Book Nerds Across America

Oh, Sookie! This girl gets into more situations then anyone in the world.  But when your life involves vampires, Weres, shifters, and witches what do expect?

This time Sookie has really done it.  Bill and her are officially over and then he takes off to Peru on "business".  So, Sookie spends her New Year's Eve working as a waitress at Merlotte's.  After a long night, Sookie heads home only to find Eric running half naked down the road and he does not remember anything. 

It comes to be known that Eric has been cursed by a witch. He was cursed because the witch want part of Eric's business.  Now the witches as hunting Eric and needs to remain hidden.  Of course, who would look at Sookie's house.  Now that Eric is cursed he does not remember that he is a hard-headed, over-bearing, and aggressive vampire.  He is now sensitive, kind, and caring.  Sookie has never seen this side of Eric, but she is liking it A LOT! Now she is more confused than ever.

Now she to deal with the Nice-Eric, a vampire battle between them and the witches, and now Jason (her brother) has disappeared.  Only Sookie!  As the feud increases, so does Sookie and Eric's relationship.  Then it finally comes to a head.  The witches and vampire battle gathered together for more than their share of blood shed.  But in the end of it all, Jason  is found, witches are dead, and Sookie and Eric are together.

I do enjoy Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice is my favorite of her novels.  Yes, I do enjoy horror movies.  There is honestly nothing I like better than the "thrill & scare" that a horror movie gives.  Then I saw this book and my first thought was "OMG! Brillant!". Then I read it and I was like, "OMG! NO!" 

The idea was good but you just cannot change Jane Austen! YOU CANNOT DO IT! In my imagination I cannot see Elizabeth Bennet as a martial arts expert taking down the "stricken" at every turn.  Then there is Mr. Darcy (whom is still my first book crush) and make him into the monster-hunter.  I cannot see it!

I will give Grahame-Smith one thing, it was an awesome idea.  The book is very descriptive and if you like the "old-world" feel with ninjas then this is your book,  For me, it was a NO!

I will just stick with the class Jane Austen, Elizabeth Bennet, and Mr. Darcy.

---Mary!---



Flo here with a quick In My Mailbox! I had three packages when I opened my little mail slot this evening and I wanted to say thank you again to the wonderful people that sent them my way :)

It's Elizabeth Scott Week, which is being hosted in several places across the blogosphere. I have to admit, I had not read anything by Elizabeth Scott when I stumbled upon her blog. But she was holding a contest to win Abandon by Meg Cabot, so I entered. And I won! Yay! And then she also included Something, Maybe! Double yay! And, it turns out, I read Something, Maybe right away and have yet to read Abandon. Something, Maybe was adorable -- I read it in one day. On to the the review!

Jacque's Review:

Flo posted an extensive review of Divergent a couple of months ago.  I could not agree with her more.  This book was AMAZING.  There is no other way to describe it.  The storyline was very original and the characters were constantly evolving.  I simply did not want to put it down, nor did I want it to end.

Since Flo left a gaping hole in her review on purpose, I will attempt to fill it.  Four was by far my favorite character.  He was strong and appeared to be fearless, as the Dauntless are described to be, but as the story progressed I learned that there is a lot more to him.  He helps Tris and the readers to discover what is really going on within the factions and why being Divergent is a desirable quality.  The interactions and dialogue between Tris and Four are what captivated me the most.  Without Four, I guarantee I would not have felt the same way about this book.


Mary's Review:

This book was a very quick read for me and I loved it after the first two chapters.  The first couple chapters were a bit of a template for me.  Let me explain, I did not enjoy the book MATCHED by Ally Condie and the first two chapters were showing simialites to it.  However, after Tris chose what faction she was going to live in, the book to a dramatic turn and I loved it! 

Jacque is very correct in saying that Four made this book.  The book would not be the same without Four.  (I think this is the first time we all are on the same "Team")  Within this book you can actually see Tris grow into a strong and determined person and that is because Four is there to help her with that.


Teri's Review:

Divergent is my very first book with the blog. I excitedly went to the book store, (Im old school and do not download books yet..) and picked up the book skimming the jacket. I have to admit I felt a bit disappointed and thought " this is not for me.." It seemed futurist. The only futurist thing that crosses my mind is who will be wearing what in the next season. But like a trooper, I paid for my book and carried on. Like Mary, I struggled though the first few chapters. They held little interest to me and my perceptions on the Abnegation bordered on Amish like. It was Tris's apparent act of rebellion in choosing Dauntless that caught my attention and I was hooked from then on. The characters suddenly became real to me, as did their struggles to want to fit in where a lot of them obviously didn't belong. Like my fellow bloggers, I was totally Team Four. His darkness appealed to my love of bad boys, and I cherished the relationship between him and Tris and wanted it to be real. I found this book a easy enjoyable read, one that deals with our desires to belong , and our need for acceptance .

I couldn't resist making a Happy Birthday post while our Team Jacob representative is out to sea without internet access.  The Book Nerds would like to wish our FAVORITE vampire and circus veterinarian a VERY happy 25th birthday.

While I was live tweeting from the Candace Bushnell author event, Yani from The Secret Life of an Avid Reader informed me that Katie Crouch was coming to our area to do a reading and book signing later that week. Katie is the author of Girls in Trucks and Men and Dogs. Her first young adult novel, The Magnolia League, was just released this month and is on Amazon's Summer 2011 Young Adult Reading List.

Katie told us that she has written every day since the 4th grade, and that she tapped into her voice from her high school journals when writing The Magnolia League. And then she read us some snippets from one of them! I thought that was pretty cool.

Another fun fact about Katie's writing is that in all her books she makes sure to write a character who is her current age "so I can anchor myself."

Next, Katie read to us from Men and Dogs, which was just released in paperback. She ended the evening by signing books and taking pictures. Yani and I were also able to convince her to revitalize her Twitter account, so if you have Twitter, be sure to follow her: @ktcrouch.

I'm obsessed with Sex and the City.

The fashion. The hot men. And most importantly, the relationship between the four girlfriends.  When one of the Blockbusters near me closed, I was able to buy almost every single DVD from the HBO series. And when I heard that Candace Bushnell, author of the Sex and the City book that inspired the TV show, was coming to my area, I simply had to go.

Meet Rachel, a New York Lawyer, turning 30.  Rachel is sweet, kind, and single.  Her best friend, Darcy is the complete opposite of that.  Darcy is outgoing, selfish, and engaged to Dex.  Dex and Rachel went to law school together and were friends.   

It was not until the night of Rachel's 30 birthday party, that Darcy hosted, that her life changed.  Dex and Rachel ended up sleeping together.  Rachel was so upset because she could not believe that she did that to her best friend, Darcy.  However, Rachel and Dex's relationship blossomed.

As the story unfolds, we should feel sorry for Darcy, but it is Rachel who you want to give the hug too.  Through the ups and downs of the story, Rachel finally begins to figure out that she needs to live her life for her and not to please everyone else.

The movie will be out on May 6th.

I would like everyone to welcome the newest member of the Book Nerds Blog

Many people have commented, and we have also noticed, that one of the fun things about having multiple people adminster a book blog is that there are lots of differences of opinion that lead to good discussions.

Back in March, Mary read and reviewed Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. She loved it! (And not just because she knew that Robert Pattinson was going to play the main character in the upcoming movie.) After hearing that she gave it 5 out of 5 stars, I made it a point to experience the book for myself. I downloaded the audiobook and...

I really didn't like it, y'all. I didn't.

Here's why: