Breathless By: Dean Koontz

In Middle School and High School, I had this awesome friend, Katie.
Katie was OBSESSED with Dean Koontz (probably still is) and would go on long ass rants about how great he and his novels were and I was always so intrigued, as its the only thing she was SO passionate about.
So, I now have found 4 (on sale) Koontz novels, and chose Breathless, as my first, only because it was a gift and came in the mail. (I feel like it would be insulting not to).
I made the wrong call, or at least I hope.
What a dysfunctional story line. I mean, I get that the author was splitting up the novel by point of view, all the story lines connected at the end, but it was so haphazard.
One chapter you have this crazy dude who just murdered his twin brother and his wife (or did he? I don't even understand what he did there), next: an older doctor is chaos theory, who loves to gamble, a super tall homeless guy who had some sort of vision and is wandering across the land towards some unspecified destination (it later is identified), The vet, Cammy, and Grady who discovered these super interesting and altogether fascinating creatures whom they called Puzzle and riddle.
I'm probably even forgetting a whole story line at the moment....
But, he doesn't write long chapters you know, which is the way these types of novels work. Take Stephen king for example: Under the dome written in the same style but when its slower, or he is building tension, he will stretch out the chapters so you can really get to know them. When its the climax, action scene, or whatever, that is when he will do the 5 page chapters. (but his writing tends to be smaller as well).
Mr. Koontz, he had 5 page chapters with like sixe 14 writing. (which is an exaggeration). It was so rushed and disjointed that even when some tension was presented, the situation flipped perspectives so often that it didn't build like it should have.
Then come along Puzzle and Riddle who I picture as a white version of a really sleek and gangly orangutan, with human hands and feet and a cat nose. But I think I'm way off. They are these adorable creatures who get acquainted with Grady and his dog Merlin. They wind up talking and doing all sorts of harmless things, and then in the last chapter, there are like a bunch of them! They all just showed up out of the blue... and that was that.
I really felt this book had no ending. He just got tired of writing and didn't know what to do next ha ha. Though, it really wasn't awful, but the only reason I would ever read this again, is to figure out what the hell went down in the last 5-10 pages. Everything just hit the fan, but in like 7 different lines of thought. It was absurd really.
Its a dangerous thing when you pick up a book by an unknown author. 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter By: Seth Grahame-Smith

Why does nobody else enjoy this book????
I mean, have you not READ it?!?
Perhaps it is because I absolutely adore historical fiction (though I HARDLY think this qualifies) and thought it was a tad too serious, and therefore found it hilarious, but I thoroughly loved this book.
Way back when this came out, it seemed to be EVERYWHERE all the time, but I never once saw anyone read it, or even say that they read it (But everyone saw the movie... our culture is failing). So when I picked it up at a thrift store for 75 cents, and started reading it, I was shocked at all the negative comments I got. It seemed everyone had something to say about my book. Most were "...You're reading THAT??" *insert raised eye brow and sneer*, or simply just a tight lipped smile and the slow nod. Which seriously, how can someone WHO IS NOT EVEN READING A BOOK, be a total book snob?? ESPECIALLY, when the book you are so negatively judging, YOU NEVER READ! Ugh. I hate book snobs!
SO! Abe Lincoln describes (through his long lost journals of course) his life and his battle against vampires, and how they stole his mother away from him, and later on a love, and quite a few friends, and of course eventually, he was killed by one.
Simply put: It's an adventure story made for 13 year old boys. Lots of action, deception, war mongering, actual war, death, and rage.
The only thing I really found irritating was that Abe is all running around killing Vampires with his axe. Like, chest wounds. If you know anything at all, vampires have to be decapitated. Get your shit straight.
I found it so comical that according to the author, the civil war was because of vampires killing slaves freely, and how CONVINCING he was of it. I really was sitting there reminding myself that no, vampires were not involved in the civil war.. this is fiction....
I already have added his other books onto my (53) page to-read-list, and genuinely look forward to watching this dumb movie. Just because the book is always better, and I can laugh openly at its failure.

Nothing Lasts Forever By: Sidney Sheldon

Sidney Sheldon.... I truly love you. I DO! only..... the last 2 books I have read by him have been.... Decent.
Usually I pick up a Sheldon Book, and I am done within 12 hours because it just CAPTURES YOU. Most (if not all) of his books feature a strong female lead, usually in some sort of position of power. Usually the main character is oozing confidence, brilliance, drive, and spunk; along with a fast moving plot, and some serious scandal, Sidney Sheldon is definitely on my Top 10 Favorite lists.
Then I read The Doomsday Conspiracy, and i'm sorry, but what a joke.
Then this book, which warranted its nto BAD in any way, it is definitely not up to his exceptionally high standards.
The story follows 3 women doctors in San Francisco, all surgeons, and all yearning for success while proving themselves in a male dominated field. Blah blah blah. The story line jumps around a bit and there is a trial and Dr. Taylor, the main chick, is accused of murdering a patient (which she did) but only because he asked.
Dr. Taft, don't even get me started on her..... What a bimbo. I know girls like this, and they give women a bad name. You know... the ones who use their looks and seduction to sleep their way through life. Not even in a cute way! In a WHORE way. I don't even recall anything remotely likeable about her.
Dr. Turner, is a pistol. She is the black female doctor among all the white doctors and is consistently proving herself and busting her ass. She had wit, intelligence, a story line that was really really excellent and developed (well except that mobster person, I don't see how that fit in..) UNTILL she goes and falls in love with Douche-y McDoucherson. Then she slowly becomes this needy sad thing, which is super pathetic, and it makes you wonder what Mr. Sheldon is trying to say....
I just did not enjoy this book. I didn't think it was bad, or a waste of my time, but chances are I will not pick this up again, and most definitely will keep it on my shelf (well stack) to collect dust. If it weren't for the fact that I am trying really hard to collect the complete works of the authors I LOVE, I would trade it in.
I just don't understand why these women were portrayed so INCOMPLETELY. They all had their moments of connection with the reader, their own story lines, a successful career, motivation, but they were all just blasé... They all needed like one more characteristic, or a more defined personality.
Heck, just read it, and tell me I'm wrong.

Sybil by: Flora Rheta Schreiber

How do I even begin to describe the eloquence of this novel (though I just looked it up and it is actually a biography, my bad).
Meet Sybil.
Sybil suffers from multiple personality disorder (now referred to as dissociative identity disorder) and is in actuality 16 different people sharing one body.
At the beginning of the book, Sybil is unaware of her condition and experiences semi-frequent boughts of amnesia, nervousness, and the inability to function on a daily basis. She would be in her apartment one moment, and the next she could be in another state. It could be hours, days, weeks, even years later, with absolutely no recollection of how she got there, what had happened, and how much time had passed.
Through eleven painstaking years of psychoanalysis, drug and hypnotherapy, Sybil learns to accept her condition and gradually Dr. Wilbur and herself, piece herself back together. Literally.
Slowly she meets her other personalities, each with their own tastes, desires, and distinct personalities and even ages. They include: Sybil (the waking self), Vicky, Marcia, Vanessa, Mary, Helen, Clara, Sybil Ann, The Blonde, Peggy Ann, Peggy Lou, Mike, Sid, Nancy Lou Ann, Marjorie and Ruthie.
As the reader, meeting each person in turn, you find yourself liking some more than others and learning to understand how each personality protects and enables Sybil to not only live her daily life, but eventually to graduate from college and have a successful career.
Its incredibly fascinating and awe-inspiring that the author can SO SUCCESSFULLY portray 16 people so uniquely and SPOT ON, that you really do think of them as individuals and separate characters.
Written beautifully. I literally missed my stop, a few times, while on the subway because I was so stuck in this book. Captivating, horrifying, and disturbing. I really feel like I learned something from this novel. About the practices of psychoanalysis, about this disease, and about what it would feel like to be so incredibly isolated yet find your way back. SO I guess its hopeful too! (but really I didn't really like the ending). Happy endings are so cliché.
The only REAL negative thing I can say about this novel, is that the author wrote herself into the book, and I HATE that. I mean, I fully understand that this is the account of a real person and the author actually knew her... but still!!! It seems so egotistical. Your name is on the spine, I think that is far more important than an character involved in the story. (Of course autobiographies and memoirs are exceptions... as that really defines them).
LOVED IT!

Grendel By: John Gardener

As someone who once SKIMMED through Beowulf, and found it intriguing and wonderful, but I was not very committed to the whole LANGUAGE of it at the time, this book was both amazing and extraordinarily hard to read.
I heard about this book from 1001 Books For Every Mood, and then happened to find it on my Christmas binge shopping. Now, I really did mean to read Beowulf first, but I did not :(
Grendel is probably the sweetest most misunderstood monster in the bunch. Seriously. His whole story is about him searching for kindness and acceptance. He searches at first for companionship and when Man turns against him, he searches for it in other forms and takes out his anger and pain on Hrothgar's kingdom. (justifiably I would say).
Grendel has this disgusting, pitiful mother who clings to him and is vile. He acknowledges this and breaks out frequently on his own while searching for his place in the meaninglessness of the world.
Its very touching as Grendel can't grasp why he doesn't belong, and why he is so despicable to others. I strongly recommend it, though heads up! Its hard to follow at times. I had to reread chapters several times to understand the plot flow.

The Maze Runner By: James Dashner

This book is the perfect example of why I NEED to actually purchase a book before I read it.
I borrowed this book from my coworker, even though I was in the middle of, not just one, but TWO books. Naturally, you stop what you are doing to read said borrowed book before it becomes lost, broken, or they ask for it back.
I have a weakness for young adult series such as this. I powered through this book and instantly regretted it.
This book was AMAZING. It was fast paced without being confusing, and in some weird twisted way, actually sort of believable! (and by that I mean the plot). Similar in many aspects to The Hunger Games, I felt that the Maze Runner really brought a different aspect to the whole "post apocalyptic kids in chaos" trend that seems to be happening.
Thomas is a really intriguing character. It is hinted from the get-go that he may know insider knowledge behind what is going on with the maze and what it all could mean, though you really see him develop from a newbie to a leader of the group. He is one of those guys who gets shit done, but you would probably hate if you met in real life.
I don't want to give away the plot but it literally left me hanging at the edge of my seat and I was mildly disturbed by the freaky-ass grievers. (which is an awesome name for them).
Now, as always, the quest to track down the second book. Well, I guess even the first one as I really need to reread it before I embark on The Scorch Trials.

Legally Blonde By: Amanda Brown

Great movie: horrible book.

I picked up this book because I was intrigued. The rule of thumb, of course, is that the book is better than the movie, and in this case: SO NOT TRUE!

You have all seen the movie: You know the plot. Blonde girl goes to Harvard Law School to impress her exboyfriend but discovers, she kind of rocks at it. And it is great and hilarious along the way.

They book: Same story but NOT FUNNY, not even a chuckle, and far more….  Dumb.

Elle is so much more intelligent in the movie, and far more BLONDE in the book, her career is to open a blonde representative legal company. (Most likely worded that wrong.)

It’s so stupid. I wish I could go back and un-waste 3 days on this book.

This Lullaby By: Sarah Dessen

Rereading this book as a 23 year old (as opposed to a 16 year old) makes a world of difference. At 16, I could not get enough of Sarah Dessen’s novels. I read every single one I could get my hands on, including this one.

As an adult, I found this book strangely depressing. It’s not that it is a bad book, or even a boring book, it was the fact that at 16 I connected so much with the main character, Remy, and now, I see her as this pessimistic bitch.

She meets Dexter who is in every way the coolest guy ever and blows him off for about 6O% of the novel (collectively) and the other 40% treating him like this scumbag dude. When in actuality, he is everything that a gal can ask for in a guy. Her excuse, of course, being that love is a fleeting and unimportant substance that will come and go several times within your life. She is searching for the perfect man whom she can settle down and marry, though she is looking for anything but, so really she will never be happy.

Remy is callous and negative. Dexter is easy going and lives in the moment. Of course the whole book is saying how opposites attract and that you will find love in all the most unexpected of places, but SERIOUSLY?! Its literally in the last chapter that she realizes how cold she is and should take the risk and let him into her life. I HATE that. When the whole book is leading up to this (very expected) moment and then in the last 5 pages it happens and in this long distance/ half-assed sort of way. For once I would like a book to pick up where they actually get together and then see if it will work or not.

I really cannot get over how much of a snob she is, and how free flowing he is. (I need to find myself a Dexter, ha ha)

It’s the same as all the chick flicks we all love to watch and it ends with them falling and love and getting married (not that that is how this book ends at all) but what happens next? Do they actually have a happily ever after? Do they stay together but fight all the time? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?!

All in all: your typical garden variety teen novel. Worth the read but not something you are to covet and yearn to read again.

Favorite Quote:

“Because you can never go from going out to being friends, just like that. It's a lie. It's just something that people say they'll do to take the permanence out of a breakup. And someone always takes it to mean more than it does, and then is hurt even more when, inevitably, said ‘friendly' relationship is still a major step down from the previous relationship, and it's like breaking up all over again. But messier.”  

 

Under the Dome By: Stephen King

This damn book has been haunting me for years. Which is saying something as it is one of his more recent works, written around 2013. I picked up this book at the Littlerock Library (California guys, not Arkansas) and read probably 500 pages (and destroyed it) before I realized it was 2 weeks over due and had to return it. Around 6 months later I bought it at a thrift store in Lancaster (still California folks) for like, I don’t even know…2 dollars?, and then promptly lost it. FINALLY, I found a brand-spanking-new copy at the Community Thrift Store, here in San Francisco, and six months later, actually read it to its entirety. (and yet again, destroyed it)

As a 1076 page book, it is pretty intimidating. As is the majority of his work.

It’s always a wonderful feeling when you actually finish a book this large, but as with the other few Stephen Kings books I have read, I am always sad that they are over.

The book starts off with a horribly doomed flying lesson with Claudette Sanders behind the wheel, an ill-fated chipmunk and a beautiful fall day in Chester’s Mill, Maine. Within a few pages the plane has crashed, the poor chipmunk has been cut in half and the whole town has been sealed off by an invisible barrier.

Throughout the first few chapters, you are sent into a whirlwind of activity, ranging from horror to the fact that this town is inexplicably cut off from EVERYTHING, no importing, no exporting, no justice, to downright nauseating  factors such as Big Jim, the town’s second selectman/ tyrant and his gruesome son Rennie who is apparently into murder and necrophilia.

The whole book only takes place over a couple of weeks and it goes from bad, to horribly tragic. You follow all the characters (and as per Mr. King’s usual, there are DOZENS) on and off and follow through all the different coming and goings of the town as they deal with this horrible brute fo a tyrant and how they are all coping with the fact that they have no real doctors, a limited amount of supplies, support, and no options other than to take what they can and deal.

You get to know every single one of the characters in such an intimate way, you literally take a blow to the heart every time one (or all) of them are killed off. You get an overwhelming amount of religious decree from an overwhelming amount of characters and you see how the sensible ones (Barbie, Rose, and Julia) struggle to conserve everything from power to oxygen, and how the ridiculous-self-centered- egotistical ones (Big Jim, Rennie, THE ENTIRE POLICE FORCE) really just fuck the whole thing over and literally lead to a massacre.

An underlying reoccurrence of the book is this radiation and the affects it has on the townspeople. Majorly the young and elderly (of course), ranging from visions of terror about Halloween and terrors involving fires and scarecrows. Leading into the ONLY problem I have with this book.

As with all the other Stephen King books, I always find one aspect to just throw me off and make me cringe. In this case: Aliens. Which, don’t get me wrong. Totally gave me nightmares as did all the issues I had with other books, but really? I really thought it would be a government experiment and there would be this political corruption and punishment for the fact that they had the biggest meth lab on the eastern seaboard. But no, it’s the leatherfaces (as I believe they called them) and they are playing with what they feel is an imaginary world. (Totally reminds me of men in black and the whole galaxy hanging around the cat’s neck.)

Really makes you think about the fact that if this were to actually happen, and it’s not entirely implausible; what would you do? What would the people around you do? Would YOU be the next Big Jim??

It’s almost sad that I finished this book. It was one of the Mount Everest’s in my collection and, as with The Stand, I would love to reread it to fully grasp all the detail and small references that are made throughout the book, both to real world references and to other parts of the story. Definitely a GREAT read and one that I will one day conquer again.

Favorite Quote(s):

"Big Jim- "Take a good look, pal- this is what incompetency, false hope, and too much information gets you. They're just unhappy and disappointed now, but when they get over that, they'll be mad. We're gonna need more police."

 

The Virgin's Lover by: Philippa Gregory

As previously stated, I adore Philippa Gregory. I adore the whole genre, especially this series.
The very first page of this book picks up with the death of Queen Mary and the bells ringing announcing that Elizabeth shall now be the uncontested Queen. Throughout the previous books, you get to know Elizabeth as a fairly wild child/woman (14 years and you were a woman! Imagine that!) and has definitely inherited her father's ambition and recklessness as a Tudor.
Of course the Author herself states that a lot of the major points of this book (the intimacy of Robert Dudley and Elizabeth) are not founded in proof and very well may be the result of court gossip as well as some of the finer points of the story.
Throughout the novel you read from 4 different points of view. The Queens, Robert Dudley, his wife, Amy, and William Cecil, the queen's advisor. When Elizabeth comes to throne she has inherited a bankrupt and rebellious country and immediately is debating whether or not to marry, and if so, who.
*can I just point out that it is really distressing to read about how disregarded it is to have a single woman on the throne. I understand that it was far different in the 1500's and I GET that, its just, who needs a man when a woman can do the job on her own, just dandy. Of course you look at the politics nowadays and not only does it remain the same, but it down-right doesn't happen. I would say (for fuck's sake) let it happen and we shall see how it goes.*
Throughout the different points fo views you come to appreciate that Elizabeth does have nobility to her. It's not so much on the surface but is definitely in her blood. She (questionably) even frames her lover (Dudley) so that he would not come to throne for any reason, ever. Though she is raunchy and ill-tempered and, well, she acts her age. She is so perfectly portrayed as well. Philippa Gregory is one of those brilliant writers that can put you right there in the moment with the character and you feel like you are whispering encouragement in their ears, handing them advice. And when they fail, or succeed for that matter, you are besides yourself with glee/sorrow. Elizabeth for example, is a character that at moments you despise and just want to slap her, and others you just want to comfort and tell her, "Well, honey, you act a whore, you get treated like a whore." But you come to respect her.
Robert Dudley on the other hand.... He is the perfect example fo why men are so loathsome. One chapter you are reading about how his wife is just wanting a simple farm and her husband (who she ADORES) by her side and the next you are reading about how his ambition is all he cares about and how if it means he will have a spot in court he would even cast aside this woman who he has been married to for YEARS. Quite frankly, its disgusting. He is the definition of all the terrible things you read about of the men in court back then. And even though I loathe to admit it, he kind of still makes you want to bat your eyelashes at him. A natural charmer. Though still a total a**hole.
Meanwhile, you are reading from the point of view of William Cecil and by golly he should have been king. He does everything for his country. He can manipulate the queen, typically with her own ego, and have her do what is best for the country. For the upstanding of the morale of the country and teaches her how to be a queen without her idea of what is going on. You really get behind him and just want to crown him yourself and then see what a difference it would have made to the history of the country.
I want to (and eventually will) reread this entire series and just revel in all the brilliance of the life of court in the 1500's. Don't get me wrong, I would LOATHE it, but you have to admit... sounds fabulous.

Favorite Quote:
“The truth is the last thing that matters,' she said. 'And you can believe one thing of the truth and me: I keep it well hidden, inside my heart.”  

Ender in Exile by: Orson Scott Card

NOTE: This book is written to take place between Ender's game and Speaker for the Dead, but was written much later, in 2008 in fact. It also takes place during the firs three novels of the Speaker trilogy and can be considered a parallel novel. AKA: I don't know if I read these in order.

After reading Ender's game as an adult(which EVERYONE should read as a young adult) and LOVED it. It's intelligent and thought-provoking, cause these are kids! Kids going off to fight a war against weird alien creatures. And I just ate that book up, absorbed every phrase and war tactic and was pissed when it was over, just because it was so damn good and I could not wait till I read the next one.
Of course it took me around a year to get a hold of the second book (Ender in Exile) (though I was just reading that there are several stories that were written interim. Bummer.) and when finally getting a chance to read it I was sorely disappointed.
The first book was so jam packed with action and wit and this book was DULL. It was honestly a chore to read, which is hard for me to even say because its not that it wasn't well written, it was the fact that NOTHING FUCKING HAPPENED!! Except they traveled through space. a lot. Ender proved that a kid can outwit adults. A LOT.
I mean you read one chapter, you read them all.
I guess that's not entirely fair, at one point (when they finally stop traveling) he meets his old friend's, Bean, son and convinces him to beat the shit out of him to prove that he was lied to about his heritage and that he is, in fact, a good person.
Oh and they find the cocoon (?) of the last of the bugger queens. And he is just going to travel the known worlds until he can find some far and distant place for them to recolonize cause he feels so damn guilty about destroying them.
Essentially this book deals with that: Ender's guilt. And for a character to be portrayed so ENTIRELY as a complex adult like character, it actually makes you realize that he is in fact still a child. A stubborn semi-jackass of a child, but a child nonetheless.
AND in the middle of all of this boringness/ well written stasis, is the whole conflict of the older brother Peter, whom in book 1, was a total evil maniacal little bitch, and now is like running the earth in a way and is actually a good person with a family and all that. I believe that was thrown into try and have Ender turn into a settling down kind of person/one who will learn to forget or move on from the past, but, in honesty, it seemed a half assed attempt.

SIDE NOTE: I am really kind of peeved about the whole way that this series was written and am generally confused about the order in which to read them. I keep trying to figure it out and a lot of sites say to read it in the published order as that will make the more sense as to the others original thought process (etc. etc...) but other sites will say in order of the chronology of the story and others say the same thing but give it a different order! HELP!!

I almost don't want to read the next one.

Favorite Quote:
 “It is easy to say that you can adopt the whole human race as your children, but it is not the same as living in a home with a child and shaping all you do to help him learn to be happy and whole and good. Don't live your life without ever holding a child in your arms, on your lap, in your home, and feeling a child's arms around you and hearing his voice in your ear and seeing his smile, given to you because you put it into your heart.”  

Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom

Ah. I'm so fucking pissed at myself for not reading this book before now. I mean we ALL have at least heard of this book, and always in a great context. Well, let me tell you now, its great.
You would think that this book would be super sad and heartbreaking but in reality its really grounded and eye-opening. As I am sure you are aware, this book is a memoir about a young man (the author) and his college professor who is dying of ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Which, if you know nothing about it, its a disease where the motor neurons in your brain diminish and eventually die off leaving you without function of your body and eventually even your breathing. It is a long, slow, miserable way to die.
Now, as a professor of sociology, Morrie, decides to embrace this time to listen and give advice to his students, friends and families. Essentially to revel in life before he is gone. Easier said than done my friend. The author comes to visit him after seeing him on a network interview and they reconnect after 15 years of no contact, and easily slip into meeting every Tuesday for their conversations. Morrie has Mitch write down a list of topics that we the people struggle with on a daily basis and how we can tackle these issues to live a full life.
These topics were: death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness, and a meaningful life.
I hope that you were like me, scanning the list and agreeing that these are indeed the issues you grapple with the most.
As Morrie's health slowly deteriorates, the professor and student continue to meet every Tuesday to discuss a topic. Each chapter they discuss one and how to handle the issue and come to terms with it in your everyday life. The thing that impressed me the most about this book is how it is so straight forward WITHOUT being preachy, which is an incredibly hard thing to manage.
For example: When discussing death, Morrie explains that everybody knows that they are going to die, but nobody accepts it. If they did accept it they would do things differently, live more in the moment, appreciate life a hell of a lot more. I cant convey it the same way without just quoting the whole damn book but its very beautiful, blunt, and honest.
SIDE NOTE: I wonder why they do not have us read this book in school, at a pivotal age in our lives but instead have us read such CRAP as The Great Gatsby. (sorry Ms. Messadieh but, oh my word, that book SUCKED).

To learn more about ALS go to: http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html

Favorite Quote:
“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”  

Eat, Pray, Love by: Elizabeth Gilbert

Normally I have a zero tolerance towards anything that even borders on self-help book, and no matter how you perceive it, this book is definitely self-help, well self-meditation is more accurate (though that is essentially the same thing.) But this book BLEW MY MIND.
I have been focusing on books lately that inspire movies that I either love or movies that I really want to see, and let me tell you: read the books first!!! (duh.)
Eat Pray Love was HUGE a few years back when the movie came out (as I am sure you know) and I really wanted to see it but I am really glad I waited all these years so I could read the book first. This book is technically a memoir, but it reads more as a guideline on how to get your shit together. Essentially: Drop everything and go travel for a year. (Hear hear!)
Now of course there is so much more to it than that. The Author (Elizabeth Gilbert.. or Liz) spends a year of her life living in Italy, India, and finally Indonesia. In Italy she indulges in all pleasures, well besides the sexual kind. She binge eats, learns the beautiful language of Italian, and essentially does what she wants, when she wants. Sounds like a plan to me! I actually enjoyed this section of the book best. (mainly because the other 2 sections were all about religion and spirituality and that just is NOT my style), but as she describes her ordeal with this terrible divorce she is going through and splitting up with David (her post marriage hottie) she really describes this time as finding herself again and being independent. It was very inspiring and VERY well said.
Next is India, where she spends four months meditating. She spends a majority of her time at an Ashram in the rural area and meditates. And Meditates. And Meditates. Seriously. Its rather a dull section. (though of course she gets all in touch with herself and all that CRAP.) It really actually puts me off of meditating to be quite frank. All she writes is how it dredges up all your hurt and pain and insecurities, but then, ALAS! The golden light at the end.
Or whatever.
In Bali, she searches for balance been human desires (everything she indulged in while in Italy), and "divine transcendence." She spends much of her time helping a local young man learning English and becomes friends with an herb woman and her family. She relaxes, meditates, reads. I would go absolutely mental after a week.
But in the end she has rediscovered herself. Found a new man. Got her life in order. Looking back on this book I find I don't remember much of the plot (I had to keep re reading sections of the book just to write this) but I distinctly remember getting home after work, reading this book and falling asleep with it on my chest because I just COULD NOT put it down. Even now I think of this book and I am inspired. Maybe I should do something drastic in my life. Maybe I should travel to some exotic place and just indulge in life every once in a while. And yes. We all SHOULD. But where do we draw the line between indulgence, and gluttony?
Favorite Quote:
“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. 
A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. 
A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master...”  

Ella Enchanted by: Gail Carson Levine

This book was one of the major connections I had between my 2 best friends. We all loved this book and loathed the movie. Michelle and Aaryn will always be my sisters. I found this book at a thrift store, laying on top of a pile of books on June 4th. Without my knowledge that day Aaryn's body was found. I think that is more than coincidence. This book helped me through a hard time in my childhood and now again as an adult.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. I must have read this book at least 5 dozen times over the years. Its the perfect Cinderella story. Not only does it have all the facts we all know and love from the classic story, it has an awesome lead character. Ella is witty and hardheaded and is absolutely the coolest chick ever.
She was cursed at birth by Lucinda a fairy, who gives her the "gift" of obedience, so whenever she is given a command, she has no choice but to obey. After her mother's death she meets prince Char who is WONDERFUL and beautiful and oh so cavalier :). (but I don't have a crush or anything :}) and they are all cute together and she is so clumsy and they ride down the stair rails.
Well she gets sent to finishing school (which is a horrible concept) and then escapes and RUNS INTO CHAR!!! and there is a cute romance aspect and adventure and ogres and giants and its just the happiest most wonderful book in the world. Kudos to Gail Carson Levine. Never in my life has a book gotten me this excited, this consistently.

I wish Aaryn could read it just one last time.

A Touch of Dead by: Charlaine Harris

For anyone who has read the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Stop there. This was such a waste of paper. Yeah, that may be harsh but COME ON!! I don't see why it was even published. (or why I bothered to buy it for that matter.)
The book is compiled of short stories that the author claims would not fit into the flow of the series. (even more reason to not publish it) but they were all ridiculously stupid stories. Like the one where Sookie gets laid for a Christmas present form her Grandfather. Or how the faeries have a killer in their presences and its just silly.
I honestly just have nothing to say about it further. Its a very very short book but it was not worth my time reading and I really do not wish to continue to talk about it now.
For all you fans out there, some things are better left unread.

The Queen's Fool By: Philippa Gregory

I get a huge kick out of historical fiction. In fact its probably in the competition for favorite genre (though how can you really choose right??). Though to be fair, I have only read historical fiction y Philippa Gregory for the last  several years.
Sadly I read the whole Boleyn series completely out of order (though to my credit she wrote the whole damn thing out of order). This novel takes place after Henry VIII dies and the throne passes to his daughter (with his first wife, Katherine), Mary, takes the throne.
It follows her fear in hiding, justifiably fearing her Father's rage and indecision about her rightful heritage and right to live. After his passing she courageously fights for right to the throne and her life. Really, she is straight up a bad-ass woman.
The book follows her fool closely, Hannah that is. She is a Jew fleeing the Spanish inquisition and goes into the court to earn some income to support her father and to offer them some means of protection. Hannah is also cursed with the gift of sight, or a  Through all the turmoil of a country in unrest, Queen Mary and Hannah go through lessons in love and life and the never ending toil of politics.
You really get to know these women and understand all the struggles they had to go through in that time period, but we know nothing about in our day in age. Mary worried endlessly about the fact hat her country needed a king but ho on earth could she choose a man to trust her country and heritage with? the whole while desperately trying to protect her half sister Elizabeth the daughter of Anne Boleyn who set all this turmoil in motion and has to live with the curse of not only her patronage but her mother's name as well. Hannah is stuck in an engagement to be married when she has not yet decided for herself what role her life will take. She fears being tied down by being a wife and mother though acknowledges her duty to her religion and father.
Hannah is loyal to her master (the one in charge of her employment) and loyal to both the Queen Mary and her sister Elizabeth. Her loyalties are tangled within each other and she becomes stressed and runs due to tension from the civil unrest in the country.
Its a beautiful and intriguing story. With all the different tensions and the personal account from each woman's point of view, the reader finds themselves drawn to each person in turn and when politics are involved you don't know who you want to pull through. Each character is so perfectly portrayed and you feel as if you really know them as a person and not just a character in a novel.
I look forward to reading the rest of her novels and strongly recommend her novels. (though please read them in their chronological order. Not the order they were written. It is so much easier to understand).

Twenties Girl By: Sophie Kinsella

As a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella, this book caught me completely off guard. My personal opinion about books is to never read the jacket sleeve. You may think that is bizarre, as how will you like the book or not, but I think it usually gives away too much about the book and I would rather be surprised. I stick to books that I have been recommended or books by authors I already admire.
So when I read this book and find out that it is about Lara and the fact that she can see her great aunt Sadie's ghost I was genuinely shocked. This was so far off base from what I usually expect from the author and to be honest for the first half of the book I was not impressed.
Sadie is only seen by Lara and although she died at 105 she returns as a young girl in her 20's thoroughly enjoying life and boy oh boy does she love to dance. Really gives you a small glimpse into how much fun the roaring 20's would have been to experience.
She is searching for a necklace that she loved more than anything and with the help of Lara they go on a quest to track it down.
It's actually a really beautiful book and probably one of my favorites by Sophie Kinsella. This woman who died had no life really left behind and its rather tragic. Later on you find out she is the subject of one of the most treasured pieces of art and everyone is awed and amazed by her beauty and anonymity. She left behind nothing in life except this painting and at the time of her death was quite forgotten and literally remembered by no one.
Its very sad to think about how true that must be for a large number of the elderly, hell even the general masses. Though this book brings with it tears and laughter and a lot of good humor, it has an unsettling quality to it because it speaks of these sad forgotten people, who we all have in our lives, and you really feel guilty, but in a good way I think.

I've Got Your Number By: Sophie Kinsella

Entertaining. Sophie Kinsella always finds a way to make all of her books impossible to put down. I truly love the way she writes, as it is in the same way most of us think.  (Well, that's obviously an assumed fact, at least the way I think).
A modern day romance about a woman, Poppy, who loses her engagement ring and is frantic (as you would expect), and then gets her cell stolen. After finding a phone in the bin she assumes it as her own and bargains with the owner, Sam, (well it was a company phone) to carry out its use until she replaces it.
Of course how can you be sharing a phone and not get mixed up in each others lives?
As someone very approachable and people pleasing, Poppy ends up interfering with Sam's business, though she means well, and for someone as closed off and serious as he is, it causes tension and eventually an understanding between them that really proves that opposites attract.
This book really makes me appreciate the fact that there are authors out there simply writing about normal mundane life. Poppy is engaged to a man who is highly intelligent and has an extremely successful family and well she is quite normal. She finds herself again throughout the novel and realizes happily ever after doesn't always mean what you think it will.
Poppy represents a lot of the simple qualities that you see within yourself. She can be kind of scatterbrained, insecure, frantic and altogether a genuine person.
Sophie Kinsella is extremely talented in the fact that every single one of her characters can easily be someone in your life and you see yourself walking in their shoes and really empathizing and laughing along with every twist and turn along the way. Sometimes starting over can be the best thing for you.

The Fountainhead By: Ayn Rand

I must admit I was a little over ambitious in the endeavor of reading this monster of a book.
I really became interested in Ayn Rand because of Terry Goodkind. I am a huge fan of his ideals and beliefs portrayed in the Sword of Truth series, and I found out about six months back that he based it off the ideals (or objectivism) as stated in Ayn Rand's novels!!
As an obsessive fan of Mr. Goodkind, it was very exciting to discover similar reading material. Of course I was mildly disappointed. Not for the fact that it was a bad story or that the characters were not developed or you know whatever else is usually wrong with a book. In fact the characters of this book were overly defined in their roles and characteristics. The main character Howard Roark was the "ideal man." One who is willing to stick to his ideals and personal opinions through whatever means available including personal loss and a result of becoming an outcast from society and his profession as an architect.
His love interest Dominique Francon, is similar in the fact that she believes that anything beautiful should be kept to those who believe and actually recognize it for what it was. With that philosophy she would obtain statues and art she found beautiful and then destroy them so no one could destroy them with their criticism and disapproval. Its fairly maddening. They are truly meant for each other and she refuses to be with him because of her pessimistic belief that he must be held down under her hand in a sort of "mercy killing" where he and his work I deemed to be too beautiful for the common man and will be demoralized and defaced with their negativity and misunderstanding. So she just destroys him. Well attempts to.
I think what I couldn't stand about this book was that she takes all of her ideals and shoves them down you throat. Ayn Rand really puts all effort into expressing her ideals and belief, which is great, but she gives you no other opportunity to think it over or even process what she had just said before you hit another 5 page monologue. its strange the book reads more like propaganda than a novel.
Then you have characters such as William Keating and Ellsworth Toohey, both of whom you just despise. Keating because he is altogether undesirable and a complete fake, doing whatever it takes to please the masses, and Toohey who is just manipulative and evil. He goes through every length to control the masses and steer them in the most undesirable directions, telling them that the ultimate virtue is selflessness and to achieve that you must sacrifice everything, especially your values.
Which when thinking about the novel and the characters individually, I find them to be very interesting and worth the time to consider, but reading the book was a chore and not one I would embark again in the foreseeable future.
I guess what I am ultimately trying to say is, I found the book dry and uninteresting as a whole. Maybe next time I will take it slower and really break it all down further. Meh.

The Incredible Journey By: Sheila Burnford

This has been on my to read list since around the second grade when I found out it was a book based off of The Incredible Journey. You know, that really super cute movie about the 2 dogs and the cat who get left behind and have to make their way home and they all are sassy and so cute and funny. Yeah, well SPOILER ALERT!! In the book, the animals don't talk to each other, or at all for that matter!!! what the hell good is that?!
Now that THAT is out of my system, it was absolutely adorable. The story was really short and sweet, that cat was so darn sassy and really took care of the other two. They battle the elements and stick together traveling across Canada (which was really weird to me as most the books I read take place in the united states or in England/ the UK) finding their way back to their family. ITS SO SASSY!!!
The story was adorable and I strongly recommend it to anyone below the age of 15.

Sacrament by: Clive Barker

This book was one of those rare situations in which it came so highly recommended (and in such detail) that I knew the entire plot of the book before I started reading it. And for those reasons, I really did not care for it all that much.
As with all Clive Barker books, or to be fair those that I have read, the story begins going in one direction with a plot line you understand and can actually follow. Two chapters later you are following a plot line taking place when whats-his-name is a child!!! THEN THE TWO PLOT LINES INTERMINGLE!! and yeah, at that point I was still following, you know managing in probably more accurate, then you are thrown into some strange combination of the above where you are in his real life with flashbacks to all the other timelines you have witnessed thus far.
The basic premise of the story is a great plot line and it really has some great characters and some incredible twists and turns in the (very distorted and at times so hard to follow) plot. I really enjoy the fact that Clive Barker always creates really three dimensional villains. In this case two of them who you really can very VERY easily just despise with every bone in your body. put together the two, brother and sister/ though more accurately soul mates, live for the destruction of species and (at least it seems) the calm and normality of life.
One methodically wipes out the last two of a species keeping careful diagrams and recordings, while the other drowns herself in the affection and sexual interest of men, usually ending in a pool of blood and body parts. The two of them get involved in a little boy's life and from then on both are tormented with the very idea of their experience together and the affects that ensued in their separate yet entwined lives, drawing many similarities between the gay night life of San Francisco "back in its hay day" before the aids epidemic and the cruelty of the laws of nature.
God, I was sick of hearing about this book before I read it, sick of it while I read it, and now I am so sick of talking about it!
Though kudos Clive Barker, no matter how aggravating I find it, I continue to discuss it with a variety of people.

Flowers For Algernon by: Daniel Keyes

What a tragic story.
This novel actually began as a short story and was later elongated to become this book. In mid elementary school, we read either an excerpt or that short story and it had been on my to read list ever since. What finally got me to read the book was one of my roommates (who was Russian) happened to see it on my bookshelf and got super excited and borrowed it and read it in English for the first time. (apparently it is a part of their curriculum over in Russia as well, which is actually pretty amazing if you think about it).
This is one of those books that took me a day to read. Yes, it is pretty short only 216 pages, but it was more along the lines of how unbelievably empathetic you are towards Charlie and how much shit he goes through. At first he is the most lovable and sweet man. He goes through the testing for these experiments to make him smarter than, or at the very least as smart as the average adult. You read his diary and walk with him through the changes first in simple things such as vocabulary and spelling, next to being aware of social cues and notices that his friends are actually not so friendly at all.
He grows in knowledge at an incredible rate and with that does not necessarily come wisdom and understanding.
Charlie progresses through his learning and he becomes more and more isolated, as he quickly reaches an intelligence far outshining the doctors who did the surgical procedure on him. he withdraws into himself as it becomes more and more apparent that his treatment is not a permanent situation and has a time limit. He experiments with love and sex and experiences loss and grief.
When the treatment runs it course and he begins to degrade, he lashes out and is in such turmoil that the reader feels as if they are in the same situation. By the end of the novel he has to be institutionalized and you experience with him, every intelligence level on the spectrum.
Genuine in its raw emotion and moving in its personification of the affects intelligence has on the individual and how they relate to the world and those around them. Definitely a book I will be reading again as it was so engaging (and I really do need a dictionary at some points just to understand the enormity of Charlie's intellect).

REST IN PEACE ALGERNON.

The Ruins by: Scott Smith

Can I just say how refreshing it is to find an author who is so successful in being terrifying and disturbing that you have nightmares, and I mean wake up lurching out of your skin nightmares.
I have read Jaws, which is one of my deep terrors I might add, several Stephen King novels, Clive Barker and several miscellaneous horror novels over the years, and none of them have ever left me wide eyed clutching my blanket in the dark.
I picked up this book at a thrift store more out of a whim than anything. I had seen the movie a few dozen times when it came out in 2008 and loved it. Not that it was scary but because it was the ultimate sleepover movie and it was awesome. So when I ran across it at a used book store I was amazed that it was a book and I was intrigued but didn't buy it, it was something like eight dollars for a torn book, no thanks. So when I ran across it THE NEXT DAY at a different store for one dollar in perfect condition I bought it and started reading.
At first I was honestly a little shocked. There was no waiting for the story to begin. No boring back story you have to get through before you can get the meat of it. The second day of reading this, the group was stuck on the ruin and poor poor "Pablo" was having his legs eaten away by the accursed vine. Didn't even realize this bothered me until I was calling my oh-so-supportive-and-understanding  boyfriend, at something like 230 am, going on and on about how the flesh was hanging off my arms.
For the next three nights the same thing. Every night I was tossing and turning with these damn vines haunting my subconscious.
Glorious.
Till the end when the author is describing the exact sound you would hear as you cut off your own ear. I was literally sitting there squealing with disgust. And that my friends, is a beautiful thing.
This is one of those gems you find that is the very definition of horror. It has everything you want in a book from gut wrenching gore, to drama between the characters, and a villain (in this case a plant) that can creep into your brain and latch on for months to come.
A must read. I am most intrigued as to whether this is one of those authors who do a one hit wonder, or if he is the second kind who does nothing but outstanding books.
Opinions?

The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

Also known as: The Sookie Stackhouse Novels, or the (Damn) Trueblood series.

Yes. It is official: I have finally finished the series! (can I just get a hell yeah real quick?!) Not that they are hard reads, they are actually incredibly easy and quick as F*** to read, there are just 13 of the damn books and that takes a minute to get through.
My original plan for this post was to have a quick blurb about each book and my qualms or reactions to the plot or drama or LACK there of, but as I am sitting down to do so, I find I don't care enough to do so. (oh the laziness of me!) But seriously, I began reading this series a little less than a year ago, and am only just now finishing so the beginning books are just not in my head anymore and the suspense has long since perished. (ha ha vampire jokes).
I am fairly positive you have either listened to some random person in your life go on and on about either these books or the STUPID TV show, Trueblood, read them yourselves, or you are guilty of being a fan of the show. (in which case YOU HAVE TO read them if only so you can get pissed off and rant and rave about how wrong the show gets everything, and that's just always fun), so you must know the general premise of the story. Sookie Stackhouse is a telepathic waitress working at Merlotte's bar in Bon Tempe Louisiana. She is semi antisocial, annoying as hell, and considered in the book to be all sorts of beautiful and cute and whatever. The series starts with her meeting Bill. Her first vampire she has met since their "coming out" 3 years prior, at least I thin it was 3. (Now, I saw a few episodes of the TV show through out the years, and Bill was poorly portrayed. He is supposed to be essentially tall, reserved, sweet, and old fashioned.) Anyways that's a whole other conversation, he gets in trouble with some drainers, and she helps him out and thus they fall in love blah blah blah. From then on its one huge roller coaster of supernatural adventures and escapades, most exciting, some ridiculous to even be reading, mostly entertaining.
First its the vampire politics in her little part of Louisiana, then it widens to the state, then the werewolves and shape shifters get involved, and they are actually very cool and interesting, then its the faeries. Literally. And THAT goes on for like 3 books too many I must say. Sure you find out she is part fairy so they are her relatives and all, but there are only so many ways you can talk about how inhuman they are before it becomes repetitive.
Throughout this all little ol' Sookie is bouncing through guys like a pinball machine (that's not quite fair, she only really bounces between 4 guys and between 13 books that's not bad at all, though its the same ones over and over and over and over...) and you want to just punch her and scream at her to make a decision, but she is fictional so you can't. Bollucks.
Each and every one of these books are full of plot twists and character deaths and all the stuff books need to be good, there's just WAY too much of it!
Side note: I hate when authors have so many ideas and instead of just writing a longer book, they cram it all into 300 pages and calls it a day. What's wrong with a long book??? Why is that something to be avoided or afraid of? Its like damn movie directors cutting out scenes so the movie is shorter ( though its not even 2 hours long!!!) I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND IT!!
So many events take place, so quickly, that your head literally starts spinning. Don't get me wrong! I did read them all, which means I did enjoy them, but if each book had about 50 more pages then you would have had some time to blink at least between explosions at vampire summits, vampire queens being dethroned, and torture by faeries instead of one head twist after another.

All in all it was entertaining and it passed the time. Will I read them again? probably not. Do I regret reading them? Not at all. But now I get to watch Trueblood and mock the horribleness of it even more than usual and that my friends: Priceless.

Its not all the books there but it was the best picture I could find. Frustrating.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Fun Fact! Sophie Kinsella (who you probably know of as she is the author of those Confession of a Shopaholic books, which are great!) is a pen name!! Her real name is Madeleine Sophie Wickham and she is described as a "chick lit" author and never a more appropriate title for her work.
As always her book focuses on a single female character in England. In this case London. (though I think all of them have been in London now that I think it over).
Meet Samantha Sweeting. Professional on top of the world Lawyer, workaholic extraordinaire!
Doesn't mind working 12-14 hours a day as long as she is in the running for the partnership at her law firm. Word on the street is that she is in for the job when she discovers an overlooked memo on her desk subsequentially losing a client 50 million quid.
Va-moose to the partnership and va-moose she goes. Right out of town. She winds up in the English countryside at a house where she is mistaken as someone interviewing for a housekeeping position and she gets the job! Despite the face she cant clean or cook of course.
Thus begins a very hilarious and most entertaining adventure of an almost hopeless city raised women (who thinks boiling eggs means microwaving them!) as she learns how to iron, bake bread, and learns what it is like to slow down and appreciate life for what it is.
Though as entertaining and light hearted as ever, it does raise the question of whether the city life of the modern society is actually all that it is hyped up to be or if the country life (or old fashioned type of living I suppose) is a more sustainable and healthy way to live. (and of course her super chunky sweet gardener lover she meets through all of this vs her not so hunky chunky STUPIDLY named coworker "Guy" just saying, not a cute name.) Yes yes yes Nathaniel. ;)
Not getting in to THAT argument!
Strongly recommended for a light girly read when you just want to pass the time chuckling now and then (though not so girly as a Nicholas Sparks).

The Stand by Stephen King

Let me just start by saying that:
1. I read the uncut edition so it is 300 pages longer than usual (bringing the length of this book to a whopping 1142 pages) and..
2. This was my third attempt at reading this book and you know what they say... Third times the charm!

I actually bought this book at the goodwill over on Geary St, (that's the Tenderloin in San Francisco) quite deliriously in a feverish state. The store was closing as I walked in, ran to the books in the back, grabbed it and ran up front, and the dude behind the counter felt so bad for me (as I was delirious with said fever) that he let me just have it. (saved me $1!) That night as I was on my first attempt at reading it, my fever increased dramatically, developed a severe cold out of nowhere and had to turn in for the night early. '
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this book, considered to be one of Mr. King's most well-known (and from what I have read in reviews) and one of his more controversial and most discussed works.
Opening the story with a frantic soldier, abandoning his post and running off base in the middle of the night with his wife and baby, and winding up most gruesomely deceased in the next chapter, you get to know what the characters most frequently refer to as: Captain Trips. (which is some reference I don't quite understand I must admit)
Captain Trips is a man made plague of an ever shifting "superflu." A nasty cold that transforms itself as your body produces the antibodies needed to fight it off, so quickly that it is 99.4% contagious and 100% fatal. 300 pages into the book 99% of the population is dead leaving those who are immune to deal with the shock and sudden absence of a civilization. Slowly straggling together you get to know a deaf-mute (yet highly charismatic) young man named Nick Andros, an almost rock star Larry Underwood, a young and knocked up young woman Frannie Goldsmith, Stu Redman also known as east texas, Harold Lauder, Glen Bateman (my favorite character, a college sociology professor), Tom Cullens (a most lovable and admirable retarded man who is so sweet and caring and childlike. M-O-O-N that spells Tom cullens) and many many others who are the survivors and those who for whatever reason are immune to this disease.
Fucking. Amazing. Not one of these characters are dull or 2 dimensional. Each and everyone of them have gone through several transformations throughout the story and when any (or all of them, for all YOU know) die you grieve yourself because you have witnessed their transformations and their "growing up." This seems to be a talent that most authors have not achieved, or maybe im just being biased, but Mr. King is a master of. Character development is definitely one his high points.
Anywho, I'm rambling at this point, they progress and begin having these dreams of a dark man (the representation of the devil) and Mother Abigail a 108 year old woman living in Nebraska on her small farm (the representation of God). At this point all the characters you have met meet up either in Vegas (how fitting is that for the evil side of things) or in Boulder, Colorado in terms of the "good".
I don't want to give too much of the plot away but I could talk about this books for an hour. One of the most difficult books to get through ONLY BECAUSE all three attempts at reading it I suddenly get sick with a cold of one form or another, Coincidence?!
Since 99% of mankind is now dead, The stragglers of the world go through cities described as graveyards, silent, dead, god forsaken even. The world is empty and quiet as opposed to the usual hustle and bustle of life. These days the hustle and bustle is bike riding or if you are lucky driving. (only lucky I say because of the traffic jams on most streets and highways). The world is deserted. Government vanished. Civilization waiting to be rewritten and reestablished. Do they copy the not so distant American government? do they model themselves after a new idea? a pre-established idea? what about law enforcement? jails? The dead left to rot everywhere??? Life is one huge question mark left behind after all modern conveniences are cut away. Sure electricity is set up and ready to run.. but its not. Does anyone know how to make it work? anyone left that is? Water plants. sewer systems. Plumbing. Everythign needs to be relearned and rethought. The implications it asks are down right fascinating!
For instance this one discussion between Glen and Stu really tickled my fancy. Glen (the sociology professor) was going on about how mankind has mostly perished to extinction but didn't. Same with the dogs. As far as he could tell all horses are gone, but the cats are untouched. The rats have been affected but repopulate so quickly its a moot point. The deer are untouched and now unchecked. Sure the implications affecting human population are clear enough, but what about the rest of life? The ecosystem is completely thrown off and unbalanced. Or is it rebalanced negating the effect man has on the earth?? He himself has a dog Kojak who survived but they don't know of any others. if there are more dogs will they even be able to reproduce? Can humans even reproduce? Will the babies be immune?
What I am trying to say is get off your ass and go read it. It took me 21 days to read (which is a hell of a long time in my world) but now that it is over, I am deeply saddened and if I hadn't left the damn book at work I might just be rereading it now. Towards the end it got a little too blatant in its good vs evil concept (but there is always one aspect of Stephen Kings books that just irk me to no end)  but it was necessary to the plot and I cant even think of an alternative. Someone needs to read this book so I can discuss it relentlessly.
So get reading!! (maybe its time to tackle Under the Dome next). For the second attempt.

2014 books

Books read in 2014

1.       The perfect storm by Sebastian Junger

2.       At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

3.       Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

4.       Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

5.       Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

6.       The Hours by Michael Cunningham

7.       Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

8.       Wicked by Gregory Maguire

9.       Marley and Me by John Grogan

10.   Jaws by Peter Benchley

11.   She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb

12.   The Hungry Ocean by Linda Greenlaw

13.   Pompeii by Robert Harris

14.   The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

15.   Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

16.   The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans

17.   Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce

18.   Weaveworld by Clive Barker

19.   Shopaholic Takes Manhattan by Sophie Kinsella

20.   Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

21.   Confessor by Terry Goodkind

22.   Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

23.   Rose Madder by Stephen King

24.   The Old Man and the Sea by Hernest Hemmingway

25.   Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

26.   Deception Point by Dan Brown

27.   The Lost World by Michael Crichton

28.   Influx by Daniel Suarez

29.   The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

30.   The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

31.   Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

32.   Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

33.   The Dead Zone by Stephen King

34.   Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella

35.   The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

36.   Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

37.   Shopahilic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

38.   Can You Keep a Secret? By Sophie Kinsella

39.   Eat Me by Linda Jaivin

40.   The Stars Shine Down by Sidney Sheldon

41.   The Princess Bride by William Goldman

42.   Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers

43.   Severed Souls by Terry Goodkind

44.   Wizard’s First Rule by Terry Goodkind

45.   Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind

46.   The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

47.   Anthem by Ayn Rand

48.   The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

49.   Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon

50.   Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

51.   Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

52.   Inferno by Dan Brown

53.   Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

54.   All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

55.   From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

56.   Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

57.   Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

58.   The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman