Monday, December 15, 2008

Reading N Things

My very good friend Diana presented me with an early Christmas present last Thursday - she figured if she didn't give it to me right away, I would go out and get it myself. And she would have been right! She gifted me with the complete 4-volume set of the Twilight series! Yep - the teen age Vampire books the current movie craze was based on! http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html

Book for kids? I think not .. I mean, Harry Potter was susposedly a book for kids and I read the entire series .. twice! And read the final volume the day after I received it, all in one day!

I'd heard good things about "Twilight", the first in the series, and they weren't kidding! I went to bed early, around 9:30pm, book in hand. I turned the light out at 3:20am. Well, actually I had turned the light off around 2am, but couldn't stop thinking about the characters .. and turned it back on. I read that entire book before I could let myself go to sleep!!


I'm not a 'vampire' reader. My sister in law had given me an Anne Rice once and I thought 'gagggg'. I didn't even care for the movies, and I'm not a Buffy fan by any means. In a book club I was in, one of the books that was suggested was
Undead and Unwed (Queen Betsy, Book 1 by Mary Janice Davidson) - which had to be about the funniest book I'd read in a long time (funny like the Stephanie Plum Novels by Janet Evanovich - where you can't really read them with someone sleeping next to you because you burst out giggling or laughing all of the time!). Once I had read that book, I HAD to read the next in the series, and on and on. In the back of one of those books was an exerpt chapter from the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. And I was really hooked! These are super novels - mysteries actually, that just happen to have 'creatures of lore from the darkness' in them. I'm anxiously awaiting the next volume to be released .. that's the problem with great series. You end up having to wait!!

I will admit that I did 'try' another vampire writer who is susposed to be great and .. gagggg again .. that was a mistake. You HAVE to have characters you can get involved with in order to read a series!


I had just read ALL of the J.D. Robb "In Death" novels (by Nora Roberts) again .. starting from book 1 and ending with #25!! I had the latest one out - Creation In Death - and got it into my wee little brain that i HAD to read them all again, one by one and in order, before I started that one.

Then I decided I had to read ALL of the Kathy Reichs novels .. these are the books that the TV show "Bones" is based on. She's a forensic anthropologist .. think CSI type stuff (and I wonder WHY I have weird dreams!!). Now I'm caught up on everything she's had out .. and that's where Twilight came in. I NEEDED something new to read!!! THANK YOU DIANA!!

8 comments:

The Cat Bastet said...

I'm not into vampires either but I love Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series! I can hardly wait for each new book. (HBO now has a series based on it called True Blood. It's pretty good but there's a lot more sex and violence than the books, of course.)

Lauren K. Hamilton also writes vampire mysteries (here's a list of her books) but I haven't read any yet.

The Twilight series is definitely on my "to read" list!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Deb - it's nice to know another adult reader/fan of 'teen-age' novels. My son's girlfriend is reading the 3rd 'Twilight' novel right now and I CAN'T GET MY HANDS ON IT!

One of my other favorite series is the Sue Grafton "ABC" novels starring Kinsey Millhone, detective.

stitcherw said...

Many of those you listed are ones I love too, the Undead & Unwed series are toooo funny. I haven't read the Twilight series, but it is on my list. Like you, so many they list as kids books if the quality writing is there I enjoy them just as much. I love Harry Potter, and the Eragon series was great too. Only problem with so many great books is it takes away from stitching. Oh to be independently wealthy and just stitch and read. :)
Sue

j39jones said...

I love the Sookie books!!! After watching the series "True Blood" I had to go out and get ALL the books! Have read them all about 5 times!
Also love the JD Robb ones, have them all also. And like you Deb, have to read them order every time!
Going to check out the Undead & Unwed books right now and see if I like them! Only problem is, I'm running out of room! After all, there are 25 (26?) "In Death" books and there are 7 of the Sookie books and I only have 3 shelfs on my bookcase!

Grand-Bag said...

Thanks for some new reading material. I so understand that reading in bed and Janet Evon's books. Another series you might like is Jim Butcher's-wizard series about Harry Dresden. If I can't have "Rork" I'll take Harry!!!
Thanks again
A reader and most important a faithful shopper both in store (when I can get there) and over the 'net.
Dianne

The Cat Bastet said...

stitcherw said...

Only problem with so many great books is it takes away from stitching.


Try audio books. That way you can stitch and read. :) If you haven't listened to them yet, start with the Harry Potter series read by Jim Dale. He's wonderful! (I also recommend his reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.)

I get my audio books from the library or iTunes.

Happy listening!

Deb said...

Thanks for the heads up on a new author - Jim Butcher. I immediately went to Amazon.com and looked him up .. found out that the series would be under "the Dresden Files" and sent myself an email reminder for when I get into the shop tomorrow to run next door to the bookshop and see if they have the 1st one in stock. Especially as I am nearly done with Book 4, the final book in the Twilight saga! There is definately a problem with having Lizz's Books right next to the shop -- do I stitch or do I read?
And while I like the idea of audio books, I like having something to 'look up to' when I'm stitching, so it's the tv or "stitching movies" .. you know, the ones you basically know by heart so you don't need to pay attention, you know what's happening and can go "awwwww" or watch the action from time to time and then go back to stitching. Audio books and the car are my thing now .. rather than music!
You are right on with the 'voice' of the Harry Potter books .. he is fantastically awesome!!

Anonymous said...

Another "Betsy" & "Sookie" fan here! I love the True Blood series on HBO too! The good thing about those series is it only takes me about 3 hours to get thru the paperbacks so it doesn't really cut into my stitching time all that much. :-)

Tiffany in Bay City