A Weekend in Cape Breton

Well, I am back from Cape Breton. It was a LONG weekend! I almost need a vacation from my vacation! But, my aunt is married now and I have a new uncle, something that I didn't think would ever happen! My fathers siblings are all married (well, one is divorced now) and my mothers' brother does not show any signs of changing his status as a bachelor, so I am happy that I actually got to go to someones wedding! Hazel, the bride, is closer to age with me than with my mother, so it is a bit different. I always wished we were closer, but her wedding was the first time I have seen her in 8 years. So, this weekend was a bit of a whirlwind. I was in Cape Breton twice in less than twelve months, something that rarely happens, I met a lot of new people, and I got to spend some quality time with my grandfather and other members of my family. This is also only the second time I have ever seen the groom, so we do not know each other at all! We spent some time chatting, though. Actually, me and him were members of the potato peeling club Friday night. Yes, you read that right, I spent Friday night peeling potatoes.

So, I didn't make it to Louisbourg, but I had actually a pretty good time. I hardly see my grandfather, he has never been close to my family, so it was nice to spend some time with him. We danced at the wedding to a Cape Breton Traditional song, and it was actually pretty nice. I will probably cherish that memory always! I just wish someone had taken a picture, but my mother was so surprised I was dancing she never even thought about it! My fathers' parents are dead, so this grandfather is the only one I have left. I have three grandmothers, though. (My mothers' mother, my great-grandmother, and my step-grandmother who is the mother of the bride from the weekend). My grandfather, to be frank, looks terrible so I decided I better spend as much time with him as I can because he might not be around for another visit. Just the change since last summer is shocking. He is 75, though, and this wedding was really hard on him! It says a lot about not waiting until you are in your forties to have children...

Anyway, some pictures:

The Bride and Groom
My Grandfather and Mother

My Mother and Her Sister
My Step-Grandmother and My Mother

My Step-Grandmother, My Grandfather, and Me (and I look terrible, but whatever...)

A New Look....

So, I got sick of my other template. Yesterday, with the help of Marg from Reading Adventures, I adopted a new one. I sort of miss the three-column look, but I will get by. I am slowly making things look pretty! The best part of it all is I FINALLY updated my links. Yay! So, now is the perfect time to poke me and point out that I missed you. I had some technological issues and thought I had it all done last night.... but then it wouldn't save.... So, I had to start all over again. Anyway, I am happy to finally have at least that part done. You should especially poke me if you link to me and I don't link to you...

On to other things! I am going away today until Sunday. I don't think I will have internet access. Most of the family I will be seeing is of the older generation and does not even own a computer. I will be back on Sunday, but me and one of my friends are going out Sunday night and I probably won't be home until late. This means it likely won't be until Monday before I get around to updating again. So, look for posts then. By that time, my aunt will (hopefully) be married, my mother will have drove me to the nearest insane asylum (it's her little sister... she is actually closer in age to me than to my mother), my mother will have tried to set me up with the military guys that are going to be there (not going to work), and I will have been to Louisbourg (yay!). My grandfather is only a sometimes relative. I hardly ever see him and we are not super close, but I am also the oldest grandchild and I HATE being the center of attention... Thankfully the wedding should overshadow a lot of this year. Yay! I'll take pictures.

Have to run!

To Whom it May Concern....

Please allow me to actually have time to see the new X-Files movie. I never did see Indiana Jones and finding time to see the new Batman movie is not looking so good either, but I have been waiting for the new X-files movie for years and it is finally coming out this week! And, I found someone that will actually go with me, which is a rarity when it comes to me and my sci-fi fascination. It doesn't help that my town never keeps the movies long enough that I want to see! And, I still haven't seen the old Hellboy, so seeing the new one is another thing that doesn't look very promising! Frankly, me and my friends need coordinating schedules (I find it a waste of money to go to the movies by myself) and I need more hours in the day (my work schedule lately has just plain sucked and it is not getting any better)!

This has been my complaining for the time being. Back to respectable posts tomorrow, or whenever I post next. In the meantime, I am of course going to see Mama Mia on Tuesday. Finding people to go to movies like that is easy. It's sci-fi and action-stuff I have a hard time with because only a select number of my friends share my interest and like I said, I find going to the movies by myself a waste of money. I would rather buy a book...

The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende

Bestselling novelist Isabel Allende took readers on an unforgettable emotional journey with Paula, the profound story about the loss of her 28-year-old daughter. Now, Allende returns to the territory of family with an inspirational new memoir. The Sum of Our Days is the passionate account of a remarkable woman--mother, stepmother, grandmother, wife and lover, fiercely loyal friend and gifted writer--and of the eccentric extended family Allende created in the wake of her daughter's death.

Opening at the moment the family scatters Paula's ashes, Allende's story draws us immediately into her private world. She weaves an episodic narrative about the lives of the strong-minded, eclectic people she has gathered around her, constructing, in her grief, a new concept of family. But most importantly, Allende reveals something of herself that will speak to fans everywhere--the amazing stories behind her books, the superstitions that guide her writing process, her adventurous travels, the intimate moments of her marriage and the joy she gets from her children and friends.

Narrated with warmth, humour, exceptional candour and wisdom, The
Sum of Our Days is a portrait of a contemporary family tied together by the
love, strong will and stubborn determination of a beloved matriarch, the
indomitable Isabel Allend[e].

I love Isabel Allende. She has been one of my favourite writers for years. It all started when I met a girl from Argentina several years ago and she learned that I was a big reader. Her two recommendations for me were Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. This was before blogging days, so word of mouth was the most common way that I learned about new authors. I had Allende as a favourite author way before Oprah made Daughter of Fortune one of her book club selections and she has remained a favourite ever since. Her books are often either magic realism (which is sort of like fantasy) or historical fiction so she easily writes for me. The first book I read by her was House of the Spirits, and it wasn't long before I had read everything that was out at the time. Then, because I just have too many books and too many authors that I want to get to, she sort of slipped off my RADAR. I own all of her books, she is an automatic buy for me, but for whatever reason I haven't read anything by her in a few years.

The Sum of Our Days is her newest book. While I have a few older ones to read, (Zorro, Ines of my Soul, and her young adult trilogy), this was the book I picked up with the hopes of reconnecting with an author I have enjoyed for years. Paula, her early memoir, was out at about the same time that I was just starting to read Allende. It is the story of her daughters untimely death and the struggle that the family went through to get passed it. This book takes place at about the time that the last one stopped and fills in everything that has happened since. Allende writes really readable non-fiction, so I found that I was easily caught up in her story and read this book relatively quickly.

I have to say that for someone that has been reading Allende for several years and has read almost all of her books, I can easily see a progression in her writing. I am also older, too, so maybe that plays a part in it, but I found this book much more readable than Paula. While I liked that book I had a remember having a hard time with the writing style. This one flowed a lot better. It could also have been that Paula was a rather depressing book and this one has a lof of happy times represented in it. I would have to reread Paula to say for sure. I often pick up one of Allende's books with the idea of rereading (especially House of the Spirits and Daughter of Fortune), but I think that I should read the books I haven't read by her before I revisit the old favourites.

One of my favourite aspects of this book is that Allende explains the inspiration behind her books! I really enjoy learning about the hidden meaning behind authors work. What happened is now I really want to read Ines of my Soul (finally) and I understand why she wrote Zorro (which I have tried to read and never managed to get very far into). This book is really a long letter to Paula, her deceased daughter, catching her up on the things that have been happening in the years since she died. I think it is a great idea because Allende is a letter writer, having written to her mother almost daily since they moved apart from each other, so a letter to her daughter is a perfect way to capture her life. Allende talks very candidly about her large family. She has a very interesting one that is entertaining to read about. The book is a mixture of the good and the bad, but written in a way that you never feel too overwhelmed.

The simplest thing to say is that I think this is Allende at her best. After reading a lot of great books by her, there were a couple that sort of bored me and are likely why I stopped reading her for a while. That and my attempts at reading Zorro always end in me putting the book aside for another day. I know Allende is not for everyone, I have seen rather negative reviews of The House of the Spirits, for example, but I think she is an author that everyone she at least try. For years when people would ask me my favourite authors I would always answer Madeleine L'Engle and Isabel Allende. The list has grown now and I find that question harder and harder to answer, but Allende will always be one of my favourites. I hope she continues to write for many more years to come.

It was 5 in the morning when I started this, so if it makes no sense, blame the late hour! It's also the work computer which has formating issues I will fix later today at home.

My thanks to Harper Collins for sending me this book!

On another note, I was looking at my nightstand and almost all the books I have on the go are non-fiction. I was telling my Rush-fan friend about this because it is rather weird for me, and they were more caught up in the fact that I have more than one book on the go. That's normal for me, though. I always start books, get bored, move on to something else, and then randomly go back and read one I started ages ago! I have been reading that way forever. Anyways, I was really surprised by all the non-fiction. I haven't really been keeping a list of my reading this year (I am having a relaxed year), but I think the vast majority of the books I have actually finished this year are non-fiction. I am having a weird year, but the books I am reading are for the most part really good, so I cannot really complain!

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.

At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…

I have read Kelley Armstrong before, so this was not the first time. I have been working my way through her Women of the Otherworld series, and for the most part, I am a big fan of the series. I had originally planned to read another book in that series, but then this arrived in the mail and I thought I would give it a try. The first book in The Darkest Powers series, it was a really interesting first book to the series. Was I blown away by it? No. It was not even great for a young adult novel. For me, it was just interesting enough that I will probably continue the series. It is like Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires series in that respect. I will read them if they are easy to find, but I will not go out of my way for them.

The biggest criteria, for me, for an average book is that I can hardly remember what happens in them. That is my problem with this book. I only kind of remember it, and it was not all that long ago that I read it, so it should still be fresh in my head. I suppose one of my big problems with teen fiction is that I get so annoyed with the heroines. In many cases they are the naive young ladies that romance novels contain, just younger. Maybe in some cases I am too close to that age to really appreciate the freshness of youth? I don't know. I find that my biggest problem with a lot of the popular young adult series is that the main character annoys me (*cough* Bella *cough*), and that normally takes away from my enjoyment of the book. I have also had a lot of issues the last couple years with adult books narrated by young people. I just have no patience for them, I guess.

Anyways, I am just rambling here... So, yes, just an average book. A few interesting scenes, but nothing that will blow your socks off. If you want to read Kelley Armstrong for the first time, start with the Women of the Otherworld series, and if you want a good young adult novel, there are probably better ones out there (The Host, for example). That being said, I plan to read book two, so it was not terrible.

My thanks to Random House for sending me a copy of this book!

My Summer...

Howdy folks! I know, I should be posting a review, but it is late at night and I worked backshift last night, so I am mostly just posting so my blog doesn't get neglected. The plan is to post a decent review tomorrow after a good nights sleep. I have quite the list of things to do tomorrow, though, so we will have to see how things work out. I didn't make any major plans tomorrow because I have been working so much lately that things are getting really neglected in my neck of the woods.

I am some sort of exciting news... For me, anyways. First up, I actually get six days in a row off work! Amazing, I know! I have been at work constantly lately, so I am really looking forward to actually getting away from the place for a while. I am going to Cape Breton for my mother's half-sisters wedding. I will be honest, I have very little interest in going, but most of my friends are going to be working and things, so I might as well get away from it all for a few days. I am mostly going because this year is the 250th anniversary of this battle that was fought at Louisbourg. I am a pretty big history buff... I was in Cape Breton for the 250th anniversary of this battle but no one in my family is all that interested in history, so I didn't get to go. A documentary was later released about it, and of course I watched it in school, so I knew that one of these days I was going to have to go. So, if the wedding does not really interest me all that much, at least I have this to keep me occupied. I have been to Louisbourg before, actually I was there last summer, so this will not be my first time.

Frankly, while the Louisbourg thing will be fun... I am actually more looking forward to my trip in August... It is only an overnight one with my closest male friend (you might know him better as the Rush fan... or various other references on my blog in the last few months when reviews suspended and I started entertaining with pointless rambling). We are going to Lunenburg overnight, and it is actually because I want to go sailing on the Bluenose. That's another thing I always wanted to do, and could never find anyone to do it with me, so somehow we came to the conclusion this week that we were going to go. I booked the hotel yesterday. Do we need to stay overnight? Probably not, but with our work schedules and various other committments we spend most of our time together in stolen moments, so I am looking forward to a couple days of fun without various distractions. I really do not know what the room I booked looks like... All I know is it has a balcony and overlooks the harbour. This is the hotel, though, The Brigantine Inn.

Anyways, those are two of my summer plans. What does everyone out in blogland have planned? I hope one of them is to enter my contest.... What are the things about the other sex that you wish they didn't do? What would be your 'porn'? If this gets some response I will send one lucky person a copy of Porn for Women. (If you post about it on your blog in some manner and link back here, you will be entered twice! Really creative entries will get entered three times!) The contest ends August 1st.

Oh, and the pancakes I woke up for? Not as good as homemade ones, but that was a really great day! I am glad I woke up early for them. It was good company, I got to go back to sleep, and then I had good company again, the pancakes were blueberry, and I just had a good day overall (until I had to go to work), so I do not regret the lack of sleep!

You Know You Are Off Your Rocker When....

.... you plan to get up bright and early tomorrow to go out to breakfast with your friend after they get off backshift! And, well, its your idea because you have some insane desire to have pancakes... That would be me... Because you know, you get off work at midnight (and it is currently almost 1AM) and you have to be back at work at midnight, but hey, let's get up at 7:30 AM for pancakes... My friend just laughs at me. I was going to make my own but everything is closed (stupid stores), so I guess we are eating out. Will I be awake? Probably not and I cannot have caffeine because I plan to go back to bed. Me and my bright ideas, huh?

In the meantime, I REALLY need to review some books. I have actually been reading and you would never even know because I haven't posted any reviews. I started to post one earlier and I forgot what I was doing (totally a blonde in a past life, no offense), so of course that never got done. I have actually managed to read two books for the Canadian Reading Challenge (yay). One was Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland (I hated it Nymeth.... I have never hated a Douglas Coupland book before, and since I know you like him, you must know how tragic this is) and the other was Traveling Music by Neil Peart, which I didn't hate but I liked the other two books I read by him better.

Currently I am reading Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which I am counting as part of the Canadian Reading Challenge because she went to my university (which is in Canada) and she got an honorary degree the year I graduated. That makes her Canadian in my books. That will mean three out of thirteen books. Go me!

And now, I am going to shut up because I am mostly just rambling and if I have any hope of getting up for pancakes tomorrow, I need to go SLEEP! But, I should conclude with saying I had drunk men at work tonight going to the bathroom in the middle of the parking lot. While I understand it is a lot easier for men to go to the bathroom wherever they want... IT'S A PARKING LOT! I mean, there was a puddle! I was just disgusted because we have an amazing invention known as a TOILET! Maybe that is why the book I posted about earlier appealed to me so much... I just don't get the male species. I mean, there are really great men out there, but I seem to get stuck with the idiots!

So, now I am of course curious! I think I just had a book give-away idea! I know, I have a couple due... hm, I really should post that list, huh? I will do it on Wednesday. In the meantime, how about a fun topic of conversation? What are the things about the other sex that you wish they didn't do? What would be your 'porn'? If this gets some response I will send one lucky person a copy of Porn for Women. (If you post about it on your blog in some manner and link back here, you will be entered twice! Really creative entries will get entered three times!) I think this sounds like a fun idea... And, I really will send out all the books I owe people. You should SEE the pile of books on my floor, though, it is like Mt. Rushmore and I have worked a LOT lately... Anyways, how about August 1st as an end date...

A New Book Find...

Is this not the best idea you have ever heard of? A bit sexist and I am very undomestic but now I want this book just because...

Porn for Women by Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative

Prepare to enter a fantasy world. A world where clothes get folded just so, delicious dinners await, and flatulence is just not that funny. Give the fairer sex what they really want beautiful PG photos of hunky men cooking, listening, asking for directions, accompanied by steamy captions: "I love a clean house!" or "As long as I have two legs to walk on, you'll never take out the trash." Now this is porn that will leave women begging for more!

About the Author

The Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative (CWPC) was created by women, for women, in 2005 to redefine the way we look at pornography. Our mission is to recover the term "pornography" from the gold-chained, hairy-chested, leisure-suit-wearing, mouth-breathing knuckleheads, and reclaim it for the rest of us. CWPC members have opted to keep their membership roster unpublished, out of concern that our colleagues in academia, medicine, and the media may still have underdeveloped senses of humor.

The Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative asked women, young, old, rich, and poor, "What really, really gets you hot?" Armed with their findings, they worked day and night to create Porn for Women.

I am probably the last person on the planet to find out about this book, but I think that the publishers should send out review copies... I mean, if it is great it would totally be a book that would be blogged about, posted about, and bought as gifts... It is published by Raincoast Books and I heard about it on Mini Book Expo. (This great site that gives away FREE BOOKS to mostly Canadians (about time) but it is also branching out to the U.S. and International.) Anyways, onto the wish list this book does go.

Baby Books

So, my friend is having a baby and the baby is due in September. I generally buy books for all the babies that are born. I normally buy books that I owned when I was a baby and remember enjoying. The thing is that I am getting farther and farther away from that age, and I do not have any children of my own, so maybe there are great books out there that I am not even aware of? So, any recommendations out there? I have been thinking about authors like Robert Munsch and Beatrix Potter. There is also Dr. Seuss. Or great classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Goodnight Moon. Anyways, I will be ordering them in the next few days, so in the meantime, I look forward to hearing from people!

Great Literary Couples

It is five in the morning and I am at work.... Big shocker! I keep forgetting I actually have two days off this week. It seems too good to be true, I suppose. Anyways, Literary Feline is having a contest: Name a favorite literary couple and tell me why they are a favorite. Since I am trying to stay awake, this seemed like a good project to keep myself busy doing. I am not really sure what my answer is, though. I am not a big romance reader, so I do not read books for romantic aspects and do not necessarily pay attention to the couples found in them.

I think if I had to pick it would be some of the older classics, like Gilbert and Anne from Lucy Maud Montgomery books. I remember when I read the books I was hoping that they would end up together from the moment that he called her Carrot and she broke the slate over his head. They really compliment each other when you think about it. I really want to reread this series, but I just haven't taken the time to sit down with it. Back when I read it the first time in its entirety I read all eight books in a row. This is not something that I really do anymore. I tend to read series very sporadically, so it is interesting how I have changed in that respect. I think I especially like the fact that Gilbert didn't try to control Anne, he lets her be her own person. For the period, men were in their rights to be domineering and he doesn't do that. It made for an enjoyable read as a result.

Another great literary couple is Laura Wilder and her husband. I think a lot of it is the same as Anne and Gilbert. I like strong women in novels and Laura is a strong woman who is not held back or changed by her husband. This is another series that I really want to reread one of these days.

Those are the two that pop into my head first. There are probably a lot more, but it is early and my mind is sleeping. Soon my body will join in and then maybe when I wake up I will have some ideas. Since I have to be back at work at eight Tuesday morning, though, I am pretty well just going home for a nap, so being awake may be questionable... Hopefully soon I will write a couple reviews. They are just not the thing to write when you are tired and that is pretty much me all the time lately!

My Day Off

So, Thursday, July 3rd was the first real day I have had off in like three weeks. This meant that I had to celebrate, of course. One of my closest friends was on vacation this week (he got eight days off while I was jumping up and down over one...), so I told him three weeks ago that Thursday was my day. Then, I pretty much reminded him everyday after that... So, I was pretty excited on Wednesday. I was counting down the hours until I got off work and my 'vacation' started. The hour arrives and my charming friend is not home, so I played with my computer for two hours and then I get a text message that says 'good night'. Yeah, that did not fly with me. I did not care if it was the middle of the night, it was my day and I was planning on enjoying every bit of it. So, I made him stay awake. I am evil, I know. We are watching the television Soap because he has it on DVD and I have to say it is quite enjoyable so far.

Anyways, after that it was actually bedtime and then in the morning we both had necessary things to do, so it was a bit after lunch before the day actually started, but that's okay. I was up bright and early, so I actually got a lot accomplished. He was up early too, which I think we both ended up regretting considering how late the day went in the end. Anyways, first up was lunch. There is this awesome restaurant about 30 mins from here that serves home-cooked meals. With gas prices the way that they are, though, I have hardly been there lately. So, anyways, that is where we had lunch. It was really good! My major plan for the day was a trip to the 'city', meaning Halifax, so that is where we headed to. I have to admit, one of the main reasons for the trip up there was for me to locate some new sneakers. I am picky about my shoes because I have bad feet and because I tend to wear my shoes out quickly, so I was having a hard time finding what I had in mind.

On to the city. The first thing we did in the city was a bit of shopping. I went to the store where they normally have the type of shoes I was looking for, but I was out of luck. Then, my friend had to go pay his parking ticket, and by some strange coincidence I ran into one of my other friends. Apparently she works in the same building, so it was nice to see her. I cannot remember the last time our paths have crossed, normally we just call once in a while to check for life. In the meantime, the parking ticket was supposed to be getting paid, but what really happened was he discovered he actually needed the ticket in order to pay it (duh), so we had to go back to my car to get the ticket and then go back again. I have no idea why he did not do this in the first place, but in any case, the ticket got paid and we were off to meet up with another one of my friends at the mall where I was very lucky to find a pair of shoes. The best part of it was that since my feet are so small... they were kids shoes! That means cheaper... So, my mission was successful.

Should I point out that I have been up since noon yesterday and it is currently six in the morning? I was getting sleepy so this is my 'stay awake' method. If it doesn't make any sense at all just remember that I am half-asleep. After finishing the shopping portion of the trip, we went on a little roadtrip and then met up with another friend. The four of us went out for supper at Steak & Stein. I got made fun of because I order pasta with chicken and then hardly eat the chicken... My friend usually does, though, so it all works out. The pasta was good, but not the best I have had by any means. After the meal the two city people went one way, and me and my fellow valley person went for a walk. I took him to my favourite second-hand bookstore (which I am sure thrilled him), but surprisingly didn't buy anything!

The conclusion of the night was spent at a sports bar. There was five of us there and it was pretty fun. My friend that travelled up there with me sings karaoke and he sang 'Freewill' by Rush. It was awesome! If anyone has heard that song they will know that there is a really high part... The four of us at the table were blown away by it. Rush doesn't go over very well, though, and he is not comfortable with that song, so I imagine that will be the last time I hear it. It was very worth it, though! I wanted to hear Rush, but didn't actually imagine he would sing it. Until the song started I had no idea, so I thought it was a nice present for me on my day off. After the bar closed, it closes pretty early I think, we split up again. We ended up at another singing place, but there was only an hour left. It was just me and my friend from down here and both of us were getting pretty tired! I was regretting that early morning wake-up when I had to drive an hour to get home. My friend kept drifting off and I had to keep poking them for life because I was sleepy too and wanted them to keep me awake. Gas prices also went up while we were on the road, so that was depressing to come back to.

I had most of Friday off, too, so 'my day' sort of extended into it. We went to the same town with the restaurant again, this time we had already ate, so we went for a walk by the waterfront and my friend told me some of the history. I am not from this area so I don't really know all the history. It was very interesting. Then, we went to another person's house where I got to go for a ride on a motorcycle. I have a motorcycle thing. Ever since I read the two Neil Peart books I really wanted to go on one, so I finally got my wish. It's been forever since I was last on one. It was really great! For some reason my friend thought I would be scared, but I wasn't. It was just a little weird because the person I was riding with I hardly know at all, but other than that, it was great. Now I want to learn how to ride one, but that is likely a very distant future goal at this point.

Well, this is a long post... It is now 6:45 in the morning. I am really tired! I have done worse, though. Sometimes when I get off this shift I am up for 24 hours or so. Today it will only be 20 or 21. This post likely makes no sense at all, but I am tired and mostly just doing whatever I can to stay awake. I was reading but I felt my eyes were having a hard time staying open so I had to give it up. I have moved on to another Neil Peart book, but I also have a couple other books on the go. The Neil Peart book just arrived in the mail yesterday so it sort of rearranged my reading order. Anyways, I should shut up now because this is a boring post. I do know I need to figure out if I am going to give real names on here or come up with nicknames because this post would be a lot less confusing with a system. I will have to give it some thought.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I have other books that I really need to review, but I wanted to give this book the justice it deserved, so I am reviewing it now. It is by far one of the best books I read this year, so I am glad I went to the store the other day to pick up a copy. Marg and Stephanie have both had wonderful things to say about it, so I suppose they are happy that I didn't end up hating it!

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former
tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie
loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from
her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces
make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man
they both love.

Featuring what may be the first love triangle involving only two bodies,
THE HOST is a riveting and unforgettable novel that will bring a vast new
readership to one of the most compelling writers of our time.

I was a little worried about this book. I have the worst problem with not agreeing with other people's opinions on books, so I was a little worried that I was not going to like it as much as other people did. Marg and Stephanie usually have good taste, though, so I really shouldn't have been worried at all. The other thing I was worried about was the love triangle thing... I am just not a romance reader. The interesting thing is that when I finished the book and saw people calling it a romance, it sort of surprised me. I am perfectly aware of the romance aspect of the book, but there are other things that caught my attention.

Anyways, carrying on. This book was a perfect science fiction novel to enjoy. I read more fantasy than science fiction, so I really cannot remember the last time I sat down with one that I enjoyed so much. I was hooked from the first page. I was mad that I, as usual, never seemed to have time to read it, but at the same time, I was sad when it was over. It only took me a couple days to read it, in any case, and if anyone is paying attention to my slacking reading numbers this year you would know that is pretty fast for me. It's a pretty big book and I flew through it. Apparently I should not read at work, though, someone told me yesterday that they walked by and I was totally oblivious. Different book, but I still should've been paying more attention...

So, as the description says above an alien species has taken over the people of earth's bodies and minds. The human has been lost, in most cases, while the alien continues to survive. This is not the first planet that they have taken over in this manner, but it is the first planet with such an advanced species. Humans have a lot more going on in their minds that the aliens have to adjust to. Melanie Stryder is taken over by an alien that is named Wanderer by the doctors on Earth. She has never found a planet that she wanted to call home, so she has been moving from place to place. As the novel progresses, her name is shortened to Wanda. Unlike the norm, her human is still aware and still talking to her, something that is not supposed to happen. It makes it all that more difficult for her to adjust.

Instead of being enemies, Melanie's memories of the man that she loves bring them together. They set out on a quest to see if they can locate this man, a man that Wanderer has never met but feels very strongly for. Wanderer and Melanie have conversations that make you laugh out loud at times, especially when Wanderer does things that Melanie does not approve of. Wanderer's race is a very peaceful race at their core, while humans are known to be a bit violent, so it is an interesting contrast. This book goes in some interesting directions. I cannot say it ever really surprised me, but it did make for an interesting chain of events. I have to say that I was not very fond of Jared, Melanie's love, but I did enjoy Ian. He is a very interesting character. I have seen that a couple other places.

In conclusion, I disagree on the love triangle idea. I think it was a bit more complicated than that, especially as the story progressed. All I know for sure, though, is that I really enjoyed this book. I strongly recommend it to everyone, even if science fiction is not your thing.