Devastatingly, Inhumanly Beautiful

You have spoken! The votes are in, we have a winner who won by a landslide! The most swoon-worthy "book boy" is none other than my personal favorite, Edward Cullen.

For those of you who live under a rock and do not know who he is, Edward Cullen is Stephenie Meyer's creation. He is Bella Swan's love interest in her best-selling Twilight saga and is a vampire. Upon first seeing Edward, Bella describes him as being "devastatingly, inhumanly beautiful." As you read through the series, you learn that Edward is an accomplished pianist (swoon), is strong and protective (swoon), has all of the qualities of being a good father (swoon), and is ultimately a sucker (no pun intended) for love (SWOON SWOON SWOON). And perhaps one of Edward's greatest appeals is that he can live forever. The idea of possibly living forever in love with him is enough to make any female want to trade in her heartbeat for a life of hunting in Washingtons state's damp woods. (You'd have to read the books to understand that... and you should go read them if you haven't already!)

Oh, and if you need a visual for just how beautiful Edward Cullen really is, I've provided you with a collage of Robert Pattinson's portrayal of Edward in Twilight, the movie. Do I really need to say "swoon" again? The second movie is due out in theatres in late November of this year and is currently filming.

So Edward Cullen, you are the most desired "book boy" out there! But here are our other honorable mentions:

1. Edward Cullen .................... 48%
2. Jamie Fraser ....................... 24%
3. Fitzwilliam Darcy ................ 18%
4. Frederick Wentworth ........... 6%
5. Rhett Butler ......................... 3%

A 999 Update!

Hello all! I am so sorry about my recent lack of updates. Life has gotten in the way of any kind of leisure. BUT, I am back in action and will try to be more frequent with my updates. I thought that I would give an update to where I am with my 999 Challenge!Just a reminder for those who do not know/do not remember what the 999 Challenge is: You choose 9 categories (they can be anything!), then you read 9 different books for each category, and you read them all in 2009! This means that if you complete the challenge, you will have tackled at least 81 books for the year. No double dipping with your categories! The should also be books that you haven't read before (unless you have a "Rereads" category, like I do).

Here is my list, the books that I have already read are in bold. The other books are the ones that I am tentatively planning to read to fulfill my categories. This is where you come in. If you see a book on my list and think you know of a better one to help me fill that category, I would love some advice!

**Nicholas Sparks**
1. The Choice
2. At First Site
3. A Walk To Remember
4. The Wedding
5. The Rescue
6. Dear John
7. A Bend In The Road
8. True Believer
9. Message In A Bottle

**Jodi Picoult**
1. My Sister's Keeper
2. Nineteen Minutes
3. Keeping Faith
4. The Pact
5. The Tenth Circle
6. Mercy
7. Perfect Match
8. Change Of Heart
9. Vanishing Acts

**Tudor Fiction/Henry's Wives**
1. The Boleyn Inheritance
2. The Last Boleyn
3. The Rose Without A Thorn
4. The Sixth Wife
5. Concubine
6. Murder Most Royal
7. Brief Gaudy Hour
8. The Secret Bride of Henry VIII
9. Mademoiselle Boleyn

**Other Historical Fiction**
1. The Heretic's Daughter
2. My Shadow Warrior
3. My Father Had A Daughter
4. Captain Wentworth's Diary
5. Darcy & Elizabeth
6. Courts of Love
7. Fallen Skies
8. The Fiery Cross
9. A Breath Of Snow & Ashes

**Chick Lit**
1. The Other Woman
2. One Fifth Avenue
3. The Host
4. Something Borrowed
5. Confessions Of A Shopaholic
6. Something Blue
7. Bridget Jones's Diary
8. The Beach House
9. Firefly Lane

**Classics**
1. Emma
2. Jane Eyre
3. Persuasion
4. Northanger Abbey
5. Little Women
6. Hard Times
7. Gone With The Wind
8. Mansfield Park
9. The Outsiders

**Georgette Heyer**
1. Lady Of Quality
2. These Old Shades
3. The Quiet Gentleman
4. The Convenient Marriage
5. Devil's Club
6. The Corinthian
7. The Grand Sophy
8. The Talisman Ring
9. Black Sheep

**Vampire Books**
1. Dead Until Dawn
2. Living Dead In Dallas
3. Club Dead
4. Dead To The World
5. Dead As A Doornail
6. Definitely Dead
7. All Together Dead
8. From Dead To Worse
9. Dead & Gone

**Rereads**
1. Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
2. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets
3. Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban
4. Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
5. Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix
6. Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince
7. Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows
8. Twilight
9. New Moon

Have any replacement suggestions? Leave me a comment!

Sawyer, and Sayid, and Jack... OH MY!

LOST is probably one of my favorite television shows ever. My best friend turned me on to the show about two seasons ago, and I am hooked. Every Wednesday night I am glued to the television to see what horrible thing Ben is going to do, and how many times Sawyer (see picture to the right) will come up with witty insults to snap at other people. And like everyone else, I wait in suspense for the end of every episode to get some answers. Instead, I am left with 45 new questions, and I love every minute of it.

But since this is a blog about books, and not television, I found a little reading list that I thought was very interesting. Throughout the show, there are references to many different literary works. Most of them come through Sawyer, the bad boy who stole my heart. While I was searching for book lists online, I stumbled across a list of books that are referenced in LOST. Some I've read, and others I've added to my TBR list! I thought it would be fun for all of you to take a look at!

1. Richard Adams - Watership Down
2. Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle In Time
3. William Golding - Lord Of The Flies
4. Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe
5. Stephen King - The Stand
6. Stephen King - The Langoliers
7. Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
8. Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park
9. Lewis Carroll - Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass
10. Antony Trew - Smoke Island
11. William Shakespeare - The Tempest
12. H.G. Wells - The Island Of Dr. Moreau
13. Jules Verne - The Mysterious Island
14. Joseph Conrad - Heart Of Darkness
15. J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone

So there you have it! Some of these books are tied directly into the show, and others have similar plot lines. But they all sound worth reading!