Thursday, June 26, 2008

July 1st pick

I have enjoyed reading Anita Shreve before so I thought that Erin and I should read one of her books together. Plus, you know me, I love a good love story. It is about two people who keep meeting at odd points in their lives and how those encounters go and what they do when they meet again. It sounds like a long lost love story, but you never know with Anita Shreve.Is anyone else interested in reading along with us??

Sunday, June 22, 2008

On The Side


"On The Side" is all the books that Erin and I read on our own, in between our Oh! It's Only A Novel! picks.

The Pilot's Wife is a book that Erin had read a long time ago and I had heard good things about so I decided to read it. I have read Anita Shreve before and really liked her book, Fortune's Rocks, so I had high hopes for this book. Kathryn, the wife of the pilot, found out that her husband's plane had crashed and there were no survivor's. Jack was accused of suicide because it was a bomb that went off on the plane in the cockpit. Kathryn learns that Jack had a whole separate life apart from her and their daughter and it tore her apart. What she does to find out all she can about his other life and how she realizes that the man she thought she knew was not really who he was. The ending is not my favorite, it leaves you hanging. I was totally confused, what did it mean?? I don't like endings like that and it makes me think less of the book. I wonder why Oprah liked it so much??? Am I the only one who hates confusing endings???


OK, this book I had high hopes for because I have really liked all the books that I have read, so far, from Jodi Picoult. Erin turned me on to her and I am grateful because she really knows how to write a good and interesting story. But.....this book was just so unbelieveable. To much happens and all that does happen you think to yourself that there is no way that could really happen.

The first thing that gets you thinking this is that the mother who is an attorney takes a gun to court and shoots the alleged child abuser of her son. Who gets a gun into court??? Then you find out that it wasn't the right abuser, she had shot the wrong priest. It just all falls apart and there is just to much craziness. I was very disappointed with this book and even considered not finishing it, which is so not like me. Please do not waste your time on this Jodi Picoult book, she has many others that are really great stories, such as, My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes and Plain Truth, all of those I loved.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

From the Page to the Screen: Twilight

This is the first post for a new feature we have on Oh! It Is Only a Novel! called "From the Page to the Screen". So many books are made into movies now a days, some being adapting to the screen better than others. I know Darci likes to read the book before watching the movie, and as a general rule, I do too. I just never find the book as good if I have seen the movie first.

So what's the most anticipated new movie to be coming out soon? At least among the friends and family I have -- it's Twilight, the movie based on the book of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. It's being released on December 12, 2008. I personally can't wait to see how the movie turns out - seeing as I loved the book Twilight (it was my favorite out of the 3 so far in the series).

MTV has a thing they're doing called "Twilight Tuesday", with a new clip or interview with the cast every Tuesday leading up to the premier. It's a great place to go to see the latest news or watch an interview with a cast member.

Here's a few different things they've released so far about the movie:

The fist picture of the Cullen family:



The official Twilight teaser trailer (which I've watched no less than 20 times):



The first movie poster:



And a special sneak peak of the Cullen family crest, which wasn't something that appeared in the books, but has been created specially for the movies. They came up with the design of the crest, and then the different actors in the Cullen family got to choose how they wanted their character to carry the crest - some have it in a pendant, some in a ring, some in a bracelet. Read more about it here, on a website called Twilight Series News that has a ton of great articles and pictures gathered together.

crest


Is it December 12th yet?!!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Water for Elephants - review


This was a VERY different book for me. It was the first time that I can remember ever reading a book that was from a man's side. It is about how Jacob lost everything and didn't know what to do and how he ended up working in the circus. The circus is a harsh and crude world and I expected alot of that to come out in the book and it did. I did like that it was written when Jacob was in his 90's and how he was remembering the years he was in the circus and all the things that happened there that he has never told anyone about.

I felt really bad for Jacob because here he is in a nursing home and his children did not come and see him and they didn't seem like that even cared too. He hated being there and wished that he could be somewhere else. He would fall asleep and go back to the years he was in the circus and how he met his wife and all the obstacles that they had to overcome to be together. She was married when they met and had a CRAZY husband who eventually hit her and she said that was it and she was leaving him. I have to really admire that because so many women do not leave when their husbands hit them, I sure would!!!

I really liked the ending, I thought that it was just the perfect thing that he met up with the owner of the circus that was going on next to his nursing home and that man let him stay on and sell tickets. Jacob was meant to be at the circus and to get out of the nursing home and spend his last days somewhere where he wants.

This isn't a book that I would read again, but it was different and interesting all the same. What did you think of it??

Friday, June 13, 2008

Can't Wait.


Give me a good romance any day. I love a good romance that is purely romance, where as Erin likes a book that has more in it than romance, that is why we started this book club so that I will venture out and read new things. Lisa Kleypas and Nora Roberts are the 2 writers that I love, if there is a book coming out I immediately go and buy it and devour it. Lisa Kleypas novels are ones that you fall in love with the hero and you think that she can never write a better one, but then you get her new book and you are proven wrong. We met Win and Merripen in a previous novel, Mine Until Midnight, and I can't wait to see how they get together. What is Merripen's secret that stops him from letting Win know how he feels??? I can't wait to get the answers, but I will have to until September 30.



I can't wait until August 2nd! We will finally get the concluding book from the Twilight series. Will Bella become a Vampire??? Does she end up with Jacob or Edward?? ( It better be Edward ) Will it be as good as we are all hoping it to be?? If you are a fan of the Twilight series, there is a great website with previews for the movie, here.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

June 15th book pick


For my pick this month I choose Mad River Road by Joy Fielding. Darc and I haven't read any mystery books together yet and I think we both like the genre. I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for a while now and I can't wait to start it. Who's going to read it with us?