What are Your Ten Best-Ever Teen Books?

This one's for book lovers, especially those who like to read in the YA genre.  After collecting nominations for a top-100 list of the best young adjust books, NPR has come up with a list of 235 titles, and it's now up to the public to vote.  We can each pick 10 books from the list.

That's right 10 books.  I don't know how it will be/was for you, but it was incredibly difficult for me!

My votes were for:

1. Anne of Green Gables (series) by Lucy Maud Montgomery
2. The Dark is Rising (series) by Susan Cooper
3. Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
4. His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
5. The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
6. The Princess Bride by William Golman
7. The Shiver Trilogy (series by Maggie Stiefvater)
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
10. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

But, I also wanted to vote for:

1. Betsy-Tacy Books (series) by Maud Hart-Lovelace
2. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
3. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
4. The Mortal Instruments (series) by Cassandra Clare
5. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
6. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
7. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

And where in world was A Wrinkle in Time?  I don't get why it's not on the list when the Betsy-Tacy books are there; I could have sworn those were little kids.  But then again, NPR does talk about the debates they went through trying to figure out just what fits into YA.  At any rate, I can't wait to see the final list.  I just may have to re-read some of these titles.

What are your best-ever YA books?  If you voted, what were your selections?

The Host

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Take those four stars with a grain of salt. The grain of salt being that I would have given this three and a half stars if I could have, but that is not an option, so I rounded up.

BTW, SPOILER ALERT.

Stephenie Meyer's The Host intrigued me to the point where I did block out time to read, but then the story wrapped up too cleanly. This is coming from a person who happens to like happy endings, and seeks escape when reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed the premise of the story—aliens, a.k.a. "souls" have taken over most of Earth. There is of course, a pocket of resistance, but it's really the human spirit that prevails. My problems entirely lie with the very neat dénouement. The conflict resolution can be summed up as everyone, and I mean everyone had their own happy-ever-after.

It was just too clean! I kept waiting for the Seeker to find them, but she just ended up being captured by the human rebels. And then they saved her?! I find it all to be a little incredulous.

But, it was an interesting read, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. I have actually had this book in my possession for at least a year, and I dragged my feet on reading it. After all, this book is Ms. Meyer's follow-up to my beloved Twilight Saga, and I was quite worried that I would hate it. It turns out that I did not hate or dislike The Host in the least bit. In fact, I liked that she spent so much time focused on the life Wanda/Mel. I just wish there had been a little bit more conflict.



View all my reviews

Eclipse

Today is opening day for Eclipse in theaters, and somehow, I found a way to resist the urge to see the midnight showing. However, I could not wait for the weekend, and dragged Seth to an evening show.

My self-control paid-off and we did not have to deal with an outrageous line. There were, however teenage girls in line, who gushed with their friends who had just come out of an earlier show. Then there were the screaming teenage girls during the movie. And, they screamed every time Jacob appeared without a shirt. Luckily, I was able to [sort of] tune them out.

The movie itself was great; although I will admit that it doesn't take much to please me when it comes to anything Twilight related, so take my opinion with a few grains of salt. I probably enjoyed this one the most.

I felt like the screenplay was well written, and allowed the story to flow smoothly and transition nicely; something that is difficult to accomplish when the book itself is so long and detailed. There were certain moments when one character spoke a line in the movie that another character had spoken in the book, but I appreciated this change because it helped the story to make more sense. It was also great to see the Newborn story told onscreen since Stephenie Meyer does not expand on them much in the book.

What a great way to end my work day.

Best Birthday Card Year Ever

Yes, it's birthday time for me. To celebrate this year we had dinner at Angeline's Kitchen in Berkeley. It was great--if you go, get the hush puppies and the jambalaya.

When we got home I opened cards and presents; they were all awesome. In particular though, this was a fantastic year of cards. Between the Twilight card the Contreraseses sent to the "Everything you want costs money," card from Seth to the "Queen for a Day" card from Kris and Steve, I don't think I've ever laughed this much from my cards. And yes, the Queen card is my favorite. How can you not love it? The crown is made of cutout paper, costume jewels, and fuzzy feathers!

A giant thanks to everyone who thought of me.

I Do Love Books

Moving to the Bay Area truly has reunited me with books. Commuting on the Bart for over an hour each way was the initial spark, and it got me back in the library; then there was Twilight. I think the last time I read with such voracity over such an extended period of time was high school.

Reading all these books has also made me interested in seeing authors in person, talking about their books. I got this chance at Comic-Con last summer when I saw Neil Gaiman on the Coraline Panel. And now Melissa Marr (and several other author friends) are coming to San Francisco on September 18 for the Smart Chicks Kick It tour. Unfortunately, it looks like Cassandra Clare's three appearances don't include the City. At any rate, I must go!

The only problem is that this right smack in the middle of football season, and I do love my college football. Luckily, USC is at Minnesota and UCLA is playing Houston, so I don't think I have anything to worry about.

To Consume

By definition, consume means "to destroy or expend by use" and maybe that is why I have a hard time using some of the things I buy.

One of my Christmas gifts was a Twilight-themed notebook cover and pencil case by pinkladydesigns, and they both still sit in the ziploc bag they came in. Of course, my sister highly encourages me to make use of them, but if the consumerism of Christmas is why I have these two lovely items, then doesn't that mean I will eventually destroy or expend them with use?

Don't worry, I'll break them out of the plastic bag. Eventually.

The Twilight Saga and Me

About a year ago I got on an airplane to come home for the holidays, and my in-flight entertainment was a book that I had heard of and found at Costco for $6.99. That book was Twilight. It took me the five-hour plane ride to tear through Twilight; and when my sister picked me up from the airport I nearly demanded to be taken to the mall so I could find the rest of the books. This was on December 24, 2008. The next three days were spent reading, shunning conversation, and doing my best to never leave the house--quite amazing considering it was Christmas. I even read Eclipse during the island-wide blackout on December 26.

Since then, I jumped, quite shamelessly, into the young adult world of Twilight through movies, merchandise, blogs and podcasts. I even took a trip to Forks this summer with my sisters, and went to my first Comic-Con. Best of all, my love for reading has been reignited, and I have read several wonderful books this year.

Thank you, Stephenie Meyer, for creating this foggy, green world of nicer vampires in Forks. I have thoroughly enjoyed my reunion with books and my local library, and look forward to more of this in the years to come.

November 20 , 2009 is Finally Here!

The movie version of New Moon is in wide release, and I just got home from the Nordstrom screening. Chris Weitz did a great job, and I am content. Of course, I plan to see this in theater again, and I know next time I will scrutinize less. It also may help not to sit near someone who makes loud commentary throughout the movie. Mostly she said "wow" and it pretty much ruined the effect of a pack of wolves stalking a vampire.

Now, about the movie (stop reading if you want to judge the movie for yourself).

I thought Melissa Rosenberg captured the essence of the book well, and I am happy with what was and was not included. As I mentioned earlier, Chris Weitz did an excellent job, and the special effects did not disappoint. Even Seth, who does not care for CGI, thought the wolves were awesome.

Side note: Seth prefers Jacob to Edward now that he has experienced New Moon. This is something my youngest sister will be happy about, but I am not so thrilled.

The fight scenes are better than I expected, and I especially enjoyed the addition of the row between Felix and Edward. Thumbs up on making the Cullens all look more like the Cullens of my imagination. Thumbs down on the silly moment that flashes through Alice's mind when she shows Aro the vampire future of Bella and Edward. Thumbs up if it was meant to poke fun at the Robsession (something I would not put past the director given the razzing that went on at Comic-Con). Selfishly, I would love to see the post production team pay more attention to small details like making Alice's eyes black when she comes back to Forks. But then again it would only be something for the fans of the book, and would probably fail to add substance to the storyline.

Though this was the most difficult of the four books for me to get through, I thought the movie was much lighter in feeling than Twilight. It was still awful when Edward left, but the general feeling of the movie was not as angsty, and there were so many more laughs which helped to foil the depressing moments. I wonder how I will be able to wait for my trip home to see this again.

Final thoughts are reserved for the event itself: The Nordstrom event was well organized, and since all 14 screens were taken over by New Moon, we somehow ended up in a theater with an older age group. This made a huge difference in keeping the screaming down, which is a big plus.

It's November!

I think I went to sleep my one night in the beginning of October, slept a restless, stressful sleep, and awoke to find that it is now November. Everything has been busy, busy, busy.

The good thing about all the busy is that I forgot to be antsy about the release date for New Moon. This weekend, that changed. I caught bits of the trailer during the World Series and some football games, and that brought all the excitement back.

That's when I got fidgety and my mind started buzzing. I started to wonder, "How will see New Moon on November 20? Is it sold out already? Can I really stand all the screaming? Would Seth go with me? Probably not. But then maybe he would. Should I try to go to LA and see it with friends down there? Seth did mention that he would rather pay for me to fly down there than to have to see it with me..." Luckily I happened upon a promo at Nordstrom's Brass Plum.

Basically, you spend some money and you get a pass to a screening on November 19. So, I took care of some early Christmas shopping, and I got two tickets to see New Moon one night early. Somehow I even got Seth to be my plus one.

I think it will be relatively controlled since it is limited by the number of seats they have in the theater. Hopefully it's not too crazy of a night, but I will still be prepared for high-pitched screaming and loads of teenie boppers.

Comic-Con 2009

When someone asks “Where are you going on your vacation?” and you say “Oh...to Comic-Con,” be prepared for laughter and “geek,” or “dork,” in response. Really though, Comic-Con isn’t just about comic books and geeks anymore. In recent years it has morphed into a pop-culture phenomena, and this year, it was bigger than ever.

Between July 22 and 26, about 125,000 people invaded the San Diego Convention Center for the Con. Every single day, and every single pass sold out. In fact, if you tried to buy a four-day pass in April, you were out of luck.

Luckily, my sister and I bought our four-day passes in February. I should admit now that our main reason for going was Twilight; and before this year, neither of us had never been to Comic-Con. I should also be thankful now that this is an unpopular blog so I don’t have to worry about veteran attendee ire over the vampire-fan convergence. But, like I said, the Con is also about pop culture, and it truly isn’t for your average geek anymore. Now it includes the general population, and the teenie boppers.

Comic-Con is amazing and crazy. There are an unbelievable amount of people moving through the convention center: pushing their way through to pick-up swag, straining to see the latest toys, getting pictures of costumed attendees, etc. It also smells. There is a lot of body odor and not enough deodorant. You can easily forget that part though, because Comic-Con is multiple sensory overload.

The big name studios (Warner Bros., Fox, Disney to name a few) and major comic book players (DC, Marvel and more) have huge booths filled with displays, merchandise to consider and autograph opportunities. Besides the giant corporate areas for movies and comics, there are sections for gaming, manga, comic distributors, and merchandise opportunities galore. Then you spot a Stormtrooper; oh wait it’s Princess Leia; now it’s Naruto; what is this steampunk thing; look a battle-worn Stormtropper; I think I see Slave Leia; oooh Spiderman; another Stormtrooper…you see? Sensory overload.

Beyond the exhibit hall, requiring hours of patience, are panel sessions. Fans get sneak previews and question/answer sessions with the stars, directors and producers of their favorite sci-fi and/or superhero movies and TV shows. The great thing about the panel sessions? They don’t clear the rooms. The horrible thing about the panel sessions? They don’t clear the rooms.

If you want to see a panel that’s not until 1:45 p.m., plan to camp out in your seat, or hopefully move up if people vacate. But, if you are there for something Twilight related, especially something that includes Rob Pattinson et al, then don’t hold your breath and hope for people to leave.

The New Moon Panel
On day one of Comic-Con, my sister and I arrived at the convention center at 6:00 a.m. Thanks to a parking mistake, we saw the line for the New Moon panel. The sun was barely up, and there were already hundreds of people in line. It turned out that you could sleepover—something we thought you couldn’t do (or maybe we just hoped you couldn’t because we really didn’t want to sleep on concrete). Eventually it was apparent that people were holding places in line and instead of hundreds of people ahead of us, there were thousands. By the time Hall H opened, it was 10:30 a.m., and we were seated in the middle of this 6,500 seat hall. But, we were in.

Thanks to the Con’s practice of not clearing rooms, we saw the Disney 3D panel (A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland and Tron Legacy), another 3D showcase panel (not that great) and a surprise appearance by Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland). When Chris Weitz, Rob Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene walked onstage for New Moon, it made the hours of waiting and the extremely early morning totally worth it. Interestingly, the screaming was not that bad, and even more surprisingly, everyone kept to their seats. The movie clip they debuted was awesome (Jacob teaches Bella to ride her motorcycle, and she starts having her Edward hallucinations), and at the end of the panel they treated us to another clip (Bella and Alice race to Volterra in the yellow Porsche, and Bella races through the city to stop Edward…clip ends right as Edward takes a step toward the sunlight). It was cool seeing the cast, but honestly, some of them have a hard time with interviews and questions. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. And yes, I would do it again (even if while standing in line, I said never again will I do something like this for Twilight).

The Coraline Panel
The other panel on my list was Coraline. I just wanted to see Neil Gaiman. He is one of my favorite authors, and because of my Forks trip I missed a wonderful opportunity to attend one of his events in San Francisco. This panel was a lot easier to get into, and I had prime seating. For me, the only drawback was that the director, Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), has a huge following so many of the questions were directed to him. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the making of Coraline, and that night I went out and bought the DVD.

In addition to holding a panel discussion, there was an autograph opportunity for Coraline. However, it was a lottery drawing that took place right around the same time that you had to stand in line to get into the panel. Lucky me, my sister was willing to stand in line for the lottery, and even luckier, she got the ticket. The only problem was that they then put a wristband on her (one that could not be easily removed), so only she could stand in line for the autograph. It all turned out okay in the end. Even though I didn’t get a chance to meet Neil Gaiman, he was graciously willing to sign two items. I let my sister keep the autographed Coraline print (signed by Teri Hatcher, Neil Gaiman, Henry Selick and David) and my copy of Good Omens was also signed by Neil himself.

The Experience
Comic-Con is one of those things that should be experienced by everyone at least once. You just have to get over the crowds and the smell. It really seems like the studios do their best to treat fans to something special, before the viral video hits YouTube and while movies like Alice in Wonderland or New Moon are still in production. The whole thing really is enormous, and while it gets bigger every year, I have heard that the convention center is at capacity. I hope the Con figures out how to handle the Twilight craze, because there are two more movies yet to come, and it is a bit out of control. Plus, the veteran Comic-Con people are not happy with the rabid vampire fans—everywhere we went we heard varying forms of “dumb Twilight”. Regardless of your interest in the different genres of comics, Comic-Con is something you don’t want to miss. If you are in the right place at the right time you might hear people dressed in costume, from different movies, speaking in character to one another. I missed out on this, but hopefully I hear this sort of talk next year. My sister and I already bought our four-day passes for Comic-Con 2010.

Forks, WA

If I was in elementary school and had to tell my class about how I spent my summer, this is what I would say: "On my summer vacation I went to Forks, Washington. Forks is located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. It is three-hour drive from the Bremerton Ferry; which is about an hour ride from Seattle. It takes about half a day to get out to Forks from Seattle. You can also take the Ferry to Bainbridge Island, or you can just drive around the water."

Forks is just about the smallest town I have ever been to on the continental United States; the 101 cuts right through the town, and you need some vampire driving skills if you want to make the 60-mile drive from Port Angeles to Forks in under an hour. This was a difficult trip to plan—I had no idea what to expect, and since the Forks/Twilight craze is relatively new, there aren’t a whole lot of online tips to planning a trip if you don’t have time to comb through Google. I thought I would share my experience in the unlikely event that my blog shows up in someone’s search for trips to Fork.

Driving
You will need a car to get to Forks from SeaTac. Get a car with GPS and a CD player, or a jack in which you can plug in your iPod. Our car had both of these features, as well as Sirius, but satellite radio becomes spotty once you start heading away from Port Angeles to Forks. The drive from the Bremerton Ferry to Forks is about 98 miles, and it’s a good two and a half to three hours. The 60 miles from Port Angeles to Forks is mostly a two lane highway, with no divider, and no lights. In addition, the road leads you around Lake Crescent, so it winds. A lot.

I made my trip in July, so the sun does not set until after 9:00 p.m. that far North, but I would not want to make this drive in the dark. You can also take the Bainbridge Ferry, but a friend of mine, who also happens to be from Seattle, suggested Bremerton. If you are in a car, you can drive your car directly onto the Ferry, and get out and walk around for the one-hour ride. There is a fee for the car and driver, and passengers pay a lesser amount (on the way back to Seattle, passengers do not have to pay). There is also the option of driving South on the 5 through Tacoma and then heading back North around Olympia. Either way, plan on spending at least half the day to get out to Forks from Seattle.

Accommodations
Finding a place to stay in Forks was difficult. There aren’t very many reviews of the different inns and motels in the area when you search Travelocity or Orbitz. I went to the Forks Chamber of Commerce website for some options, but I believe they only list Chamber members, and beyond this list, there are a few other options. You can go the B&B route, but this didn’t seem like a good option for us since you have to share bathrooms with other guests in some of these places. Our trip, also had some uncertainty about how many of us would embark on this adventure. After a relatively extensive search, I decided upon the Olympic Suites Inn. From the photos and description, this seemed like the best option, but I did worry about cleanliness, as well as the non-ghetto factor.

Luckily, the Olympic Suites Inn was great! We had a King suite, so it had a full kitchen, full bath, living room area and a bedroom with a king bed. I believe the couch might have been a fold-out. You can rent cookware for $10 from the Inn if you want to cook. It was clean, and the bathroom was remodeled. The older gentleman who checked us in was a really sweet guy. He’s a bit religious, but he seems to embrace Twilight and the craze it has brought to his small town. I recommend the Olympic Suites Inn—if you are going to visit Forks in the summer, make your reservations in the early Spring. Forks is a destination for the hunting-fishing-camping folk during the summer, so the town does have periods of no vacancy. The Olympic Suites Inn has now hosted guests from 30 different countries.

Forks Food
Warning: Most restaurants in Forks close at 9:00 p.m., even on Saturday night. Of course, if you stay at the Olympic Suites Inn you can cook your own food. If you are used to some really great eats, then maybe you should cook. We actually only ate at one restaurant in Forks, so I don’t have anything to recommend. On the first night we arrived, we ate at Golden Gate Restaurant—yes, a Chinese restaurant. It was not the best, but I am used to Chinese food from Hawaii, Southern California and the Bay Area, and all three places have large Chinese populations.

Of course, there is always Bella Italia in Port Angeles, a.k.a. where Bella and Edward had their first dinner date. Rumor has it that Bella Italia never had mushroom ravioli on its menu until the Twilight phenomena erupted, and has since sold more than 250,000 dishes. For breakfast, we ate at First Street Haven in Port Angeles. This is a small place, but the food is good! I had the eggs benedict.

We also ate at the River’s Edge Restaurant in La Push. This came at the recommendation of the nice old man at the Inn. My sisters thought the food was good, but the place was a little dirty for my liking. The restaurant really is at the edge of the river, and you can sit in a window seat to get a view of the water. They have homemade pie, and my sister gave it the thumbs up.

What to Do
Forks is a great destination for anyone who enjoys camping, hunting, fishing or hiking. If you dare, there is also surfing; but you will need a 5/4 wetsuit, booties and a hood. Here is a list of things to do and see for Twilight fans:

• Forks Chamber of Commerce—make stopping here a priority because they have a list of Twilight related sites to see in the town, and this is where you will find “Bella’s truck,” but check their website for hours; we missed them on a Sunday because they closed at 4:00 p.m.
  
• The “Welcome to Forks” sign—photo op and it is amazing to see that their population is just over 3,000 people!
  
• Forks High School—photo op!
  
• Forks Community Hospital—we missed this, but heard that there is a reserved spot for one Dr. Carlisle Cullen
  
• Bella’s House—we missed this one too
  
• J&P Produce—one stop shopping for groceries and Twilight tchotckes
  
• 98331 Gear—a small, retail store where you can find Twilight gear
  
• Dazzled by Twilight—another retail store to sate your thirst for Twilight gear and they offer tours; this has more selection than 98331 Gear, but a lot of stuff here can also be found at Hot Topic
  
• First Beach, Second Beach and Third Beach—located in La Push, these three beaches are cool photo ops, but be warned, it is cold
  
• The “Treaty Line”—just a banner of sorts, but honestly it’s cute and it’s funny
  
• Bella Italia—you must drive 60 miles to Port Angeles for this one, but it’s the restaurant where Bella ate her mushroom ravioli after Edward roared in with his shiny Volvo to save the day
  

If you want to mix in some non-Twilight activities, there is a visitor center in Port Angeles for the Olympic National Forest. From Forks you can also make a drive out to the Hoh Rainforest; this drive is about 24 miles away, along the two-lane 101. We did not make it out there, but it’s a place I would definitely want to see next time (yes, I said next time). Finally, please stop at the West End Surf Shop! The owners lived in Hawaii before returning to the Pacific Northwest, and I always like to support people from the rock. Plus, the shop is cool, and you can find great gifts to take home for your own surfer (Seth got a t-shirt), and the guy working in there was a nice young dude.

Other Random Tidbits
Forks is a small town. Did I mention that already? The 101 cuts through it, and not in the way that the 101 cuts through the Valley. The 101 in Forks is a two-lane highway.

In addition, cell phone service is spotty, and there is no Starbucks. On the flipside, it’s kind of nice to not be totally available for communication, and if you crave coffee, Forks has two drive-thru coffee stands. And honestly, the Olympic Peninsula is absolutely gorgeous. Normally Mother Nature and I sidestep each other, but there is just something about the Pacific Northwest that makes me almost want to hug her. It is a very calming place, and I love the water and the green, green scenery. I would go back again, and for more than just Twilight.

Neil Gaiman is Coming to the Bay Area But I'll Be in Forks

Woe is me. One of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, will be in San Francisco on Sunday, July 19 at Comix Experience. The opportunity is open only to the first 100 people who purchase Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader from Comix Experience. I will definitely not be one of hundred as I will be traipsing around Forks on my own little Twilight adventure. And while I do love Twilight, I absolutely love Neil Gaiman's books, and this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: From 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. you can experience a reading/Q&A/signing session with Neil Gaiman! Visit the Robot 6 transmission for more details on how you can be one of the hundred. I will only be forever jealous.

Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Trilogy

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
The thing about certain sci-fi fantasy books is that when I get hooked, I tend to swallow the hook, the line, and the sinker. Books like Harry Potter, the Eight and Twilight have cost me countless hours of sleep, but it does not matter how much I suffer the next day, when it comes to books like these, I willingly give up the sleep everytime.

Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series is the most recent set of books to capture my attention in such a way. I started the first book, City of Bones on Saturday, and that night I only got four hours of sleep because I just had to get all the way to the end. Sunday was supposed to have been spent working on my craft projects, but I could not put down City of Ashes. I knew better than to open City of Glass, but I just could not help myself that same Sunday. So, on a work night, I got three hours of sleep after only getting four the night before.

Work was not fun, and my brain was mush, but it was worth it. It is hard to believe, but I love the Mortal Instruments series almost as much as I love the Twilight Saga. Besides the lack of sleep, there is also a lack of hunger; and that is how I know I am in trouble. Lucky for my sleeping and eating patterns, the trilogy ended with City of Glass; but just like with Twilight I wish I could have more time with the main characters, Clary and Jace.

Clary is a human girl who discovers one night that she can see things that other people cannot, and an entirely new part of the world is opened up to her. That same night, she meets Jace.

Oh Jace Wayland.

He is kind of like the bad boy version of Edward Cullen, and this is probably Twilight blasphemy here, but I think I like Jace better. Don't get me wrong, Edward is nothing short of wonderful, but he is also a little too perfect for me. Jace falls far from perfect; he can be an arrogant smart-ass, but it makes him more real. Either way, Jace or Edward, maybe boys in books are better.

One final thing, while I loved reading this series, I feel that I should also share a small warning. There is a strange plot twist that occurs and goes unresolved in book one. However, in my experience American authors tend to be a bit obvious when it comes to their foreshadowing technique, so I read through books two and three, despite this strange turn in the story. I also did do a minor search on Google for a hint at what might happen, but I would not let myself click on any actual links to read full details. Now for the spoiler (stop reading if you don't want a clue): I was pleased in the end. Now it's time for me to re-read these a little because I haven't had enough.


View all my reviews.

New Moon (again)

It's amazing how full our DVR gets, and how slow we are to watch the shows recorded. Having a DVR makes me think I that I manage my time better than I really do. I always end up doing anything else other than watching my shows because I have fooled myself into thinking that I'll just catch-up later. Reality: The DVR is currently full of the most recent seasons of Heroes and Smallville.

Then there are times like tonight, when having a DVR is the best thing ever. I wasn't sure if I would remember to watch the MTV Movie Awards since I normally skip it, so I set it up to record the show. How can a Twilight-crazed person like me miss it? The movie was up for so many awards, plus there was also the promise of a New Moon trailer.

The award show and the DVR lived up to they hype. Not only did Twilight get a ton of screen time, but the trailer for New Moon was awesome! I even did a small rewind to watch the trailer again during a performance I could miss.

If you missed the trailer, go to the Twilight Lexicon blog and watch an HD version of it there, and watch it in full screen. There isn't one bit of Italy, but I think Twilight fans will be happy to see the Cullens looking like they should (fashion upgrade), as well as Jacob phasing into a wolf! I cannot wait for November 20, 2009!

New Moon

Between moving, work and out-of-town adventures, it has been difficult to keep up with all the Twilight related news out there. Lucky for me, things have slowed down a little this week, so I have time to peruse through some spoiler photos from the New Moon set! Thank you to the Twilight Lexicon for your regular and much-loved blog posts.

For my fellow Twilight peeps, these are pictures from Italy, right when Bella has run through the fountain and has found HIM. If you don't want to look and can somehow make it through the next six months without an Edward fix, then don't visit Pop Sugar. If you are like me and can't wait for November 20, 2009, then definitely visit Pop Sugar. This is a time-suck you won't regret.

Enjoy!

Discombobulated

I am in need of some time with my sewing machine, knitting and books! Weekends have been so jam packed that my weekdays are turned upside down, and I have been constantly on the go. There has not even been much time to keep up with blogs, tweets and Twilight news.

That being said, something did catch my eye tonight: Summit has said there will be a New Moon panel at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 23! Since I cannot find any confirmation on the Summit site, I am not 100% sure about this tidbit, but it still makes me happy-happy-joy-joy since this is the whole reason my sister and I are venturing braving the convention.

A Cooking Adventure and a Retail Miss

After taking my time, and pretty much savoring every moment of A Year in Provence, I finally finished the book earlier this week. My review of the book will be done soon; I want to dedicate the right amount of time to it. In the meantime, Peter Mayle's talk of the French pursuit of gastronomic satisfaction made me want to cook a French meal.

So, I searched the internet for some recipes and decided to make marinated goat cheese, petits pates a la Sage, braised fingerling potato coins and Coq au Vin.

Marinated Goat Cheese: The marinated goat cheese started out as a minor disaster (who knew it could be so difficult to buy a jar this time of year), and I worried about the rest. I think I needed a different type of goat cheese...I tried to stay local and bought something made in Sonoma, but it crumbled easily and the bottom of the jar did not look too appealing. However, it turned out to be a pretty tasty appetizer. The goat cheese was marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.

Petits pates a la Sage: These did not happen because I just didn't have the bandwidth to handle it (really somewhat funny if you read the recipe and see how it quick it is to make it). I might make it tomorrow night though because there is leftover Coq au Vin.

Braised Fingerling Potato Coins: This was a recipe adapted from an Alice Waters recipe for potato coins, and I was pleasantly surprised with how tasty this turned out, despite the simple mix of ingredients. It was a pain to slice the potatoes 1/8" thick, but that's probably because I am incredibly slow with the knife.

Coq au Vin: The Coq au Vin was by far the most time consuming thing to make on my French dinner menu. I used a recipe from
America's Test Kitchen. Their recipe is not the traditional method, but they experimented to come up with a modern version that takes 90 minutes versus the 12 hours I saw in some other recipes. I am not sure how it compares to traditional Coq au Vin since I have not had it at a restaurant yet, but this was a tasty dish.

All in all, this was an interesting experience, and I am happy that I explored French culture a little (growing up in Hawaii, I learned only about my Japanese heritage and nothing about French culture). Hopefully I find more French dishes to make as I still feel like indulging in the cuisine. Apparently the time consuming work was not enough to deter my French gastronomic exploration.

As an aside, I missed out on the Twilight wristlet by pinkladydesigns on Etsy! Perhaps I will have to put in my first special order.

Conundrums

As conundrums go, this one is minor, but the minor sort are the best sort to have if you must have any at all. The problem? Retail. I have too much stuff as it is, but something out there always succeeds in catching my attention. Right now it's the customized Sigg bottles you can get on Cafe Press and yet another bit of Twilight from pinkladydesigns. The rational side of me says not to buy anything because I already have a Sigg, as well as enough zippered little bags. But the retail lover in me reminds me that I don't have that a 1L Sigg, nor do I have one of Sandra's wristlets.

For now I will try to keep reminding myself that I should be saving up money for my trip to the Olympic Peninsula this summer, followed by a trip to Comic-Con.

Drive Like Cullens

Podcasts are the best thing about the iPod phenomena, and there is a new one out there all about Twilight. The podcast is called Drive Like Cullens, and it was created by "a group of friends/siblings who are fans of Twilight." You can also find them on Facebook, where you can and should [as a Twilight fan] become a fan of their page.

I'm only Episode 2, but so far I like it! They have good rapport with one another and their discussions are witty and make me laugh. Of course, I am may be a little biased since I used to work at the school they all went to, but hey, what can I say? I am always happy to support people with whom I have some sort of connection! Plus I have to confess that I feel a little better about my Twilight obsession since Alyssa saw Twilight in the theaters four more times than I did.

Handmade Stuffs

My obsession with Bella and Edward led me to search Etsy for Twilight goods; which is where I found Pink Lady Designs. I love Sandra's stuff! She makes a lot of zippered pouches--the perfect thing(s) for organizing the junk in my giant purse! Sandra makes Twilight-related items, as well as non-Twilight stuff too. Cute, cute and the perfect way to always carry a bit of Twilight around with me.