books, books, books!

Another post in such short time? I'm on a roll!

I was supposed to be in Las Vegas tonight, but since I'm not, and I'm still feeling a little down about it, I thought I would take this opportunity to write about some of the books I've been reading and loving recently!

Percy Jackson And The Olympians. Here are the first three books pictured. There's a fourth, which unfortunately didn't come in a nice little all-in-one picture. The fifth and final book in the series will be out on May 5th of 2009. These are fantastic books. I cannot stress this highly enough. If you enjoyed Harry Potter, or like Greek Mythology, these books are worth checking out. Percy Jackson is a 12 year old boy who finds out he's a half-blood -- the son of a mortal and a Greek God. The books are all about his adventures in a modern day America that's immersed with every God, demigod, monster, hero, and myth you could ever think of from classic Greek Mythology. The characters are lovable, endearing, and funny. I know these books are geared toward a younger audience, but I think they're still highly enjoyable for adults. I passed each one on to my mom as I was finished and she's really enjoyed them as well.

The House Of Night series! Yay! Awful pictorial representation! Boo! I love these books. I actually prefer them to the Twilight series. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Edward Cullen, but I like that Zoey, the main character/protagonist isn't seemingly perfect the way Stephenie Meyer makes Bella out to be. Zoey messes up, Zoey has flaws, yet I love her anyway and I'm cheering her on, even when she's making mistakes. The basic premise of these books is this: vampire finishing school. Basically, when a human starts turning into a vampire, they go to a House Of Night to learn about vampires and how to become a one. If their human body accepts the change, they'll become a full-fledged vampire. If their body rejects the change, they'll die. Zoey discovers she's a powerful vampire fledgling and the books are about all the mystery and intrigue she gets up to with her friends at the House Of Night.

They're really fun books and pretty addicting. The authors are PC Cast and her daughter Kristen. It's sometimes hard to get through the "teen lingo" that Kristin Cast has thrown into the book to make the characters seem more realistic to how teenagers are today. I don't actually think it's very realistic at all and is, honestly, somewhat stereotypical, but if you can overlook that element (it gets better, I promise!), these books are worth reading if you're into a good series about vampires! Small warning: Zoey hates swearing and cursing, but a couple of the other characters don't share her viewpoint. Nothing constant and crass (this isn't The Departed, after all ;-) ), but words do show up now and again. There are currently four books in the series -- I've read that the Casts will be writing 9 total! They come out every six months, thankfully.

This little book packs a lot of awesome information in a fairly short number of pages! It focuses on all areas of your life: physical and mental health, spirituality, exercise, happiness -- this book has it all. I'm kind of a geek about self-improvement/New Age books, and this one has been one of my favorites. I loved the recommendations on anything from daily blue green algae supplements (I take them!) to the importance of daily relaxation/meditation. If you come across this book, that may not be the cover -- mine is a pink and orange cover with a flower on the front, and is, of course, lacking the Amazon "look inside!" logo, but that was the only good picture I could find ;-) If you're looking for little ways to improve your overall health and happiness, I'd start here.

I'm taking a class this semester called Novels And Films, and the genre is noir. I've always liked noir, but this class has given me a new appreciation for it. So far we've read three novels -- The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, and The Big Sleep. All good books! The Big Sleep is a little bit slow getting started, The Maltese Falcon is enjoyable from cover to cover, and Double Indemnity is fairly action packed from almost the first page. Murder! Mayhem! Mystery! Private detectives and damsels in (sometimes) distress! All three of the movies have been pretty good as well, but so far I've always preferred the book. Humphrey Bogart IS pretty awesome, though, and he's in two of the three.