The New Poll

Happy Friday! Normally I would throw out a TGIF or two when I post on a Friday... but not this time. If today is Friday, January 8 - then that means tomorrow is Saturday, January 9. My big Praxis II exam is tomorrow, and I could not be more nervous about it. Consider updating this my study break from cognitive development theories. I have a new poll! Allow me to introduce it to you.

Quite simply, which of the following authors would you most want to meet if you had to choose between Stephen King, Ian McEwan, Stephenie Meyer, Rick Riordian, J.K. Rowling, and Alice Sebold. I chose some pretty contemporary authors this time. Next time, we'll see some more oldies but goodies. Here's a little bit about each author's work:

*Stephen King: He's considered the king of horror novels. King knows how to take a ghost story and twist it into something truly terrifying. Best known work: The Shining (though it's tough to pick just one).

*Ian McEwan: This author pens novels that will get you thinking about all sorts of different aspects of being human. With McEwan, you either hate him or love him. Best known work: Atonement.

*Stephenie Meyer: Ah yes, the vampire's best friend. She made vampires totally cool again with her lusty, romantic vamp Edward Cullen, made famous by Robert Pattinson. Best known work: Twilight, DUH.

*Rick Riordian: This guy has tackled it all. He has penned some intriguing adult mystery novels and has even broken into the young adult lit scene with his fabulous Percy Jackson series, being made into a movie coming to theatres soon! Which will make his best known work: The Lightning Thief.

*J.K. Rowling: Does she really need an introduction? She's the wealthiest living author, and it's no wonder why. She penned the phenomena known as Harry Potter, the story of a boy wizard who conquers evil with nothing more than good will and love. Best known work: Any of the Harry Potter books.

*Alice Sebold: This author burst onto the comtemporary literature scene quite suddenly, it would seem. Her novels touch some people, and leave others with a great sense of unease. Best known work: The Lovely Bones.

HAPPY VOTING!

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!

I Can't Live If Living Is Without You

Cheryl over at Cheryl's Book Nook (see my links section to visit her wonderful site) proposed an interesting question that I simply had to address in a post because it made me take a step back and think. Even as I have formed my answers, I still question it. Anyways, here is the question:

If your book collection were on fire and you could only save three books from burning, which three would you save and why?

Talk about a Sophie's Choice moment! How in the world do you pick? You have to assume that you will never be able to replace these books, that is the only way that it works. My choices make me feel incredibly juvenile. But if I am being perfectly honest, these are the three books right now that I would absolutely cry over losing:

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - I could never part with this book. It's adventure, a little romance, and is just an emotional roller coaster. I told you that it makes me feel like I am incredibly juvenile, but I really do enjoy reading about Harry's adventures, and this book is the one that I would definitely hold on to assuming that I would never be able to replace my books if they were lost for some reason.





2. Pride & Prejudice - It's historical fiction and romance, what more could a girl ask for? I love the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy's romance, not to mention Jane Austen's writing. I've read this story quite a few times and have seen movie versions more often than I can count. I don't think that I could ever part with my copy of this book. It would be a tragedy to lose such a wonderful novel.






3. Twilight - Again, it is a juvenile choice, but this book won my heart the first time I read it. It's no wonder either, since Stephenie Meyer wrote it with influences from Austen's Pride & Prejudice. Edward Cullen is the greatest literary "heartthrob" since Fitzwilliam Darcy, in my humble opinion. Yes, I definitely would have to save this book also.








I invite all of you out there to address this question! Which three books would you save from your collection if there was no hope of ever replacing them?

Oh Ms. Rowling...

So if you've been keeping up with my "Currently Reading" little widget there, you'll see that I've finished off my reread of the Harry Potter series. I don't know if it is sad or not that I am 22, going on 23 in October, and was completely engulfed in the reread.

I was talking to my best friend last night (hi Robin!) who is also 22 and just as *appreciative* of Harry Potter as I am. She is just about to start her first reread of the last book. We simply were discussing some of the more sad parts of the story when we came to discuss certain characters who Rowling killed. (I give no spoiler warning because either you don't care about HP or you've already read it, there's no in between.) There are three moments that I identified where I actually had to stop reading. Not because my reading headache had set in. No no, I've learned how to power through those over the years. And it wasn't because I had something else that I needed to do. No, it was because my tears blurred my vision to the point where I could barely tell that I was even looking at a book.

1. Fred Weasley's Death - Now I am a redhead. For the fifth movie installment, Robin and I made shirts for the midnight premier (I know...). Mine said "I Wish I Were A Weasley." And I do... Ginny to be exact. So needless to say, Fred's death was a kick in the face.

2. Dobby's Death - The elf loved Harry so much that he died to protect him. Need I say more?

3. Harry using the Resurrection Stone - I can't take it when he speaks to the spirits of his mother, father, and godfather. He knows he's about to die and wants to know if it hurts and wants to let them know that he will be with them shortly. It's ridiculous. Stories about child wizards should not be that sad.

I know it makes me a bit of a loser, but I really can't help it. Somehow I got sucked into this crazy phenomena when I honestly put up a valiant fight to resist it for a while. (Ironically, I caved once I got to college...) The sixth movie installment is due out in November. I guess waterproof mascara will have to be added to the preparations list!

P.S. I am not posting a review for Nicholas Sparks's The Guardian. Just read it. It took me less than 24 hours. It's definitely got the Nicholas Sparks romance, but it's also got some thriller/murder stuff going on. Wonderful!