Dead Until Dark

So I guess that I lied in my last book post when I said that I haven't had much time to read lately because I have finished another book. I think I have been reading in bed instead of watching TV and night during my "relax" time.

Dead Until Dark is the first book in a series written by Charlaine Harris. The series is known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries, AKA Sookie Stackhouse Novels, AKA the True Blood books. So pick a title of the series that you like and go with it. Anywho, last summer Ryan and I got hooked on the TV show True Blood on HBO. I found out that it was based on a series of books and have been thinking about reading them. My mom got me the first five books in the series for my birthday and I started reading them.

Dead Until Dark is about a young woman (25 I think) named Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie has what they refer to in the book as a “disability” in that she can read people’s minds and hear their thoughts. It is quite hindering to her in the fact that she can’t maintain a social life, especially when it comes to dating. I can’t imagine what that would be like! Yes, at times I would LOVE to read people’s minds but to hear it nonstop would be insane. This parallels to me with another vampire series of books Twilight. Edward has this same talent. Sookie is a waitress in a small southern town and lives with her Gran. In this fictional world Vampires have “came out of the coffin” and live among the rest of the population. There has been the invention of synthetic blood, which allows them to have nutrients without feeding on humans. Although many still do feed on humans. Sookie falls in love with a vampire named Bill and this book is the story of them falling in love and the drama of a small town.

I will say that this book is pretty different from the TV show. Some of the story lines follow but it is very different in many ways. I don’t want to ruin it so find out how for yourself. They are a pretty fast read. Unlike Twilight, these books are written for adults which is apparent in some of the content. Sookie isn’t nearly the woman that she is on TV, she is much more naïve. But it still makes for an interesting story. I have already started the next book in the series.

I would give this book a 3/5

The Perfect Rain Boot

I have been in search for the perfect rain boot for quite some time. I live in Oregon so rain is no suprise to me. It's not that I hate the rain, I really don't mind it. I just hate that my feet are always wet and cold when I'm walking around. It it never fails that I will always step into that huge puddle when I'm not paying attention. Then the wetness slowly creeps up the back to my pant legs. It's just not fun! I've been looking at tons of boots in all price ranges, but for some reason it seems that most rain boots look like something a little kid would wear. I like a cute print from time to time but I really wanted something slightly more sophisticated (well as much as a welly can be). So for my birthday Ryan suprised me with these

I LOVE THEM! First of all they are purple, which to me was the perfect splash of color for a gloomy rainy day (not to mention my favorite color). Plus they are super comfortable. I could really wear them out walking around for hours. I have always lusted after these boots with dreams of wearing them working in the garden and rainy days in a farmers market. I didnt' quite realize how popular they were until the last few days. I was watching Twilight and Bella wears them walking on the beach. Flip through a gossip magazine and you will see the likes to Kate Moss, Jennifer Anniston, Kate Hudson, the Royal Fam, and many others sporting the wellys. I guess this means that my feet will not only be dry but fashionable. I've really never been so excited for the rain.

Dear John

I really love to read. It is one of my greatest pleasures, curling up with a good book and getting lost in the world that the author created and you imagine in your head. But unfortunately I don’t get to read as often as I would like because of school. I spend hours upon hours reading for school, so pleasure reading takes a back seat until I have breaks. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for this December when I am DONE with school! Then once again I can read for fun.


I do manage to squeeze in a few books here and there. My most recent read is

Nicholas Sparks…why can’t you ever write a happy ending? Is it in your DNA to make sad and bittersweet books?? Dear John is about a summer romance between Savanna and John. They are total opposites, they meet they fall in love and something takes them apart. Sound familiar??? Like a ton of other books by Sparks? Yeah, that’s what I thought. But the one thing that I was very curious about was this book is centered around 9/11. I wanted to see how Sparks could write about this tragedy and not offend anyone, because it is still a touchy subject to many 9 years later. He did a pretty good job with it, mainly because he really didn’t talk about it. It really consisted of about 3 sentences. But it was a story we knew well about a soldier, a patriotic call of duty after our homeland was attacked. I have to say that my favorite part of this book as the underlying story of a man who finds love and becomes a better person from it. He defines his moral compass because of his love. Cheesy, yes but very romantic because it is true that love changes you.

Now a movie has been made about this book. I’m trying to decide if I will see it in the theater or wait till it’s out of DVD. The latter will probably win out.

Over all I will give this book a 3/5. Mainly for it feeling too much like the rest of the books Sparks has written.

Bliss

When I got home from school today I was looking at my google reader and can not wait till I can go to this amazing place.

On a side not how did I go so long without google reader? One of my friends from work, Lindsey, told me about it and over the weekend I got it all set up and it is AMAZING. As you all know I'm kind of obsessed with reading blogs. I spend way to much time each day looking at them. Well, with school starting up again I knew that I would be pressed for time. Would I have to give up my blogging obession *gasp*. NO! The google reader keeps all of my favorite blogs in one place and lets me know when a new post is up. So at the end of the day when I get home I can spend a few moments reading the new blogs. Pure bliss.

Start of a New Decade

I cannot believe that it is the start of a new decade! This one is the most significant of my life because I can really stop and think about all that has happened in my life over the past 10 years. I am old enough to understand the significance of my milestones. Oddly enough it seems as if the last 10 years have flown by at warp speed. It seems almost like yesterday that we were ringing in 2000 and hoping that all the computers wouldn’t crash. In the past 10 years I have graduated high school, got my first job, started college, graduated from college, got my first nursing job, met Ryan, moved out on my own, said goodbye to loved ones and so many other things.


The most important thing I can say about the last decade is that I have grown as a person and am really happy of who I have become. I have such an amazing family and friends. I have met a man who I love beyond words can say and I know that I will spend the rest of my life with. This core has provided me the strength to explore life and grow. This is a gift that is priceless. These people are the reasons for living. Without them I would be nothing. I have learned (and am still working on) letting go of things and not stressing about things that I cannot control. I get to go to an amazing job that I love and give back to society each day that I am there. I have learned to be grateful for the things in my life and appreciate the small things in life. I learned to create and have found it such a satisfying outlet.

Lastly I have learned not to compare the significance of my life based on others. Life really isn’t about the destination but the journey. It doesn’t matter where you went to school (or if you went to college), how long it took you to graduate, what you majored in, how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, if you own a house or rent an apartment, or so many other material things that I see (and used to myself) measure my worth on. I believe what truly measures the significance of one’s life are things like love. Do you love and let those in your life know what they mean to you, do you laugh every day, do you challenge yourself to think and try to learn something new every day, do you give back to your community in some way, do you help others, and lastly do you go to bed every night and realize how lucky you are to have lived another day. In my mind those are things that make a good person and a full life.

So here is to another year. Happy New Year!