Books: To Read or Not to Read.

Just a quickie post on what I've been reading.

Two thumbs up: Overall Rating 8.5/10 Michael Scott's The Alchemyst: The Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is wonderful. It's the first of a 6 book young adult series. Genre is fantasy which is not usually my cup of tea- but it was offered for free for a limited time for the Kindle and I just couldn't resist downloading it because of all the fantastic reviews.  Does the name Nicholas Flamel ring a bell Harry Potter lovers?? Ofcourse he is none other than Dumbledore's friend who finds the Secret of the Philosopher's stone (aka the secret to immortality).  The basis of these books are very similar to the Harry Potter series- there is a prophecy that predicts the posibile end of the human world because of the coming back of the "Elders" or magical ones.  The humani twins Sophie and Josh might be the twins of legend mentioned in the Codex. In this case the word humani = muggle. I find that this series is for the graduates of the Harry Potter series, meaning a slightly older target audience" because it introduces many true historical characters and envelopes them in the world of serious magic and not so much folly. The following books of the series "The Magician" and "The Sorceress" are equally as good (I finished all three books in 4 days). Unfortunately fans will have to wait until May of 2010 for the 4th installment, "The Necromancer".

One Thumb down: Overall rating 4/10 Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. In all honesty- I didn't finish the book. Who am I kidding? I hardly even started it!! I know that Dan Brown think that he has a winning formula. Robert Langdon gets a call about some mystery. He gets to the mystery and someone dies or is missing. He goes on a crazy chase for the answer to the mystery.  That's just all fine and dandy for Angels and Demons or the immencely popular The Da Vinci Code but doesn't he think that his fans would realize the pattern by now? It gets old real fast. Luckily I didn't actually pay for my copy of the book. I read the sample (thankgoodness for free kindle samples!) which was roughly the first 6 chapters of the book and I already felt that it was predictable. Ofcourse, there are going to be twists and turns- ala the Dan Brown formula- but then you expect that. Maybe I'll give the rest of the book a try some other time when the price goes down and maybe I'll have so many GOOD books to read that I won't.

Next up: Another kindle freebie: According to Jane by Marilyn Brant

Vee's Book Review: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Finally, a very satisfying read. I've read a couple of books since my last book review such as Time Traveller's Wife and The Nine Lives of Clemenza- but they both left me empty. The Time Traveller's Wife was extremely entertaining and a very good read- highly recommended if you are looking for a good love story. The writing style was a bit "Nicholas Spark-ish" - not usually my cup of tea. The Nine Lives of Clemenza was very interesting- about a soul that goes through 9 reincarnations- from air to human. It was more of a novelette though- short and sweet, whereas I was looking for something with more substance than these two novels could offer.

This is the description for The Forgotten Garden from Amazon: "A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book -- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and with very little to go on, "Nell" sets out on a journey to England to try to trace her story, to fi nd her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell's death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. At Cliff Cottage, on the grounds of Blackhurst Manor, Cassandra discovers the forgotten garden of the book's title and is able to unlock the secrets of the beautiful book of fairy tales."

My overall rating: 8/10

I really enjoyed The Forgotten Garden. I am not going to get into any particular details of the storyline because it spans 3 generations with a different yet entertwined story for each of the 5 main females in the book. Morton does a great job of slowly unfolding the mystery of the Mountrachet family and adding the right amount of suspense to keep you hooked. It's like a modernized Pride and Prejudice meets the Da Vinci Code. With the granddaughter, Cassandra, acting as a sort of Robert Langdon trying to decipher Nell's secret past. The book does alternate every other chapter between the past and the present which takes a bit of getting used to but is a very effective way of storytelling in this case. I am a huge fan of period books because of the beautiful settings and grandeur of the past that isn't really present in books that take place in present day. There is a stark contrast given in the life of Eliza and her wealthy cousin Rose, as well as the contrast in their personalities.

I mentioned before that The Time Traveller's Wife was written in a very "Nicholas Spark-ish" manner- what I mean by that is that the writting style is very linear- what you read is what you get. Morton's writing style is somewhat different. Each word is chosen carefully for it's dual meaning- adding more depth in her storytelling. There is some reading in between the lines to really understand the characters. It's what reading is all about, in my opinion. The author also includes fairytales in the book- written by one of the main character's Eliza. These semi-autobiographical (to Eliza's life) fairytales are a real delight and add further depth to the storyline with their "lessons" learned. The main theme presented for each of the women is their loss of and search for family and sense of belonging. My main gripe is that the male characters are presented as afterthoughts.. don't expect any character development for any of them. A little dissappointing since getting to know the inner workings of the creepy uncle, Linus Mountrachet would have been entertaining.

Ofcourse this book is more geared towards women. It focuses too much on family and inner feelings to be enjoyable to most men I know. But if you are in the mood for a book that makes you think a little, envelopes you in the lives of English women in the Victorian era and a bit of scandal- then you will enjoy this book from the first chapter to it's bittersweet end.

If today was your last day... (an answer for Henry)

Gloomy weather here in the NYC metro area befitting the aura of the day. It's 9/11- and in the back of everyone's mind everyone remembers what they were doing when they heard the news.

I was presented with a question from Henry (to help with his research)- and although I answered in a tweet- 140 characters can not do my answer justice.

What would you do if you only had one day left to live?

A very fitting question on a day when people are thinking about the lives we lost.

Here's my answer:
It would be a blessing to know that it would be my last day- so that I could tell all the people that I loved how important they are to me and how empty my life would have been without them. I would also tell everyone that I have ever held a grudge with or am angry at- that I forgive them- because who wants to die angry?

Then I would sit down and write a letter to my son, Nolan, to read when he grows up. I would tell him all the important lessons that I've learned in my life, I would tell him about my mistakes and my triumphs and about the importance of surrounding yourself with good hearted people who really care about you. I would also tell him that getting to know him and learn about him was the single most important thing in my life. (And yes.. I'm in tears as I type this out now - I'm such a sap)

I then would do two things that really make me happy- First I would take one ski run in Telluride, CO and go straight down without stopping- feeling the rush and cold air in my face. The second thing I would do is to throw a big BBQ and invite everyone I know and love to have steaks and a seafood boil long into the night.

If I could fit all this into one day- it would be my perfect last day.

The Beat It Girls! video @ Sarah and Stephen's wedding.

So I am the most awful bff ever.. I didn't take any pictures at Sarah's wedding. Which- if you know me- is weird cause I am always with camera in hand at weddings. Couldn't help it - I was busy doing MOH stuff and dealing with my son who was extremely cranky because he missed his nap. Luckily my sister took a couple of pictures and video..

So here you go world- the BEAT IT GIRLS DANCE! on Youtube. I had a horrible experience late night trying to upload to FB- I just had to give that up. So now it shall be on Youtube forever!





Enjoy! (Recap pictures up later!)