Three Down One to Go

I didn't like this one as much as New Moon. I didn't think the writing was as beautiful. The story line seemed like another version of the first book. Bella loves Edward, Edward's overprotective (kind of stalkerish), Vampires come after Bella, Edward saves Bella. Pretty much the exact same plot, just recycled. I feel like the only time Bella is truly herself is when she is with Jacob, and maybe Alice. When she's with Edward she's just a damsel in distress, waiting for her prince to save her. Like she has no existence without him. YUCK!!! It's just too much for me.

Plus, I'm a firm believer that your best friends should be the person you love and want to spend your life with. One more reason I'm a Jacob fan. No matter how much she loves Edward, she'll never admit he is her best friend and not Jacob. So you can imagine how excited I was when Jacob kissed her the first time. I shrieked. Even though Bella's instinct is to punch him. I loved it. And then I loved their second kiss ever more. I loved that Bella saw her life with him, with beautiful dark skinned babies. And I just can't imagine she'd pick life as a Vampire with Edward over a human life with her best friend.

I'm anxious to see how the series ends. But after reading 1,2500 pages of these books in less than a week, I think I need a break. I've been missing One Hundred Years of Solitude. So I'll have to go back and finish that before I wrap up this series.

One last thought. In the first book I liked the chase with James a lot better than the first 400 pages of character development, but in these last two books I've liked the character development better than the Vampire/Werewolf action. I think it's just another testament to the fact that Bella actually has a character when she is with Jacob, with Edward her character is so flat and it just bores me. But I was glad to see the Cullen's and the pack fight together. Saw it coming, but was still thrilled.

And gees, what about all the sexual frustration!?!? Another reason her 2nd kiss with Jake was so great, no worries he'd kill her. The way a kiss should be. No inhibitions.

Crap, now I'm hooked.

I wasn't sure if I was going to read the rest of the series after I finished the first one. But I already had this on my library wait list, so I picked it up Monday around noon and finished it around 11:00pm. I am officially hooked. The plot went places I totally didn't expect. I thought it would probably be a lot like the first one, cause I've heard Harry Potter is that way. But I was surprised by how different this book was. It was SO MUCH BETTER! And now I have to finish the series. Hopefully by the end of this week.

I love Bella's friendship with Jacob. I think if I were her I'd have to pick him. I feel like it's passion and romance v pleasure and friendship. And I would have to choose the later. I like that a good half of the book is pretty "normal." No werewolves or vampires. I hate how she treats Jacob at the end. I can't believe he would put up with it. But I guess we've probably all been in that kind of relationship before - so in love you put yourself through hell for the other person.

I felt like this book was much better written as well. I noticed some metaphors. Obvious ones like the comparison to Romeo and Juliet. I liked that this was an extended metaphor, present throughout the whole novel. But there were even smaller, more simple metaphors that just added to the writing. But I will admit I still have the tendency to only read the quotes. I don't know what it is about her descriptions of setting and Bella's thoughts that just turns me away.

Oh, one thing that really bugged me. Bella noticed Carlisle's car at her house, but Alice flew there. I can't believe Meyer or any of her editors didn't notice that. Especially since both the car and the flight were mentioned several times. One or the other people! She couldn't both fly and drive.

Life of Pi

It took me a while to finish this one. The argument for zoos at the beginning of the novel really drew me in. I found the narrator to be very thought provoking and reliable. The idea of living at sea with a 450 pound Bengal tiger wasn't hard for me to believe. Because I trusted the narrator. But then he goes blind, bumps into a french man in the middle of the Pacific and later finds a floating algae island. These two events turned the narrator into a very unreliable fellow. So I'm not surprised the two investigators at the end also find his story of survival hard to believe. I guess that's what makes it such a great work of fiction.

Interesting themes were the role of religion in Pi's life. I especially liked when the leaders of his three studied religions (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) all told him he couldn't believe in all three. That he had to pick. Even then, Pi didn't choose one. And interesting that Pi is infinite (mathematically speaking) himself. But I didn't really get the "And so it is with God" quote at the end, when the two investigators tell him they like the story with animals better. I really doubt that the other story is what actually happened, and wouldn't have even thought that plausible if it weren't for the reading guide questions.

Overall I liked it, even though it took me a long time to get through. I don't think I'll ever bother to read it again. But I'd recommend it to some adolescent boy. Or a real serious fiction/adventure book lover.