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    Friday, May 15, 2009

    Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

    I posted this review on www.goodreads.com It really isn't a review it is more of an open letter to Stephenie Meyer and to authors in general. Readers understand the way a story grows and matures. Ayn Rand spoke of this when she talked about coming back to her books after gaining a better command of English and better skill as an author and 'tightening' them up. She didn't change to basic story but she did improve the telling of it. Stephenie is angered by the fact that the draft leaked, and has every right to be, but no story is every really done. Readers understand that it's a process. I have lost the source on this but J.K. Rowling stated that she wished that she had included some 'good' Slytherins to make the stories more believable. People grow as authors and I certainly hope that Mrs. Meyers initial flare-up of anger and hurt over what happened will eventually grow to a refining fire that will allow her to see the reality that most of the people who scrambled for the draft were merely enthusiastic and not thieves. I for one would buy the book (or at least legitimately check it out from the library) to read the finished draft. While technically violating copyright the dispensing of her draft was not done for the basic reason of subverting her ability to make money but I honestly believe it was done out of a deep desire to see the growth of the story.

    You can read Stephenie Meyer's response to this situation here.

    Midnight Sun (Twilight, #5) (partial draft) Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer


    My review


    Dear Stephenie,



    First I want to express my sincerest condolences for the violation of your rights as a person, creator, and author. The leaking of your work before you were ready was clearly painful.



    Having said that, I fervently hope that you complete this book. Some of the comments indicate that what most bothers you is that the story was not complete, not polished, not done. That is the nature of storytelling. When our stories were oral traditions each telling must have been embellished, altered for the audience, improved, and renewed with each telling. I know for myself as I tell stories that is how I do it.



    We readers for the most part understand that the draft is still a draft, it is juvenile in it's lifespan (not necessarily in it's content) but clearly your readership craves for this story. I genuinely hope that you won't let the changing nature of our world, discourage you from finishing the story. There was a time when an artist could control their work until the time they were ready to unveil it in full glory, but so often now, the draft, the unfinished, the unpolished becomes available to the masses before the creator is prepared for it. Rather than spurn this, I hope you can see it in you to embrace it. We readers love both the process of watching you work and the final project.



    I am sorry I won't be able honoring your wish that no one read this draft, unless you can confirm that you will one day return to it and finish nurturing it to adulthood. I want to hear the story, I want to see it grow and to see you grow as an author. I value the story too much to want you to abandon it. Please, for your readers pick this back up!


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    p.s. After writing the review, and then this post I went to look for a way to send Stephenie Meyer the actual letter. Blearrgh NO CONTACT AVAILABLE. Nothing, Nada, zip. So if anyone actually reads this post and agrees with me, I would love a comment, (if you don't agree with me feel free to comment too) But if you agree with me please tweet this post, re-blog it, or link to it Hopefully with enough upswell from fans she will hear about it and finish the book!

    Thursday, May 14, 2009

    New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

    New Moon (Twilight, #2) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer


    My review


    rating: 3 of 5 stars
    After finishing Twilight I of course had to immediately start the next book. My strategy for waiting until a series is done before reading it has again stood me in good stead. I have been able to finish the series in a two weeks without having to wait anxiously for the next episode (Which I had to do with both The Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson Series) I am glad I did it that way.



    I am also glad I read the series. And not just the get in touch with the 13 year old girl side of myself. After teaching Junior High for 10 years I can honestly say I get why these appealed to that demographic. I watched the young ladies in may class devour these books like vampires on O Positive.



    Well, my take on these comes from the perspective of having finished the series which gives me a chance to both criticize and compliment. While I was reading these books I was disgusted with two things. First, to some extent this book was just Twilight all over again, I mean after Edward made himself scarce this was all about the wounded Bella finding herself again with her new love Jacob. He was her new monster. It really felt like that, and the part of this that bugged me was her disloyalty to the memory of Edward. One part of Edward's departure that I found clever was the chapters that were blank (at least in the Kindle version) Bella's constant sorrow over Edward prevented her from devoting herself to Jacob. Her need for Jacob drove her to be with him constantly. It made for painful reading. Partly, I guess for me, was that I really value devotion and loyalty. On the other hand Bella's internal conflict was a central part of the story and the next book as well. The second criticism was the extreme fragility of Bella, I can see from the perspective of having finished the series how important that fragility is, but from my perspective as a male, I didn't find it appealing and it was very hard to relate to Edwards devotion to such a weak submissive girl. Again, maybe that's my bias and my perspective.



    The compliments, which anyone who reads my blog might really relate to are about the foreshadowing and literary devices. First foreshadowing. without giving too much away, the relationship and devotion between Bella and Jacob was painful to read, but placed their relationship in a context that made the progression of this relationship in later books much more believable (and first more then less painful) The second was the literary device she used. Juxtaposition of the way that Bella was forced to compare fire and ice. Edward she loved for all the he embodied: Control, safety, protection, security represented by cold. Jacob with his fiery body represented: thrill, excitement, passion and uninhibited behavior.



    Great book, although I had challenges with it, which is why I give it 3 our of 5 stars rather than more.




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    Monday, May 11, 2009

    Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

    Twilight (Twilight, Book 1) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer


    My review


    rating: 4 of 5 stars
    This book has been touted as the best supernatural romance for teens....possibly ever. It has inspired dozens (potentially hundreds) of imitators. It certainly isn't the first story of its kind. In reality there is in my mind a striking similarity between this book and Dracula. Dracula was the story of the evil vampire bent on the destruction of both the lives and virtue of two Victoria Women. One theme that ran through the novel though was the the very real obsession that Mina Harker felt toward Dracula. She knew he was bad for her and would destroy her but she couldn't turn away from him. With that as a background it could be argued that Twilight is really Dracula from Mina's perspective. Although Edward is arguably less vicious than the evil Count of Transylvania.



    Additional to the homage to Dracula there was a unique tension throughout the book. Edward first avoided Bella because he recognized his great desire for her. A desire that while couched in terms of his desire for her blood, could certainly be read as a subtle substitution for his sexual desire for her. He tries to avoid her to avoid corrupting himself. All through the books this them comes back. Bella would be more than happy to give in to her desire for Edward, both intimately and by allowing him to turn her into the vampire. Edward is the one who refuses to fall, refuses to give in to the desire to harm her. This substitution of sexual desire for his desire for her blood was in evidence in the evening conversations between Bella and Edward where you could easily replace any normal boy who doesn't want to allow himself to go to far with a girl. Edward's internal but verbalized dialogue about barely being able to control himself is a dialogue easily imagined between two teens who both want to become intimate and know that they aren't ready for it.



    The detail with which Stephenie Meyer describes this dynamic in a teen relationship is truly astounding.



    You may notice that I recommend this to LDS Readers, that is because the author is LDS and from a trivia/interest standpoint it is fun to read authors with our same background. If you are not LDS don't let that cause you to be shy. This book has no overt (or even subtle) LDS doctrine or perspectives in it other than an aversion to depictions of intimacy before marriage and an aversion to wanton murder.


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    Monday, May 4, 2009

    Kindle on my iPod



    I have been very reluctant to take a $359.00 chunk out of my pocket to get a Kindle. despite the fact that I absolutely love the idea of having a whole library in my hands. I have used multiple other eBook formats on both a computer and handheld devices. My first PalmPilot had decent resources for eBooks. My first Windows Mobile with Microsoft's Reader was my favorite for years. Mainly because I was able to have the same books on my mobile device and on my desktop/laptop.

    The Kindle was touted as the iPod for readers, and it is undeniably doing well. I simply haven't been able to justify buying another dedicated device. So I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks back when the Kindle App for the iPod Touch and iPhone was launched. I downloaded it immediately but waited until I had finished a couple of paper and ink books before downloading my first book. I am a bit behind the times, but I bought Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.

    The app worked very well. As soon as I had purchased it and opened the App on my iPod it downloaded in seconds. I was able to send the book to another device too with no trouble at all. Activating and Deactivating devices is all done on Amazon.com. Books must be purchased there too. That is one place the Kindle Hardware beats out the iPod app. My two biggest challenges with it were:
    • Battery Life- When I started reading, I was on a bus with Wi-Fi access, and listening to music. The Kindle App allows these process to continue in the background and Whispersync keeps your book 'synced' while online. But this ate up my battery life. It took me a few days of reading to figure it out, but while sitting at home yesterday, I turned off the music, and shut off the Wi-Fi and read for 4 hours without putting to much of a dent in the battery. Half that time with music and Wi-Fi was enough to completely eat through the battery
    • Navigating- Turning pages is about as intuitive as it gets. Easier by some counts than the awkwardly placed buttons on the Kindle Hardware, but I found myself hitting the home button to try and get the navigation tools to open. There was something almost too clean about the reading frame. A simple info button like so many other apps have would have been useful, but I think it would detract from the clean look Amazon was obviously going for.
    Considering the two faults I had with the App, I realize they are both user issues that just require me to relearn a little. I would definitely give this app two thumbs up.

    Tracking Trash

    Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion (Scientists in the Field) Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Griffin Burns


    My review


    rating: 5 of 5 stars
    I read this for a book club at the Junior High I taught at. It was a fabulous example of the narrative of science. Science isn't just a collection of facts and answers it is a rich story of people and events and changes. This book illustrates that beautifully, by telling the story of the Giant Garbage Patch. A place in the ocean where much of the pollution collects due to the prevailing ocean currents



    The book details the stories of the people involved in discovering this and potential solutions to the problems that result. It teaches the facts of the case through a well developed story and history of the discovery of this unique phenomenon.

    If you want to know more about this phenomenon before you read it check out the TED talk by Capt. Moore the man who first discovered it:





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    Friday, May 1, 2009

    FableHaven: Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary (From Goodreads)

    Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Book 4) Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull


    My review


    rating: 4 of 5 stars
    Ok, so I had to re-read Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague before I started it and just as finished I found out my son had left it in his desk which had me waiting a whole weekend to get started.

    The wait didn't slow me down much though, I finished it in 3 days, and that was reading only on the bus to and from work.



    The book was well done, it moved Seth more fully into a participating part of the group and showed him taking on a much more mature role. He is genuinely analyzing why he does things and considering right and wrong. Seth also moves to the forefront by gaining some new skills. Skills that put him on par with Kendra, and together they gain even more skills.



    There were disappointments to the book. One of the biggest was the betrayal in this book. Kendra, Seth and the rest of the Knights seem to have to regularly deal with betrayal and this book isn't an exception. The betrayal was big and a bit of a shock, but more disappointing was the almost flippant resolution. You'll recognize it when you see it. The resolution was so simple in fact that I wonder if it was misleading and that more will be forthcoming.


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