Yes, I read this book. My co-worker read it and loved it so she wanted me to read it. Apparently, while reading it she thought of me and wanted me to read it because she thought I would love it. Man, do I not want to go to work on Wednesday. To be fair, I didn't hate the book. I thought the story got more interesting as the book progressed although it ended abruptly, I thought. The writing style is not my cup of tea and I found it cliché a lot but I know that if I were a fourteen year old girl, I would drink this up like it was diet Mountain Dew (hey, I only drink diet pop now, sue me). I've never been terribly impressed with vampires. I liked Dracula and Interview with a Vampire but that's about it. I've watched specials about vampires and things because I think scary stories are great, but I also will watch them about werewolves with the same apathetic attitude. Anyway, the book. Basically, it was a really angsty teen romance in which one of the characters happened to be a vampire. The language was very flowery and dramatic and felt like a diary entry at times. Like if I were writing a diary that I secretly wanted people to read one day, I would write like this. Now, who am I to talk about good things vs. crappy things being published. I've never been published and I'm crap at writing fiction. But I read a lot of it. And I'd like to think that I'm a good judge of books. So there.
One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was because the waiting list for reading the series through my library is over 100 people long. Like the Harry Potter books, I wanted to find out what all the hullabaloo was about. And I'm impatient so I jumped on my co-worker's offer to borrow it. Now, I'm probably going to read the rest of the books, I'll admit, in the same way I had to watch all "Saw" movies: I have to know what happens. My curiosity far outweighs my low tolerance for crappy stories. But I still refuse to see "Firefly" for those keeping track at home. On principle. I found myself thinking that maybe Boyfriend's high school age niece would love these books. I am glad that there are these series of books that give young people the enthusiasm to read, however. Granted, I wish they would open their minds a little bit but I can't convince every teenager to read Neil Gaiman. I'd probably be upset if they did anyway; I'm hypocritical that way. Bottom line: if you want to know what the kids are up to, read this book. If you really don't care or are not impressed by lines like "'Yes, you're exactly my brand of heroin'" save your time. I mainly read it today to avoid my paper anyway.
The book that I absolutely want everyone to read right now is In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. This book is amazing. It talks about the "Western Diet" and how it has lead to diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. I've struggled with my weight over the last couple of years (oh, and forever) and eating healthy. This book made me really think about what I'm putting into my body. Basically, the tenets of the book are "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." The author goes on to explain these sentences in more detail later in the book. He says that the best way to combat these diseases are to make sure the foods you eat aren't processed and don't have any hard to pronounce words. I've already been losing weight through eating smaller portions and slightly more often throughout the day and I think that this book can help with altering the thinking of most people.
I don't have the time sometimes to make the dinners that I want but I'm slowly learning to prepare meals once a week for all week long. I also watched "Supersize Me" this weekend and this has also contributed to my change in thinking. I'm going to try really hard to make my own food from now on as much as possible. It should also save me money in the long run, which is a good thing. I've already found sources for local eggs and I'm going to start buying meat that is only grass-fed. I really recommend this book, way more so over Twilight although they are in very different categories.
Today is officially the last day of NaBloPoMo but I am going to keep writing on a regular basis. I feel kind of guilty for not posting every day like I should have and I tried to make up for it as much as possible. I realize that writing has helped me "get my feelings out" a lot (man, it's like I'm IN that vampire book) and I think that I should continue. I can't rely solely on the Prozac in the winter. So keep reading!
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