Twilight Saga

Twilight Saga
(Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn)
Stephenie Meyer
http://stepheniemeyer.com/index.html

This is a series of books that I've read previously (before this little blog began), but while I was waiting for some new books to arrive from Amazon I picked up again, and just as before I couldn't seem to put them down. I actually got my new books while I was in the middle of New Moon, and I figured that I would set the series down and read my new books, but I ended up reading the whole set, even though I know how it ends already. I actually resisted this series for a very long time, I thought that it was some silly vampire love story. I even admit to thinking the series was a bit beneath me. This of course was a silly thought, I should have known better seeing as I had a similar opinion of the Harry Potter series and that one ended up being one of my favorite sets of books! Now the Twilight Saga has taken it's place next to HP in my ever expanding library.

Anyways- back to the books at hand. Unless you live under a rock, you are probably aware that the series centers around a human girl, Bella, who moves to a small town on the Olympic Peninsula and falls in love with a vampire, Edward. The series is essentially a traditional love story, with passion, loss, depression, friendship, love triangles, danger and action, only this series throws in the supernatural too, adding in Vampire and Werewolves into the mix. I won't go into too much more of the plot, becuase I imagine that once I start I could write a short novel of my own.

I will say that this series is powerful in its simplicity and originality, taking storie lines we all know, like the idea of Romeo & Juliet, and infusing them with enough of the supernatural to make it all seem fresh again. Stephenie Meyer came up with a great story that captivates not only the tween set, but also alot of adults, including myself. They are a fairly easy read, which is great, although it's hard not to get sucked in and spend hours on end in this new world.

So far Twilight has been made into a movie, and I think it suffered from lack of budget, but it still made for a fun b-list type movie, it just didn't really come anywhere close to the books. New Moon comes out in November and so far looks to be a much better movie, this could be from the additional money being funneled its way or from the new director or simply from the familiarity the cast now has with the subject matter. Eclpise is currently being filmed in Vancouver and Breaking Dawn is hopefully on the horizon, although it has a much headier content, so it will be interesting to see how the movie industry handles Vampire/human love scenes and the birth of an half-vampire child.

In short (despite that this entry is not actually short), I would recommend these books. For me they reminded me why I liked books to begin with. They can take you to a new world, and Stephenie's world is a wonderful one to visit. They reignited my love of books, my love of writing and even my love of travel as once upon a time I sat on a beach in La Push and watched the waves crash onto First Beach. Stephenie's books both took me back to my own childhood and introduced me to a great new world where anything was possible.

Kids Corner

I have a two month old, so we have embarked on the wonderful adventure of finding great new children's books as well as rediscovering some of my childhood favorites. I will comment on some of the greats that I come across, and won't shy away from pointing out any that I think fall short of the mark.

The Velveteen Rabbit
By: Margery Williams

This book is a classic and for a good reason. It illustrates the relationship of a boy and his favorite stuffed rabbit and what it means to be real. In this book a boy is given a velveteen rabbit, who he loves and takes everywhere. The other toys that the boy owns, specifically the skin horse tells the rabbit that eventually he will be real. After the boy falls ill and the Rabbit is thrown away, he discovers that not only was it possible for him to be real to the boy that loved him, but also become really real and live with the other rabbits in the forest. This is a great story that, although it doesn't catch my daughters eye as much as some of the more vibrantly illustrated books we have, is still a wonderful book that I'm sure she will grow to love.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
By: Eric Carle
http://www.eric-carle.com/

Eric Carle was one of my favorite authors when I was a child, I think my parents bought my sister and I the entire collection and revisiting this book did not dissapoint. Even my two month old enjoyed the colorful pictures. Since she has a short attention span, it is a tribute to both the writing and the illustrations that she seems to be able to sit and look and listen to this particular book repeatedly. There's no great story to this book, but through the pictures children will learn about what the different animals in the zoo look like and through the words will learn what each of these animals sound like. It's a great beginners book and is timeless in its pictures and story.

The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol
By: Dan Brown
http://www.thelostsymbol.com/
http://www.danbrown.com/

I was excited to pick this book up as soon as it was released. I enjoyed The Davinci Code but didn't even make it two chapters into Angels and Demons, so I was interested to see what Brown would do with Robert Langdon now that he was back in the US. Brown definitely did not dissapoint. As a US History nut, this book was right up my alley and Brown quickly lured me into the secretive and mysterious world of the freemasons, specifically as they exist in Washington D.C. One thing I enjoy about Brown is that he weaves his story and charecters into real locations that the reader can visit. In this book, Langdon is on the move to solve the mystery and save his friend and mentor Peter Solomon before the villian can both kill Solomon and single handedly bring down the Masons. One thing I thought was missing in Angels and Demons that was perfect in this book is the charecter of the Villian. Here our bad guy is truly disturbed and in the end isn't who you thought he was at all.

Overall, this was a great read, and I sincerely hope that this story is turned into a movie.

Synopsis (from bn.com)

In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling -- a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.

As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A disturbing object -- artfully encoded with five symbols -- is discovered in the Capitol Building. Langdon recognizes the object as an ancient invitation . . . one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon -- a prominent Mason and philanthropist -- is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations -- all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning-paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for . . . his most thrilling novel yet.