Just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second book in the "The Girl" trilogy, by Stieg Larsson. I found the second book to be even better than the first. The depth and detail of the story and characters jump off the pages.
I am looking forward to the U.S publishing of the third book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (although I just learned you can order the U.K. edition through Amazon). It's too bad Larsson isn't alive to hear the international praise for his books.
The Wandering Hill is the second book in Larry McMurtry's tetrology following Sin Killer (which was excellent).
The Wandering Hill picks up where Sin Killer left off, but it turned out to be very slow moving and was actually hard to finish. It does stay with the same good theme and the detailed and graphic type hardships that pioneers, travelers and explorers of the Old West endured. It is very realistic but just couldn't "get going".
I have not gone into the 3rd of his series because I decided to take a break and read another of Dean Koontz's science fictions for a change of pace.
Sin Killer was an excellent portrayal of our early American West and its trials and tribulations of what early travelers, pioneers and explorers experienced and endured. It is soberingly realistic and graphic which leads all the more to the authenticity of it all and its excitement. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
It is the first in a tetrology of the Old West circa early to mid 1800's.
I think New Moon by Stephenie Meyer is an excellent follow up story to Twilight. I would definitely recommend New Moon and for people to read the entire book series. There are 4 in total.
Of all the books in the series though the common theme is that New Moon was the least favorite. Majority said it was because it was so slow moving in comparison to the others. My perspective is a bit different. I enjoyed reading Twilight, but it didn't make me thirst for more (pun intended) in the way New Moon did. Before I even finished New Moon I had the third book Eclipse in hand and couldn't wait to start it.
In comparing Twilight and New Moon, I would have to say that I enjoyed both the characters and the story telling much more in New Moon. I didn't enjoy the character of Bella Swan in Twilight. To me she was whiny and immature and became tiresome to listen to. In New Moon though, Bella's character matured so much and I felt that she was transforming herself into a self reliant individual and was at least trying to move on with her life by facing her pain and loss. The whole story of her trying the life of a thrill seeker was original since Bella is a self proclaimed, perpetually clumsy individual. So this new side of her character was refreshing. Something you wouldn't have expected the character of Bella to ever do. And the story made me feel the emotions that Bella Swan and Jacob Black were experiencing. I felt the intensity, confusion, desperation, anguish, and love between the two characters and I became completely absorbed into their story. I was able to get to know each character on a much deeper level than I had in Twilight. The action at the end was full of adventure and was completely dangerous. I could picture things so vividly and my heart raced with anticipation. I became lost in it. To me that means the author did an outstanding job in telling the story to the reader. I appreciate and admire that kind of story telling ability so much.
The relationship between Jake and Bella is so endearing and innocent despite the hope you have for Edward to enter back into the picture. It is easy to become very fond of Jake in a “rooting for the underdog kind of way”. I found that I secretly hoped he succeeded in his quest for love. Wow, I didn't see that coming. I think this intense relationship between Bella and Jake becomes a great dynamic to the story.
Stephenie Meyer did a fantastic job telling the story of New Moon. She did so with deliberate and elaborate details that effortlessly carry you into the world of New Moon. This book has effortlessly submerged me into the world of vampires and werewolves.
For more information about the author you can visit Stephenie Meyers web site. Just so you New Moon fans are aware, Stephenie Meyer has posted a draft called Midnight Sun. To sum it up, it is the story of Twilight but told from Edward's point of view. You may be interested in reading it and you can read the DRAFT of Midnight Sun here.
I'm wondering? Which book did you enjoy more, Twilight or New Moon? I would love to hear your thoughts. Leave your comments below.
In case any of you haven't seen the New Moon trailer yet you can click on the link below. I have watched the movie and I think it was fantastic. I think they did a good job in keeping ture to the book. Let me know what you think of the movie!
New Moon Movie Trailer!
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Twilight by Stephenie Meyer was a good read. The author provided a gripping beginning that would make anyone want to continue reading. Overall it was a solid read. Twilight is labeled as young adult which I don't think our book club was aware of at first. I expected there to be more detail in several cases than there actually was. But with that said, the lack of detail in specific cases makes it a great read for the younger audience.
Stephenie Meyer did an outstanding job in portraying each character that she introduced. You were able to get to know them and remember them quite easily. Isabella Swan (Bella) is an ordinary teen experiencing her first true love. However, I did find myself getting tired of listening to Bella in the book. I thought she was very whiny, selfish and overall lacked self confidence. I'm really hoping that her character progresses in the next several books for the benefit of the audience of young followers...
Edward was a strong character. He is the kind of love that you hope for based on the passion and loyalty that he bestowed upon Bella. If you were to take out what he was, you wanted their love to continue. But I was concerned when towards the end, Bella wanted this lifestyle and keeps talking about getting her way. She wants to give everything up for one man. In the sequel New Moon, Stephenie Meyer gives an excerpt from a chapter. It starts with how much Edward wants her to continue on the natural path of her life. College being the number one priority. I am interested in the message that Stephenie Meyer will send to her young readers in the way she will resolve the "impasse" that her two characters are at.
Twilight was predictable but lays a great foundation for the upcoming sequels. The sequels to Twilight are: New Moon (book 2), Eclipse (book 3), and Breaking Dawn (book 4).
Author Stephenie Meyer has a great story on how she started Twilight. If your interested, click on the link to Twilight - Stephenie Meyer's web site.
