read the following 43 books:

I just finished reading Stephen King’s On Writing (I bought it yesterday, if that tells you anything). It was exceptional! Not only was it entertaining – I rarely laugh out loud while reading a book and I did with surprising regularity while reading this one – but it left me with some really good insights on how to be a better writer. I found myself jotting down notes through part of it so that I could remember them when it’s time to revise my novel.

Definitely recommended :)

This was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down once I started reading it. It’s incredible. At times I wasn’t sure what to root for – McMurphy’s personal safety or helping out the other guys.

Even though I had already heard how it ended (I haven’t watched the movie yet but I’m really excited to – I love Jack Nicholson) it was still really powerful. A definite must read. :)

It was definitely not what I was expecting but it didn’t disappoint. I noticed that S.M. created another self-sacrificing heroine and a happy ending for all the main characters… I wonder if her next book will be the same? I did enjoy it though. Well written, very long, engaging.

Poetry is one of those things where I either love it or hate it. I’m very particular about the kind of poetry I read. I like it passionate and descriptive. I like strong words. Imagery.

That said, Pablo Neruda’s Love Poems is one of the best books of poetry I’ve ever read. I sat up all night in bed with the (very small) book because I enjoyed it ever so much. :)

I had the pleasure of listening to David Morrell speak at the Maui Writers Conference and then talking to him afterwards when he signed my copy of First Blood (which I subsequently read on the plane ride home). He is a wonderful person and an amazing author.

Creepers was, well, creepy. I managed to read the majority of it in a single day because I was unable to put it down. It is nearly impossible to resist turning the pages because you need to find out what happens next. There are plenty of plot twists and turns to keep it interesting throughout and you’re always trying to figure out what the main characters real motives are. Definitely a good read, from a genre that I don’t generally pick up all too often.

So I finally procured a copy of the final book in the saga and I was very nervous about reading it after all the bad reviews I’d read. However I was once again pleasantly surprised.

No, it’s not my favorite book in the saga (Eclipse and Twilight are the best books IMO) but that’s more of a preferential thing than me thinking it was bad. I thought that it was well written, though it did have a very different tone than the other books and I was disappointed that they had sex finally because the book lost all the sexual tension (and isn’t anticipation the best part?). I was a little bit thrown when Jacob started narrating but after a while I got used to that too (personally I like Edward’s narration in Midnight Sun the best).

I thought through all the reasons that people gave for disliking it and realized that if you really spent time reasoning them out they made perfect sense (at least in my mind).

It was another page turner – I finished it in a little over a day because I was so anxious to see what happened next. Having read all these books and liked them I’m really excited now to read the Host.

5 Stars for the Saga (: I can’t wait to see the movie now.

Fourth book!

I really think that this is an excellent inspirational tool for new writers – Bradbury’s enthusiasm for writing is contagious.

*side note: at goodreads.com i’m now attempting to remember every book i’ve ever read (an impossible feat no doubt). if you can remember any books you read in high school or middle school let me know, i might need to add them to the list (:

anyway, you should join and add me as a friend, it’s a really great site.

Someone turned me on to the website goodreads.com and now I can keep track of my progress there as well :)

join and add me as a friend!

These are the first 3 books on the list that I’ve managed to finish. I read each of them in a day because I was literally (pun – ha!) unable to put them down. I had heard so many things both negative/positive about the books, so much hype, that I was unsure whether or not I would like them.

Turns out, I LOVE them!

I read a lot of reviews complaining about Bella and IMO, though she was obsessing over Edward quite a bit, I think that she got the mind of a teenage girl down pat (why do you think so many of them love it?). Yes she talks about him incessantly – but who wouldn’t, really, if they were in her position?

The sexual tension was very well written, the characters were believable and I love the world that she created. I especially enjoyed the interaction between Edward and Jacob in Eclipse.

I am horribly excited to read Breaking Dawn (which I will hopefully be able to buy soon). I even read the partial draft of Midnight Sun SM has on her website and I have to say I really loved reading Edwards pov – probably moreso than Bella’s.

There is so much to say but I’ll just leave it at that (wouldn’t want to bore anyone) (:

[edit: i re-read all three books a day after i finished them. THAT’S how obsessive i’ve become. oy.]

1 On Writing//Stephen King
2 Moby Dick//Herman Melville
3 Zen in the Art of Writing//Ray Bradbury
4 Creepers//David Morrell
5 The Twilight Saga//Stephenie Meyer
* Twilight
* New Moon
* Eclipse
* Breaking Dawn
5 When You Are Engulfed In Flames//David Sedaris
6 Interview With the Vampire//Anne Rice
7 House of Leaves//Mark Danielewski
8 Johnny Got His Gun//Dalton Trumbo
9 The Quiet American//Graham Greene
10 Jessica//Bryce Courtenay
11 Love Poems//Pablo Neruda
12 Silence of the Lambs//Thomas Harris
13 A Brief History of Time//Stephen Hawking
14 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest//Ken Kesey
15 The Unbearable Lightness of Being//Milan Kundera
16 2001: A Space Odyssey//Arthur C. Clarke
17 Catch 22//Joseph Heller
18 The Postman Always Rings Twice//James M. Cain
19 The Grapes of Wrath//John Steinbeck
19 The Age of Innoccence//Edith Wharton
20 Les Miserables//Victor Hugo
21 Lady Chatterley’s Lover//D.H. Lawrence
23 The Hunchback of Notre Dame//Victor Hugo
24 Pride and Prejudice//Jane Austen
25 Metamorphoses//Ovid
26 Streetcar Named Desire//Tennessee Williams
27 Death of a Salesman//Arthur Miller
28 The Razor’s Edge//W. Somerset Maugham
29 A Death in the Family//James Agee
30 The Good Earth//Pearl S. Buck
31 The Screwtape Letters//C.S. Lewis
32 The Castle//Franz Kafka
33 The Host//Stephenie Meyer
34 The Stand//Stephen King
35 Jane Eyre//Charlotte Bronte
36 Wuthering Heights//Emily Bronte
37 As I Lay Dying//William Faulkner
38 The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy//Douglas Adams
39 The Maltese Falcon//Dashiell Hammett
40 Sophie’s Choice//William Styron
41 Gone With the Wind//Margaret Mitchell
42 Giver Trilogy//Lois Lowry
* Giver
* Gathering Blue
* Messenger
43 Middlesex//Jeffrey Eugenides

(technically more than 43 books with the series but i wanted to be able to fit in as many as possible).