ECLIPSE

SYNOPSIS:

"Edward’s soft voice came from behind me. I turned to see him spring lightly up the porch steps, his hair windblown from running. He pulled me into his arms at once, just like he had in the parking lot, and kissed me again. This kiss frightened me. There was too much tension, too strong an edge to the way his lips crushed mine–like he was afraid we had only so much time left to us."

Readers who are hooked on the romantic struggles of Bella and the vampire Edward will ecstatically devour this third installment of the story begun in Twilight. Jake and Edward forge an uneasy alliance. Jake and Edward's competition for Bella feels particularly authentic, especially in their apparent desire to best each other as much as to win Bella. According to the author Stephenie Meyer, the fourth book should tie up at least the Edward story, if not the whole shebang.

MY VIEW: I think so far this volume is my most favorite!! Stephenie Meyer is a Genius! This is the first time have read a series of books and couldn't wait to get into the next book! I love the way she writes, it's like she can get into my head and describe exactly what I'm thinking down to what a person looks like. I imagined what Jacob looked like and when she explained him, I felt she had the same image. The movie Twilight just came out this weekend and the people they found to play the characters were what we expected to see. I could have named them all before they were introduced because they found people to fit Stephenie's descriptions. I just started Volumn #4 now...Breaking Dawn so stay tuned to my view when I finish it!!

NEW MOON

SYNOPSIS: In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

MY VIEW: I was sad that Edward had left. Bella was heartbroken and lost until Jacob became more aware of her and she began spending more time with him. I really felt sorry for Bella and the way that she felt. Jacob was falling in love with her and she loved him as a FRIEND only and found comfort in being with him as it was a good distraction for her mind with kept drifting back to Edward. Her heart only truly LOVES Edward and she missed him terribly. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of him and wish that he was with her.

TWILIGHT

Synopsis
Bella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Bella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear. Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

MY VIEW: Stephanie Meyer is a fantastic author! I didn't think I would like this type of reading but before the first chapter was through...I was hooked!! This was the best book I've read in a while that I could just relax and enjoy the story.

I was at the Salon and most of the girls working there were all sitting on their chairs when I came in and all of them had their nose in THIS book!! Yes it is THAT GOOD!! I went to the bookstore to pick up the next book in the series and it was "Twilight" mania all over the place. I guess I didn't pay attention very well to the fact that her latest book "Breaking Dawn" was releasing that day and so everyone there was waiting until the magical hour to purchase their copies. I'll wait for mine. But I have to say that people were costumed out very well!

I would say GET THIS BOOK and good night light!!

ON CHESIL BEACH

Synopsis
In 1962, Florence and Edward celebrate their wedding in a hotel on the Dorset coast. Yet as they dine, the expectation of their marital duties weighs over them. And unbeknownst to both, the decisions they make this night will resonate throughout their lives. With exquisite prose, Ian McEwan creates in On Chesil Beach a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.

MY VIEW:

I thought the book was good however it seemed to have drug out to long for me. This is my second Ian McEwan book to read. I did enjoy reading his book Atonement....actually I liked the movie better I think.

BUNGALOW 2

I just started this book...so no personal review yet!

SYNOPSIS:

Danielle Steel takes us beyond the dazzle of Hollywood in her compelling new novel—the story of one woman’s journey from suburban mom to award-winning screenwriter...and all the joy, heartbreak, and challenges along the way.

THE LAST LECTURE

I would recommend this book to everyone. I'm almost finished reading it at the recommendation of a friend who listened to part of it online. When I saw the book at the store I remembered how much he talked about this story....so I bought it!

Synopsis:
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."—Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"—wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

FAITH OF MY FATHERS

My View: I'm still reading this book at this moment.

SYNOPSIS:

Based on what McCain has learned from his grandfather and his father--how their example enabled him to endure the hardships in his life--Faith of My Fathers tells the stories of three imperfect men who faced adversity and emerged with their honor intact.

William J. Bennett says:
Faith of My Fathers is the powerful story of a war hero. In it we learn much of what matters most. As prisoner (and later Senator) McCain instructs us: Glory is not an end in itself, but rather a reward for valor and faith. And the greatest freedom and human fulfillment comes from engaging in a noble enterprise, larger than oneself. Faith of My Fathers teaches deep truths that are valid in any age-but truths that warrant special attention in our own.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE LEADER GONE?

My View:

I thought this was a good book. It was nice to read the views of Lee Iacocca. Finally someone who isn't afraid to tell it like it is. It really opened my eyes a bit as to what's going on in the politcal world too. It's not pretty.

Synopsis:

A self-made man who many Americans once wished would run for president, Iacocca saved the Chrysler Corporation from financial ruin, masterminded the creation of the minivan, and oversaw the renovation of Ellis Island. Since then he has created the Iacocca Institute for leadership at Lehigh University and the Iacocca Foundation, which funds research for a cure for diabetes. Lee Iacocca believes that leaders are made in times of crisis -- such as today. He has known more leaders than almost anyone else -- among them nine U.S. presidents, many heads of state, and the CEOs of the nation's top corporations -- and is uniquely suited to share his wisdom, knowledge, and wit about the leadership of America.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED

This was a pretty good book. It was my first suspense book by James Patterson that I've read.
Kristin Burns is making her way in New York City. Her photos are being considered at a major Manhattan gallery, she works by day with two wonderful children, and the man of her dreams is almost hers for keeps. But just as everything she's ever wanted is finally within reach, her life changes forever--with one murderous nightmare. Kristin wakes up every morning from the same chilling, unforgettable dream. And suddenly, it's visiting her during the day too. As her life turns stranger by the minute, Kristin is haunted and terrified. Is it all in her head? Or is the nightmare becoming her life? Kristin searches desperately for what's real through the lens of her camera, only knowing two things for sure: that no place is safe and the fate of everyone she loves lies in her hands.

PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE

I Loved this book!! I also saw the movie and loved it too! It was a great read!

At the turn of eighteenth-century England, spirited Elizabeth Bennet copes with the suit of the snobbish Mr. Darcy while trying to sort out the romantic entanglements of two of her sisters, sweet and beautiful Jane and scatterbrained Lydia.
In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise are his headstrong second daughter Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy—two lovers whose pride must be humbled and prejudice dissolved before the novel can come to its splendid conclusion.
Jane Austen's delightful, carefully wrought novels of manners remain surprisingly relevant, nearly 200 years after they were first published. Her novels -- Pride and Prejudice and Emma among them -- are those rare books that offer us a glimpse at the mores of a specific period while addressing the complexities of love, honor, and responsibility that still intrigue us today.

FOUNDING MOTHERS, THE WOMEN WHO RAISED OUR NATION

I really enjoyed this book! I learned quite a bit about the women who were the wives of the Founding Fathers of our country. Cokie Roberts really did her homework and has presented us with a marvelous book!

While the "fathers" were off founding the country, what were the women doing? Running their husband’s businesses, raising their children plus providing political information and advice. At least that’s what Abigail Adams did for John, starting when he went off to the Continental Congress, which eventually declared the independence of the American colonies from the British. While the men were writing the rebellious words, the women were living the revolution, with the Redcoats on their doorsteps. John’s advice to Abigail as the soldiers approached Braintree: if necessary "fly to the woods with our children." That was it, she was on her own, as she was for most of the next ten years while Adams represented the newly independent nation abroad.
Abigail Adams is the best known of the women who influenced the founders, but there are many more, starting with Martha Washington.

NIGHT

Elie was on Oprah for a special she had in Germany at the concentration camp he was in. This was a good book of his experiences there.

Elie Wiesel is the internationally celebrated author, Nobel laureate, and spokesperson for humanity whose decision to dedicate his life to bearing witness for the Holocaust's martyrs and survivors found its earliest and most enduring voice in Night, his penetrating and profound account of the Nazi death camps. Born in the town of Sighet, Transylvania, he was a teenager when he and his family were taken from their home in 1944 to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then to Buchenwald. Night is the terrifying record of Elie Wiesel's memories of the death of his family, the death of his own innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. Elie reflects on the enduring importance of Night and his lifelong, passionate dedication to ensuring that the world never forgets man’s capacity for inhumanity to man.

THE GLASS CASTLE

This was a book about the authors life. I was amazed at all she had to go through as young girls.
When the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her ownstory. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.

BEOWULF

At first I didn't think I would like this book. As I read on I was finding that I was really liking this story. I particulary like the translation by Burton Raffael. It's a bit sad and bloody as Grendal paid a visit to the people. I would like to see the movie but not the American version. The English version staring Gerard Butler as Beowulf.
It's never been easy to be a hero. When Beowulf arrives at Hrothgar's hall, he discovers that the hall is beset by Grendel, an evil creature that kills and pillages with impunity. Beowulf, in heroic fashion, bests Grendel in combat, then follows Grendel back to his lair to finish the job.But Beowulf couldn't have counted on meeting Grendel's mother.And then, later, there's this dragon.But why are you reading about it? This story was meant to be told, to be repeated aloud. Listen as J.B. Bessinger, Jr. reads Beowulf and many other Old English poems, including Caedmon's Hymn. Listen to poems about love, war, faith, and heroism from centuries past.

THE HIDING PLACE

This is my all time favorite book. I have read it a few times and each time it inspires me. I will still read it again I'm sure. Corrie Ten Boom and her sister Elizabeth were women of strength who loved the Lord.
An old watchmaker in Holland. His two daughters, Corrie and Betsie. Simple, ordinary people. Yet these three unlikely heroes became the center of a major underground operation: To hide Jewish refugees from the occupying Germans. These kindly, law abiding people broke every rule in the book to save the lives of the men, women and children being hunted by the Nazis. Their home became a hiding place, but the cost of their bravery was betrayal and in the dreaded Ravensbruck concentration camp, they had to create another hiding place for those around them.