Weekly Geeks #6 Update and airport book buying!

So, have you caught up on your reviews? I have caught up with all but one of the books I have read this year, but was a little disappointed that I havent had time to list the books I read in 2007 and 2006. I shall hopefully get round to that some time soon. In the meantime, my reviews for Twilight and New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and The Fall by Garth Nix are up on my blog, and that will have to do for now!

I had a nightmare of a journey to Norway! Not very far as the crow flies, but KLM managed to get the door stuck on the plane so we were late leaving the UK which meant that I missed my flight from Amsterdam. Well, I actually didnt miss the flight as it was a little delayed. But I had already been taken off that flight and my luggage rerouted, probably as they didnt think I would leg it across the Schipol airport, leaping over grannies and knocking small children over with my laptop bag...so they wouldn't let me on the plane despite the fact that it was sitting there...well I needed the exercise! So, I then had 2 hours to kill waiting for the next flight, and thus (in true book lover fashion) treated myself to a new book...The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I've read a few good reviews and must say it intrigues me. I'm only a little way through (the airport gymnastics wore me out so I had a nap on the plane) but already really enjoying it! Stuck in Norway now as our engines are broken, so hopefully lots of reading time will be available! The good news is that my luggage arrived with me, so I have 6 other books to keep me going!

Memes, travels and some sex in the city!

Valentina tagged me with this 1 2 3 pages meme which goes a little something like this:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

So my book is High Fidelity as I just finished reviewing it, and its here on the sofa next to me!

"I wouldn't. I want him to be as happy as anybody has ever been. I want him to show the rest of us that it is possible to maintain a relationship and a large record collection simultaneously."

Not bad eh! Somewhat sweet. So I shall tag 3M, Clare, Megan, Susan and Andi, if you haven't already had a bash! Hopefully I'll get around to the random things about me meme another time.

I just got back from seeing Sex and the City in the cinema, and what a film! Its been a long time coming, but oh so worth the wait. I feel my hope in love reaffirmed again, which is a big deal considering what I've thought about love and relationships for the past couple of years. Miranda is my favourite character, but I really liked Samantha's character in the film..she really is unique but can be so generous, despite the obvious lust for life! Highly recommended to all those lasses out there, though I think it will be a lot more entertaining for followers of the show.

Meanwhile, I'm off sailing again. I'm flying to Bergen tomorrow morning, and sailing to the waters West of the Shetland Islands, on a tiny boat which I'm sure will make me ill, where being vegetarian apparently means I'll be handed a lettuce leaf and carrot for meals. Well, I wanted to lose some weight for the summer anyway!! I may be back in a couple of weeks, or maybe longer, and I have no idea if I'll have any internet access on board, so watch this space! And happy reading...

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

Rating: 4 1/2
Read for: TBR Challenge 2008

I saw this film for the first time years ago and absolutely loved it despite being an American remake of a British set novel (which I usually avoid), but apart from the Polysyllabic Spree (which isn't fiction), I still hadn't gotten around to reading a Nick Hornby novel until this past week. I had high expectations, seeing as the film was so good and the book was so highly recommended by my best friend, and I wasn't disappointed.

Rob is the owner of Championship Vinyl, a record store in London, and we meet him as his girlfriend, Laura, is moving out of their apartment. The story then follows Rob, as he revaluates his life and loves, specifically his failed relationships. High Fidelity is about life, love and music. It is self-effacing yet brash, modern but unpretentious (for the most part!), gently ironic and reassuring. Love (and life for for that matter) isn't all fireworks and string instruments, it takes work, but sometimes there's nothing that can be done to save it...nor should there be.

I was pleasantly surprised (though I'm not sure why) about how much of the original dialogue in this book actually made it into the film. Huge sections of dialogue were used word for word, despite the characters and setting being slightly altered. I was actually tempted to add some of my favourite dialogue to this review, but found there was so much that I couldn't choose! It was hard at times to not picture the actors from the film while reading this book (which is why I always try to read the book first), as although not what you might always expect, they fitted the characters perfectly, adding just enough while retaining Hornby's essence. The novel does make a lot more sense set in nineties London, but the transition from book to screen does seem to have worked, this time anyway!

Highly enjoyable, though I imagine the protagonist Rob and his record shop cohorts Dick and Barry might be a little ashamed of my music collection! I'm a little out of date, and have little interest in much of the pop and rock that passes the airwaves! I'm a more chilled out singer/songwriter kind of girl, though I do have a soft spot for old eighties hits! I will definitely be adding About a Boy to my reading list.

The Fall - Garth Nix

Rating: 3

I loved Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, and was quite excited about The Fall, the first in his new series, The Seventh Tower. The series starts with Tal, one of the Chosen, a keeper of the magical Sunstones. Everything in Tal's world revolves around light, in which the sunstones are key, and when his father disappears, along with the family's Primary Sunstone, Tal finds both his and his family's future in jeopardy. In an effort to help his family and save his ailing mother, Tal makes it his mission to get hold of a new Primary Sunstone, but any means necessary. This leads him onto a very different path in a world he didn't even know existed.

There definitely is very little time to breathe in this fast paced book (I read the entire thing in bed on Sunday morning!), but little to keep me very gripped. I did not find myself particularly interest in Tal or his family, and this kept me from caring much about whether or not he did manage to find a new sunstone. I did however, really enjoy the descriptions of shadowguards and spiritshadows, protectors and defenders, bound to serve the sunstones and their masters. And I found the idea of Selski very amusing (well I am a zoologist!)!!

I'm not sure whether I will read the next in the series, perhaps like William Nicholson's Wind on Fire trilogy, it will be the second book that gets me hooked. In the meantime, I have more than enough to read!

New Moon - Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 4

The second in the vampire series allows us to rejoin Bella and Edward in the small rainy town of Forks. With the perils of Twilight behind them, all is well with the couple until an accident befalls the clumsy Bella on her birthday at the Cullens house. What follows horrifies everyone involved, and causes Edward to rethink his relationship with Bella.

This time around, the relationship is less hard to grasp. Edward with so many years behind him has allowed himself to fall for this human girl, with all the perils such a relationship would encounter, and more, for something about Bella seems to invite trouble. But Edward knows he is bad for her, that little good can come of such a relationship and after the accident, he and the Cullens pack up and leave. Bella is left in a state of shock, slumping into a depression that is beautifully written. Meyer captures the numbness perfectly, with Bella passing her days without even noticing them. That is until she renews her friendship with Jacob Black, an old family friend, and she finds a way of living again. Bella finds solace in the friendship, and in reckless activities, during which she "hears" Edward's voice in her head. Bella's friendship with Jacob takes a turn for the worse when he seems to change and starts avoiding her, leaving her all alone again. Then Alice Cullen arrives back in Forks, bringing with her terrible news that forces Bella to literally face her demons!

A very good sequel, though not quite on a par with Twilight. I found myself really liking Jacob, a little ray of light, and a refreshing change from the intense and dark Edward. It will be very interesting to see where this story leads now!

Other blog reviews:
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Naida at the bookworm

Twilight - Stephenie Meyer

Rating: 4 1/2

The first in this pleasantly surprising vampire series, Twilight is the story of Bella, an ordinary girl who moves to the seemingly dreary town of Forks in Washington State to live with her father. At high school, Bella finds herself to be quite the popular new girl, especially with some of the male students in her classes. But it is when she meets the Cullens that everything changes. Mysterious, reclusive and astonishing beautiful, the five Cullen students intrigue Bella, and she finds herself captivated by Edward and his strong reaction to her presence. When Edward impossibly saves Bella's life during an accident, she is determined to uncover the secret he is hiding from everyone. But she could not imagine how dark it is, and what she is letting herself in for.

I must admit that I was not expecting much from this series, having never shown much interest in any type of vampire fiction. But after all the fabulous reviews I have read on blogs and after watching the film trailer, I knew I'd have to read it soon. The fact that I went to the library and borrowed the second in the series before I'd even read the first shows how much I enjoyed it!

Twilight is not your typical Romeo and Juliet story, but is intense and tragic all the same. Meyer's description of vampires is interesting, almost scientific, with their eyes changing colour with hunger, and their bite is like a poison. Less glamourous perhaps, but a great deal more fitting in a story like this. I am fascinated by the Cullens and their individual pasts, especially Carlisle, and what would make him create such a family for himself, especially after what his life had been like. Some of the Cullens' stories are revealed slowly over the course of this book, and others in later parts of the series, but all with enough differences and enough heart to feel painfully real. Edward is suitably intense and beautiful, and it is hard to imagine anyone playing him in a film. As Bella herself often thinks, it isn't obvious why he would be so passionate about her, but that too in part is revealed over time. Twilight and its characters are very seductive but with enough doubt, mystery and action to keep anyone gripped. Its a good thing there are three more books after this one!

Other blog reviews:
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Naida at the bookworm

Weekly Geeks #6

Well I've missed a few Weekly Geeks since I've been away, but I'm around for week 6's theme...Catch Up On Reviews Week, something I really should get around to! So catch up on your reviews, write a wrap-up post towards the end of the week about how things went for you and post your links on the Weekly Geeks website. Happy reviewing!