Review: The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Here's the downfall of reading about nine books all at the same time--it takes forever to actually finish any one book!  For whatever reason, I have been in the mood to rotate my reading.  It's all good though, since they are all pretty great choices.

The latest book I finished was The Host by Stephenie Meyer.  I've had this since it first came out but was dissuaded from finishing it when I got bored in the first hundred pages.  That was a very bad sign for me.  I pushed it aside for something else and ended up not getting back to it until now. 

Synopsis:  This sci-fi read takes a departure from the vampire Twilight series Meyer is so famously known for to consider a future world where humans have been invaded by an alien creature.  This creature, who is planted/entwined into the base of their skull, takes on the body of their hosts, and in the case of the main character, that host is still very present and screaming in the background.  The host, Melanie Stryder,  has no choice but to share very emotional memories of a brother and first love she left behind in the Arizona desert.  This alien soul called Wanderer (or Wanda) feels compelled to go in search of Melanie's past and falls headlong into the human world and face to face with Jared, Melanie's love.  The struggle between what the body Wanda has been placed in feels for Jared, and Melanie's own frustration at having someone share these memories, leads these characters down a strange road.  Eventually, Wanda learns what it is to be human, and the very real physical and emotional power of love on said hosts.

Review:  I will never claim myself to be good with science fiction.  Although this novel is said to be an easy sell to those of us who are hesitant with the genre, I will admit to still struggling a bit.  In some respects, it could be that the deep sense of morality that the alien "Wanderer" or "Wanda" had just seemed strange to me at first.  Yes she was an alien, but her thoughts and ideas seemed so human-like as to make it difficult to see her as such a leech.  On the flip side, we knew immediately that Melanie was a feisty soul, since she continued to fight for her presence in her own body.  I loved Melanie and wanted her to have her life back, so the complication of having a moral and kind alien taking up space in her body really complicated the entire situation.

The first hundred pages or so really are a bit slow.  I have to warn reluctant readers that for me, at least, it was difficult to get through all of the set up for the society and hosting by human bodies that goes on in this future time.  The relationships in the book are well established though, with characters that are complicated and easy to care about.  Meyer does a nice job of complicating our expected beliefs that Wanda is the bad guy in the story and should be eliminated.  Yes, she has taken over Melanie's body, but could it be that Wanda is as much a victim in this story as her human host?

The different ideas about the value of life and relationships were interesting, and although I struggle with my own suspension of belief, I thought it was a good story.  It's not always my cup of tea to read survivalist tales or about alien life forms.  Who knew I was such a hard sell?  While not the top of my list of favorite reads, it was an interesting new one.  Oh, and I can also say that after putting it down the first time, that I've read it!

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based off of a personal copy of the novel.

What books have you started, only to put them down and not return to them until later down the road?

Library Loot: A Happy Weekend

Library Loot is a weekly meme hosted by Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader and Claire from The Captive Reader.  This is a great way to share books and such that you've picked up from the library.  Since I haven't actually posted this meme in awhile, I thought that this weekend might be a great time to jump back on the wagon! 

Thanks to a lot of road construction going on around my house this fall, I'm only making it to the library once a week, which usually falls on a Saturday. 

 Today I dropped off Stephenie Meyer's The Host, which I finished on Friday.  It was a little strange actually, but I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.  I'll be reviewing it later on this next week.

 As mentioned last week, I'm always checking out new cookbooks.  This week I checked out Jim Lahey's My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method.  I had read about it in one of my many food magazines and knew I had to check it out.  I've already glanced through it and know I'll have to give it a try.  His basic method is patterned after old Roman methods of bread making that look pretty easy.  I'm hoping for something good!

 My best friend has been raving about A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg for weeks now.  In fact, she insisted I run out and get a copy ASAP.  (Sadly though, the copy I checked out had about 20 pages that were dog eared wherever there were recipes.  Yep, I had to go through and flatten them out before it drove me crazy!)

I also picked up volume four and five in the Emma series by Kaoru Mori.  I've really enjoyed this series so far and am looking forward to continuing the story.

Finally, I picked up Things I Know About Love by Kate LeVann.  I saw this circulating through the blogosphere and wanted to read it.  I'm surprised by how few pages the book has, so I can see that it's going to be a pretty short read.

This week I have a nice variety of books that I've checked out.  Since I'm reading about nine other books right now though, with fifteen more in the wings, I might be getting into these a little later.  That's fine with me though.  I love having all of these great reading options!


What books do you have waiting in the wings?

Why I Can't Wait for Glee, Season 2

This week they re-aired my favorite episode from season one, which was centered around Artie.  Yes, I love Artie!  He has a distinctive sound to his voice, and how can you not like this scene where he dreams of hopping up from his wheelchair and dancing?!?



My other favorite scene is actually at the very end when he sings "Dream a Little Dream," a sequence centered around the fact that he's not coming out of his wheelchair.  Almost every day this summer, I played that song.  Now that I'm back at work, I play it just about every morning.  It's sad in this context, but it strangely puts a smile in my heart.  Yep, I'm a little cheesy that way!



I'm not some crazed fan, but I will say that for someone who isn't into scripted TV shows (yes, I'm a reality show, BBC, and documentary fan), I fell in love with this show last year.  I can't wait for September 21st to get here so I can start watching Season 2!

If you're a Glee fan, what's your favorite song or scene from the show?

P.S.  Don't forget to enter my bookmark giveaway.  It's super easy to enter!

Double Review: Emma vols. 2 & 3 by Kaoru Mori

As I've mentioned before, manga and graphic novels are a new field for me, only discovered within the past year. Thanks to reviews and mentions by great book bloggers, I have been working my way through  quite an exciting range of stories.  One of the great recommendations I picked up was the Emma series by Kaoru Mori. Told in Victorian England and portraying the differences in class distinction, this manga is a fun read for this English teacher!

Synopsis:  In volume two our shy maid Emma has developed a friendship with our wealthy hero William.  Although their social classes are vastly different and their lifestyles separated by an access to money, the two are drawn to one another and enjoy being together.  As expected, difficulty for the pair comes from all the differences listed, and few can understand why William would even give Emma a second look.

(Spoiler Alert)  Volume 3 picks up with Emma leaving London.  Although William has expressed his interest in Emma and showed that to his family, this interest has not been received well.  Now with Emma out of the city and seemingly out of reach, their fears might be for nothing, as William has no way of reaching her or knowing where she has gone.

Review:  Although both volumes in this series are engaging and fun to read, I found that I enjoyed volume two the most.  Much of the action and excitement picked up in the second volume, as we come to realize that William just might be a sweet match for our shy maid Emma.  Around every bend in the story I found myself cheering for her.  Who doesn't want to see a lower class woman win the heart of a rich man?  Yes, I'm sure there is some of that damsel in distress saving going on here (that I recognize and shudder at my own ease in accepting), but it gives it that escape factor that I enjoy.  This series is really quite fun to read.  I love the Victorian Era and the restraint it always guarantees a piece.  In a manga such as these, that restraint is not lost, and manages to pull the story forward in a way that adds elements that pictures and narration alone can not.

If you haven't yet tried a manga and enjoy any element of the Victorian period, then I might recommend you give these a shot.  Mori has created a fun series thus far, with a story filled with complications and irony.  Check them out!


*FTC Disclosure:  This review based off of library copies of the story.

Blogging News, a Readathon, & a Giveaway

Happy Labor Day to my American friends!  Sadly, this was a much-needed break already and I've been busy, busy, busy.  I spent some time on Saturday canning tomatoes, which turned out to take much longer than I remember.  Thankfully  they are all finished though, so like those Little House on the Prairie books I read a million times when I was younger, I'm ready for the blizzards of winter to hit!  (Also thankfully, there will be no side of beef hanging from my back porch to go chop off a piece.  That part of the story I conveniently skip in my own life.)

Today is my day to happily read to my heart's content.  Speaking of which, I recently joined the Dewey's Read-a-Thon being held on October 9th, the day after my birthday.  I can't think of a better way I'd rather spend my first day being a year older than to hide away behind a stack of good books!  If you're not familiar with this Read-a-Thon, it basically is a time that everyone who participates will read for 24 hours straight.  I've yet to ever read the entire time, but have definitely enjoyed trying.  There are often great challenges to join in if you're reading is slacking off, as well as wonderful cheerleaders who stop by to give you encouragement.  Here are some of my experiences if you're interested (cheering for Read-a-Thon 4/09 and reading for Read-a-Thon 10/09).  As always, it will be a great time, so head over to sign up today!

Also, launching today is a great new Jane Austen website being hosted by twenty great Austen writers.  Sharon Lathan, writer of Mr. and Mrs. Darcy: Two Shall Become One, Loving Mr. Darcy, My Dearest Mr. Darcy, and soon to be released in October, In the Arms of Mr. Darcy (which I'll be reviewing SOON), is heading up much of the action.  They have some really great posts up already, along with a fun looking scavenger hunt that I think I'll interrupt my reading today to go participate.  Stop by Austen Authors today to join in the Austen fun and to read great posts by many wonderful authors.

 Last up, I have a giveaway I kept meaning to post and decided that now is a great time to share!  This past summer I went into a Polynesian store at the local mall in Kaneohe, Hawaii.  We frequent that mall because it has our closest movie theater.  One day while we were waiting for our movie to start, I noticed these cool bookmarks made out of Samoan print designs that had been cut into strips.  The lady in the store (also Samoan) told me it was just their way of preserving the artwork once the piece could no longer be used (why it couldn't be used, I don't know).  I thought they were pretty interesting and bought a bunch of them to share!

If you'd like to have me send you one of these unique bookmarks, just fill in the form below with your information.  I'll draw FIVE winners, and the drawing will run until Sunday, September 12th at 11:59 pm (MST).  This giveaway is open internationally!



Good luck!

Around the Blogosphere: Foodie Blogs

As with many readers, I have a secondary love for cooking and cookbooks.  Last year I started following a couple of food related blogs and soon had a nice list that I enjoyed checking into.  I'll admit to checking out a couple of cookbooks every time I go to the library, so foodie blogs have seemed to fill a new place in my reading interests, and one that I thought I should share!

Anniebakes is a cute blog that shares some pretty easy and simple recipes.  This is a newer blog I've added to my list, but a good one!

Another blog I've followed for awhile is Brownie Points, which has some pretty delectable looking treats.  I love the pictures on this site and have used an idea or two about ingredients to jazz up my own cooking.

Chocolate & Zucchini is another blog that I have followed for awhile.  I liked the wide range of recipes that this blog features, from baked treats, to starters, to main dishes.  There is a nice variety shared on this blog, which is why I keep going back!

Closet Cooking is actually a new acquisition to my foodie blog roll.  This blog popped up in my search for more Thai recipes, at which time I also noticed a nice range of cuisines represented by this blog.

Another pretty new blog I discovered is Deep South Dish, which has me pretty excited.  Having lived in Mississippi before, I was excited to see some good southern dishes posted.  Along with that new blog, I discovered Kitchen Belleicious at the same time.  This blog has really nice recipe cards that are ready to print and use.  I loved the banana pudding tarts that was posted not long ago and have decided that I have to try making them.

Mommy's Kitchen is a nice, home cooking blog.  It's always fun to find recipes you didn't even know you were looking for in the first place, right?  Along this line, I also really like Well Fed, which walks through the steps for some nice recipes you could share with family and friends.

Dare I admit that some of my first foodie blogs that I followed were cupcake blogs?!?  The pictures, flavor combinations, and passion of the bloggers had me hooked right away.  One of my favorite is Cupcake  Bakeshop by Chockylit.  If you like pretty pictures of cupcakes and interesting combinations, then I can really recommend this blog.

Another place to see mouth-watering baked goods is My Baking Addiction.  Their site is really well put together and has great pictures of the recipes they cook up.

On my foodie blog roll I have a couple of blogs that are dedicated to Italian food.  The first is My Italian Grandmother, which posts a variety of Italian dishes from time to time.  (Just a warning though, it also has spontaneous music which you can shut off by scrolling down on the right-hand side.)   The other is Sunday Sauce. They actually haven't posted in awhile, but I like the search capabilities on the blog because they have a backlog of some good recipes.  I think the real reason I appreciate this site is because they explain things about the food or recipes.

The last site I want to mention is Simply Recipes.  This blog is really nice, and dedicated 100% to recipes and beautiful foods to share with their readers.  I love, love, love this blog and have tried out several of their recipes in the past. 

There we go.  I've wanted to share this secondary blogroll for quite some time.  If you like reading cookbooks and recipes, this is a nice collection of blogs to try out.

I know that there is a wonderful range of blogs out there.  What other types of blogs do you follow?

Review: Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City by Holly Denham

Life sure does move right along.  Here we are facing the first of September and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it all.  As I've mentioned, I'm teaching a Popular Fiction class this year and so far so good.  The students just started The Hunger Games and are creating their own web sites, where I will have them create digital portfolios (which is kind of a fancy way of saying that they'll be writing and responding online).  Most of the students really got into creating their own sites, so I'll be interested to see what they create.  They should be fun to see!

On a more personal note, I've had a hard time this week of pulling my routine together.  I realize that every year I start off the first month or so of school collapsing as soon as I get home.  My classes are great this year, but I'm definitely wiped out when I get home.  There just isn't enough caffeine in Diet Coke to get me through a busy day.  I love you Diet Coke, but you don't give me as much pep as I'd like!  Last night I was beyond tired and just wanted to shut the world out and read, which was perfect, because I was able to finish Holly's Inbox: Scandal in the City.  It was light, breezy, instant get away for me.  In short, it was exactly what I needed to unwind at the end of the day.

Synopsis:  Picking up from where Holly was in Holly's Inbox, we find her still working as a receptionist for a London bank and in a relationship with a former school flame, Toby.  Still told in the epistolary form as the first book, we're privy to emails and even a few text messages between Holly and her coworkers, friends, family, and main squeeze.  Although everything seems all right on the surface, work has put Holly in the hot seat, as well as push Toby to working long hours away from Holly.  Eventually, things begin to crumble and Holly has to determine what is most important in her life so she can protect her future.

Review:  In much the same style as Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary, Holly is a bit of a character who always seems to be getting herself into some trouble.  Her letters to her best friend Jason, felt fun and whimsical, and topped my list for emails I most wanted to read.  Jason was sweet and caring, but a real crack up most of the time, mocking Holly for her insecurities and egging her on to push her relationship with Toby a bit farther.  This relationship aside, I couldn't help but wonder if people really do send as many short, even one-liner emails, as these characters do?  I can't imagine spending my day shooting short emails back and forth to people, but maybe that saves their sanity at a desk job?

The story was funny to read, and although it was predictable with its conflict and resolution, I still found myself eager to see how it came together.  As I mentioned in my previous review of Holly's Inbox, there is a risk in sticking strictly to the written communications without any commentary by the author.  It was easy to sense where things were going, but the author did still manage to throw in a few surprising twists.  I think I enjoyed this second installment a bit more than the first, possibly because the tension in the story came up a little earlier and had me flipping pages for the resolution.  Holly could be a bit of an acquired taste for some readers; she is quirky, anxious, and a bit insecure, which strangely annoyed me and made her more likable.  Although not perfect, it is a fun read that breaks out of the norm and helped me escape for an evening!

*FTC Disclosure:  A review copy of the book was provided by Sourcebooks.