*BzzZzzZzz*

Amazing novel. Honestly, I wasn't convinced I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. Hands down, it's my favorite book thus far. Move over Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, while you're hilarious and fun to read, The Secret Life of Bees touched me in ways you failed to. I was sad to turn the last page.

The characters were brilliant and consistent. Nearly all of them were loveable; honestly, I've never thoroughly adored every character in a novel the way I did in this one. Even T. Ray, the asshole father, tugged at my heart strings. That's not an easy feat. I felt sorry for the man, and at the end I saw him a little bit differently.

The main character, Lily Ownes, lied and cheated and she stole, but it was difficult to hold a grudge against her because of it. Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that. Rosaleen was hysterical. August was the kind of wise god mother figure every little girl (or boy, I guess) should have. May broke my heart. And I couldn't help but root for Zach and Neil. I cherished each and every one of them.

It was mildly slow in the beginning, but as soon as Lily and Rosaleen begin their journey it becomes impossible to put down. Had it not been for work and other responsibilities, I would have remained in bed to read it from cover to cover. It was that good. Even the ending was satisfying!

I've heard other reviewers and critics mention books that had a "true Southern voice." I never knew what that meant until I began to read this one. The accent -- that smooth, almost lazy talk was so clear in my head, which I think just added to the story. It didn't even bother me that it was written in first person!

Kidd did an amazing job. I just...it's my favorite. My new favorite novel. I borrowed it from the library. Now I have to look on Amazon to buy it. I just can't not own the thing.

*sigh* Really sad to know it's finished though. Now I have to watch the movie.

The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle is next.

Viola!

I finished reading The Host around 12:30 this morning. I practically devoured the last half of the book. Like I've heard mentioned, I'll agree that it is a bit strange. It's mildly slow in the beginning, but soon becomes fast-paced and hard to put down. For anyone who doesn't know what this book is about, and without giving too much away, it's about an alien (they're called Souls; this one's name is Wanderer) who inhabits a body (the host; Melanie). Melanie, however, doesn't disappear like she's supposed to, and Wanderer is stuck with her memories and emotions. Shennighans ensue.

Strange, yes, but totally an awesome read.

This novel, and the four books from the Twilight Saga, further confirms my theory that Stephenie Meyer was a Roswell fan. No one can convince me otherwise. That's probably another reason why I enjoyed the book so much.

With that said, I still have a few issues with the way she wrote her book(s).

I just don't do 1st Person very well. It's too limited, and more often than not that author tries to break through the limitations. They fail; only succeeding in irritating me.

Also, and I don't know why she does this, but SM likes to tell stories within her dialogue. She did this in the Twilight Series (I think it was Eclipse? Whichever one that Rosalie told her story), and she did it a bit in The Host, too.

She tries to have a character tell the story of his/her past. She goes into detail, which is great...but when she gets to the dialogue portion, she flubs it up. It's not believable; I don't like it. I...can't explain it very well. While a character -- let me use Rosalie...

While Rosalie is telling her story, she gives great detail. Which is wonderful. Good stories require a lot of detail. When she is telling Bella what the guys said to her, though, that's when it becomes unrealistic. She uses tags: "he said maliciously" within her story, as in, within the dialogue.

No one talks like that. No one tells their best friend what their douchebag ex-boyfriend said to them -- not like that. It's weird. I noticed it right away. I don't like it. It irritates me. (This is probably horribly confusing...)

...But I still really enjoyed the books, lol! People think that when I nitpik about stuff like that, then I don't like what I'm reading. Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite. The more I like the book, the more I pick at it. I think it should be perfect.

Unrealistic, I know. *shrug*

So, I went to the library today and picked up four books. I'll probably end up having to recheck some of them out, haha. But I'm starting, today, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Then, I think, I'll read The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle. The other two books I checked out are A Northen Light by Jennifer Donnelly and Atonement by Ian McEwan. Pretty stoked about it.

I totally forgot how awesome libraries are. They smell nice. And they're quiet. It's pretty much heaven.

Dinner and movie tonight. I wanna read some before then....

Byye!

Reason Number 1,029 Why I Love Nicholas Sparks

Aside from the fact that he's just amazing, he's a terrific author who just understands girls. I mean, in his novels it's glaringly apparent that he gets us. And nearly every book I've read by him, I've devoured in hours and enjoyed thoroughly.

With that said, I had no intention of reading Three Weeks with My Brother; I just don't do memoirs. But my co-worker, Sarah, said it oozed awesomeness and, truth be known, I'm was getting a little tired of the classics and period pieces. I needed something a little fresher. So, I started it yesterday, and I'm almost half-way finished with it.

It's truly an amazing book. He co-wrote this with his brother ((though, I think it's obvious that it's predominantly Nicholas's work)), and it's literally about the three weeks he spent with his brother traveling the world, interspersed with details of their lives growing up together. They had an interesting childhood, to say the least.

I think another reason I'm just *in love* with this book is because I can relate to certain aspects of what he's writing about. Not a lot mind you. I certainly haven't dealt with the kind of tragedy he has ((and I certainly wouldn't have such a good sense of humor about life now)), but the ones that I do are just startling; the whole middle child syndrome for instance - I get that.

It's heartwarming to read about the type of relationships he had with his brother, sister and parents ((even if I maintain that they needed to be taken away from said "parents)). I don't know what it's like to grow up with your sibling as a best friend. My brother and I certainly don't share that type of relationship, nor my sister and I for that matter. And the way those two boys ((Nicholas and Micah)) treat their sister is just...awww; I mean, those boys asked their sister to the prom. How freaking sweet is that? I want my kids to grow up like that - that close ((wait, I decided today I wasn't going to have any...wild children-customers have stauched any desire for me to procreate)).

*sigh* And reading this book ((reading in general, but I've noticed moreso with this book)) makes me want to write...soooooo bad. I can sit at my computer for hours and just pound away at the keys. I really want to do that again; I don't know why I'm not.

Anyway, I'm really excited about this book. I'm pretty exhausted after today, but I want to keep reading. I need to sleep...I don't know what I'll do.

Amazing - anyone who hasn't read this book needs to. Foooor sure.





***((Also, added The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd to my books list))