Fantasy genre

Young Adult reading level

The Plot:

On Isabella “Bella” Swan’s 18th birthday, Edward Cullen, the vampire she loves, and his family throw her a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, she gets a paper cut, which causes Edward’s adopted brother, Jasper, to be overwhelmed by her blood’s scent and attempt to kill Bella. To protect her, Edward decides to end their relationship, and the Cullens move away from Forks. This leaves Bella heart-broken and depressed.

In the months that follow, Bella learns that thrill-seeking activities, such as motorcycle riding, allow her to “hear” Edward’s voice in her head. She also seeks comfort in her deepening friendship with Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who eases her pain over losing Edward. Bella later discovers that Jacob and other tribe members are shape-shifters who assume gigantic wolf forms. Jacob and his pack protect Bella from the vampire Laurent and also Victoria, who seeks revenge for her dead mate, James, whom the Cullens killed in Twilight.

Meanwhile, a series of mis-communications leads Edward to believe that Bella has killed herself. Distraught over her supposed suicide, Edward flees to Italy to provoke the Volturi, vampire royalty who are capable of killing him. Alice and Bella rush to Italy to save Edward, arriving just in time to stop him. Before leaving Italy, the Volturi tell Edward that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire. When they return to Forks, Edward tells Bella that he has always loved her and only left Forks to protect her. She forgives him, and the Cullens vote in favor of Bella being transformed into a vampire, to Edward’s dismay. However, Edward gives Bella a choice: either she lets Carlisle change her after her graduation, or, if Bella agrees to marry him, he will change her himself.

via New Moon (novel) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Good:

Book two of the Twilight saga, the story really starts to get interesting now. The first time I read these books, I almost quit reading when the Cullens left Forks. But then, after forcing myself to pick the book back up (like ten minutes later) I found that Jacob only made the story more interesting, instead of less, and I quickly became a big Jacob fan. I’d love to see the author come out with supplemental books on Jacob and the rest of the La Push gang.

The Bad:

The ending is a bit anti-climatic.
The Recommendation:

Definitely worth reading, I can’t wait to get my own set of these books, as my sister is wanting hers back.

2005

Fantasy genre

Young Adult reading level

The Plot:

Isabella “Bella” Swan moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, while her mother, Renée, travels with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player. Bella attracts much attention at her new school and is quickly befriended by several students. Much to her dismay, several boys compete for shy Bella's attention.

When Bella is seated next to Edward Cullen in class on her first day of school, Edward seems utterly repulsed by her. He disappears for a few days, but warms up to Bella upon his return; their newfound relationship reaches a climax when Bella is nearly run over by a fellow classmate's van in the school parking lot. Seemingly defying the laws of physics, Edward saves her life when he instantaneously appears next to her and stops the van with his bare hands.

Bella becomes determined to find out how Edward saved her life, and constantly pesters him with questions. After tricking a family friend, Jacob Black, into telling her the local tribal legends, Bella concludes that Edward and his family are vampires who drink animal blood rather than human. Edward confesses that he initially avoided Bella because the scent of her blood was too desirable to him. Over time, Edward and Bella fall in love.

Their relationship is disturbed when another vampire coven sweeps into Forks. James, a tracker vampire who is intrigued by the Cullens' relationship with a human, wants to hunt Bella for sport. The Cullens attempt to distract the tracker by splitting up Bella and Edward, and Bella is sent to hide in a hotel in Phoenix. There, Bella receives a phone call from James, who claims to be holding her mother captive. When Bella surrenders herself, James attacks her. Before she is killed, Edward, along with the other Cullens, rescues her and defeats James. Once they realize that James has bitten Bella's hand, Edward successfully sucks the venom from her bloodstream and prevents her from becoming a vampire, after which she is brought to a hospital. Upon returning to Forks, Bella and Edward attend their school prom and Bella expresses her desire to become a vampire, but Edward refuses.

via Twilight (novel) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Good:

The first book in the Twilight Saga, and once called the best book of the decade, Twilight gets the story rolling. I like to read this book with the supplemental book, Midnight Sun, that was supposed to be published after Breaking Dawn, but a partial draft was leaked and the author put this project on the back burner. But the partial draft can be downloaded at StephanieMeyer.com. Midnight Sun is Twilight from Edward’s perspective, at least the first few chapters of Twilight so far. I like to read Bella’s perspective of a chapter in Twilight, and then read Edward’s perspective in the partial draft of Midnight Sun, I think it makes it more interesting, and explains more.

The Bad:

As far as the series goes, Twilight is my least favorite book. Although exciting in its own way, I find the other three books much more enthralling.
The Recommendation:

Definitely worth reading for anyone whom loves a good love story, or vampires.

Anyway, BDS stands for Black Dog Syndrome. It is proven fact that black dogs in shelters are overlooked more often than any other colour. Black dogs are the last to be adopted – even if their temperament is better than the dogs of other colours!The general public tend to look at black dogs with disgust, fear and superstition. Because of their low adoption rates, black dogs tend to be euthanized more often in kill facilities. Why? Simply because people don’t want a black dog.

via Dogs Deserve Freedom: Black Dog Syndrome – BDS.

I’ve never heard of this before, but it’s quite interesting, in my opinion.  Why do black dogs have such bad reputations?

But then I think back over all the black dogs I’ve met, most of them were big, really big.  Black labs, Rottweilers, Dobermans…

To me, big dogs are scary.  I tend to like my smaller dogs.  Not quite lapdogs, but they seem to think they are anyway.

Fantasy genre

Young Adult reading level

The Plot:

Twilight is a series of four vampire-based fantasy romance novels by American author Stephenie Meyer. It charts a period in the life of Isabella “Bella” Swan, a teenage girl who moves to Forks, Washington, and falls in love with a 104-year-old vampire named Edward Cullen. The series is told primarily from Bella’s point of view, with the epilogue of Eclipse and Part II of Breaking Dawn being told from the viewpoint of character Jacob Black, a werewolf. The unpublished Midnight Sun is a retelling of the first book, Twilight, from Edward Cullen’s point of view.

Since the release of the first novel, Twilight, in 2005, the books have gained immense popularity and commercial success around the world. The series is most popular among young adults; the four books have won multiple awards, most notably the 2008 British Book Award for “Children's Book of the Year” for Breaking Dawn,[1] while the series as a whole won the 2009 Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Book.[2]

As of November 2009, the series has sold over 85 million copies worldwide[3] with translations into at least 38 different languages around the globe.[4][5] The four Twilight books have consecutively set records as the biggest selling novels of 2008 on the USA Today Best-Selling Books list[6] and have spent over 235 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Series Books.[3]

Thus far, the first three books are being made into a series of motion pictures by Summit Entertainment; the film adaptation of Twilight was released in 2008 and the second, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, was released on November 20, 2009.[7] The third film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, is set to be released June 30, 2010.

via Twilight (series) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Good:

These books were so amazing that I literally couldn’t put them down until I had read the entire series twice.  (I got them on a Thursday, finished all four by Sunday night, started again on Monday, and finished them the second time through on Friday – I literally walked around the house carrying a book with me while I went about my work.)  The characters and settings are so intriguing that you really get drawn in, the storyline is amazing.  Even after you read them all, you still want to know more, you don’t want to let go of the ‘friends’ you make in these books.  I’m hoping to read more about Forks, Washington, the Cullens and the Quiluetes tribe in the future, which according the official website of Stephanie Meyers is a real possibility.

The Bad:

I’m left wanting more!

The Recommendation:

If you like to read – go buy these books!  Whether you like romance novels, fantasy novels or whatnot, I believe these books will capture your heart.  For me this may replace Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series as my favorite books of all times – but it’s a close race, as I’ve been in love with the Sword of Truth Novels a lot longer than I have with this one.

Twilight

2008 – Sci-Fi & Fantasy – PG 13

The Plot:

When Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) reluctantly moved to the perpetually overcast town of Forks, WA, and set out to carve a niche for herself, she assumed it would be one similar to the low-profile social position she held back in Phoenix. First on the list of surprises was the unfamiliar attention from the male population of her new high school; second, the attention from one male in particular: Edward Cullen, Vampire (Robert Pattinson). Before long, the unlikely soul mates find themselves in a passionate relationship with a variety of significant setbacks, including Edward’s special-needs diet (he doesn’t eat humans, but Bella’s scent inspires a nearly impossible to harness bloodlust) and the human girl’s mortality. Though things proceed relatively smoothly at first (Edward even introduces Bella to his adoptive vampire family), a visiting vampire clan consisting of James (Cam Gigandet), Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), and Laurent (Edi Gathegi) catches Bella’s unique scent and threatens the young couple’s budding, if dangerous, happiness. James, known for his powerful tracking ability, becomes obsessed with making Bella his next victim. Fearing for Bella’s safety and that of her loved ones, the Cullens must combine their collective talents in order to stop the highly predatory James before his goal is accomplished. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

The Good:

Just about everything. A wonderful movie based on an even better book, although I didn’t find this movie seriously lacking from the novel version, as I usually do. They stuck to the storyline of the novel very closely, and I even think a few of the scenes from the movie worked better than the book, such as the scene in the woods where she confronts him about being a vampire. They couldn’t have cast better on almost all of the main characters, Edward is perfect, Alice is perfect as are Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme.

After reading the whole series of books and then watching the movie again, I did find that the movie doesn’t follow the book as closely as it could, which is kind of disappointing, but it’s still a great movie.

The Bad:

I’m not too fond of the casting on Bella or Rosalie. Bella shows almost not emotion throughout the entire movie – she always has the same expression on her face, which got a little annoying at first to me, and I’m not sure if she should have been quite so emotionless, even though it’s slightly how the character was written. I personally blame the director. But then after watching it a few times, I got over it. Rosalie was good in this movie, but she just didn’t seem to fit the character that she really is in the latter books in this series, but I guess I’ll wait and see. I’m also anxious to see how the character to Jacob Black does in the latter movies – he is quite a cutie!

The Recommendation:

It doesn’t matter if you’re into vampires or not, or sappy love stories – I think you’ll love the Twilight experience!

Weekdays are spent working, and going to school, for the kids.  Ariana’s still loving her two church groups, Son Beams and Awanas, on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  David is once again going out for the Scholastic Challenge, and also involved in the Science Olympian, a group science competition.

Weekends are spent relaxing, cleaning the house, and attending children’s birthday parties.   Or just hanging around the Wii playing party games and pigging out.

It may not be exciting – but it’s life… Our life… and We’re happy!

Journey To The Center Of The Earth

2008 – Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action / Adventure – PG

The Plot:

Academy Award-winning visual effects artist Eric Brevig makes his feature directorial debut with this adaptation of the classic Jules Verne fantasy starring Brendan Fraser. When an ambitious science professor (Fraser) develops a decidedly unconventional hypothesis, the mere mention of his name is enough to elicit laughter within the academic community. However, during a subsequent excursion to Iceland, the professor and his nephew make a major scientific discovery that sends them miles beneath the surface of the Earth, where they discover not only strange new worlds, but also encounter creatures so alien they appear to be from another world entirely. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Good:

Brendan Fraiser and a great story. Yes, I’m a huge Brendan Fraiser fan. Even the kids loved this movie, which we watched as a family – something that rarely happens in our household because we have such different tastes in movies. The special effects were great, the scenery pretty cool and the storyline captivating.

The Bad:

Can’t think of anything to criticize about it.

The Recommendation:

This is a movie for everyone from Grandparents to young children alike.

Dude Where’s My Car

2000 – Comedy – PG13

The Plot:

The startling effects of chemically induced short-term memory loss provide the backdrop for this resinous teen comedy. Jesse (Ashton Kutcher) and Chester (Seann William Scott) are two hard-partying dudes who wake up after a very long night on the town to discover they’ve forgotten the presents they bought for their girlfriends Wanda (Jennifer Garner) and Wilma (Marla Sokoloff), twins who are more than a bit miffed that the stoners they’ve come to tolerate appear to have forgotten their anniversary. The presents are in Jesse’s car, but they’re so fuzzy on the details of the previous 24 hours that they have no idea where they left said automobile. Jesse and Chester set out to find their wheels, and along the way they discover that they had an even more eventful evening than they imagined, as strippers, aliens, a suitcase full of money, and a kitchen full of pudding become important pieces in the puzzle of the missing car. Dude, Where’s My Car? also stars Hal Sparks, Kristy Swanson, Kevin Christy, and Fabio; it was written by Philip Stark, previously a writer for the TV series That 70’s Show, which also features Kutcher in its cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Good:

Hilarious stupidity. Definitely an early Ashton Kutcher flick.

The Bad:

Unless you’re in the mood for a movie like this, it can be a bit too stupid.

The Recommendation:

Have an evening to relax? Have a few drinks before watching this movie – it really helps you to enjoy it!

Mama Mia

2008 – Musical – PG13

The Plot:

Longing to discover the identity of her true father before she exchanges her wedding vows, the daughter of a once-rebellious single mother secretly invites a trio of paternal candidates to her upcoming wedding in this feature adaptation of the beloved stage musical. Independent-minded single mother Donna (Meryl Streep) has always done her best to raise her spirited daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), while simultaneously running a successful hotel on a small Greek island, but now the time has come for this hardworking mom to finally let go. In just a few days, Sophie will be married, and Donna will stand by bittersweetly as her little girl takes flight. Of course, Donna’s lifelong friends Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski) will both be present at the wedding, but unbeknownst to the mother, Sophie has furtively invited three very special guests of her own. When Sophie walks down the aisle on that fateful day, she wants her father to hand her off. The only problem is that Donna has never revealed the true identity of Sophie’s father, leaving the resourceful future bride to narrow the list down to three potential candidates. Now, as three key figures from Donna’s past return to the picturesque Mediterranean shores they all walked 20 years prior, one beautiful bride will discover the secret of her past while one lonely mother finds out that it’s never too late for a little romance. Phyllida Lloyd, director of both the original London sensation as well as the hit Broadway incarnation, makes her feature directorial debut with this big-screen version of the beloved musical featuring 22 classic ABBA hits. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, and Dominic Cooper co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Good:

Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronson and the setting. There are a few scenes that will have you chuckling. The storyline could have been interesting, without all the song and dance.

The Bad:

It’s a musical. No one told me that until I started watching it. It’s ridiculous. People just don’t burst out into song and dance at random times. They ruined a perfectly good story with the ridiculous song and dance crap.

The Recommendation:

Unless you walk around singing show tunes all the time, or love musicals for some insane reason – Avoid this movie at all costs. I fear that someday I’ll be forced to sit in a high school auditorium forced to watch this again.

Paul Blart Mall Cop

2009 – Comedy – PG

The Plot:

A New Jersey rent-a-cop gets his moment to shine as the holidays approach and Santa’s little helpers stage a coup at the local shopping mall in this comedy starring King of Queens’ Kevin James. Paul Blart (James) is a single suburban dad attempting to make ends meet by working as a mall security guard. Paul takes his job very seriously; unfortunately the same can’t be said for the shoppers he deals with on a daily basis. That all changes the day that Santa’s little helpers shut down the mall and start taking hostages, including Paul’s daughter and his main squeeze. Realizing that no one knows the mall better than the man who’s paid to guard it, Paul mounts his Segway and speeds to the rescue. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Good:

It was pretty funny.

The Bad:

Not really as funny as we thought it would be.

The Recommendation:

It’s worth watching, but I’d rent it instead of buying, because you probably won’t want to watch it again!