Books
I have been on a reading streak, so I wanted to write up some quick reviews.
Books I have read in the past month or so
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I started listening to it...really because of fleurdelis28 though she never bothered reading it. She was talking about it, and it sparked my interests, and while I was waiting for the download I started reading Midnight Sun(below) and that hooked me. I then read the two books simultaneously, and it was an awesome way to experience the story, because they tell the same story from two different perspectives, and the cumulative effect is great. In any case, by itself, its a pretty good book. Nothing too earth-shattering, just a fun story, a cool new take on the vampire myth, and a very romantic concept. Question though...what is it about Vamp guys that makes them enjoy standing around creepily watching their human love objects sleep? I mean Angel did that with Buffy, Edward does it with Bella (thought eventually he tells her about it), Dædalus does it, Eric Sinclair does it, and Even the decidedly self-respecting Eric Northman does it (although he doesnt so much stand around being all emo as gets undressed and climbs into the girl's bed) ...
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Like before, loved the book every which way up until the last third of it when "plot" began. The way the experience of loss and grief is written is simply amazing. It did have a pretty bad effect on me as it just pulled me back into some of my own darkest moments. But that is really the strength of Meyer as a writer. For the few days I was listening to the book, I felt like I was walking around in a fog, with a big hole in my chest, and it hurt, and I was scared that I would never feel good about anything ever again. And I totally enjoyed it. I'm a pretty sick puppy, eh?
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
This one has a few really awesome scenes. Lots of delicious angst. Boys behaving in decidedly un-boy-like ways, but also some great classic Jacob/Bella moments that were nice to see in the midst of all the emo.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
I listened to it, but only because I needed to know how the story ended. By this point I really couldn't stand any of the characters. Even Jacob. Renesme made me sick. I did kind of enjoy the morning-after-wedding-night scene...It was fucked up and great.
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
Very sad it will never get finished. this was the book that got me to read Twilight at all, and it has one of my favorite scenes of any book in the genre. (classroom scene in chapter 1)
Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Dead as Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Great series that I stumbled upon thanks to usernamenumber . Love the hell out if it, even if it is pretty trashy. Its the sort of reading you take on a long plane trip. But that said, its got some great characters, an awesome premise, and lots of interesting ides. Oh and some hot sex. (ok, at least two of the sex scenes really disturbed me, one was a rape and the other...only squicked me because of my own personal history) I really like the fact that Harris actually bothers to write about bad sex in what are essentially romance novels. Well vampire romantic mystery novels. Dead to the World is my favorite so far, but that is because I love Eric so much. In any case, really fun books, and if you haven't checked out the new HBO show based on the series (True Blood) you should. It is awesome. I loved the viral marketing campaign. Some of the early stuff had a very War of the Worlds feel to it.
Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson
I only started listening to the audiobook because it seemed too ridiculous to pass up. I thought it would be hilariously bad, but while hilarious...it was kinda fun...it is very snarky and kind of a mockery of the whole vampire romance genre. Its got this whole Sex and the City meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer thing going on....For Buffy fans, the main character kinda reminds me of Harmony if she was smart and sassy.
Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris
A pretty fun series of mysteries investigated by a small town cleaning woman who can break your neck. The mysteries are fun but unremarkable, but I love the protagonist. It is very rare that I genuinely like a female protagonist, but Lily is just really cool.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Wow. Just wow. Reminded me of why I love scifi so much. Just a really great novel, with interesting characters, growth, drama, action, philosophy, romance, and everything else you could want. Reminded me of Orson Scott Card back when he was good, though her style is very different. It is just similar in that it is a scifi adventure type story that manages to pack quite the emotional punch.
Books I have read in the past month or so
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I started listening to it...really because of fleurdelis28 though she never bothered reading it. She was talking about it, and it sparked my interests, and while I was waiting for the download I started reading Midnight Sun(below) and that hooked me. I then read the two books simultaneously, and it was an awesome way to experience the story, because they tell the same story from two different perspectives, and the cumulative effect is great. In any case, by itself, its a pretty good book. Nothing too earth-shattering, just a fun story, a cool new take on the vampire myth, and a very romantic concept. Question though...what is it about Vamp guys that makes them enjoy standing around creepily watching their human love objects sleep? I mean Angel did that with Buffy, Edward does it with Bella (thought eventually he tells her about it), Dædalus does it, Eric Sinclair does it, and Even the decidedly self-respecting Eric Northman does it (although he doesnt so much stand around being all emo as gets undressed and climbs into the girl's bed) ...
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Like before, loved the book every which way up until the last third of it when "plot" began. The way the experience of loss and grief is written is simply amazing. It did have a pretty bad effect on me as it just pulled me back into some of my own darkest moments. But that is really the strength of Meyer as a writer. For the few days I was listening to the book, I felt like I was walking around in a fog, with a big hole in my chest, and it hurt, and I was scared that I would never feel good about anything ever again. And I totally enjoyed it. I'm a pretty sick puppy, eh?
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
This one has a few really awesome scenes. Lots of delicious angst. Boys behaving in decidedly un-boy-like ways, but also some great classic Jacob/Bella moments that were nice to see in the midst of all the emo.
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
I listened to it, but only because I needed to know how the story ended. By this point I really couldn't stand any of the characters. Even Jacob. Renesme made me sick. I did kind of enjoy the morning-after-wedding-night scene...It was fucked up and great.
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
Very sad it will never get finished. this was the book that got me to read Twilight at all, and it has one of my favorite scenes of any book in the genre. (classroom scene in chapter 1)
Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Dead as Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Great series that I stumbled upon thanks to usernamenumber . Love the hell out if it, even if it is pretty trashy. Its the sort of reading you take on a long plane trip. But that said, its got some great characters, an awesome premise, and lots of interesting ides. Oh and some hot sex. (ok, at least two of the sex scenes really disturbed me, one was a rape and the other...only squicked me because of my own personal history) I really like the fact that Harris actually bothers to write about bad sex in what are essentially romance novels. Well vampire romantic mystery novels. Dead to the World is my favorite so far, but that is because I love Eric so much. In any case, really fun books, and if you haven't checked out the new HBO show based on the series (True Blood) you should. It is awesome. I loved the viral marketing campaign. Some of the early stuff had a very War of the Worlds feel to it.
Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson
I only started listening to the audiobook because it seemed too ridiculous to pass up. I thought it would be hilariously bad, but while hilarious...it was kinda fun...it is very snarky and kind of a mockery of the whole vampire romance genre. Its got this whole Sex and the City meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer thing going on....For Buffy fans, the main character kinda reminds me of Harmony if she was smart and sassy.
Shakespeare's Landlord by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris
Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris
A pretty fun series of mysteries investigated by a small town cleaning woman who can break your neck. The mysteries are fun but unremarkable, but I love the protagonist. It is very rare that I genuinely like a female protagonist, but Lily is just really cool.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Wow. Just wow. Reminded me of why I love scifi so much. Just a really great novel, with interesting characters, growth, drama, action, philosophy, romance, and everything else you could want. Reminded me of Orson Scott Card back when he was good, though her style is very different. It is just similar in that it is a scifi adventure type story that manages to pack quite the emotional punch.