Moonlight

While channel surfing a month ago, I came across a show that seemed quite intriguing. I had seen previews of it prior, but they didn't catch too much of my attention. The show is Moonlight on CBS. It's a story about Mick St. John. He's a vampire. He's handsome, charismatic, and exciting. He is a private investigator and tries to keep us mortal people safe. He is not happy about his vampire status and the way he was changed.

I'm not sure why the idea of a handsome blood sucker show is so appealing. For that matter, why did I devour each of the Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books days after they became available?

I suppose there is no need to try to understand why I take delight in vampire stories. For now I'll just keep enjoying them.

The Book of Three

I am currently reading the book by Lloyd Alexander, "The Book of Three". It's the first book in the Prydian series.

About a month ago Levi and I were discussing fun books we have read. One I'm rather fond of and mentioned to Levi is "The Iron Ring", by Lloyd Alexander. Levi hadn't read it, but said that he really enjoyed the Prydian series by the same author. That next morning, Levi ordered all the books off the internet so we could each enjoy a fresh new read.

I'm about 1/2 way through "The Book of Three" and it's hard to put down. There are fun and colorful characters constantly being introduced. If you're looking for a fun read, I highly recommend these books.

Twilight

In my book club group we read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. It's a book for teens, although I assure you that as an adult, it'll still be very enjoyable to read. It's about a teenage girl who encounters a unique and strange family. The family is gorgeous and one of the teen boys really makes her knees tremble with excitement. He sounds like he's quite handsome, has perfect hair, and dresses extremely well. What teen girl wouldn't love that? The girl in the novel is a typical teen, and I was rather frustrated that she was such a stubborn gal. As an adult, it's easy to forget how stubborn I might have been at one time. As I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone, I will stop here on discussing the story.

I really enjoyed this book and had the it finished in about 2 days (something that's hard to do when I get very little reading time). As you can guess, I didn't sleep for 2 nights while I was reading this book, as I couldn't put it down.

If you're looking for a fun read, give this one a try.

Artemis Fowl

I just finished the book Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. It's a book about a kid genius and his exploits. Although I have read this book before, it was fun to start again from the beginning. I have read 3 of the novels, but I just discovered that there are now 5 books. If you are looking for a great adventure novel, and enjoyed the Harry Potter books, I highly recommend reading Artemis Fowl.

The Secret Life of Bees

I recently finished the book "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. It's about a spunky young girl named Lilly and her struggle to find peace within herself. She has lived a difficult life, and is haunted by memories of an event in her childhood. In her struggles to find the truth of things, she comes across a woman named August who's able to help her find the peace she so desparately needs.

The characters in this book are diverse. August and her sisters April, May and June are all so different and interesting. Their chosen way of worship was quite surprising and fun to read about.

The descriptions of people, places and emotions in this book were vivid, interesting and enjoyable.

If you're looking for a good book, I recommend giving this one a try.

Riddles and The DaVinci Code

For anyone who loves riddles, check this out. You get to help Robert Langdon (Character in The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown) solve mysteries.

Patrick McManus

One of my favorite humorists is Patrick McManus. You can find his work in"Ourdoor Life" and in older editions of "Field & Stream". He also has around 13 books published. I'm paticularly fond of his book "Rubber Legs and White Tail-Hairs".

If you interested in fishing, hunting, and funny stories associated with such, you must read his work. I found this online story to tickle your funnybone.

Who are the PIGs?

Here is an interesting article about PIGs in the school system.

I just finished reading "Deception Point" by Dan Brown. He also wrote "DaVinci Code", "Angels & Demons", and "Digital Fortress". The book is full of adventures, near escapes, problem solving, unknown bad guy and the usual thrills Dan Brown always excites us with. I also finished "Digital Fortress" about a month ago, and highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys such adventures.

I have recently become a self proclaimed "expert" on how to cure Jelly Fish stings. Anyone burdened with such a sting that would like some questionable advice, please let me know.

100 Greatest Books

Last week I checked out "The World's 100 Greatest Books" audio tapes from the library. To see the list of books considered to be the world's greatest, click here. This is not a full reading of each book. They are broken into sections.
1- Information on the work and it Author.
2- It's theme and contents
3- Overview of main characters
4- 30 minute story overview (the part I like)
5- The qualities and values that give this work universal appeal.

I have to admit that I have really enjoyed listening to so many classics. I've previously read several of the books on this list, so it's going to be fun to explore some of these books I was always too afraid to pick up.

Thomas Hardy & Eoin Colfer

I recently finished Thomas Hardy's "Jude The Obscure". It's about a boy named Jude and this is his life story. He meets up with some troublesome gals, and his life is miserable until the end (when he dies). This was the last novel Hardy wrote, and it was quite scandalous. I personally despised the novel.

I also just finished Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. As Colfer puts it, it's "Die Hard with fairies". It's quite good and I highly suggest reading this. If you like Harry Potter, I'm sure you'll really enjoy this book.

This evening I'm chilling with my brother who already burned one pizza in the oven, now he's working on burning the second. He calls it "cajun style" and he's trying to get me to eat it. Of course, you can't expect much from him, it's a family thing. My sister burns popcorn all the time, and actually convinced her kids that the best is the burnt stuff. Now they all fight for the chared pieces. These aren't old kids, the ages are 5-16. Yes, we're a family of evil dooers.

The Count of Monte Cristo

I recently finished the book “Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. The story was quite entertaining, and held my interest from the very beginning.
I was Expecting the story to be somewhat close to the 2002 movie staring James Caviezel, but found the movie quite altered from the book. Knowing that the story must have been made into several movies throughout the years, I turned to the public library to look for hope. It turns out that there are at least 6 different versions available made in 1912, 1934, 1971, 1974, 1999 & 2002. It may take several weeks to view the different versions, but this weekend I was able to view the 1974 version starting Richard Chamberlain. The first half of this version is very accurate. The second half took so many wrong turns, it was beyond disappointing.

I am convinced that to truly make this story in a way that will allow Alexandre Dumas to rest peacefully, it must be a 6-12 hour video.

Hey, they did it with Pride & Prejudice.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

This evening I finished Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the d’Urbervilles”. Written in 1891, Hardy considered this novel to be one of his greatest masterpieces.

In Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Tess is a peasant girl who goes by the last name of Durbeyfield. Her family was once part of the English aristocracy. Due to their decline, their name was changed from d’Urbeville to Durbeyfield.

Throughout the novel, Tess was thrown into situations that go against the rigid social conventions of the time. She was torn between two men, Alec who seduces and or rapes (this point isn’t exactly clear in the novel, but the reader is left to believe it was possibly rape), and Angel, her husband who abandons her immediately after their marriage.

I believe I cried throughout the last quarter of the book. The situation Tess finds herself in could cause any person to go mad. If at any time you feel life is hard, read this novel. You will walk away feeling that life has been good to you.

Also, I found this fascinating and wildly romantic, so I had to add this tid bit of information regarding Thomas Hardy. His ashes are in Westminster Abbey, but his heart was buried separately near Egdon Heath, a place made famous in his novels.

Lord Of The Rings

I've read the books, but I still tend to get lost in Tolkien's world. I found some information that is quite useful. You can refresh your memory on the different people and their roles, the creatures and view maps. Here is another site that as it gives some additional information that makes Tolkien's world even more magical.