The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Now I am sure many of you have seen the sad romance movie version of the book but frankly this was the first time that the movie was better than the book. I mean the book itself was cute and close to the movie except for the end. I'm not going to say the ending but it really destroyed me. I wanted the sad but happy ending that the movie had but as I continued reading I couldn't help but be more disappointed. I am a huge Nicholas Sparks fan and a fan of his out of this world romances that probably never happen in real life but that was what I was looking forward to in The Notebook. I have to say that I was sadly disappointed in this novel.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated my blog in such a long time but I barely have time to breathe, let alone read. But I did squeeze in some time for this amazing book called Atonement by Ian McEwan. I was first introduced to Atonement through the movie starring Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. The movie was absolutely amazing and so touching that I just had to read the novel. If I thought the movie was good, the novel is even better and fills me in on Robbie Turner's life. Plus seeing how one little mistake can truly rip apart a family and two lovers forever is heart wrenching in every way.

The story is pretty much about Briony Tallis, a 13 year old aspiring writer, who with her wild imagination sees something and lets just say deciphers it wrong. Briony witnessed her older sister, Cecilia, and family friend Robbie Turner have a little "flirtatious" moment. Not understanding the adult world, Briony thought it was an attack on her sister and with a series of events following this incident sent Robbie to jail thus ripping him and Cecilia apart. This story is one of love, crime, war, and friendship and I truly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good love story, even though it might not have a happy ending.

Shout Out to Daisy!!

OK I know this has nothing to do with books or anything related to them but I just thought this was really cool so I just had to blog about it. One of my friends, Daisy, heard about my blog and it inspired her so much that she had to start one of her own! If you check out her blog you can see that she owes it to me and I just thought that was super cool. As a writer my life's dream is to inspire people in anyway I can and to inspire Daisy really touched me. If you're reading this Daisy I just want to say that I love you and thank you for loving my blog and being inspired by it!

I'm glad to see that someone other than myself loves books and loves to write about them. Hopefully more people can see the goodness of books and writing and realize that a whole new world is just a page away.

I Couldn't Help Myself!!!

Okay I know I promised no more Twilight for a while but I just couldn't help myself!! First of all for those who do not know, director of Twilight, Catherine Hardwick is not doing the next film, New Moon. Instead a new director, Chris Weitz, was hired to do both New Moon and Eclipse movies. Also despite many rumors, Taylor Lautner was signed to reprise his role as Jacob Black in New Moon and has to gain 30 lbs in muscle to play the part.

The Twilight 2-Disc Special Edition DVD is also available for pre-order at Amazon.com. This DVD includes five extended scenes, audio commentary from Catherine Hardwick, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, three music videos (Muse, Linkin Park, Paramore), five deleted scenes, seven part documentary "The Adventure Begins: The Journey From Page to Screen", Comic-con Phenomenon featurette, and a lot more. If you're a Twilight lover I suggest you seriously pre-order this amazing DVD. I sure did!!!

P.S. New Moon begins filming this March and is due to come out this November!!!! Check out these fan made trailers for New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. They're pretty good! They contain spoilers so if you haven't read the book don't watch them!

New Moon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsghUBi81qY

Eclipse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPVGg95vb0&feature=related

Breaking Dawn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l71UXPtBng&feature=related

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Now I had to do this play because it is such a classic and one of my favorites. If you don't know who William Shakespeare is he is a poet/playwright/actor who lived in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His story Romeo and Juliet was not originally created by him but he took the story and he made it all his own with his unique style of writing. The story Romeo and Juliet is as good as everyone says if you have the patience for it. At first it is hard to understand what the characters are saying and what is going on but I have a fool proof method as to how you can finally understand William Shakespeare.

If you have the time buy a good audio book of the play and get a copy of the play that translates some of the language harder to understand. Read the book along with the audio book and it will be a lot easier to understand. If you still don't understand what is going on I recommend renting or buying one of the many Romeo and Juliet movies out there. My favorite one is the one with Leonardo Di Caprio because it has the old English language but the setting is in modern times so you can understand the old language in a setting that you can most relate to.

Everyone in their lifetime has to give Shakespeare a try even if you don't like classics. As for other classic stories that are hard to understand, do the same that I said about Romeo and Juliet. Buy the audio book and listen as you read and if you still don't understand, get the movie version if there is one. It worked for Pride and Prejudice with me and I'm sure that it would work for you. Classics truly can open up a wonderful world of writing and storytelling. All you have to do is give them a try.

James Patterson: #1 American Thriller Writer

Now you have heard of my other two favorite authors but now is the time you heard of the most writing obsessed one of them all. Since the 1970's, James Patterson has been writing bestseller hit after bestseller hit with over 35 books published and the average of 7 books published pr year for the past three years. James Patterson first had me with his love story, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. This novel has such a passionate and heart warming story behind it that he had me hooked after the first page. Little did I know that romances weren't his thing, his real passion is for thriller stories. Best known for his Alex Cross series, the Women's Murder Club, and the Maximum Ride page turners, his writing keeps you hooked.

My ultimate goal is to be as successful as James Patterson. If anyone is to be as successful as this man it would be a miracle. He always captured his readers and draws them in with real and relatable characters. If you haven't read any of his books yet I suggest you start now.

I Changed My Mind

Happy New Years every one!! Now just before Christmas I finally finished World Without End and I take back some of my not so great comments from before. Okay I will admit that the book did get better after the first 400 pages. The action really started picking up with the Black Death and I just wanted to keep reading to find out what happened to everyone. But I still think that it was a little slow to start. Action did happen in the beginning but it was never something that made you want to keep reading. The two characters that I loved the most are Merthin Builder and Caris Wooler (Sister and Mother Caris later on in the book). The two characters that I could live without knowing what is going on in their minds is Ralph Fitzgerald and Brother Godwyn. Like I said before, not as bad as I originally put it so if you really want a challenge to read then go right on ahead (that is if you could actually pick up the book, 1014 pgs!)

P.S. If you thought I was crazy reading this super long book you won't want to see my next one. It is a collection of five novels of Charlotte and Emily Bronte and has over 1100 pages!! I know I'm crazy but I truly love my books.