So…What Did You Think of Twilight?

I finally bit the bullet this weekend.

photo from http://www.stepheniemeyer.com

I picked up a copy of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I’ll admit, it’s been on my TBR list for quite some time. Everyone at work has been telling me to read it. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit myself to reading it.
It’s not that I’ve never read books with that many pages before. After all, I’ve visited Harry Potter in all of his years at Hogwarts ( more than once, I might add).

So why did I finally cave?

Book Club.

Thanks ladies, for making this our May read.

Now, to answer your question: “How did I like it?”

I’ll agree with Julie on two points.

1.Great storyline. Wondering where things were going is what kept me turning the pages. I was convinced for awhile that Bella was actually some mutant form of a vampire, and it was for that reason that her mother left town with her years ago. I thought it was a possibility because of her  acceptance of the Cullen family. And the description of her made me think so as well.

2. I found Bella annoying ( at times). Now  for all you die hard Twilight fans out there, there’s no need to flame me. I think maybe a part of it is that I am no longer a teenage girl. The pining for Edward, the brooding, the feeling of not fitting in. (insert “old lady some day you’ll look back on this…” eye rolling here)

That being said, I CAN remember when I was that age and crazily attracted to a guy, wanting to be with him 24/7, sitting as close as possible, loving the smell of his cologne and memorizing the color of his eyes.

But he wasn’t a vampire.

I think.

So Bella served to transport me back to that time to remember that first exhilarating feeling of new love. It also caused me to think about that brooding phase of my life.

I had my moments, but I never wallowed in it the way Bella tends to do.

That’s the part of Bella that drove me nuts.

But fear not, vampire fans. I did enjoy the book. I even went out and got this:

photo from http://www.stepheniemeyer.com

And for those of you who have been prodding me to read these and cheering me on…

I finished BOTH books in under 24 hours.

And for awhile in New Moon, I began to think Bella might be part werewolf. Or maybe a distant relative.

Maybe.

See what you people are doing to me?!

My Little Red Book Tour

March is Women’s History month.

To celebrate women, I am sharing with you all a book that I’ve had the opportunity to read and review.

My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff is a book that explores what happens when a girl “becomes a woman” for the first time.

I was interested in reading this book because it sounded like something along the lines of Eve Ensler’s Vagina Monologues. Becoming a woman is one of those mysterious rites of passage that we know happens, but rarely discuss. Nalebuff has broken the lock of secrecy on first periods by interviewing women from a variety of backgrounds on their first periods and compiling these wonderful stories in one place.

Here’s a little explanation of My Little Red Book’s genesis:

MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today’s teens. And while the authors differ in race, faith, or cultural background, their stories share a common bond: they are all accessible, deeply honest, and highly informative. Whatever a girl experiences or expects, she’ll find stories that speak to her thoughts and feelings.

“Ultimately, MY LITTLE RED BOOK is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude, for a new way of seeing periods. In a time when the taboo around menstruation seems to be one of the few left standing, it makes a difficult subject easier to talk about, and helps girls feel proud instead of embarrassed or ashamed. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience first hand, and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words, it aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere. It is a book every girl should have. Period.”

I enjoyed reading the personal stories of the women who contributed to this book. Some are sad, others had me laughing out loud. What impressed me along with the personal accounts was the fact that the stories in this book were compiled by Nalebuff beginning when she was thirteen, and was completed when she was sixteen. Quite a feat for a teenager. I thought this would be  a great book to include in a Women’s Studies class, or as a mother/daughter book club read. Menstruation is a part of every women’s life, and it should be celebrated as a passage into a new phase of life, not veiled in secrecy or shame.

Please visit the following bloggers to read their reviews, and enter to win a copy of the book for yourself or someone you know.

http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/
http://confessionsofaromancebookaddict.wordpress.com/
http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/
http://shereadsandreads.blogspot.com/
http://www.ReadingWithMonie.com
www.marjoleinbookblog.blogspot.com
http://worducopia.blogspot.com
http://thereviewfromhere.wordpress.com/
http://zensanity.blogspot.com/
http://scribevibe.blogspot.com/
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://carolsnotebook.wordpress.com
http://msbookish.com
http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/
http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com
http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://38thavedivareaders.blogspot.com
http://bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com
http://bookopolis.blogspot.com -
www.myreadingroom.net
www.bookbargainsandpreviews.com
http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/
http://epicrat.blogspot.com

A big thank you to Anna at Hachette Books for the opportunity to read My Little Red Book and participate in this tour!

Just Do It (REALLY!)

Now that the month is almost over, I look back on the few books I’ve read this month. I picked a book up after reading a review of it somewhere because I thought it would fit in with February. You know, romance, Valentine’s Day, all that jazz.

I was also a little bit curious. The title of the book is:

Just Do It: How One Couple Turned Off the TV and Turned on Their Sex Lives For 101 Days (No Excuses) by Douglas Brown.

Photo courtesy of amazon.com

One of the main reasons I decided to read this book was that I couldn’t believe that this book had been written about something so personal. I mean, if my husband decided to write a book about our sex life, I would probably say no.

If you’re reading this and feeling a little bit squeamish, put those feelings aside.

This is a great book on more than one level.

1. As a reader, I gained a unique insight into what can happen if a couple focused on this one aspect of their relationship, and how it impacted their relationship beyond the bedroom, as well as their relationship with their young daughters.

2. Reading Just Do It issues a challenge to those couples to take stock of your own relationship and see what might be missing in the business of daily life. (but the challenge is not a -hit-you-over-the-head kind)

3. Readers can learn that making time for intimacy with your partner, even on days you don’t FEEL like it, can go a long way toward feeling connected or reconnected with your partner.

Even though they do discuss the things they did during those 101 days, it is not a trashy book. Their sex lives are exposed without much exposure. They did kiss and tell, but the telling was not overt.

I was so impressed with this book that I suggested it to my Mom’s group book club, and we are reading and discussing it for March. Some of the members have also decided to implement their own version of 101 days to see what happens.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone in a committed relationship, whether your sex life has taken a back seat to the rest of life or not. Newlyweds can learn about how your sex life changes throughout your marriage, after children come along, and how you can maintain a loving connection with your spouse. Those married for a while can learn how to talk with your spouse about what each of your needs in the bedroom are, and how to reconnect and make the relationship stronger.

Douglas and Annie Brown made an appearance on tv to talk about their book. Click the link here to listen to the interview, and see if it doesn’t make you want to check the book out for yourself.

Happy Reading!

The Road

Here is the book I’m reading for book club this month.

Photo from amazon.com

Cormac McCarthy wrote this dark tale of a father and son’s journey through a post-apocalyptic America.

And man, is it dark.

This is the first book being read by a new book club being started by Tommie from 95.3 WAOR.

Tommie and others from the Michiana area will be meeting at the Hammes Notre Dame bookstore on Wednesday, January 28th at 7PM to discuss The Road.

Remember how I’ve mentioned before that I pick out books (sometimes) based on how the cover looks?

Yeah.

Wouldn’t have picked this one up with a ten-foot pole.

Not even out of curiosity.

So you’re probably wondering why I read it then.

(I work at the bookstore)

And I figured that I should at least give it a try before I dismiss it completely.

I tried it.

Don’t expect to see me in line when the movie comes out this year.

Even if Viggo Mortensen IS in it.

The Road does make you think.

1. What caused the state of the America the characters are now walking through?

2. What do the characters represent?

3. Are they even going to make it to their final destination?

4. What is their reasoning for going to that particular place?

I am still trying to answer these questions.

For me, The Road was not one of those can’t-put-down books.

It was more of a why-does-the-author-write-without-quotations-and-apostrophes-this-is-driving-me-insane kind of book. I had to put it down. Often. And gently, to avoid throwing it across the room. (because it would not do to make grammatical corrections in red pen on a library book).

I’ve heard McCarthy’s writing style described as “poetic.”

Okay.

Like e.e.cummings.

That’s what I thought of when I was reading.

But while I like e.e.cummings, I didn’t like that style in a novel.

The landscape was desolate. Grey.Silent. Cold. Damp.

Remember when the WTC came down?

The photos in People. Ash everywhere in NYC. Dazed people shuffling through the streets, covered in greyness.

That is the picture the characters in The Road painted for me.

I’ve been going over the reading guide questions since I finished the book. I’ll probably still be contemplating those questions when I get to the bookstore next week.

Has anyone else read this book? I’m open for discussion here. Feel free to leave your thoughts, insights or opinions.