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!

What A Wonderful World

Georgette Heyer - The Grand Sophy

Well, Book One under category "Georgette Heyer" in my 999 Challenge is complete. And to be honest, it was the perfect way to kick off that category. The Grand Sophy is the story of the extremely social Sophia Stanton-Lacy, nicknamed the Grand Sophy by all who know her. While her father is away in Brazil, this bold young lady stays with her aunt, uncle, and cousins. While there, she plays match maker for her cousin Cecelia, wins over her younger cousins by giving them a monkey as a gift, and drives her eldest cousin, Charles completely mad. Naturally, this independent headstrong girl sends the Rivenhall family into an uproar as she is the talk of London society with her behavior. She becomes quite popular with everyone except for Charles, who loves to hate her and hates to love her. This story has love, humor, and paints a fantastic historical London scene!

I absolutely loved this book. It is my second Heyer that I have read, after Cotillion. I've had this book recommended to me by anyone who has read it. And I will now pass on the gospel: If you enjoy Heyer, you should definitely read this! If you enjoy historical fiction, you should definitely read this! If you would like to have an easy entrance into authentic historical fiction, you should definitely read this! In case you haven't gotten the point, I think that you should read this book.

A quick side note, please make sure to vote in my poll. So far, Edward Cullen is crushing the competition to be the most swoon-worthy literary character!

Now Reading: Charlaine Harris - Dead To The World

Dashing Good Fun

Well I've finally gotten around to reading Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. I adore the movie and had always wanted to read the book. It fits into my 999 Challenge under "Chick Lit." Once you get used to Fielding's style of writing (lots of fragments and segmented thoughts), the book really begins to read quickly. The greatest part for me is that I can hear Renee Zellweger's voice saying each line. She really did an amazing job portraying Bridget. And of course, there's always the funny coincidence that Marc Darcy is compared to Mr. Darcy, both of which are played by Colin Firth. As the title suggests: it's dashing good fun.

Anyways, the story is about Bridget Jones and her never-ending quest towards achieving self-improvement. She vows not to smoke, though the next day she inhales 36 cigarettes. She promises to lose weight, but eats an entire cake that evening. She absolutely will not get involved with another man who she knows will treat her badly, yet the first man she falls in love with is her emotionally unavailable boss. In short, she's just like the rest of us. But funnier. It's light and will hold you interest. Although, I will warn you, if you did not like the movie, you will not like the book.

I am currently reading my second Georgette Heyer novel, The Grand Sophy. I barely put it down to write this post. It's really wonderful. If you've never read any Heyer before, I would highly recommend beginning with this book. Review will be up as soon as I finish!

You Pierce My Soul

Captain Wentworth's Diary - by, Amanda Grange

This is the classic story of Jane Austen's Persuasion but follows Captain Wentworth's point of view. It begins when he first met Anne before returning to the Navy. Amanda Grange's writing is easy to follow and has an easy flow to it. It's a good way to revisit Austen's novel without actually rereading it. Wentworth's famous letter to Anne was done beautifully and gives an interesting interpretation of the way in which things happened.

I adore retellings of classics as long as they are done well and do not try to be better than the actual classic. Grange does that. She writes well and stays true to who Austen designed the characters to be, but does add her own twists. She introduces us to Wentworth's brother, Edward, who was only mentioned in Austen's original work. It is also a real treat to get a chance to imagine what transpired between Anne and Captain Wentworth upon their initial meeting, during his proposal, and finally during the rejection. Grange also finally gave a real insight into Captain Wentworth's feelings about Anne, her family, Louisa Musgrove, and his friends.

Overall, I enjoyed this. And while the scene regarding his letter was done beautifully, it lacked the ability to conjure tears as Austen was able to do. This was my second book by Grange, and I did enjoy it. I'll read more of her work. I also read this as part of my 999 Challenge, under "Other Historical Fiction."

Happy reading!

All You Need Is Love

Valentine's Day may have a reputation for being an excuse for greeting card companies to make money, but I still think it is a fun excuse to celebrate your love for someone. Whether that someone is a husband, boyfriend, best friend, or family member, it's always important to tell that someone that you love them.



So in the spirit of Valentine's Day, I decided to think back on some of my favorite couples in literature. Some of them have burning passion for each other. Others more or less have love that appears to be obsession. And others just seem to be the perfect married couple. Whatever they are, these couples bring a smile to my face and represent what love is. Who's your favorite couple?

*Romeo & Juliet
*Rhett Butler & Scarlett O'Hara
*Fitzwilliam Darcy & Elizabeth Bennet
*Jamie Fraser & Claire Beauchamp
*Captain Frederick Wentworth & Anne Elliot
*Noah Calhoun & Allie Hamilton
*The Chairman & Nitta Sayuri
*Arthur & Molly Weasley
...............and last, but certainly not least:
*Edward Cullen & Bella Swan

Happy Valentine's Day!