Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Well, I'd hoped against hope that this would be the last book in this series. Seriously, the series is enough to crush a person with anticipation. I can't stand the suspense. Sadly, there will be a fourth, and we'll probably have to wait until towards the end of 2008 for it. Maybe by then I'll have enough willpower to pass it by.

Don't get me wrong. This is a great book. Great. She hasn't slowed down or lost her stuff at all in between Twilight and Eclipse. My advice is to read the end of this one in the bathtub, like I did, so when your husband comes in you can pretend you're sweating and not crying. Spoilers in the rest of this review, though....


*******


The problems is: I like Jacob so much better than Edward. Now that Bella realizes that she loves Jacob too, why wouldn't she pick him? She could have a normal life, have kids, etc. etc. From here it appears that Stephenie Meyer has written herself into a lose/lose situation. There's just no solution to this problem that's going to please everyone. Or maybe even anyone. I thought the end of this book was about the best she could do to end it all, given the corner she's written herself into. Who in the world knows what she'll do next?

Review: Deadly Advice by Roberta Isleib

So back on December 14th, Roberta Isleib read my blog reviews, commented, and asked me if I'd like a copy of a book she'd written called Deadly Advice. Wow! The blogosphere can be a weird place, so I went to her website, and she seemed to be a legitimate person. "Of course", I said, "I'd love a copy of your book! I'll even review it!" I worried about the last. What if it was terrible? I didn't promise a great review, and I have to be honest about my book opinions. Cross that bridge if it comes I thought.

I got the book (signed!) amazingly fast, and delved in. I promise you, readers, I'm not just saying this because I was a victim of random kindness -- I really loved the book! It's good. Mind you, it's not a literary tome that will be discussed in graduate literature. No, this is the little mystery you grab when you are going to the beach, or waiting for some interminable appointment and you just want to be entertained, darn it!

The main character is a clinical psychologist. I'm not a psychologist, I'm a psychotherapist (M.A. instead of a Ph.D.) but still, I could relate. I must say, though, I usually hate books where there is a therapist as the main character, because the authors usually get it so wrong. I find myself saying "She can't reveal that!" or "She would never say that!" through the whole book. Roberta got it spot on. Silly me, it took me half the book to glance at her bio and realize she is a clinical psychologist! No wonder she has it so right! duh. These clinical details don't mire you down, but even if you have a faint interest in the therapy world, you'll be glad that it's done right.

I also like mysteries where the main character isn't necessarily a sleuth or detective, just a normal person finding themselves swept up in investigating something. Roberta does this very realistically, not making it seem like the main character is excessively nosy or bizarre. Of course, at the end, her motivations are even more clear. And then there's the very end, which of course leaves you hanging deliciously so that we can look forward to the next in the series.....

There will be a next, right, Roberta?

She also has a golf mystery series that I might check out. I just love having small, easily readable paperback mysteries on hand for those occasions where a book in the purse is just what you need....

Books of 2007

Ok, I don't have time for a fancy list with links to all my reviews. I'm just going to post my completed reading list for 2007 here so I can start a 2008 reading list on my sidebar. In 2007, I read 66 books - 15 non-fiction, 51 fiction. As usual, before the list, here's my dubious awards:

Best Book of the Year, hands down: The Book Thief
Worst Book of the Year, hands down: The Inheritance of Loss
Best Young Adult Book: The Giver
Best Non-Fiction Book: Yoga and the Quest for the True Self
Book that made me laugh so hard milk came out my nose: Eat, Pray, Love
Book I loved that other people hated: Special Topics in Calamity Physics
Book I hated that other people loved: The Echo Maker/The Eyre Affair
Book I just can't stop thinking about: The Doomsday Book

And without further ado, here's the list:

This Year I Will...by M. J. Ryan
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Changing for Good by John Norcross
An Unfinished Season by Ward Just
Change your Brain, Change your Life by Daniel Amen
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Empire of the Sun by J. D. Ballard
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Deception by Denise Mina
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
Plot Against America by Philip Roth
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
The Power Tactics of Jesus Christ by Jay Haley
Half of a Yellow Sun
Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller
The Brief History of the Dead by Keven Brockmeier
Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
What is the What by Dave Eggers
Turn Stress Into Bliss by Micheal Lee
Giraffe by J. M. Ledgard
A Hole in the Universe by Mary McGarry Morris
Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
A Certain Chemistry by Mil Millington
Falling in Love is Not Enough by Joseph Dragun
The State Boys Rebellion by Michael D'Antonion
Waxwings by Jonathan Raban
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self by Stephen Cope
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
And Baby Makes Three by John Gottman
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
TRACON by Paul McElroy
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
Forgetfulness by Ward Just
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Dark River by John Twelve Hawks
Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Indian in the Cupboard
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The pH Miracle by Robert Young
The Giver by Lois Lowry
How to Improve your Marriage without Talking about it by Patricia Love
Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott
New England White by Stephen Carter
The Divide by Nicholas Sparks
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Fall on Your Knees
Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan
The Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A Little Love Story by Ronald Merullo
Blood Memory by Greg Iles
72 Hour Hold by Bebe Moore Campbell
How to be a Wealthy Therapist by Casey Truffo
True Evil by Greg Iles.

Mega Book Reviews

Ok, I've been seriously remiss in updating you all (all two of you!) about my reading progress. I have been reading some fantastic books, but the time to write about them hasn't been forthcoming. So below, without graphics or fanfare, are my opinions about my latest 11 books:

Fall on Your Knees: An Oprah book, if you want to know. Seriously, though, a couple of people chose it for the Something About Me challenge and I'd been wanting to read it. Engrossing, a quick read, very good. I'd highly recommend it, especially if you are interested in literature about Nova Scotia.

Prayer for the Dying: I've wanted to read more of Stewart O'Nan since I read The Good Wife a year or so ago. This was the one the library happened to have so I picked it out. But geez Louise, this was a hard book to read! It's about a town in Civil War era that is swept by cholera. Stewart O'Nan is a beautiful writer, but man oh man, don't choose an emotional time to read this one.

The Bridge of Sighs: I love, love, love Richard Russo. When I saw he had a new book out, I couldn't wait to read it. So I didn't. I listened to it, through Audible.com. I had to drive to San Diego (6 hours) by myself, and hour of commuting for 12 days and then home again. So I needed something to do, and I listened to this book the whole way. Like other times when I've listened to a book, part of what I come to love about it is the reader's voice and the ambiance of listening to it, so I can't say if you'll love it as much as I did if you read it. But I bet you will. Richard Russo has a way of bringing you into small town upstate New York life like no one else.

Eat, Pray, Love: Yeah, I know, everyone has read this one. Reading it at a yoga training makes it even better. This is non-fiction, if you don't know. I really don't like non-fiction, reviews always claiming that they are "laugh out loud funny" and they don't even make me crack a smile. This one really did make me laugh out loud. It's feel good all the way. If you haven't ever had a spiritual crisis, or any other kind of crisis, I guess maybe you won't really get it. But for the rest of us, it's solid gold.

Twilight/New Moon by Stephenie Meyer: These are the first two books in Stephenie Meyers series. I don't know how many books she's planning, but me and all her other readers (I'm sure about this) hope it will go on forever. I heard about these in the book blogging world, hesitated because I'm not a vampire story lover, but finally gave in. I finished Twilight on a Tuesday about noon, and we were supposed to travel on Wednesday. I actually drove to the bookstore and bought the second one for my trip, something I rarely do. I'd had to wait a month for the first one from the library and I wasn't about to wait that long again!! I've got the third one, Eclipse, on hold now. Everyone I've gotten to read Twilight has promptly called me to tell me they hate me, as piles of laundry threaten their lives. Yep, you won't be able to do anything else once you start.

Water for Elephants: What an unusual book. I almost got this one several times and decided I wasn't in the mood to read a story about a traveling circus. Finally I read it because my sister in law loaned it to me. All I can say is, don't hesitate!! What wonderful writing, what a departure from all the run of the mill books you might choose. It's powerful, you'll love it, go get it right now.

A Little Love Story: Well, I liked this book. A book about falling in love. Falling in love with someone sick with cystic fibrosis, to be exact. A good, fast read. Really didn't like being left hanging at the end, though. It's not a bad book, but I could take it or leave it.

Blood Memory: I'm a psychotherapist, and my supervisor once recommended this book in our supervision group as having a lot of information about working with people who have childhood sexual abuse issues. I put in on my list, as that's not my specialty but you never know when it will show up. But if you're not a psychotherapist, never you mind. It's a gripping crime novel type read. Nothing majorly literary about it, it's very John Grisham/James Patterson/John Sanford-y (although I think Greg Iles is a better writer than some of those). It's a big book and I read it in two days. You just have to know what happens!

72 Hour Hold: I'm reading this now and almost done, so I'll leave a review, because heaven knows when I'll be back here. I wonder if this book is fascinating to me simply because I'm a therapist, or if it would be no matter what I did. I'm not sure. The writing is good, it really delves into the dynamics that happen to parents when their kids turn out to be mentally ill. If you have no interest in this area, however, I just don't know how much you'd like it.

Alright, that's it. See you in six months! haha. Just kidding. I hope to be able to update this more regularly in the new year...it's not a resolution or anything, mind you.....

Review: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

I read this book for the Something About Me challenge. I've had the feeling for years that perhaps I'm the only person in the entire world that hasn't read this book! It's my friend Emily's favorite book in the world, so I took this opportunity to read it.

I really liked it. Normally, science fiction isn't my thing, but in the past few years I've been finding more and more SF titles that are great. This is one of them. Of course you have to suspend your own reality, but the characters are so great (and human) that you can really let yourself travel into the future and see the sights.

Even if you think you don't like SF, you'll like this one.

Review: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

This is my last "official" book for the Something About Me Challenge. I'm done! However, I'm quickly moving on to my "I hope I have time to read these" list.

Loved this book. Loved it. It only took me two days to read, because I just couldn't put it down. Authors like Markus Zusak amaze me. What happens with so many authors that I like is that after a few books I never read them again because, well, read one and you've read them all. I mean, I swear, pick up a John Grisham or a James Patterson and you can just substitute names and places and "voila!" you've got a new book! (Sorry Grisham and Patterson fans).

Not so with Markus Zusak. If you read The Book Thief and loved it, prepare for the same engaging, can't-put-it-down style, but a completely different book. Totally different premise, totally different setting, timeline, etc. There's not a thing about this book that reminded me of his other, except how much I loved it.

Now you're reading about a 19 year old card-playing cabdriver who's a bit of a loser. All of a sudden, he starts getting messages delivered to him on playing cards and you're off on a great adventure. Read this, read The Book Thief, and then you'll probably do what I'm going to do, which is scour the library and book stores for his other ones.

Review: The Eyre Affair

I know, I know, I'm really behind on reviewing the books I've read. You'll have to forgive me until I take my big test this week. Then I should have some extra brain power for other things!

I read this one for the Something About Me challenge I'm hosting. I really wanted to like it. I tried to like it. I did finish it, although it took me absolutely forever. It's about a female literary detective of sorts that pursues literary mysteries. A person who loves books should love this book!

I didn't love it, though. It has a pretty distinct science-fiction type flavor, with a bizarre world that is unrecognizable. Part of my dislike was that I felt like this imaginary world wasn't described well enough. The book is supposed to be set in 1985, but it's not like the 1985 I lived through. So what happened? How did the world get in such a state? I guess it's really not necessary to describe - you just have to let go and accept that this is a totally different world and just get into it. But I just couldn't. I liked the characters well enough, and I wanted to read to the end and make sure the bad guy got taken care of. But I just couldn't suspend my "reality" enough to fall into this crazy book world.

It probably has something to do with all the stuff that's going on in my life right now. I have little patience for reading anyway, and then this book was a little too much imaginary work. So if you have this on your list, don't give up. You might have a totally different experience. I might even try the second in the series at some point when my life isn't so crazy, who knows?

I only have one more to go from my original list of 6!