Friday, July 25, 2008

Review: Twilight saga and other books

The end of summer countdown is on! I spent much of the summer reading since having the kids home makes it harder to concentrate on productive endeavors.

On the reading list was the Twilight saga: Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1), New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2), and Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)all by Stephenie Meyer. These books are all large but were so good that I finished each of them in less than 2 days. Meyer writes in such an unassuming way that I just wanted to see what was going to happen next. The characters are so realistic going through teenage angst that I can see why these young adult books are so popular. The fourth and final book of the saga, Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4), is due out Saturday and I look forward to seeing if Bella stays with Edward and becomes a vampire or if she ends up with her werewolf friend, Jacob.

Before the Twilight saga I read Atonement by Ian McEwan. Yeah, it's been out a while but it got such good reviews and I want to watch the movie soon so I finally read it. I had a hard time getting through the first quarter of the book; it seemed to drag a bit for me. I am glad I persisted (I read ahead to see if I wanted to continue and yes, I did). I also knew there was a twist at the end but I got into the story and forgot about it so when it came, it really shook me. This book stuck with me and I will reiterate - I am so glad I stayed with it. The descriptions of World War II's Dunkirk evacuation sent me right to Wikipedia to learn more. Atonement is highly recommended.

Another book I enjoyed was Keturah And Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. It's premise is reminscent of 1001 Arabian Nights: A young girl, Keturah, stays alive by telling Lord Death a story each night, never revealing the end to live another day. This book even made me sympathize with Lord Death, whose description of what each man sees when he dies ("There is no hell...") is thought provoking. Most of all, it is a story of love. Experience it.