What I'm Reading Right Now: December 2009 Edition

Hi Friends!

I'm reading, albeit a little slowly right now.  I don't want this Blog forgotten, so here's a little update on what I'm currently reading, with some pre-reading thoughts rather than reviews, haha.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

My boyfriend just finished this book, and I'm eager and excited to read it myself!  I've loved all of Dan Brown's books so far -- although I will admit that The Da Vinci Code was my least favourite of the bunch, even though it's so damn famous.  It was so much slower of a read than his other books for me -- but I do have to add that I still LIKED it, it just wasn't MY favourite of his novels.  I actually really loved Digital Fortress and Deception Point, and if you have only read Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books, then you NEED to read his other stand-alone stories -- they are fantastic and fun.  I'm hoping The Lost Symbol will engage me the way Angels & Demons did, and won't be slow to get into like The Da Vinci Code.

To The Nines & Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich

I finally have books 9 and 10 in the Stephanie Plum Series from my local library.  I had to request them, and they both came in this week!  I got book 10 first, so I was waiting for book 9, which I was able to pick up today! Hurrah!  I have definitely blocked the person who read book 9 from getting their book 10, but OH WELL, I had to wait and now it's their turn (luckily for them I always return these books before the three week borrowing period anyway, I'm reading this series so quickly!).  I may even read these before I read The Lost Symbol since they are from the library, and Martin owns the other (I requested these before I knew I'd be getting Dan Brown's book from Martin so soon).  I am loving this series, LOVING IT.  Do read and enjoy it if you haven't before.

So these are the three books I plan to read to cap off 2009.  Maybe I'll think of some sort of Personal Reading Challenge for 2010.  If I was to make a list of "Books I Must Read" what should I include?  Tell me what your FAVOURITE books are -- regardless of genre, just whatever you couldn't put down.  What books do you think EVERYONE needs to give a chance to?

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

I had never read a Jennifer Weiner book before, but I was hearing her name come up on the Interwebz, so when I was at the library recently I decided to give her a try.  The book I chose was called Goodnight Nobody, and I chose it because I liked the synopsis.

Without giving away major spoilers, the story is about a woman named Kate who moves to the suburbs with her husband after having been born and raised a New York City gal.  She's a mother of three, and doesn't fit in with the upper-class neighbourhood Mommies.  After one of these mothers is murdered, Kate dives in to solving the seemingly unsolveable mystery.

This book was really enjoyable to read.  I liked the mystery, it wasn't predictable.  The characters, Kate's best friend Janie in particular, are enjoyable and well-developed.  It mixes Kate's earlier life in with her current predicament well too.

After reading this, I will definitely be giving Jennifer Weiner another shot.  I recommend you check out Goodnight Nobody if you're looking for something to read next.

Twilight Saga: New Moon Movie Review (non-spoilery)

On Friday night, my two best friends came to visit.  We went out for dinner, and then caught at showing of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.  I read the Twilight series in the fall of 2008, and re-read them a few times since.  It's light and fluffy and I can't help but enjoy those stories.  I wasn't so impressed with the first Twilight film, though (it prompted this post, in which I lament about book-to-movie adaptations).  I decided I'd give New Moon a try anyway, because I did feel that the cast was right, and so maybe with a new director things would improve.

In general, I was much happier with this second film.  The acting at times leaves something to be desired (especially Robert Pattinson (Edward) and Kristen Stewart (Bella), a.k.a The Leads! -- they can be so blah when they're together, and when they kiss it is AWK), but Taylor Lautner (Jacob) actually did a pretty good job, and I find Kristen to be more enjoyable/animated when she's acting alongside Taylor, so that made up for some of the other scenes.  The Volturi were AMAZING.  I want Breaking Dawn made into a movie JUST to see more of the Volturi -- they were entertaining, and they acted exactly how I pictured them when I was reading the novels.

As for the story, I was much more impressed with this screenplay based on how it followed the book.  Were there some cuts and changes?  Yes.  However, they worked and the major scenes still played out how they should.  I know the story is going to be changed, because Stephenie Meyer's novels are long, but this one did a much better job at putting the book onto the screen than Twilight did -- especially in the area of character development.  Twilight very much relied on subtext, and I think it lost a lot in the way of character development.  New Moon had actual dialogue between the characters and it was much better -- less "independent film"-like.  Also, the wolves were great -- not nearly as corny/awful as they potentially could have been. 

There were of course changes I would have made, and there were many "cheesy" parts that are a little painful to sit through, but overall I was much happier with New Moon than I was with the first film, and now I'm looking forward to Eclipse in June 2010.  Especially to get a little more of the Cullen family, as I really like those actors and how they portray their characters.

In sum, New Moon: not the greatest film in the history of cinema (like, duh!), but an improvement on the first Twilight film, and more enjoyable to a fan of the books than what I was expecting.  I took it for what it was, and I wasn't so disappointed this time around.

Christmas Gift Ideas Continued: Kid Books

Looking for some great stories for the young ones in your life?  Here are some of my favourite children's book authors and a few recommended titles -- these are all well-loved by the kids I've taught and baby-sat for!  (The pictures are nabbed off Amazon, my favourite site for ordering books online).

1) Melanie Watt (*Canadian Author):

My grade two practice teaching placement taught me all about Melanie Watt's characters Scaredy Squirrel and Chester.  I recieved two Scaredy Squirrel books as a parting gift from the class, and I'm hoping to collect more of the set.  These books are great because there are teaching points in them about types of text, there's also lots of humour, and kids are enthralled by these loveable, kooky characters.

2) Kevin Henkes:

My personal favourite is the classic, Chrysanthemum, about the little mouse with the BIG, UNIQUE name. Kevin Henkes writes as well as illustrates his books, and his books are beautiful and classic.  They have a nice message, and they're enjoyable stories.

3) Jane O'Connor:

Fancy Nancy stories are so amusing to read ("amusing is a fancy word for fun").  Little girls LOVE the sparkley illustrations, and all of the "fancy" words that Nancy uses.  These stories are also great for teaching children about Word Choice and being descriptive as Nancy uses many of those "million dollar words" that make the writing more descriptive and interesting.   

4) The Classics
Just because I can't leave them off a list, don't forget these classic storytellers!

Robert Munsch -- my personal faves are The Paperbag Princess, Mortimer, Stephanie's Ponytail, and Pigs, but you can't go wrong with any Munsch story!

Paulette Bourgeois -- I personally want to collect the entire Franklin the turtle series, don't you?

Mercer Mayer -- I love the Little Critter series.

Stan & Jan Berenstain-- I grew up with The Berenstain Bears, and I hope kid's today are still reading and enjoying these stories; I know I cherish my large collection and will be reading them to my own kids one day!

Don't Kiss The Frog: Princess Stories With Attitude

This will be the first in a string of "Christmas Gifts Ideas" posts.  I also recommended these kid's books last Christmas, check them out too!  I think books make fabulous Christmas gifts, don't you?

I'm currently baby-sitting a family of three, the oldest child is a five-year-old girl who is very GIRLY, but is also a leader type.  I was looking to get her and her brothers each a little Christmas present, and I found THE MOST AWESOME BOOK at my local Chapters store.  I've never heard of this one before.

It's called, "Don't Kiss The Frog: Princess Stories With Attitude" and it's an anthology of stories chosen by Fiona Waters.  The inside of the book jacket describes it as follows:

This collection of six stories about princesses with attitude turns fairy-tale traditions upside down.  Meet princesses who tame dragons, rescue princes, win prizes, and have hidden talents.  Spells don't always work as expected, happy endings come with a twist, and life as a princess isn't always all it's cracked up to be.  Full of humour, charm, and lots of sass, each enchanting story is enhanced by beautiful illustrations.  This sparkling anthology is essential reading for modern little girls who love their tiaras but want something more than "happily ever after".

I couldn't help but read through the book myself tonight.  The illustrations grab you first, even within the text itself the words are written in various fancy fonts.  It's very fun to look at, let alone read.  The stories themselves are cute and funny. Mom's and Dad's alike would share a laugh with their daughters as they read about these Princesses with Attitude.

I think this would make a really cute Christmas gift for that little Princess on your list, who you still want to assure can be the girl who tames the dragons, who chooses her own prince, and who can compete alongside knights and win.

Available Online Here:
Amazon  (Canadian)
Amazon (American)
Chapters Indigo.ca 

The Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich

I have finished up to Book Seven in the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I am LOVING this series, and cannot believe I hadn't heard of them until last winter. Janet has written FOURTEEN (* I apologize, last summer the FIFTEENTH book came out actually!) stories so far in the "numbers" series, and a few other Stephanie Plum books called "between the numbers" stories - so I still have a long way to go to catch up on everything she's written.

Stephanie Plum (who has a lovely first name, don't you think?) is a girl from New Jersey who loses her job and turns to her shady cousin Vinnie for help. In "One For the Money" (book one; the book titles have numbers in them which definitely helps you remember the order of the series!), Stephanie goes to Vinnie's office to ask about a filing job, but finds out the job has been filled. Instead she finds herself accepting a job as a Bounty Hunter to look for vice cop Joe Morelli, a guy she has a history with since childhood. The stories unfold from there, Stephanie ends up sticking to her job as a Bounty Hunter (or, Apprehension Agent for "FTA's" or "Failure to Appears"), but she's not particularly great at her job. She gets lucky a lot, and she has a whole slew of sidekicks from ho-turned-friend-and-coworker Lula, to her energetic and sassy Grandma Mazur. She has love affairs with hunky Joe Morelli, but also with Ranger -- the elusive, sexy, and actually-good-at-being-a-Bounty-Hunter Bounty Hunter who also works for Vinnie.

Each book finds Stephanie chasing after a new FTA, and she usually winds up in some pretty crazy situations. It has humour, a touch of romance, a touch of mystery and mostly it's just a good read.

I highly recommend checking out the Stephanie Plum series, I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I have been. I'm really looking forward to diving into Book Eight, which I just checked out of the library today!

Summer Reading

Hello, friends. I began the following post in August, and never returned to finish it/post it! Oh Em Gee! Time has flown and I've just been so busy. I really do mean to keep up with this blog, and WILL be making a better effort going forward. For now, enjoy this post from August!
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*tap, tap, tap*

Hello?

Oh hai, Reading Blog. I'm so sorry you've been neglected. I've been reading, albeit not as much as I usually do (sad), but I took this pesky trip to Poland for the month of July and I just haven't been so diligent with the posting.

But I have returned!

So, what have I read this summer, and how do I feel about it? Let's see...

The Shack by W.M. Paul Young

This was a very inspiring book. While it starts off with a tragic event, what the main character experiences is beautiful and spiritual in a refreshing way. I'm not an overly religious person, but I am a spiritual person, and I found this story worked well with how I'd really like to believe God is. It was absolutely a beautiful book, and gives the reader something to think about.

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

A favourite book of mine is The Secret Life of Bees, so I have been wanting to read The Mermaid Chair for awhile - and it does not disappoint. Sue Monk Kidd is a lovely writer, and I highly recommend her stories.

Where Rainbows End (or: Love, Rosie) by Cecelia Ahern

This book is written completely in correspondence letters, emails, etc between two best friends who have to move away from each other as young teens. It is one of those "will they or won't they" end up together type of stories. It's a very good story, and I was gripped by the characters and what they were going through. I'm not sure I like the style of reading an entire story as emails, etc but it was a nice little reading experience change. My only complaint was that the book started to feel a bit long, and I was getting a little frustrated with the constant back-and-forth and drama between the main characters. Generally a good book, though.

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

Oh Sophie Kinsella, how I do love your books. Another hit right here. I will admit, this doesn't jump to "My Favourite Sophie Kinsella Novel Ever" (I found it a little slow to get into - my most favourite is Remember Me if you're wondering), but I loved and read it just as quickly as I have every other books of hers. Totally recommend this to chick-lit lovers everywhere, and Sophie fans of course!

Acting Up (or: Pride, Prejudice & Jasmin Field) by Melissa Nathan

I'm a sucker for Pride & Prejudice remakes, so in that regard this book did not fail. However, I wasn't drawn into this story as much as I have been with Melissa Nathan's other books. It was almost like the Pride & Prejudice parallels were the entire thrust of the book, so unless you really enjoy P&P remakes, I'd stick to Melissa's other books, which are much better.

Other Books I Read In Summer 2009 (but did not get a chance to expand on, and now it's been too many months so this is all you're getting):

A Wild Affair by Gemma Townley (this is a sequel to The Importance of Being Married, and there will also be a third book to this series)

The Chocolate Lover's Club by Carole Matthews and its sequel The Chocolate Lover's Diet by Carole Matthews

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Since August, I've read a ton more books, so be prepared for more updates soon! Sorry for this long hiatus, ai yi yi!!