Twilight

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is my third book and I could not put it down. I enjoyed it so much that I got the next installment New Moon. I haven't started it yet.

Twilight was a joy because it emcompassed everything I like, the mystery, the suspense and the romance. It is to me a romance filled with mystery and suspense with a little goth thrown in.

Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen seem to be the main characters that the storyline focuses on. Bella to those who are dear to her returned to her town of birth Forks, Washington. Her mother remarried and she wanted to give her the freedom to embrace this new marriage since there seemed to be an age difference between Bella's Mom Renee and her new husband Phil.

Bella went to live with her father Chief Swan, she recent going back but she did it for her mother. While there she encountered Edward Cullen at first it seemed that Edward was repulsed by her but it turned out that he is a vampire and the scent of her drove him crazy at first and the smell of her blood intensified this feeling.

To Edward, Bella was different than most humans, she had no fear when she should have be frighten of him. Instead he was like a drug to her and the more she was around him the more she wanted. He was intrigued by her as well, and the more he was around her the more her life was in danger and although he wanted to let her go, he could not. He became her guardian angel in a sense. It grew into a love that was taboo and it seems that time is against them. Bascially she learns about his family and they embrace her into the fold, well most of them do. In return Edward learns about Bella who he can't get enough of which tests his will power constantly. The Cullen's are not like most vampires, they no longer hunt humans but feed off of animals instead. It took years of practice and it is not easy to maintain but most of them have it down to a science.

The climax came when Bella shared a moment with the Cullen family and another group of vampires were passing through Forks and got wind of Bella, well they are still hunters of humans and were not able to control their blood lust, especially for Bella, apparently the scent of her is extremely arousing to vampires alike. Edward being enamored with Bella came to her defense and this set the other vampire off, he gets is kicks on the hunt and he likes to track his victims. The very dangerous kind of a predator. Edward and the whole Cullen family devised a plan along with Bella to save Bella's life. It ended where she lived before she came back to Forks, in Phoenix, Arizona. Bella was saved to live another day and still be in love with Edward. She is now part of the Cullen clan even though she is not a vampire but they all must be cautious to a degree because of Bella's blood. Oh the temptation.

So, that is my story but I can not for the life of me picture the characters in the movie to fit the description in the book, they are not my cast choice. Yet, I was reminded that the book and the movie are two different entities, so I guess I shouldn't compare since I didn't see the movie, I just saw all the hype and the actors who played in the movie. I will like the book better anyway, I always do prefer the books to the movie or TV versions.

Living Dead in Dallas

Living Dead in Dallas is my second book, which I finished in a very short time. After reading it I was a little disappointed, it went from whimsical to the absurd. It starts off with the murder of Lafayette the cook at Merlotte's and a new entity was introduced. A Maenad named Callisto, its from Greek mythology. She attacked Sookie and Sookie almost died but the vampires had a doctor who cured her. This is where my disappointment set in, it went from the murder of the cook to this Maenad and then nothing to the end until it connected the story line of the dead cook with the Maenad. Meanwhile Sookie's on another mission for Eric which brings her to Dallas, hence the title of the book.
It goes on about a missing vampire and more murders and Sookie does her telepath thing and finds the person connected to this new mayhem. The search is on and so it the rescue mission but instead of rescuing the missing vampire Sookie once again is in need of rescuing. She meets another shapeshifter named Luna plus werewolves and an organization posing as a church was behind the disappearance of the vampire Farrell, who went missing. Sookie survives the ordeal and heads back to Bon Temps. She was mad at Bill the vampire and took another breather but stumbled into the investigation of Lafayette which ended at an orgy with certain towns people. A divorcee, coroner, and a husband and wife, who turn out to be the killers of Lafayette which in turn brought the presence of the Maenad. The Maenad killed all involved in the killing of Lafayette and then she moved on. Vampire Bill made a discovery that his nearest living kin was Andy Bellefleur who he disliked. It ended like that with Bill and Sookie in bed. It was filled with humor but it lost me. Maybe I will try the Twilight series.

Taking things for granted

We often take things for granted and I was reminded of that fact recently. The first reminder was the movie "Marley and me", when this creature of god became just as important to the family as the children they gave birth to. Marley did what family members tend to do, they get on your nerves, they do the wrongs things, and they give you unconditional love. The moment Marley became terminally ill, the family realized that they took Marley for granted and what he meant to each one. Marley and me did not have a happy ending but made a very good point, that we must appreciate what we have in the now and don't regret what we don't have.
My second reminder came upon me like quicksilver and I wasn't prepared for it. I am a person who deems herself as a logical and organized person and I can't handle chaos well. My world almost change in an instant, for three months I took my mother to the doctor and found out that she had a nodule or growth on her thyroid gland that was growing for two years. I haven't been going to the doctor with her because she was independent but when her medication got mixed up, I had to make it my business to know what was going on with her health. My mom is 75 years old and my best friend, my father is my other best friend but he was diagnose with schizophrenia years ago and often is not aware of who I am. She was schedule for the operation later this month and I thought my faith was as strong as the Wall of China but suddenly I felt like I was dropped into an abyss. I thought I was a good daughter but felt differently when faced with the fact that I could lose her. The operation kept getting moved up and I was left with two weeks to figure out what I needed to do if I no longer had her in my life. She didn't have a will, her life insurance policies were all over the place and I didn't know how to ask for help from her siblings. There I was on October 16, 2009 in the surgical lounge by myself waiting to hear how the operation went. They had to kept her under anesthesia to check to see if the growth was cancerous or not. Looking around, seeing family members of other patients, I felt completely alone and at that moment I wondered did she know how much I loved her, did I treat her right, was I the best daughter her that I could be and did she know how much she meant to me. My faith was faltering and I didn't want to give off negative energy. I became angry, why was god testing me? Wasn't my father enough or what about my child that he took back and now the only person that means the world to me, what did I do that was so wrong, why would he leave me alone. I tried to concentrate on my school work but it became impossible. So, I waited and waited, fear taking over me, I was not prepared to be alone in this cruel and messy world without my own Job. Finally, Dr. Lessorson came out and told me everything went well and I burst out in tears, tears of joy, tears of relief and tears of a second chance. If I haven't made it known to her with my last dying breath my mother will know and see how much she means to me. I won't ever take for granted the time we have together, as I was always told, no time is promised to us, so I can't afford to wait for tomorrow to show her today what she means to me. Every moment I have with her is a blessing and I am so thankful, I can no longer complain about our positions being reversed. She may get on my nerves, she may do things that are not right but her unconditional love will never falter and neither will mine.

Dead Until Dark Part 2

We last left off with Sookie and the thrill is gone syndrome. Vampire Bill and Sookie to a break from each other but that didn't stop them from thinking about one another.

With Jason out on bail, the serial killer struck again but its victim was not human, it was Sookie's cat. This is now really personal, not to mention they first killed Gran and now the cat. This didn't make Bill Compton too comfortable, seeing how he had to leave town on Vampire business. In the meantime he hired a bodyguard, not just any bodyguard but a vampire bodyguard. His name was Bubba from Memphis. The author implies that he was the famous Elvis Presley and an avid vampire fan from the morgue saw a little bit of life and made him vampire but it went oh so wrong and now Bubba is a little bit mentally disabled with a preference for cats. Fortunately for Sookie her cat is no longer with her. This was overheard by Arlene and Rene when they picked up the kids Sookie was babysitting for and something about Rene didn't go over to well with Bill, it had to do with his scent.

During Bill's absence, Sam Merlotte took it upon himself to be Sookie's guardian, in the form of a dog. This is one of the many twists in the book. Sam is a shapshifter, meaning he can transform into any animal that leaves an imprint in his mind. This startled Sookie but didn't surprise her, she just wondered what else was out there.

Everything was running smooth, no more killings or any other incidents. Until, Sookie came home one night from work at Merlotte"s and heard some commotion in her yard. She figured with Bubba out there he must have seen something or someone and was chasing him. Then the sound got closer to the house and now she is worried because she can't she Bubba. She looks for her Granpa's shotgun and discovered it missing. She couldn't recall when she last seen it. Many people had been in her house after her Gran was killed. She went outside to investigate and came across Bubba unconscious or dead again because he wasn't really alive anymore. He had a dead cat in his hand drained of blood. Someone slipped poor Bubba a mickey cat. Now, Sookie was in a panic, no real weapon but a box cutter to defend herself with. She had to make it to Bill's house. She saw something in the woods, she listened in on its thoughts. They were sick and demented and the anger was now geared towards her. She ran, tried to hide but the evil thoughts were closing in. It grabbed her by the hair and knocked her down. She turned over to discover that it was Rene Lenier. It turned out that Rene's sister was a fangbanger and she was his first victim and he had sex with her after he killed her. Now, Sookie was the epitome of all that he hated and she was to be his last victim but she fought back and he wasn't expecting it. The trusty box cutter did the trick and she manage to get to Bill's house and call for help.

She found herself in the hospital, Rene had confessed to everything. According to Sheriff Dearborne and Andy Bellefleur they couldn't shut him up. She had visitors, cards, flowers and a very exotic flower from Eric. Bill finally came and he was so angry, his business was revealed. He ran for some political office inregards to vampires and won. This would make him equal to Eric, which he believed would get him off his and Sookie's backs. In an instant Sookie saw something outside her hospital window, it was Eric hovering, looking in at Sookie, making his presence known only to her and then Bill says "now its back to normal", Sookie said "yeah right". To be continued when I read "Living Dead in Dallas".

Reading for pleasure

Why do I read for pleasure? It allows me to escape my day to day life. Life is messy and sometimes you wish you could warp out of it.

The satisfaction I get from reading is relief. Sometimes you need to turn your mind off from your responsibilities and when you delve into a book, you can be empathetic to someone else's problems and realize everybody is going through something and just maybe yours is not that bad in the scheme of things.

There is no guide book on life, nor on raising children. You just have to go with the flow and see where it takes you and try to enjoy the ride. If you can, be flexible, have a open mind, and have faith in others and yourself. Change is coming, you may like it or you may not but it will happen. So, in the meantime relax, let go and enjoy.

Who likes to read?

I love to read but finding the time was hard. So, I became a seasonal reader. I read a lot in the winter because I don't care to slosh around in the snow. Snow brings ice and I don't like ice. A cup of herbal tea, fluffy pillows, the afghan my aunt knitted for me before she past away and a good book.

My dad was a major influence for me regarding reading, that is something we shared when I was little. Anything and everything that Johnson Public Library offered, my dad had me there to enjoy and participate. That is how I would spend my Saturdays. Go to the library and right across the street was the movie theater. That is where I also discovered my love for movies. I can read at least two books within two weeks if I am into them but I usually stretch it out.

Writing Essays

It has been 25 years since I had to write an essay. Last semester, I got my feet wet one might say. It is difficult for me to make my thoughts clear. I tend to write like I talk and that is all over the place, I ramble a lot. I read it out loud after and find myself changing things. I try to write down thoughts that come to me but most of the time it does not always get into the paper. I prefer reading than writing. The way I am going a writer I will never be. :-(