You know how you watch a movie and it’s pretty great- so then the sequel comes out and it bites the big one? That’s exactly what this book was for me. I didn’t exactly love the first book, “The Looking Glass Wars,” but it was a fun read- whereas the sequel was not. It felt exactly like a segue into another book- but the thing is, there IS NO OTHER BOOK TO SEGUE INTO YET. It’s mostly just Alyss developing as a character, and more sci-fi tech speak. This is the thing too, the book isn’t all that long to begin with. He could have totally made it twice as long and tied up some of the loose ends. This is what the book was- there’s some trouble in Wonderland and nobody knows where it’s coming from. Redd returns (sorry spoiler, but it is the title of the book so it’s pretty obvious) and reeks some havoc, the entire book then ends with a bang and no resolution to anything but the immediate problem. I’m also unhappy because I saw that he had released another book called “Hatter M” that I thought was the first book told from a different perspective(so says Amazon). Completely wrong again! It’s a comic book developing the Hatter M character, and I’m not a comic book reading gal. So yeah, I’m pretty upset, and I don’t recommend reading this series until a few more of the (real)books come out.

I walked into Costco the other day and this was just sitting there waiting for me.  I had seen the $100 version at Amazon and thought that was the only option.  I had no idea it came out in a standard version for us little folk who can’t spend $100 on a book.  I can not express how excited I was.  I could barely shop, I wanted to go home and read it so badly.

And the greatest thing is…it didn’t disappoint.  So here’s the story.  Beedle the Bard essentially wrote down wizarding fairy tales for children.  These are a collection of his stories.  The stories can be a bit gruesome but all have great morals.  My favorite tale is The Fountain of Fair Fortune, in which three witches and a knight are on a quest to find a fountain that will change the direction your life is headed for the better.  On the way they find strengths and opportunities they didn’t know were available to them.

Dubledore, written before his death, has his say at the end of each story.  Very funny, insightful stuff.  And yes, in case you were wondering The Tale of the Three Brothers (the cloak, wand and stone) is in there along with the funny symbol Dumbledore drew.  It isn’t where I imagined it being (I thought it would be near the title) but it’s there.

My oldest is seven and I don’t think I’ll be sharing these stories with him.  Then again I don’t share our normal weird fairy tales with him.  Totally appropriate for a little older kid though and definitely appropriate for adults.

JK Rowling is one of my absolute favorite authors and I love and will cherish the newest edition to the Harry Potter world.  I wish she would come do some kind of book signing.  Has anyone met her?

I didn’t even have time to update the “What we’re reading” page because I inhaled this book so quickly. I love it when authors use books or stories that are really familiar, and then twist them into their own reality. That’s why I LOVE Jasper Fforde (he’s so witty and smart, and I love his strong female heroines), and likewise I totally got into this book, which is a retelling of Lewis Carrolls “Alice in Wonderland.” I just want to add as a sidenote that my love for retellings doesn’t always hold true- since I thought “Wicked” was a little too strange for my tastes, although I loved “Confessions of an Evil Stepsister.”  I never understand why some men try to write books from a female perspective- I honestly think men are really easy to figure out, so they’re easy to write about (sorry babe if you’re reading this)- but women are so much more complex then men usually write them as(although I’ll concede that there are exceptions to this rule too) .

So the first fifty pages felt almost too sci-fi for me, and I wasn’t relating with the main character Alyss. I’m really glad I stuck with it though, because once I got past all the weird lingo and name spellings, I started to really enjoy myself. The basic premise is that the story of Wonderland is real, and Alice (Alyss) is not a girl from our time sucked into theirs, but a girl from their time that has escaped into ours. The misadventures in our world as she avoids being killed by her aunt Redd, and then her subsequent return into Wonderland to battle her, make up the bulk of the book.  The only thing I had a hard time in figuring out was all the “imaginings” going on- like only certain characters in the royal family have the power to imagine things real.  It just didn’t make much sense to me, and maybe I’ll have to reread it to understand- I might have missed something in the beginning.  Overall it was a fun read, like a good and scary fairy tale with a bit of science fiction thrown in for good measure.

It takes me a while of knowing someone to know what books to recommend them, but I feel safe recommending this to everyone who has some familiarity with Alice in Wonderland, and would enjoy jumping back into her world for a little while. It’s another book written for teens (I borrowed it from my youngest sister) so it read very quickly. I have to warn you though, that it’s the first in another trilogy series- the second book “Seeing Redd” is already out, but the third doesn’t even have a title yet.

Lord of the Rings was my first experience with a book I loved turned into a movie.  Hard to believe, I know, but I have only recently become a reader.  I wanted to know what the story was about before I saw the movie so I picked up the books while on vacation and absolutely fell in love.  I mean head over heels in love with these books.  I would imagine myself on the journey with Frodo through the dense woods to Tom Bombadil’s house.  Meeting Galadriel in her treetop palace in Lothlorien.  It was so vivid to me and real.  I felt like if I could just go to England I could find these places.  Well, turns out you have to go to New Zealand but I’m still willing to make the trip.  My point here is, I had everything laid out in my head when the first movie came out.  And you know what, when I left the movie theater I was totally mixed.  I loved it because it was so beautiful and portrayed so much of the book well, but I was mad because some characters were left out (Tom – but how on Earth are you really going to film him, right?) and some were changed (Arwen had a much bigger part than she did in the book).  But, like I always do, I took a few days and let it all sink in and came to LOVE the movies.

Now, my second book to movie was Harry Potter.  This has a little different ending because just like LOTR I was head over heels and had the whole book already playing in my head.  I knew how Harry acted and talked and exactly what he looked like.  I had Hogwarts mapped out in my head and when I went to see the first movie I was really disappointed.  It came on the heels of LOTR so I expected it to be the same quality.  But it wasn’t.  It was definitely lower budget and poor Daniel Radcliff just didn’t pull it off for me.  At all.  Sure he kind of had the look, but he didn’t act like my Harry.  Same with the second film.  It was just OK.  Fun to see with my kids but not a breathtaking experience.  Then the Prisoner of Azkaban came out and I was as giddy as a schoolgirl.   That was a great flick.  I still Have issues with Mr. Radcliffe so I just ignore him and pay attention to everything else going on on the screen.  Harry is still my Harry not his.  I think the difference is they didn’t stick as closely to the books and they just made a great movie.  They put some money into it and got a great Director and had fun.  I think the last two movies have been great but not on the same level as the third.  So Harry Potter started off rocky and has really captured my heart since.

I think enjoying a movie that has been adapted from a book you love has a lot to do with expectations.  If you go into it expecting it to be like LOTR you’re probably going to be disappointed.  If you think to yourself something like, “You know Harry Potter wasn’t that great but they worked the kinks out, and I bet this movie will be like that” you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised when they get even one scene right.  Then again, you could hate it all the way through.

I had this happen to me with Dracula.  I read it and absolutely loved it.  Not head over heels but I did get into it and was really surprised by how tame it was.  I wasn’t scared at any point in the book.  At all.  So then I get the BBC version of the book.  I’ve seen their work with Austen.  It’s amazing what they do and how much effort they put into capturing the nuances of her books.  I love watching them because I feel like they are pulled right from the pages of the books.  Not the case with Dracula.  Like I said, expectations.  They left one key character out completely and totally changed another key relationship just to get more drama.  Now if this had been anyone other than BBC I would cut them some slack but this is totally inexcusable.  Now, can I detach myself and say it was a good film, I’m not there yet.  I just had my expectations set too high and now I can’t see clearly.

That brings us to Twilight.  I went into Twilight with even lower than Harry Potter expectations.  I thought the movie was going to suck big time.  But, I’m a huge Twilight fan so I was always planning on seeing it.  As you read in my review I liked it.  I can not stand Kristen Stewart as Bella but as long as I ignored her I was generally happy with the movie.  Do I think they can improve for the next one?  Oh, heck yeah.  But I had such low expectations going into it that I came out pleasantly surprised.  And this was the first film in the series.  They’ve got some kinks to work out before it gets really good.  Now, I have friends that hated this movie.  With passion and vehemence they hated this movie.  So it’s my Dracula for them.  What can you do?  I’ve seen the movie twice and we’re planning on seeing it again so obviously I’m good with it’s shortcomings.

Bottom line is, the movie is never as good as the book.  Never.  A movie is never going to perfectly capture what the author penned and what you’ve already envisioned in your head.  But, it can be fun sometimes.  Whether they hit it almost perfect like LOTR, or get it kind of right like Harry Potter and Twilight, or miserably fail like Dracula, I still like that they’re trying.  Here’s to trying!

What have your book to movie experiences been?

My five year old brought home these two library books this last week and I liked them enough to want to share.  The first is Dino in the Jungle! by Mark Shulman.  It’s a silly repeating book about a rhino that keeps being mistaken as a dinosaur.  It repeats itself over and over again with different animals so that by the second reading of the book Truman could tell me the story himself.  He loved getting to the end when the rhino is finally discovered. “‘That’s no Dino,’  he said. ‘That’s a Rhino!  There’s a Rhino in the jungle’ ‘Hello Rhino!’”  This is not a book I would go out and buy but I would definitely be OK if he brought it home from the library again.

The second book is Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss.  I know, you’re thinking to yourself “I’ve read that book a thousand times”.  You’re right but I have never read this book until this last week.  What a gem of a find.  We own a bunch of Dr. Seuss books and some of them are such nonsense that going into this book I didn’t think I was going to like it.  But I did.  Very much.  For those of you not familiar with it it’s a narrator speaking to a boy about the adventures he will have in his life.  The narrator talks about good and bad times that the boy will encounter throughout his life.  The narrator talks to the boy about picking himself up and going back along his journey when things go wrong.  I couldn’t believe it as I was reading.  What a great message for my kid to bring home from school.  I enjoyed this book so much that it may be an addition to our library.

Are you guys familiar with these books?

I sacrificed most of last nights sleep to this book. That’s the highest praise I can give since I’m a mom with two kids. Completely addictive; compelling- put down whatever you’re reading and go buy this immediately.

I will put in a few words of caution though. You will read this in one go- there is no way of putting it down once you’ve started in. I almost peed my pants; it’s that difficult to put down. I started at 945pm and finished at 145am, so give yourself at least that much time.

This is only the first book in a series, and it just came out, so you will be waiting a while for the next one. That’s in case you care (some people like to read a series after all the books have come out; I am not one of those people).

That’s my review in a nutshell. I don’t want to ruin the experience for anyone, and reading this book is an experience you won’t soon forget(the rest of my night was spent absorbing, and dreaming, about this book). Enjoy.

This book was a total last minute purchase as my husband and I were leaving Ireland. I’m a total sucker for Children’s books from other countries. They’re always such fun reads, especially when there’s slang, or when they use their own words for things. This is currently at the top of my 4 year old’s reading list. The best part about this book is that you don’t have to read it at all! It comes with a CD that is a reading of the book(with sound effects) that is way better (and cooler) then I could ever do. The man(with an English accent) sounds like the same guy that reads the Harry Potter books on tape, and I love the Harry Potter books on tape. The whole book is about Henry, a boy that has a fondness for, you guessed it, eating books. Don’t worry that your child might try this. Henry’s misadventures with the written word will make every child afraid to even lick the page of a book, let alone try and take a bite out of it. Jordyn’s absolute favorite part of the book is the very end, where Henry has actually taken a bite out of the book. She just let’s loose a giggle at that page every time. This fact alone gives this Oliver Jeffers book a big thumbs up from me.

Now I realize that phrase could be taken two ways.  Either I love the book I’m reading and finally tore myself away from it or, in this case, I do not like the book I’m reading but felt compelled to finish it but was convinced by a friend that I should just stop reading it.  I’m the type of person that has to finish a book or a movie or a TV show once she’s started it.  Even if it’s a train wreck it might turn out positive in the end, right?  Well, it usually doesn’t and I just end up feeling gipped after investing so much of my time into the said media.   That’s where I was with Rebel Angels by Libba Bray.  I had read the first book in the series, A Great and Terrible Beauty, and didn’t like it but felt compelled to continue with the series, because again, it might turn out well in the end.  Well I’m scratching and clawing my way through this book.  I’m finding  excuses not to read it.  So I was talking to Laura and Julianne and Laura convinced me that if I’m not enjoying a book I should just put it down.  So here I go.  I took my bookmark out and I’m putting it out on my bookshelf.  I can’t guarantee my compulsive nature wont lead me back to it in time.  I hate unfinished business.

In case you’re wondering this series is about a group of four girls who enter a magical realm where they can do and be anything they want.  There is a group of men called the Rakshana (the most interesting bit of the story as far as I’m concerned) who are trying to gain control of the magical realms.  I personally don’t like any of the four girls that are the main characters.  I can’t relate to a single one of them which makes reading about their adventures painful and arduous.

Well, I’m free now to pursue the adventures of Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde.  These came highly recommended so I’m really excited to be onto more fulfilling paths.

Now, I know there are some of you who liked these books.  By all means share your experiences here.  That’s what this blog is for.  Discussing all types of media.  Otherwise, are you the type to move on quickly if you don’t like a book or do you trudge through to the end?

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

This book is so beautifully written that it feels almost poetic at moments.  It honestly made me want to move to the midwest with all the snow drifts and small towns.  I recommend it for the writing alone.  That said, it is rather slow-paced and definitely requires a little patience in some sections.  The characters are superbly developed, I thought–especially the narrator–and the plot is compelling once you get into the book far enough.

The narrator is an eleven year old boy named Reuben who was considered dead at birth until his father performed a surprising miracle to save him.  I still find it interesting how the author pulls off a character who can perform miracles and basically talk with God but never overtly mentions religion or spirituality once.  It’s just something the dad does.  You definitely see the need for the miraculous in this family’s life, though, since the mom’s gone, the dad has a low-paying job that appears to be in jeopardy, and Reuben struggles to breathe every day due to a lung condition (same one that almost killed him at birth).  His younger sister and older brother have challenges that drive the plot too, but it’s precisely these struggles that reveal the family’s deep love and life-changing loyalty to one another.

Ok so I’ll review the first children’s book on Blog the Day Away.  First I want to tell you that I don’t cry that often.  Even when I’m really freaking out I tend to bottle it up and hold it inside so I was totally surprised when I ended up crying after reading Truman’s library book.  It’s “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch.  It’s about a lady with a baby and as it grows she keeps repeating to him,

“I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

As long as I’m living

my baby you’ll be.”

So I was actually getting unnerved through the book as she crawled into her son’s room and then broke into his house as an adult to rock him and sing this to him.  Then the tables turned and he ends up rocking her as I suppose she’s dying and repeats the phrase to her.  I could barely read it to my kids.  I was totally choking up and sputtering out the words.  I went from being totally annoyed at the lack of privacy and inappropriateness to sobbing.  I still think the lead up is creepy but the end result is precious.

Am I the last to hear about this book? Does everyone already have it in their collection? If not, you should check it out.  

What did you think about the book?  Too creepy to get through or just enough of a turn around at the end to be endearing?

I just finished the partial draft of Midnight Sun and just so you know, I’m not going to apologize for reading it.  Stephenie Meyer put this version out there for her loyal readers and I believe I am one of them.  If she finishes Midnight Sun in the future I will buy it and relish it as much as I have loved all of her other books.  If not, I have gotten a taste of Edward’s perspective and it was delicious.  The manuscript Stephenie put out is only the first couple of chapters of Twilight.  It ends before they even make it to the meadow which was totally heartbreaking.  If anyone else reads this let me know.  I want to know if Edward is who you thought he was.  I love him more than ever.  And I loved getting to know the Cullens better.  Aaah, I love how Edward describes Bella as silk over glass.  What a perfect description of how fragile she is.  I also love how Alice is fighting to know Bella but is also giving Edward his space to figure out what he needs to do.  I sincerely hope that Stephenie finishes Midnight Sun.  It’s fabulous.  If you haven’t read the partial draft, read it.

As you probably know, Stephenie was on Ellen today.  I loved Ellen’s opening monologue about vampires.  Very funny.  She said something about how they always look so great which is hard to do since they can’t see their reflections.  Funny stuff.  I skipped all the other guests and went right to my favorite author.  It was obvious that Ellen didn’t know who she was because all the questions were generic.  How did the story come to you?  How did you find an agent?  None of the juicy good stuff.  Oh well.  I’m happy for her fame and hope she’s happy too.  Did anyone else catch Ellen?

Stephenie Meyer posted her Breaking Dawn Q&A.  It’s really fun to read.  She explains why she chose the name Renesmee and why vampires can/cannot get pregnant, etc.  I loved reading it.  It gave me some great insight into her thinking.  Did you take anything away from it?

I wont give the full story but it looks like Midnight Sun (the book from Edward’s perspective) has been indefinitely put on hold because copies of it were leaked prematurely.  Stephenie Meyer has released a partial manuscript for Midnight Sun on her sight.  I haven’t seen it yet.  My computer wont open the file.  I need Scott’s help on this one so it may be a few days.  If you read it let me know what you think.  I’m really sad that this is happening.  I was really looking forward to the book.  Whine, whine, whine.  If I don’t get the file to open though with Scott’s help someone is going to have to let me camp out at their house and read it.  It’s a long one too.  So who wants a house guest?

Well you know the story. A long, problem riddled drive just to get to the desert. A frustrating drive to get to UCLA including running a red light and almost getting into an accident. All the screaming. A great but much shorter than I thought it was going to be concert. All for this. Meeting Stephenie Meyer and professing my love for her and her books. I went over it a million times in my head what I would say to her in the two seconds that it takes to sign a book. It went something like this in the end, “Thank you for the incredible journey.” Simple. Tasteful. To the point. No gushing, no crying, no blubbering. Just a simple statement. Of course I had a million questions I wanted to ask but I didn’t think I’d have the time. So I stuck to my statement.

Here’s how it actually went down. After the concert ended 1800 people gradually got in line to get autographs. There were strict rules. You had to turn your book open to the first white page. Only one book per person would be signed. The line needed to move quickly so that Stephenie could eventually get to bed. All doable. So we get in the line and there are only about 50 people behind us. We stayed in our seats until the line was manageable because Laura could barely stand. The whole process, after the concert, took about 2 hours.

So we get to the table and Laura gives the helper her book who slides it over to Stephenie. Stephenie looks at Laura and says hi. Laura is trying not to vomit at this point so she says hi and then just stands there. Stephenie keeps looking at her so I’m thinking, wow, there’s tons of time to ask a question. I put my book down and lean down and quietly say, “Did you model the vampires bodies after celestial bodies?” She said no. That she’s heard that theory before but it’s not like that for her. I then said, “It’s like that for me.” She looked at me and said, “Really?” And I said, “Yeah.” Then I turned and left.

As I was walking away I realized I asked my question wrong!!!!! I didn’t mean the vampires bodies. I had meant like their acute senses and the ability to run without tiring. Not that they were hard and cold. Argh. Now (not that she even thought of me a second later) she’s going to think that I think I’ll be hard and cold like marble in the afterlife. What a disaster. The worst part of all was that my question took so much time that Julianne didn’t even get a chance to talk to her about the Merchant of Venice. What a loser I am. I don’t plan on ever having the opportunity to talk to her again. That was it. Oh well. I knew it would happen like that if I didn’t stick to my prepared statement.

It’s so funny. This is the only time in my life that I have been star struck. Seriously. I made it through the preteens and teens without ever once freaking out about a movie star or singer. Sure, I loved LL Cool J, but who didn’t. I never went to a concert though or hung a poster in my bedroom to make out with. So now I’m 31 and I’m goo goo for Stephenie Meyer. I can’t tell you how badly I wanted to give her a hug and a kiss. You guys know by now how much these books mean to me. I wanted her to understand that. But I reigned myself in. Mostly because I knew security would probably take my book away and throw me out. But also because the poor woman needs her privacy and personal space.

So anyways. Has anyone else ever lost it in front of the person they’re star struck by? Ever had a chance to meet them even?

So after another day of our comedy of errors which included me running a red light and almost getting in an accident we made it to the theater. Unfortunately when we got to the theater Laura got sick. Really sick. About to throw up and pass out sick. Poor girl. So we sat on the steps in front of the theater and people watched. There were 1800 people there. Most of them young girls but there were a lot of Twilight Moms (An actual online group of fans. We’re thinking of starting our own group so stay tuned.) and there were quite a few guys there. They were attached to girls of course whether they were dads, boyfriends or sons. Once we got into the theater it was set up to look like the book ends of all of the books with the center one saying Breaking Dawn Concert Series. (Sorry the picture isn’t very clear. You get the idea though.)

The one thing I did not prepare myself for was the screaming. The three of us assumed erroneously that everyone would be calm like us and politely clap at appropriate intervals. Holy crap, were we wrong. Dead wrong. They screamed when the doors to the lobby opened. Screamed when the doors of the theater opened. Screamed when the lights went down. Screamed when the MC came out on stage. Let loose when Justin Furstenfeld came out. Screamed through his songs. Screamed louder when they were done. Then all hell broke loose when Stephenie came out. I honestly thought I was going to fall to pieces it was so loud. Imagine how Laura felt. She totally had her hands over her ears. The part that made me mad though is that they would scream during the interview and Stephenie wouldn’t be able to speak. I’m pretty sure they got through all the questions though.

So this is how it went down. Justin came out and played three songs acoustically. Then Stephenie and the MC came out and did a Q & A. Among the questions was what the cover of the book meant. She said the pawn was the human Bella, the weakest player on the board, turning into the queen, the strongest player on the board. And I’m sorry to say I can’t remember any of the other questions except that Jacob and Nessie will both be immortal since Jacob doesn’t age as long as he keeps phasing. Which she said wasn’t a problem for Jacob. (Sorry I can’t remember more. It was a really long day and night.)

Then Justin came back out and he played some of the songs from Stephenie’s play lists and Stephenie introduced them. My favorite of his is “Hate Me”. It’s from the time when Edward left Bella after Jasper attacked her. I really can relate to and get that one in this context. It just makes sense. The rest I had to try really hard to concentrate on. There was one really annoying point where she said this song “My Never” off of Justin’s next album reminded her of page 355 of Breaking Dawn. Everybody got out their phones and their books and started looking for the page. So it was annoying two fold. First that Stephenie didn’t give a better explanation (though the song really did speak for itself if you paid enough attention, which I had a hard time doing). Second that everyone had their stupid phones out distracting me from the song.

If I’m remembering correctly Justin left the stage and the MC came back out and her and Stephenie closed up the show. At that point Stephenie thanked Justin for being there and said he made doing this fun and that she usually hated her book signings. To which quite a few people made disappointed noises. I don’t blame them but I can understand Stephenie’s side too. I think if I was in her shoes I would hate that part of my job too.

I’m going to hopefully put a link in a future post so you can go to iClips and see the concert on their archived footage. The concert was totally worth going to. In fact I think I’ll watch it again just because my memory is so bad. It was a lot of fun. My favorite part being when Justin and Stephenie were on stage together.

I’m going to write about actually meeting Stephenie in my next post. I know this is taking a long time but all I wanted to do was spend time with Scott when I got home. Reading these books makes me love him even more than ever. Man, I love this series!

Edward + Bella 4-ever!!

Wow.  Does that even cover it?  I am so wrapped up in Breaking Dawn and the emotions that it put me through that I can barely get my thoughts together.  I just finished it about an hour ago so this is still really fresh and raw in some places.

I guess I’ll start at the beginning.  The wedding went off with only a little Jacob hitch and that was such a nice surprise.  What a really refreshing, beautiful moment that we got to share with Bella and Edward.  I also loved it that she finally came around.  She actually wanted to be his wife and see him as her husband.  And then the honeymoon.  Started out pretty magical.  Except for the bruising of course but Bella seemed to think it was worth it so it’s OK with me.

Then my world fell apart when Bella got pregnant.  I was pissed off.  Beyond pissed off.  I called Julianne and told her I couldn’t read anymore and she talked me into finishing.  You want to know why?  Because I felt it was totally sexist.  Why should the women be infertile and the men be able to spread their demon spawn all over the earth.  It just wasn’t fair.  I could picture Esme and Rosalie dying for kids of their own and not able to have them because their “perfect” female bodies were deficient.  Augh, it still makes me mad to think about it but I just talked to Laura L. and she gave me a little medical information care of her sister.  Apparently a man’s sperm can live through pretty much anything.  She said men can even ejaculate after they are dead.  How do like that mental picture?  So anyway, OK, fine.  Male vampires can father children.  Got it.  I’ll try to calm down.

Then the child started killing Bella.  And you know what.  I was happy.  I totally pictured the baby as a monster.  Not like the Cullens.  An actual monster.  Like what I pictured the newborn vampires like when they attacked in Eclipse only never able to grow out of it.  Always a monster.  And I was mad because she was pregnant.  How dare she (mostly meaning Stephenie right now).  I was totally on Jacob and Edwards side.  I wanted her to get rid of the demon baby.  I saw no good in it.  And then, Edward heard her thoughts.  And literally in that instant I flipped.  It was human and I loved it.  I wanted it to come into their world.  I wanted it to survive.  And of course I knew that Bella would turn into a vamp.  There was half a book left.

And Jacob imprinted on Nessie!!!! (Don’t even get me started on the name.  Renesmee?  Really?  Everyone else has great names.  What would possess her to name the baby that?) Didn’t see that one coming.  At all.  Totally blindsided.  I knew he wasn’t going to get away with killing her but that was awesome.  And it brought everyone together.  The wolves and the vampires.  What a perfect match.  A happy ending for Jacob and a place for him in the family too.  Couldn’t have tied that one up neater.

Then my favorite part.  When she wakes up.  I love it.  I love how she can hear everything and see clearly.  I think Stephenie and I might have similar view of the afterlife because she describes the vampires the way I imagine myself when I get the good place hereafter.  Never tiring.  Just running till your heart explodes with joy but your body never falters.  Not needing to stop to eat or sleep.  Being sturdy.  Having your mind free of unnecessary thoughts.  No one being able to influence you.  Beautiful perfect, fit bodies.  Scott has his own theory on that.  He thinks that our minds will be so perfect that we wont care what our bodies look like.  I’m holding out for the perfect body and mind.  I want it all!!  Anyway, sorry to digress.  I love Stephenie’s vampires.  I think they’re written spectacularly.  My favorite super heroes.

And just a shout out to the Ferrari.  Nice work Edward!  Although I like that she prefers to run.  I think I would too if I was a super vamp.  Stephenie hasn’t posted a picture of the one she’s chosen on her website so until she does and I bow to the Queen this is the one I choose.

I love when all the witnesses show up and after some talking to fall in love with Nessie.  Can’t you just picture that beautiful child in your head.  Mine is a perfect mix of my Edward and Bella.  I’ve even accepted the glittering skin.  I love it now.

So when Alice left I knew it was for a good reason.  I knew she wasn’t abandoning them.  That’s just not Alice’s way.  I figured she was looking for answers but certainly didn’t expect to see her show up with another half-n-half.  I figured it would be witnesses of other children but not an actual grown human-vamp.

And then all the planning for Bella’s death totally made me think she was going to survive.  Stephenie laid it on so thick that I saw right past it.  It’s Stephenie for Pete’s sake.  She’s not going to leave us broken hearted like that.  Look at her other four books.  Seriously happy endings (except for Jacob, of course).  She wasn’t fooling me.  Of course I had no idea how they were going to get away but I knew they were.

I really like Aro.  He makes things fun.  He has such an interesting calm manner about him.  I love that he wants to kill them but he’s sincerely interested in Nessie once he figures out what she is.  Then he goes right back into evil mode and wants to kill them again.  Good villain.  The one that cracks me up is Marcus.  Poor guy.  Bored to death with life and sort of dying inside of himself.  A good battle and the prospect of carnage can’t even get him aroused anymore.  I almost feel sorry for him.  Caius drives me nuts.  He’s the one that gets on my nerves.  They kind of have a good cop, bad cop, indifferent cop thing going on.

I’m sorry that Irina died but for goodness sake someone had to die.  Nice of Stephenie to make it someone we’re not even slightly attached to.  I wasn’t anyway.

I like Bella’s super power.  It fits her really well.  I like that she could extend her shield past herself.  To me it’s a little corny that she saved the day but it couldn’t have been any other way.  It was her time to shine and really feel competent.  And plus, she was protecting Nessie, of course she would get all amped up.

I love the ending scene where she lets Edward into her head.  How drop dead romantic is that?  My heart just about exploded when he kept interrupting her with kisses.  There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to end their story together.  Totally satisfying.  What a perfect little family.

So here’s my guess.  I think when Stephenie writes again it will be from Nessie’s perspective.  There’s just a few years until she has fully matured and then she can be with Jacob and the Volturi can launch an attack again or new foes can come their way.  I’m freaking out just thinking about it.  I would love to get inside that girl’s head.  Thank goodness she’s got Jacob to be with for eternity.  Gotta love those never aging werewolves (shape-shifter as I guess I’m now supposed to call them).

There’s so much about this book that I absolutely loved that I just can’t write everything and I know I left out key points.  Now that I have this out of me I feel so content and happy.  If you couldn’t tell, I love this book.  An almost perfect end to a perfect series.  I would love to hear what you have to say about it.  Love to hear.  Even if you didn’t like it; tell me why.  What was your favorite part?  What caught you by surprise?

I ran out to Borders this morning as soon as it opened but I can’t read it probably until Monday. We still have family in town and it would be rude of me to check out to read a book. Even if it’s Breaking Dawn. I can’t tell you how excited I am just to have the book at home with me. I was having nightmares that they would be sold out and I’d have to wait to read it.

I do have a deadline though because Laura L., Julianne and I are going to the Breaking Dawn Concert in LA next Thursday and Stephenie says she’s discussing everything. So pretty much lots of video games for the kids and reading for me. Desperate times call for desperate measures. And it would be a tragedy if I didn’t finish the book in time.

So I promise to post as soon as I read the book. Please in the meantime don’t post any spoilers. I totally want to know what all of you think of the book, just please wait until I’m finished too so we can be as open as possible.

So first let’s start with the first chapter. How fun is it that Bella got a new armored car. I found a site with pictures of the car and it’s not as flashy as Bella makes it out to be. But I guess in Forks a tinted Mercedes is flashy. I can drive down Central and see any number of Mercedes, Volvos, BMWs and then a Lambourghini will drive by. Just another day in the Valley. But I guess in Forks the Guardian would be a big deal. I just can’t wait to find out what her real car is. That should be fun. Then again Edward has a reasonable car so maybe it’s not as fun as I’d like it to be.

Then Bella has to go and say that she was having trouble picturing a dull concept of husband with Edward. “It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn’t visualize him in any commonplace role.” Give me a break Bella. So maybe she hasn’t grown up as much as I thought she had. Scott is my hero. He is better than Superman and Spiderman and Batman combined so to hear Bella talk about husbands as being dull and commonplace is ridiculous to me. She obviously doesn’t know what a husband is.

You gotta love Renee’s response to Bella getting married. I had a feeling it would be like that but it still was a welcome surprise. I had braced myself for the worst.

And the wedding is only a few days away!!!!! Is it going to go off without a hitch? Probably not but that would also be a nice surprise.

Here’s where we talk predictions.  I don’t have any concrete beliefs that I just know are going to happen but I do have some ideas.

So I can go either way with Jacob. I think she’s set it up with the Legends that he could be gone for good, but it’s just so sad to think of it that way that I can see him coming back. Probably not at the beginning since Seth says he’s in Canada and the wedding is a few days away. Even so I can see him sweeping in in his white button up shirt and being Bella’s best man. But my gut tells me that’s not going to happen. Not really my gut actually, it just seems like too happy an ending so I don’t think it’s going to happen. Plus Bella didn’t invite him to the wedding so maybe being her best man would be overstepping his bounds. He was in so much pain the last time we saw him and from what Seth says he’s still hurting. It’s hard to believe Stephenie wont put some resolution and throw some goodness his way. But like I said, I can see it going either way.

While we’re on the subject of Jacob, I do not think that Leah imprinted on him though I know some of you would disagree with that. She was not being nice to him at the end of Eclipse and if she had imprinted she would have been everything that he needed. Not a thorn in his side. And I do think that in order to imprint on someone it has to be the first time you see them after the big transformation. But maybe that’s what all the Midsummer Night’s Dream business is all about. Maybe they start imprinting left and right and to multiple people and people they’ve already seen. Who knows?

Main bad guy: I think it’s the Volturi and I think maybe they’ll kidnap Bella either right after she’s been turned or before and then turn her themselves to try to get use of her “power.” Try to turn her into one of their elite maybe. That’s only if Aro’s involved though. I don’t think Caiaus would bother. I think that’s pretty far fetched but it’s an idea so I thought I’d throw it out there. Either way I do think they are the bad guys.

I do have the idea though that Bella will be a vampire at some point and she will be the one to conquer Jane. Since she’s the only one Jane’s powers don’t work against. Laura, maybe Jane is the queen and Bella is the pawn. What do you think? Bella still red with her own newborn blood.

Does Tanya come to try to sway Edward from marrying Bella and put Bella in danger herself? I’d guess no but again just an idea.

So that’s all I can think of right now, which is killing me because as you can guess I think about this constantly.  So now it’s your turn.  Post a comment and tell us what you think is going to happen.  Even those of you that don’t usually post. Post.  It will be so much fun to see what everyone else is thinking before Breaking Dawn comes out on Saturday.

So the big battle is over. Bella is sitting in Alice’s bathroom and asking her about being a newborn. Alice says she doesn’t know how it’s going to be for Bella because Alice has never known someone who’s chosen to become vampire before. She says, “It should be interesting to see how that affects you?” So I wonder if it’s going to be as hard for Bella. I’ve already said that I think her aversion to human blood will work in her favor and I think her choosing to turn will also work in her favor. Maybe it will be really easy for her. I wonder if she wont wake up after three days and just be fine. Just rock hard, craving animal blood and wired. I don’t know.

And a quick shout out to Charlie for putting Bella on the spot about running off with Edward. He’s got his spidey senses working. (There would be super heroes on my “Diagon Alley” too.)

I know it’s heartbreaking but I love the developments with Jacob. Both in the woods with the kiss and in his bedroom. I absolutely love the vision Bella has with the two little black haired children running around and I love that she talks to Jacob about it. That way he knows that she fully understands her decision and hopefully it will help him move on with time. I also love that he says he’ll always be waiting for her. It’s a very romantic notion but I wonder how that’s going to play out with the whole imprinting thing. If he imprints. I don’t know about that one either.

Then comes one of my favorite quotes from Cathy in Wuthering Heights. Bella is quoting it to Edward confirming that she’s made the right decision by staying with him. “If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.” And then Edward answers back Heathcliff’s line, “I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!” So first of all, man do I love Wuthering Heights and secondly, man do I wish Scott and I quoted romantic verse to each other.

I definitely feel that by the end of Eclipse Bella has a better understanding of herself and her decisions. And I love that Edward flips on her so that she really has to commit to her decisions to get married and such. I will admit though that I’m not down with the Anne of Green Gables dress. I get it, don’t think I don’t get it. I just think it’s a little much but I guess Bella doesn’t really care what her wedding dress looks like so why should I. I just wonder when they make the Eclipse movie if they’re going to stay true to that. My guess is no, but I’m totally willing to be wrong. I just don’t think it speaks to a broad enough audience.  But if they change it, boy will they make enemies.  Let me go on record to say that I wouldn’t be one of them.

Now to Jacob. I’m so happy to have a little time only with him. To hear his thoughts and feel what he’s feeling. So what do you think? Is he coming back? Taha Aki never came back and Stephenie was sure to tell us that. It’s hard to imagine him being gone for good. I know he didn’t look at the date on the invitation but he could always listen to his “brothers” minds and find out when the wedding is and come back. Weirder things have happened.

This would be a great time to pledge my allegiance. Even though I am Switzerland and I think the vampires and the werewolves should coexist in happiness I am not on Team Switzerland. You can’t have both. That’s how I feel at least. A decision has to be made and for me it’s Team Edward. I love Bella’s decision. I would have made the same one. In fact, I did make the same one. Just like I relate to Bella even though I don’t agree with everything she does or feels, I totally think Edward is Scott. Works out conveniently for me Stephenie wrote two characters that I can totally love and relate to. That hasn’t happened to me before. I’m really enjoying it.

I’m just so happy to read this book again. It has some of my favorite quotes and it introduced me to one of my favorite books. Holy freaking crap, I love this series. And now just a few more days until Breaking Dawn! What could be better?

So this is a little bit of Breaking Dawn too. There’s an interview on Amazon with Stephenie saying there are two books she’s inspired by in Breaking Dawn. One is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I was talking to Laura and Julianne the other day about this and we discussed how the fairies messed with all the couples and switched around who they were in love with. So we immediately thought of imprinting. What if some wacky stuff goes down with Jacob or Leah or the other wolves (not Jacob and Leah, as far as I’m concerned that ship has sailed). Then I was reading in Eclipse when Edward and Bella are talking about the complex dynamic with the wolves and their thoughts and Edward brings up the imprinting and says, “It reminds me of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with all the chaos caused by the fairies’ love spells…” How crazy is that? So maybe we were right and the wolves are going to go through some crazy love “spells”. Are they going to somehow effect the vampires or Edward and Bella or are they going to be contained by the wolves? I don’t know but I’m so excited to find out.

The next “insight”, maybe, into Breaking Dawn is when Bella finally realizes she’s ready to join Edward’s family. She’s realized that she’s got to make a choice and she says:

“The next time something came at us, I would be ready. An asset, not a liability. He would never have to make the choice between me and his family again. We would be partners, like Alice and Jasper. Next time, I would do my part.”

What do you think? Is this foreshadowing for Breaking Dawn or is this just wishful thinking on Bella’s part?

I got to one of my favorite parts which is where Bella, Jacob and Edward are all in the tent. I love the whole conversation but here are a few of my favorite parts:

“Go fetch a space heater,” he (Jacob) grumbled. “I’m not a St. Bernard.”

“Your lips are still blue,” he (Jacob) mused. “Want me to warm those up for you, too?

Seth shows up and Jacob says, “Perfect. Now you can keep an eye on everything else, while I take care of your girlfriend for you.”

“You know, Jacob, if it weren’t for the fact that we’re natural enemies and that you’re also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you.” (Edward)

“Maybe…if you weren’t a disgusting vampire who was planning to suck out the life of the girl I love…well, no, not even then.” (Jacob)

“Sorry,” Jacob whispered. “You could leave, you know–give us a little privacy.”

“Would you like me to help you sleep, Jacob?” Edward offered.

“You could try,” Jacob said, unconcerned. “It would be interesting to see who walked away, wouldn’t it?”

“Don’t tempt me too far, wolf. My patience isn’t that perfect.”

Jacob whispered a laugh. “I’d rather not move just now, if you don’t mind.”

I love that they actually got some time to talk to each other when Jacob wasn’t practically shouting. Still a tense situation, but Jacob has the upper hand here if only for a moment. It’s good to see Jacob get a little appreciation.

I love it too when Bella wakes up in the morning and can’t get Jake off of her and she asks Edward for some help. He says, “Did you want me to take his arms all the way off?” Funny stuff. I love that Edward is just a guy too. He wants to rip Jacob apart as much as Jacob wants to rip him apart. He just has a little more of Heathcliff in him so he wont hurt Jacob as long as Bella loves him. I love that Heathcliff says if Cathy changed her mind he would have “…drank his blood! (p266)” How funny that that fits together so nicely. (Not that Edward would drink the dogs blood but maybe, huh?)