I've read all four books plus the extras at the website. Here are some of my disjointed thoughts.
Overall I enjoyed the story. I had a hard time putting it down.
I liked seeing the strength of the family, trust, loyalty, love and humor. And these qualities were even able to affect the feelings between natural enemies. (I'm trying to keep this general in case you haven't read the books yet.)
Things I cringed at...but it offered nice talking points with my girls:
works righteousness (but I wasn't reading this story for theological purposes),
some intimate bedroom scenes,
and a seemingly unhealthy "devotion" to a boyfriend.
Don't miss the extras for New Moon. Meyer has three snipets of the story from three other points of view. Jacob is a "crack-up". [NB: pgs 250-251 of Breaking Dawn]
I really liked reading the story from Edward's perspective. He had a lot more thoughts going on in his head than Bella who seemed kind of hung up on age and beauty. Hope Meyer decides to finish that book.
Is this saga a "classic"? My unprofessional opinion is "no".
Did I enjoy reading it? Yes.
Some are trying to compare this saga to Harry Potter. I'd say there really isn't any comparison. The Harry Potter novels are much deeper with more layers of things to experience on each reading. More mystery and surprise twists too.
If I had to apply movie ratings to these series of books....
I would rate Harry Potter as PG and Twilight as PG-13 (because of the bedroom scenes).
--
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Twilight
Okay...I've finally succumbed to reading Twilight. My two older girls devoured the books (all four! plus the draft mentioned below!) in the month of December and continued to beg me to begin.
I balked. I chose to read Dracula instead via DailyLit. I'm at about half way through that book. Just a little after the point where Dr. Van Helsing placed the garlic around Lucy and filled her room with it. (I thought I wasn't going to give any spoilers but.....Spoiler alert below in the quoted section!)
Someone had posted about Twilight and vampires and questioned what it was about the garlic. Another posted at that site that perhaps it is that garlic is good for our blood and that wouldn't be good for a vampire with evil intent (paraphrased).
Then today I read the first two chapters of Twilight and the first two Chapters of Midnight Sun (from Edward's point of view). It was the two chapters from Midnight Sun combined with the last lines I read today from Dracula that connected in my brain.
Ahhh...the "heavy, overpowering smell" of garlic....that's the thing about garlic!
Now go read chapters one and two of Midnight Sun. It is a pdf file at Stephenie Meyer's official blog link I gave you above.
p.s. The girls told me yesterday that the DVD of the movie is coming out March 21st. I didn't go see it either of the two times that they went. But I know that the books are always better than the movie!
I balked. I chose to read Dracula instead via DailyLit. I'm at about half way through that book. Just a little after the point where Dr. Van Helsing placed the garlic around Lucy and filled her room with it. (I thought I wasn't going to give any spoilers but.....Spoiler alert below in the quoted section!)
Someone had posted about Twilight and vampires and questioned what it was about the garlic. Another posted at that site that perhaps it is that garlic is good for our blood and that wouldn't be good for a vampire with evil intent (paraphrased).
Then today I read the first two chapters of Twilight and the first two Chapters of Midnight Sun (from Edward's point of view). It was the two chapters from Midnight Sun combined with the last lines I read today from Dracula that connected in my brain.
"Van Helsing did not go to bed at all. He went to and fro, as if patroling the house, and was never out of sight of the room where Lucy lay in her coffin, strewn with the wild garlic flowers, which sent through the odour of lily and rose, a heavy, overpowering smell into the night."
Ahhh...the "heavy, overpowering smell" of garlic....that's the thing about garlic!
Now go read chapters one and two of Midnight Sun. It is a pdf file at Stephenie Meyer's official blog link I gave you above.
p.s. The girls told me yesterday that the DVD of the movie is coming out March 21st. I didn't go see it either of the two times that they went. But I know that the books are always better than the movie!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Log Cabin Knitting
This project was done by dd#1. It had been on the needles for some time. But now it is finished and has been given as a birthday gift to a friend who wanted a small lap blanket for in the car. Gotta love winter!
She made it out of Simply Soft yarn. Needle size was 7's or 8's.
The pattern is from the Mason Dixon knitting book (the first one).
Saturday, January 10, 2009
4 Trees Cloth
This was some after Christmas knitting.
The pattern: 4 Trees Cloth
The pattern is called Tree Lot at the above link and it's way at the bottom of the page. I got the pattern from the Holiday Mystery Gifts group (2008)
The yarn: I Love This Cotton!
I did not really love this cotton. There was white fluff that I had to pick off every so often and it seemed fuzzy. Plus I really, really like the thinner cottons for cloths.
My ravelry page for this project.
---
Friday, January 09, 2009
A Precursor to the Mirror of Erised
I just finished reading Phantastes: A Faerie Romance by George MacDonald. It has been on my reading list for some time thanks to Dr. Veith and his book Reading Between the Lines. What got me motivated to read it though was finding (at a local bookstore) a bargain copy of The Princess and the Goblin (also by MacDonald) and reading that aloud to the kids. We are now half way through the sequel (The Princess and Curdie). I wanted more MacDonald for my own private reading time.
The copy of Phatastes that I checked out from the library has a wonderful forward by C.S. Lewis who states after reading this book that he "had crossed a great frontier". It was a turning point in his life.
Anyway...as I'm reading along I came upon a chapter that related a story from a library book in Faerie Land. This story tells of a mirror with curious carvings around the frame. As Cosmo looks into this mirror he sees his room reflected but also a lady who, when he turns away from the mirror, is not there. He sits many a night looking and longing for his beautiful lady.
This mirror reminded me (although it was not exact as this was an enchanted mirror that had trapped the lady) of the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter series.
Mirror of Erised (from the Harry Potter Lexicon)
A magnificent mirror, as high as a classroom ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. The inscription carved around the top reads "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," which is "I show not your face but your heart's desire" written backwards (that is, in what is called 'mirror writing'). When you look into the mirror, you see the deepest, most desperate desire of your heart. The mirror has trapped people who can't bear to stop staring into it, unsure if what they see is going to actually happen.
and from Dumbledore:
"Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."
---
Oh...I was going to add...Here is a link if you want to listen to the book at LibriVox. It isn't all the way finished however. But that is where I went to find out how to pronounce "Phantastes".
---
The copy of Phatastes that I checked out from the library has a wonderful forward by C.S. Lewis who states after reading this book that he "had crossed a great frontier". It was a turning point in his life.
Anyway...as I'm reading along I came upon a chapter that related a story from a library book in Faerie Land. This story tells of a mirror with curious carvings around the frame. As Cosmo looks into this mirror he sees his room reflected but also a lady who, when he turns away from the mirror, is not there. He sits many a night looking and longing for his beautiful lady.
"But as he gazed on the face and form, which now possessed his whole soul, to the exclusion of all other joys and griefs, the longing to speak to her, to know that she heard him, to hear from her one word in return, became so unendurable...." p.97-98
This mirror reminded me (although it was not exact as this was an enchanted mirror that had trapped the lady) of the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter series.
Mirror of Erised (from the Harry Potter Lexicon)
A magnificent mirror, as high as a classroom ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. The inscription carved around the top reads "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi," which is "I show not your face but your heart's desire" written backwards (that is, in what is called 'mirror writing'). When you look into the mirror, you see the deepest, most desperate desire of your heart. The mirror has trapped people who can't bear to stop staring into it, unsure if what they see is going to actually happen.
and from Dumbledore:
"Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."
---
Oh...I was going to add...Here is a link if you want to listen to the book at LibriVox. It isn't all the way finished however. But that is where I went to find out how to pronounce "Phantastes".
---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
