The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Graveyard Book is about a young boy who escapes when his entire family is murdered. He flees to a nearby graveyard where he meets the ghosts of the people who were buried there. Mr. and Mrs. Owens (two of the ghosts) decide to raise the boy as their own. They name him Nobody, or Bod for short. Bod isn't allowed to leave the graveyard because the man who killed his family is still out there looking for him...

This book was given to me as a gift. I feel like too many questions were left unanswered. I'm kind of confused about a lot of what happened, and why it happened, in this book. I feel like the plot was lost during the middle of the book; it was just about life in the graveyard. It picked up near the end, though, which was good. I'm not sure if I agree that a boy becomes a man at 15 and is old enough to be on his own at that point, but that's OK. Overall, the book was OK.

2 out of 5 stars

Well, I guess I missed Waiting on Wednesday...

I just now realized that today is Thursday. I totally missed Waiting on Wednesday. I was all ready to write it when I looked at the calendar and saw that it's Thursday. Apparently, my brain isn't working today. My sister-in-law and niece are visiting this week, so I won't have much time for reading or posting.

I was going to post about The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley for Waiting on Wednesday. I actually won this book from GoodReads.com. I'm really excited to get it! Here's a description of the book from Amazon:

"It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities. But who can blame her? What else does an eleven-year-old science prodigy have to do when left to her own devices? With her widowed father and two older sisters far too preoccupied with their own pursuits and passions—stamp collecting, adventure novels, and boys respectively—Flavia takes off on her trusty bicycle Gladys to catch a murderer."

I think it sounds like it will be cute. I was so surprised to find the email that said I won the book. I'm still kind of shocked. I will start reading it as soon as I get it, but it said it can take up to a few weeks. The book will be released on April 28, 2009.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.

Sookie Stackhouse is a quiet girl who works as a waitress in her hometown, Bon Temps, Louisiana. She mainly keeps to herself because of her "disability" - she can read minds. Sookie is thrilled when a vampire, Bill, comes in to the bar where she works. She wanted to meet a vampire ever since they had come "out of the coffin." She is even more excited when she realizes that she can't read Bill's mind. The silence is heavenly! She soon develops feelings for Bill, but when girls around town start dying, she's not sure what to think...

I saw the first two episodes of True Blood on HBO before I realized that it was based on this series. I have yet to watch the rest of the episodes (I'm waiting to see them on DVD) but now I can't wait to see them! I enjoyed this book a lot. It was cute and not too predictable (at least I didn't think so). Bill seems pretty sweet, kind of like Edward from Twilight. From what I saw of the TV show, it didn't look like they were following the book very well. Maybe I'm just not remembering it correctly. Anyway, I really liked all of the characters in this book; I thought they were pretty interesting. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books in the series.

4 out of 5 stars.

Waiting on Wednesday - Bundle of Trouble

At the Fiction Writing Seminar I attended last month one of the women on the panel talked about a new mystery series written by Diana Orgain. The first book, Bundle of Trouble, will be released on August 4, 2009.

Here's a description from Amazon.com:

"Kate Connelly may have found the perfect work-from-home Mommy job: private investigator. After all, the hours are flexible, she can bring the baby along on stake-outs, and if you’re going to be up all night anyway, you might as well solve some crimes. But when a body is pulled from San Francisco Bay that may be her brother-in-law, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say “diaper rash” in order to keep her family together."

I'm really looking forward to this book. It sounds really cute. It almost sounds Stephanie Plum-ish for moms. Apparently, the book was originally going to be called Postpartum Detective, but it was changed to Bundle of Trouble. Personally, I think the original name was really cute, but oh well.

Birthday Books!

My birthday isn't until tomorrow, but I had a celebration with my family yesterday. I just wanted to post about the books I got. My parents gave me The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory. I've been wanting these books since I finished The Boleyn Inheritance. I'm so excited to read them! My brother gave me City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. I'm so happy!

I can't wait to read my new books, but I still have a bunch from Christmas still!

Waiting on Wednesday (oops, Thursday) - Vamped

So I just found out about "Waiting on Wednesday" and decided to join in on the fun. Sadly, I decided one day late (Thursday), but I really wanted to mention the book Vamped by Lucienne Diver.

Lucienne was one of the women on the panel at the Fiction Writing Seminar I went to. She is a literary agent and author. She has a new young adult book coming out on May 1 called Vamped. It's the first in a series, apparently.

Here is some info about it from Lucienne's website:

"Because I'm terrible with synopses, I'll let my protagonist (heroine might be pushing it just a bit), tell you all about it in her own words:

Hey, all, it's me… Gina Covello, fashionista of the damned. Yeah, I know, I managed to get almost all the way through high school without cracking a book and now here I am immortalized in one. Well, actually, the immortalization process might have started a bit earlier, like in the broom closet at the after-prom-party, somewhere around the time Bobby-freakin'-Delvecchio started gnawing on my neck. Anyway, this is one book I'd maybe even phone a friend about, since it covers all my adventures going from chic to eek. Because, let me tell you, eternity without a mirror or tanning options—totally uncool. And they don't tell you in, like, Vampirism 101 about crazy conspiracies, psycho-psychics and other hazards of unlife. But I will, so stay tuned."

I think it sounds like it will be a cute series. Lucienne was very nice and gave us a lot of great information about writing and ultimately getting published. I will definitely give Vamped a shot. I'm looking forward to reading it.

I will probably continue to do "Waiting on Wednesday" (on Wednesday) from now on. It's fun.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Don't read this review if you haven't read the other books in this series, as it may contain spoilers!

Brisingr is the third book in the Inheritance Cycle. It continues the story of Eragon, a dragon rider, and his dragon, Saphira, and their quest to destroy the evil King Galbatorix.

Here is a description from Amazon:

"Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?"

I reread Eragon and Eldest before I started Brisingr, and I'm glad I did. I didn't remember the first two books at all. I think that Brisingr is written better than the first two. You can tell that Paolini was young when he began. His writing is definitely improving. I still find Eragon to be a bit whiney, although not as bad as he was in Eldest. I think Roran is a better character and would make a better rider, but that's just my opinion. I thought the "revelation" at the end about Eragon's family was a little odd. I'm not surprised, but I was a little disappointed. It kind of reminded me of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series. I was just thinking, "O...kay... weird." Also, I don't think Christopher Paolini is very knowledgeable when it comes to pregnancy. The timelines just don't add up. I think Elaine has been pregnant for a year and a half now... It doesn't sound like it, but I did actually enjoy this book. I thought it was better than the first two, but it's not Twilight or Harry Potter.

3 out of 5 stars.

I am lame...

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 5 months since I last posted. I'm so lame. Not only has it been a long time, but I've only read ONE new book since then. Life got really crazy. 2009 didn't start very well for me, and that's an understatement. I just hope that the rest of the year is better. I'm not sure how much more I can take. Anyway, on to less depressing things...

I'm beginning to get more reading time in, so hopefully I can update more again. I went to an awesome writing seminar last weekend. The surprise party I planned for my mom's 50th birthday was great. My sister-in-law and niece are coming to visit in two weeks! And to top it all off - my birthday is in 6 days! Woohoo!

Sorry for the (long) interruption. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

NaNoWriMo 2008!

I recently heard about NaNoWriMo, and I'm so excited! NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It begins on November 1st and ends on November 30th. The NaNoWriMo website has information about the challenge and it's where you can sign up! It sounds like fun and it's a good way to start writing that novel you've always wanted to write! I just wanted to write a quick post about it. I probably won't be updating for awhile because I'll be working on my novel and visiting with family a lot during November.

The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

I can't believe how long it's taken me to update my blog. I feel awful!! I've been so busy lately, so I haven't had a lot of time to read.

I finally finished The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I had to renew it twice so that I wouldn't have to pay a fine. The book is about a 12-year-old boy named Jack who is trying to find a cure for his dying mother. He discovers that he can enter another "world": the Territories. He must find the talisman so he can save his mother and her "twinner," the Queen of the Territories.

My family really wanted me to read this book because they all loved it, so I got it from the library. I'm really glad I did, too. The Talisman is probably my favorite book by Stephen King (I haven't read anything else by Peter Straub, so I can't really say anything about him). I liked that the book wasn't as gruesome as some of the other books I've read by Stephen King. I'm not really into scary books, but this one really wasn't. I liked Jack, but I think my favorite character was Speedy. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to read the sequel, Black House. My father and brother say it's more disturbing than The Talisman so we'll see.

I'm going to be rereading Eragon and Eldest before I read Brsinger by Christopher Paolini, which is good because my mom isn't finished reading it yet! I'll try to update again soon. I just don't feel all that inspired to write.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

It took me forever to finally read this book! I got it from the library a couple of months ago, but never read it because I was rereading the Twilight series and then I read Breaking Dawn. By the time I was ready to read something new, this book was due back to the library. I begged them to renew it again for me so that I could finish it, and I finally have!

Here is a summary from Publisher's Weekly:

English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and husband Frank take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. When Claire walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge, she's somehow transported to 1743. She encounters Frank's evil ancestor, British captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, and is adopted by another clan. Claire nurses young soldier James Fraser, a gallant, merry redhead, and the two begin a romance, seeing each other through many perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack.

I am having a hard time deciding how I feel about this book. It was difficult to read because I had a hard time getting in to it at first. Then, I decided I liked the book and wanted to continue reading, but by the time I was near the end, I just wanted the book to be over. It was very difficult to read the end of the book. If you've read this book, you know why. Some people have called me closed minded because there are just some things I don't want to read about or watch in a movie, but it's just the way I am. I wasn't emotionally ready for parts of this book as I was expecting it to be a cute historical fiction/romance/chick lit book. It was, up to a point. Overall, the book was good, but not my favorite. I haven't made up my mind about reading the rest of the series yet.

2.5 out of 5 stars for my own reasons.

More About Breaking Dawn

So I decided that I wanted to write exactly what I thought about Breaking Dawn without having to avoid spoilers. I'm going to do that here. Just follow the link...

Don't read the rest of this post unless you've read the book!!!

Click for review with spoilers
My opinions about this book have changed so much as I had time to think about it. I still really like the book, but there are some things that bothered me.

I LOVED the wedding and the beginning of the honeymoon! That was very cute and very Bella and Edward. When I realized that Bella was pregnant (getting sick after eating), I was like, "NO! How could Stephenie do that!!!" I'm still not so sure about it, but it's what Stephenie Meyer wanted, so it's how it should be, obviously!

I liked that the second book was in Jacob's perspective. It was very interesting to see things through his eyes, especially the imprinting! I really liked the chapter names; they definitely sounded very Jake-like! I was definitely weirded out about the imprinting on the baby thing, though. It was weird because she's Bella's baby. I mean, Jake kissed Bella and had some very naughty thoughts about her, and now he's in love with her CHILD?!?! WTF?! I'm still not totally happy with that part. I was hoping Jake would end up with Leah, but at least he's happy. The birth/death scene was pretty good. It was very emotional when Jake was pumping her heart and everything. I was pretty close to tears at that point.

By the way, what is up with the baby's name?! Renesmee?? You've got to be kidding me. What was Stephenie Meyer smoking when she came up with that one?! Her middle name, Carlie, would have been a better first name than Renesmee!

I really liked when Bella "woke up" as a vampire. I thought it was kind of cool how Stephenie Meyer described it. I was a little confused about why Edward wasn't being very fatherly. He didn't say anything about Renesmee when Bella "woke up" and I don't really remember him holding her that much at all! It was very weird. I thought you were supposed to love your kids more than anyone else, including your spouse!

I thought Charlie accepted everything way too well.

Jake: "I'm a werewolf and your daughter is something else, but we're not going to tell you what."

Charlie: "Ummm...OK"

??????

What kind of parent would just say "OK"??? Whatever.

I'm glad that the book had a happy ending, but the Volturi scene was so anticlimactic! It was just like, "We're going to kill you! ... Oh, um never mind. Bye!" I did really, really like Bella's power and the very end where she lets Edward into her mind. That was very cute!

So, overall, I enjoyed the book, but I think Stephenie kind of lost sight of her characters and made their personalities all weird and not like them at all! Edward was so boring and kind of shoved into the background. I liked it better when he was all protective of Bella. And what was up with him calling Jasper "Jazz"??? No one had ever called him that before! When did that start? I'm done. I just wanted to write what I really thought about the book with as many spoilers as I wanted. Sorry it kind of turned into a rant!