Twilight...?

Okay, I have to say this: I don't like Twilight. Not really. I mean, sure, it's a sorta-decent book, but OMG-worthy. Maybe OMG-these-characters-are-so-lame-worthy, but not OMG-this-is-amazing-worthy. I don't know WHAT I was thinking earlier, posting about how Twilight was good. (Did I even say that? I honestly can't remember. Wow.) But last summer (2008), when I first read Twilight, I'm a little ashamed to say that I was one of those crazy fangirls. Not anymore, though, because I've seen the light. Er, the come-back-to-Kansas light. (Get it? Like... come back to Kansas now, Dorothy... enough daydreaming... ah, whatever.)

But I'm not just ranting about my annoyance with Twilight. Nope, there is actually a REASON for my rant! (That's pretty much a first.) I was on SparkNotes yesterday (ew, I HATE Paradise Lost) and I noticed that one of their writers blogged about Twilight. He was reading the series for the first time, and blogged about each chapter as he read it. It is absolutely THE most hysterical book review I have EVER read, and it inspired me! I'm pretty much going to do the same thing. Differences- I've got a different viewpoint (being my own person and all), and I've read the series before. Get ready for some pret-ty long blog posts!

I'm not sure if I should do the whole series or just some of the books. Leave a comment and tell me!

Also, I was talking to my sister, and she brought up Disney Princesses. Okay, I must say that I pretty much went off on a crazed rant about all the princesses (well, almost all). Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and almost everyone else. (Can't really touch Giselle, because Enchanted was so awesome, or Tiana, because The Princess And The Frog comes out today and I haven't seen it. Besides, it looks awesome.) But really, some of those darn princesses are so... passive.

So I'm doing the Disney Princess rants first, then the Twilight review. I'm going to do the princesses in chronological order (the order in which their movies were made- Snow White first, etc.), and hopefully by then I'll have gotten enough opinions to start my Twilight review.

Oh! Almost forgot. Song of the moment: Viva la Vida, by Coldplay. Book of the moment: Still Cirque du Freak! Just finished the fifth and sixth books this week and they were even more amazing than I expected!

Also, I just changed the template. I saw it and thought OMG PRETTY DOTS and just had to change it. :)

NEW SERIES!!

Just read a new series and it's super amazing! *SCREAM*

What I'm Reading: Cirque du Freak, by Darren Shan! Yes, it's awesome, yes, it's a movie now, and yes, it's about vampires. However, DON'T stereotype the vampire genre- these vampires are definitely different from Twilight vamps. Three words: They. Don't. Sparkle. They're also not particularly gorgeous or anything (that doesn't mean they're all hideous, though), and no, they don't drink animal blood. (Well, they can, but... it's complicated.)

It all starts when Darren Shan and his best friend Steve find two tickets to the Cirque du Freak, the self-proclaimed best freak show around. Of course, you'd have to be really twisted to go to one of those... which is exactly why they'd love to see it. But neither of them expects the effects the show will have on them...

So, a series about vampires (that drink human blood and don't sparkle) that doesn't center on romance. It makes you laugh, cry, and throw the book across the room and scream AAAHHHH I HATE YOU, DARREN SHAN!!! and three seconds later scream AAAAHHHHH YOU'RE AMAZING, DARREN SHAN!!! (It's the sign of a really good book.) Twelve new novels to read! Who wouldn't love it?

This is a true story.

I don't expect you to believe me- I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't lived it- but it is. Everything I describe in this book happened, just as I tell it.

The thing about real life is, when you do something stupid, it normally costs you. In books, the heroes can make as many mistakes as they like. It doesn't matter what they do, because everything works out in the end. They'll beat the bad guys and put things right and everything ends up cool.

In real life, vacuum cleaners kill spiders. If you cross a busy road without looking, you get whacked by a car. If you fall out of a tree, you break some bones.

Real life's nasty. It's cruel. It doesn't care about heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins.

I just wanted to make that clear before I began.

Don't know what to saaaayyyy...

That totally sounds like a line from a song, but it's not. Er, I don't think it is. If it IS in a song, I haven't heard it before. o_O If someone recognizes that line from a song, shoot me a comment and tell me what song it is! I wanna know! (It might not EXIST, Nightshade...)

ANYway, speaking of songs, I'm going to start putting a couple of my favorite-songs-at-the-moment in my posts... even though it's not related to books whatsoever... Maybe if I find a song that matches a book reasonably well, I'll put that. :)

Top of my Favorites playlist right now: Animal I Have Become, by Three Days Grace (unrelated to any books I know. It's just my favorite song at the moment)

What I'm Reading: Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins! It's amazing! :D It's the second book in the Hunger Games series (the first is The Hunger Games). Get right out to the bookstore and get it! Make sure to read these in order, though, otherwise the whole series is DEFINITELY ruined.

In this second book, after surviving the Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen tries to resume life as it was before the Games. However, nothing is quite the same as it was before. She owns a brand-new house, has everything she could ever want; but at the same time, her best friend turns his back and the districts whisper of rebellion. Now Katniss has to stop something she wasn't meaning to start. The stakes are high and are pushed to the highest when an unexpected turn of events adds yet another twist on her life...

Something seems to be wrong with my vision. The ground is too bright and shiny and keeps undulating. I squint down at my feet and see that my metal plate is surrounded by blue waves that lap up over my boots. Slowly I raise my eyes and take in the water spreading out in every direction.

I can only form one clear thought.

This is no place for a girl on fire.

A little motivation to read it soon: A third book is expected! Not sure when it's coming out, but it's definitely going to be published!

Assigned Reading :P

Raise your hand if you hate- er, deeply dislike assigned reading for school! *hand shoots into air* I had to read The Canterbury Tales. Thankfully, we just finished and it's OVER!! Admittedly, it was much better than Beowulf, but still. It was confusing. Also, it's got some... er... certain content of an inappropriate nature, so readers beware! It's kind of creepy, actually. Like, not scary-creepy, but strange-weird-creeper-stalker-creepy.

But enough about bad books. Focus on good books!

What I'm Reading: Fruits Basket!!!!! It's the most amazing manga series EVER! And don't be turned off by the manga genre. I'm definitely not a big fan of manga or anime or anything, but this series is GOOD. I'd say it's maybe age 13 and up, for a little bit of language (nothing, like, extremely profane or anything). It's the second series to ever make me literally almost fall off my chair because I was laughing so hard (Percy Jackson was the first). Natsuki Takaya (the author) is an absolute genius!

What I like so much about this series is that it's got something for everyone- I'd classify the genre as comedy-romance-sitcom-inspirational. Yes, inspirational. There's some good stuff in there. You know, stuff that makes you go "Whoa, I never thought of that..." because it's... deep, I guess? (I sound really lame right now, don't I?) It's a little odd, but overall hilarious and amazing!! READ! IT! NOW!

Here's a couple lines from the series, since a big quote wouldn't work (it's manga, after all):

"Wow! There's a lake! It's so pretty! And so big!"

"Is it that unusual for you to see a lake?"

"YES!!"

"A novelist can't be without a kimono and pen! Although I use a computer."

"Sometimes it feels like the whole world is conspiring to destroy my house..."

(And now one of the really good ones!)

"When we are first born, all we know how to do is want. We want food, we want attention. Natural instinct, I guess. But kindness is something that we all have to learn as we go. It's something that grows and develops over time... True kindness isn't something we are born with, it's something we have to work at. We have to mold it and shape it inside ourselves. Not everyone has it, but I think everyone has the potential."

EEP!

AAAHHHH!!! SO sorry I haven't posted, at all in forever. I was getting all ready to post and thinking of a good book and all, but then my Internet crashed... and stayed down for three weeks. Thankfully, it's working again, and Obsession 4 Reading is back up :D

Plus, you can feed my little fish over there ----->

If you click in their little tank, it drops food in. Then my fishies get excited and eat it.

You know you want to feed them.

You know you do.

So do it.

>:D

What I'm Reading: Forest Born, by Shannon Hale. Of course, since it's Shannon Hale, it's incredibly amazing. :) It's the fourth in the Books of Bayern (did you know there was going to be a fourth? I found out in February! EXTREMELY pleasant surprise). I think I already reviewed River Secrets, the third book... yeah, pretty sure I did.

In this fourth book, Razo's little sister, Rin, is tired of being a shadow. So when Razo and Dasha visit the homestead, she returns with them to Bayern's capital to be a lady-in-waiting to Queen Anidori. But soon after she arrives, a new threat surfaces. Someone in Kel, the country to the north, wants them all dead. But who?

((Will post quote later!))

Assigned reading :P

Ew, assigned reading for school! >_<

What I'm Reading: Beowulf, the one translated by Seamus Heaney. So far, I've read to page 87 and it's not QUITE as horrendous as I'd anticipated. (Although if you're the kind of person that's into epic poems from the early 11th century, you'll love this stuff.) It's rather hard to understand... thankfully, this translation conveniently has little notes on the side that summarize the passages, like "Beowulf confronts Uredarth" (or whatever his name is). It's extremely helpful to those of us who have a hard time understand old English. When I say old, I'm not talking Shakespeare thee-thou-thy stuff. It's older than that, if you can believe it. (The original translation in Anglo-Saxon is closer to German than English.)

Well, anyway, as a summary: There's this super duper hero named Beowulf. He kills a monster named Grendel, saving the people in a kingdom run by a very nice king. Then Grendel's mother is inexplicably ticked that her son has been killed, so she sets off to find Beowulf and kill him. From what I remember of my friend's very brief summary, Beowulf is killed in the fight and then everyone in the kingdom is sad. The End.

Oops, almost forgot an excerpt... good luck trying to understand it. A hint: This passage is from Beowulf's fight with Grendel. The fight part of the poem is actually kind of cool. (Emphasis on kind of.)

Before then, no Shielding elder would believe
there was any power or person upon earth
capable of wrecking their horn-rigged hall
unless the burning embrace of a fire
engulf it in flame. Then an extraordinary
wail arose, and bewildering fear
came over the Danes. Everyone felt it
who heard that cry as it echoed off the wall,
a God-cursed scream and strain of catastrophe,
the howl of the loser, the lament of the hell-serf
keening his wound. He was overwhelmed,
manacled tight by the man who of all men
was foremost and strongest in the days of this life.

Sorry!

OMG sorry I haven't posted lately, all TWO people who follow my blog :P Which reminds me: Tell people about my blog! I mean, I hate to advertise and be all FOLLOW MY BLOG!! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!! DO IT NOW!!, but... I feel really lame when there's only two people following... but whatever.

Soooo, I haven't been too active with this lately because I started school this week. Not fun. Well, the seeing-my-friends part is awesome, but the whole homework thing? Not. Cool. At. All. Actually, I'm doing honors math homework right now, sadly. Getting a little behind... thank heaven for the weekend!! >_<;;; (Also, in case you didn't know- the little semicolons next to a smiley like that are like little sweatdrops. Like in manga. It's to show being uncomfortable or awkward. :D)

WARNING: The following book review contains **MASSIVE SPOILERS** for the book, so if you haven't read it, DON'T read this review!!

What I'm Reading: Some people might hate to hear this (I know a few who might... but they don't read this. I think. Oh well), but I've been rereading Breaking Dawn. You probably all know that the Twilight series is by Stephenie Meyer. (If you don't- where do you live, under a rock in the middle of Siberia? No offense to anyone who lives in Siberia.) Anyway, in this fourth book of the series, Bella's set and ready to tie the knot with- who else?- Edward. (Duh.) Suddenly, things take a rather unexpected turn... so what now? *dramatic music* Dun dun DUUUUUUUUNNN!!

I've had more than my fair share of near-death experiences; it wasn't something you ever really got used to.

It seemed oddly inevitable, though, facing death again. Like I really was marked for disaster. I'd escaped time and time again, but it kept coming back for me.

Still, this time was so different from the others.

You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers- the monsters, the enemies.

When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it?

If it was someone you truly loved?

Super special!!

Yes, you read that title right- this is a super special post! Why, you may be wondering? (You know you are.) Because it has both a book AND a movie review-type-thingy! *confetti explodes from nowhere* *celebratory music*

ANYWAY! I'll get on with the stuff.

What I'm Reading: Specials, by Scott Westerfeld. Specials is the third book in the Uglies series (Uglies is first, Pretties is second, Extras is fourth). In this book, Tally's special... in more ways than one. To most people in her city, they're just a rumor, but now Tally's one of them- an agent of Special Circumstances.

Here at the party's edge, a sticky bit of memory reminded her how she always felt arriving at a bash. [...] Now her mask felt clingy and strange, a barrier separating her from the world. Very unspecial. Her cheeks flashed hot for a second beneath plastic, like a rush of shame.

Shay reached out to squeeze her hand. "Don't worry, Tally-wa."

"They're only uglies," Fausto's whisper sliced through the air. "And we're right here with you." His hand rested on Tally's shoulder, gently pushing her forward.

Tally nodded, hearing the others' slow, calm breaths through the skintenna link. It was just like Shay had promised: The Cutters were connected, an unbreakable clique. She would never be alone again, even when it felt like something was missing inside her. Even when she felt the lack of Zane like head-spinning panic.

She plunged through the branches, following Shay into the flashing lights.

What I'm Watching: Well... okay, I'll let you know that this is TOTALLY unlike me. (Usually, I'm pretty darn girly. Well, in most ways, at least. Not too thrilled about a lot of pink or anything like that- my room is blue. Avoid wearing dresses. But... ah, it's hard to explain. Let's say I'm kinda girly and leave it at that.) But anyway, last night I went to go see G.I. Joe with a bunch of other people from my old school (like, five). I'll admit it- I was expecting it to be totally lame, but I'd stomach it out. But I was pleasantly surprised- it had a valid plotline, but still had about a gajillion explosions. (I think there were at least 200 explosions, but I'm not sure. I forgot to count.) All in all, it was much better than I thought it would be. I'd give it... maybe 3 out of 5 stars? Maybe 3 1/2.

Max

Can't think of much to write about... except BOOKS! ;)

What I'm Reading: Max, by James Patterson

Max is the 5th book in the Maximum Ride series. Not saying TOO much about it here, just in case some people (what people, Nightshade? You have like one person reading your blog) haven't read the rest of the series yet. But anyway, in this 5th book, Max and the rest of the flock are on a mission to rescue Dr. Martinez, with some help from old friends and new... err... not exactly friends. Not sure what to call the US navy, you know?

Suddenly it was quiet, the kind of quiet you have out in the desert in the middle of the night when everyone around you goes silent at the same time. Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, Angel, and Total focused on me and Fang, their faces upset.

I looked from one to the next. They were really freaked, but they weren't trying to escape anything. They weren't bloody. They hadn't been in battle in the past twenty minutes.

"What. Is. Going. On?" I asked very deliberately, searching their eyes.

"It's, uh..." Nudge began, then cleared her throat. She glanced at the others, then tried again, meeting my gaze bravely. "It's your mom, Max. Dr. Martinez. She's been kidnapped. She's gone."

First Post! :D

First post! WOOHOO!! *celebratory music*

Hi there! I'm Nightshade... no, that is NOT my real name. So what is my real name? Not telling! :) Yup, that's me and my stalkerphobia. But anyway, this blog is probably going to center around- you guessed it- books. I figured, Well, reading is my favorite thing to do, so I'll make a blog about it. Every post, I'll (probably) talk about something I'm reading or one of my favorite books or something. For those of you on book overload- don't worry, I'll talk about other stuff, too, but mostly books. That way, it'll be organized chaos instead of... well... just chaos.

And before I forget, I have a question for everyone out there- is it DIET Coca-Cola or REGULAR Coca-Cola that makes Mentos explode? I can't remember, but I think it's Diet Coke. If anyone knows, post a comment and help me out! :)

What I'm Reading: River Secrets by Shannon Hale; The Magic Half by Annie Barrows

River Secrets is a part of the Books of Bayern series, written by Shannon Hale (like I said). The first is The Goose Girl, the second is Enna Burning, River Secrets is third, and a fourth is supposed to be coming out this September! *excited* I'm not sure how much I should say about this book, since it's third of a series... don't want to ruin the first two, and all that. But this series is totally awesome- it's fiction, but it's the type of fiction that's written in a way that you can believe. Sometimes I forget it's not real, and then I have to smack myself and go "Nightshade, you dork! This is fiction! Use your brain!" But then I get all sad, because it'd be WAY cool if it was nonfiction. Here's a bit from the book...

Ingridan was an ancient city. Memory ached in its stone arches, crept down its narrow alleys, sluiced through its seven rivers. And its newest memory still burned, raw and sore--a failed war, a nation shamed, and an army dishonored.

On the western edge of Ingridan, just across the Rosewater River, someone watched a man die. The man had been poor and desperate for a bit of coin, but now he was just dead, his body black from burning.

When the smoke cleared, the watcher dragged the corpse out of the nearly empty warehouse, rolled it into the river, and kept watched as it floated into the sea.

"They will pay for making me do this," spoke the voice that no one else heard. "I'll see Bayern in flames."

My sister just found The Magic Half (by Annie Barrows) at Borders last week. It doesn't seem like much, and it's a quick and easy read, but it's a pretty darn good one at that. Again, this is one of those fiction novels that's written so that it seems real (I love that kind of book).

Suddenly, Miri stopped rocking. There, in one of the many corners of her room, something glinted. Miri screwed up her eyes. It flashed like glass or a mirror. Her heart began to thump as she rose from her chair and walked toward the small, shining spot. Maybe, she thought, it's a tiny window.

But it wasn't. It was just a piece of glass, taped to the wooden board that seperated the wall from the floor. Miri knelt down to get a better look, her dark hair tumbling forward. It was shaped like the glass in a pair of eyeglasses. It was a single lens from a pair of glasses--just the lens--stuck to the paint with a strip of yellowing tape.