Gone With The Wind - The Book

Well, I finished it, all 1445 pages. I believe it's probably the longest book I've read. I have to say, I can see why this book is revered as an important piece of American literature. I have read Civil War period pieces before, but never from a Southern perspective. I throroughly enjoyed getting into the lives and heads of those characters in the book. I have to say that sometimes Scarlett is annoyingly selfish, but she does grow and change in the book. She meets her match in Rhett Butler, but is too blinded by her childhood crush to see it.

I loved this book even more than I loved the movie. I can see myself reading it over and over again, even knowing the ending. I loved the characters, well most of them....I was annoyed by Ashley, but that's another story. I loved the story line. I loved the history of the book. To read about the battles of Vicksburg, Gettysburg, etc. was facinating. Reading about the fall of Atlanta when General Sherman marched through was interesting as well.

This story starts out with Scarlett as a young Southern belle at the ripe old age of 16. All she has to worry about in life is how many boys she can string along. It ends with Scarlett at 28 going through marriages, widowhood, children, friends dying, being driven from her home, almost starving, and finding her way back up to be able to support herself and her family. Scarlett grows and changes in this book. She is not some romantic character who always does or thinks the right things. She is not very noble and does most things to meet her own ends, but you get a real view into the way we all are sometimes.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves literature and a great story. Excellent book!

So I'm Back...

We got back from Bear Lake on Saturday and we're relaxed now, at least for the time being. I also wanted to brag a little...I've already finished the last in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. It was such a good book! I won't give away anything here, but I was really pleased with the way the story was written.

In other news, Dan has three, hopefully four, job offers coming to him. Once we hear on the last one, he'll make his decision on which one he wants. :)

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely historical fiction, but the events that took place were not the fictional part. The motivations, because obviously the author cannot know for sure why each person did what they did, are the fictonal part. The story of the court of King Henry VIII is facinating. The whole world, the double standards, the morality, all of it is really interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to read a great historical fiction book based in fact. The other neat thing was that at the end of this book, in this edition, the author lists her sources and also has a Q&A session based on some of the factual things and fictional things she included in the book. I loved this book. It was really great.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I read this book in about a day...maybe a little less. I started it last night after I finished the other book I was reading. I really, really enjoyed it. I really truly hope that there is a sequel to this book. Stephenie Meyer is really an amazing storyteller. It was nice to see her get into more of an "adult" frame of mind with this book versus the Twilight series. I was sad to say goodbye to the characters when I finished the book. It was that good. I can always tell when I like a book because I read it really fast and I also am sad to see it end. Stephenie was on Good Things Utah on Friday. She mentioned that she isn't sure if there will be a sequel to this book, but if there is, she plans on it being a trilogy. She had already planned for the story to go on.

I loved that it was so easy to lose yourself in this world where people aren't who they seem to be, humans are more alien than they realize, and aliens can be more human than, well...humans. I love it when I can get lost in a book and really care about the characters and what happens to them. This was a wonderful science fiction book that stretches the imagination, but still keeps you grounded in reality. This world of aliens, hosts, and rebels could really exist. These characters have real personalities, feelings, strengths, and weaknesses. I loved everything about this book!

If you want to lose yourself for a little while, read this book. It's incredible.