imagination to visualize what was going on. But Harry Potter this is not. It is a good book and I will read the others in the series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. I will also see the movie. But I'm not jumping right in and reading all four books overnight. I'm going to take an Edward/Bella break for now, but I will come back for more.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Jen Lancaster's next book: Pretty in Plaid

Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomanical, Self-Centered Smart Ass Phase

Jen says of this book on her blog "I've been telling people Pretty in Plaid is a memoir about being a socially awkward 'tween, privately summing it up as The Book in Which I Go David Sedaris All Over Your Asses..."

The cover is super-duper cute!

According to Amazon it comes out May 5, 2009.

Something to look forward to for poolside/beach reading next year!

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster

I finished Jen Lancaster's Such a Pretty Fat on the plane ride to Orlando. It was a pretty good book. Not as great as her first Bitter is the New Black, but still good. In this book Jen attempts to loose weight following Atkins, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, hiring a personal trainer, and taking up swimming.

The best thing about her books is her quick wit and her footnotes. Seriously, the footnotes are usually so funny. But in this book she used her footnotes to promote her other two books a few too many times for my liking. Also, now that she has published three books it is hard to feel sorry for her when she complains. At least for me...

Overall the book was a fun, quick read. I don't have much else to say except you will chuckle at her writing and adventures, but don't expect this to be life changing or anything. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Marley and Me as a movie!

Last year I read Marley and Me and I absolutely LOVED it! I'm a dog person and now having gone through the dreaded puppy stage with Cam I have so much sympathy for the owners of Marley. Dogs can bring so so much to your life it is impossible not to love them despite the accidents in the house, chewed household items, and embarrassing moments in public. If you are a dog person Marley and Me is a MUST read! I would give it 5 out of 5 stars!

I saw the preview for the movie Marley and Me this weekend and it is going to be H-I-larious! It stars Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson and comes out on Christmas Day. I personally can't wait to see it! And it may just be the one that is good enough to go see by myself so I can cross something else off my list!

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is the kind of story that sucks you in. Set in South Carolina during the 1960's, it is the story of Lily Owens. Lily has been haunted by the events surrounding the death of her mother when she was 4. Shortly after her 14th birthday she escapes her unloving father's peach farm and breaks her colored nanny out of jail for an adventure to discover more about her mother's past. They end up in the home of the "calendar sisters"- May, June, and August Boatwright. The three colored sisters own a honey business and Lily learns a lot about beekeeping, her mother's past and herself. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the book that I won't spoil for you, but I can tell you that you will fall in love with the characters as they face race relations and heartache, but find strength in themselves and each other.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I also saw the movie this weekend and it was really good too. It had a few differences from the book and some that was left out. Overall I would recommend the book over the movie, but if you don't have the time to read it, at least see the movie. I would suggest not watching the movie right after reading the book though. I was so caught up in comparing the differences from the book that I couldn't really enjoy the movie as much.

15% off at Barnes and Noble

I found this great printable coupon from Barnes and Noble today. You can get a FREE Cappuccino AND save 15% on that book you have been eyeing! Get the details and print the coupon here. Offer expires 10/31/08.

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Trooper

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Trooper is a wonderfully written novel. The words dance together in perfect harmony and create a beautiful piece of work. He does use some big words (that made me want to break out the dictionary) but I think that is what made it so lovely to read. He uses out of the ordinary words to describe what’s happening which makes it more interesting and descriptive.

The story itself is about a guy, Joe, who returns to his hometown after being away for 17 years. He had good reason to stay away. He wrote a best-selling novel (which was turned into a blockbuster movie staring Leonardo DeCaprio) which was loosely based on the people in his hometown and the secrets and tragic events that defined his adolescence. Most of the people in the town were portrayed in a poor light and they are not happy about it. He returns to Bush Falls after his father has a stroke and within the first 24 hours he is there he is verbally abused, has a milkshake thrown in his face, has his life threatened, has copies of his book thrown at his house, and is beat to a pulp at the local bar.

Joe is finally forced to face his past, which is a good thing. There are unresolved issues and issues he didn’t even know existed for him to deal with back in Bush Falls. From his true love to his dying friend- From his so-called family to the legendary Bush Falls High Cougars and their beloved coach- the ghosts of his past are not going to let him get off so easy. It is a great story and really shows you how important it is for you to deal with your past to effectively live in the present and move on to the future. Even though it wasn’t easy, it was just what he needed.

I highly recommend it and give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!