Twilight Takes Me By Surprise

This is one review that I never thought I would be writing, mostly because I never expected to read Stephenie Myers’ vampire/romance saga. I guess it’s true what they say, “never says never.”

When I began reading Twilight I was convinced I would not like the book at all. I had pretty much grouped it into the same category as the Gossip Girl novels or one of those other teen novels that I see as a waste of time to read. There are so many other books on my reading list that seemed so much more worthwhile. However, as the release of Breaking Dawn got closer, I began to get more and more curious. When the schedule came out and I realized I would be working the night of the release I decided I would give Twilight a shot, just so I would have some idea what was going on. Once I started reading I could not stop. I started Twilight Sunday night; four days and three books later I am now hooked on the Twilight saga.

I have a lot of favorite books and even more books that I love though I may not consider them favorites. But very few books draw me in entirely – completely consume my time and thoughts. Rarely am I so hooked that I spend every available waking moment caught up in the book. However, since I started Twilight Sunday night, until I finished Eclipse last night I could not put the books down. The only time I spent more than five minutes away from the books was to sleep, work or watch The Dark Knight (which was amazing, by the way). This is the first time I’ve been on the computer for more than a few minutes since Sunday. Even when I wasn’t reading all I could think about were the characters in the books, and what was going on. I haven’t felt that way about a book since Harry Potter.

This series was about 200% better than I anticipated. Bella is an amazing character, well written, developed and her thoughts and emotions are real. I could really identify with her, which I think is part of the reason I became so engrossed in these books. I could understand Bella, sympathize with her, feel her excitement and pain. And of course, as every girl before me who has read these books, I fell too fell in love with Edward.

I think what impressed me most about these books was that they are not like the usual books, tv shows and music that are popular with teens these days. These books didn’t glamorize underage drinking or sex and these teenagers seemed to have a decent taste in music and literature; they also realized there were more important things in life than clothes, who’s dating who, etc. I think that must be why I liked these books so much, why they took me by surprise. I was expecting Gossip Girl or One Tree Hill with vampires and what I found was more like a cross between Buffy and Moonlight.

In a way I’m kind of glad I just discovered these novels, because I don’t think I could have waited the year between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. As it is, it’s going to be really hard waiting until next Friday, especially since the books will be arriving in the store any day now and I’ll have to wait until after we close Friday night (actually early Saturday) to start reading.

So I guess the moral of the story is, never judge a book by its cover. You just may be surprised. I was.

The Other Wizard Called Harry

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are quickly becoming some of my favorite books. Lately I’ve been on a huge Dresden kick and have read the last three books in the series in less than two weeks. If you’re a scifi fan and haven’t read this series, or if you were a fan of the television version on SciFi last year, then I highly recommend these books.

A quote on the cover of one of the books described the Dresden novels as a cross between a grown up Harry Potter and Spencer, and I must agree. While these novels are full of magic and fantasy, they are also more firmly grounded in reality than Harry Potter. You could almost believe that that there really is an underground magical community out there under our very noses.

Each novel is narrated by Harry himself, and he provides a very amusing description of events as they take place. I love the wit and humor, and I love the fact that I actually get the majority of the pop culture references used in these books; Tolkien, Star Wars even Darby O’Gill and the Little People, these are all references that I get and understand. Harry Dresden certainly isn’t a perfect man, like everyone he has his flaws and personal demons (literally, in his case) but it’s those flaws that make his character so realistic and so likeable.

The supporting cast of characters in these books are extremely diverse and they’re all just as interesting as Dresden himself. There’s Karrin Murphy, the head of Special Investigations and a friend of Dresden’s; Bob, the talking skull; Thomas, a vampire who is more than he seems (Thomas is quickly becoming my favorite character after Harry, but I won’t tell you why because that may give too much away) and Harry’s friend Michael, a faithful, God-fearing man who wields a powerful sword said to be forged with one of the nails from the cross of Christ. There’s also an equally diverse and intriguing cast of villains, including werewolves, vampires, demons and a powerful mobster known as Gentleman Johnny Marcone.

While many fantasy series these days seem to borrow heavily from classic tales such Tolkien’s works, Butcher has created a world all his own. However, like Tolkien, Butcher takes inspiration from classical mythology and folklore (Queen Mab, Merlin, etc.) as well as various religions. What fascinates me is the way he blends Christian tradition with his magical universe. Most often books of this genre tend to view the existence of magic (witches, wizards, etc.) and God as mutually exclusive; but in Dresden’s universe God and those doing his work have just as much power as the wizards.

Some book series tend to dry out, become less interesting with each novel published, but that’s not true in this case. Each novel is better than the one that precedes it, the stories become more intense, the stakes are higher and I love Harry more and more with each page I turn. So far I’ve finished each book thinking this one is my favorite, only to fall even more in love with the next one as I’m reading. I’ve also finished each novel faster than the one before it, because I just get more and more involved in the stories.

I also love how each novel builds on the one that preceded it. These aren’t completely individual stories. While the first few books seem fairly stand alone, with only a few references to previous novels, by the fifth or sixth book you begin to realize that there is a much bigger picture, and Butcher is just starting to reveal his plans to us.

Okay, I’m done raving now. I really love these books and definitely recommend them to any scifi fan. These books are terrific, and just get better with each one published.

Small Favors, book 10 of the Dresden Files, goes on sale Tuesday and I’m looking forward to it almost as much as I was looking forward to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’ll let you know what I think of it when I’m finished reading.

Beautiful Children and Other Odds and Ends

I just finished reading Beautiful Children by Charles Bock and this book is absolutely amazing. While it's kind of hard to recommend to people unless I really know them and know their taste in books, I think this was an incredible read and definitely worth the time.

The story is set in Las Vegas around the disappearance of a young boy named Newell Ewing. The novel follows his parents as they deal with the tragedy, while also weaving together other stories to create the overall tapestry of events that took place the night Newell disappears. Other characters include a geeky comic book artist, a group of runaway street kids, a stripper named Cheri Blossom and her boyfriend Ponyboy (named after Hinton's characters in the Outsiders).

I loved the author's style. This is his first book, and rumor has it it took him 11 years and 4 drafts to complete the novel. His hard work was worthwhile. His style is extremely raw and real, and as your reading you get the impression that he actually knows these characters intimately. He knows their lives and motivations and everything about them. The old addage is true, a writer should write what he knows. Bock grew up in Vegas, so he probably did know many people like these characters.

I must offer a word of caution though. This novel is at times extremely provocative, graphic and sometimes shocking. There's a lot of language, sex, pornography, etc. But the story is amazing. Usually I would have been turned off by a lot of the content of this novel, it's not something I would have chosen myself to read (we started a book club at work and one of the guys chose this, not knowing much about it) but something about this story captured my interest and kept me reading till the end.

Other Stuff:

I planned on reading Neverwhere next, as it was recommended to me by a friend, but we were out of copies at work so I'm currently reading Smoke & Mirrors, short stories by Neil Gaiman. Some are kind of strange some are really interesting. I'm beginning to love Gaiman's writing.

I'm planning on adding a list to the left with my current list of planned reading. If anyone has recommendations please feel free to mention them. I'm willing give almost anything a try (with the exception of romance novels or manga).