Quote of the Day - The Host

Hello.


Quote of the day: “That's not true at all,” he disagreed. “It's not the face, but the expressions on it. It's not the voice, but what you say. It's not how you look in that body, but the things you do with it. You are beautiful."

I love this quote from The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It is one of my favorite books and this quote said by Ian, a human, to Wanda, a soul, is so just beautiful and makes me smile every time I read it. I love Ian, he is my favorite character and if I got to choose a man out of a book to marry, honestly I would choose him. He is by far my favorite ever. He is kind, sweet, and is head over heels in love with Wanda, and will do anything to protect her.  Also, I prefer The Host to Twilight, just because of the fact that the characters seem much more realistic, despite that the story is so out there. I forget where I heard the phrase, but someone described it as "the science fiction story for the people who hat science fiction" and I think that this is a ver accurate description.

Quick Summary: I honestly have no idea how to sum up this story so I am going to quote the inside cover: "Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity had succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining 'wild' humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading 'soul' who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man she loves -Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain journey to find the man they both love. "

The Host is one of my favorite books of all time, it just warms my heart thinking about it. While reading it, I laughed, cried, smiled, and at times, almost threw the book across the room. I have a soft spot in my literary heart for both Melanie and Wanda, they are both extremely different and in the end, have different hearts. All of the characters from Walter, Ian, Kyle, Jamie, Jared, Jeb, Melanie and Wanda, they each have their own personality that adds funny twists and happy times, as well as the sad times. I thikn this book really shows the relationships between people are the only thing that ends up mattering. The whole world seems to be coming down around them, and because they have each other, everything is better. 
Another thing I love is the preface, its a poem called Question by Mary Swenson.

Question

Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen

Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt

Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead

How will it be
to lie in the sky
without roof or door
and wind for an eye

With cloud for shift
how will I hide?

Personally I think that this poem fits the book really well. I give this book a four star. I love story and the character, but the writing style is not my favorite.

Also, a song that reminds me of this book is Home by Vanessa Carlton. I think it's a beautiful song and I also think that the part where it says "With you I am home" is perfect for this book.

xoxo.
Miss Reader

Quote of the Day - Fly me to the Moon

Hello.

New Idea: Everyday I will post a quote from a favorite book,  from a book I am currently reading or a quote from someone in my life. I like to write down quotes that I find amusing, or inspirational.

So quote of the day is: "Even though there were no shortage of hotties in Manhattan, finding an age-approptiate, unmarried hottie with a good job was like getting a really great gift-with-purchase--they were only available while supplies lasted. Where as finding an unmarried, age-appropriate hottie with a good job who wasn't afraid to commit would be like locating the Holy Grail--we've all heard it exists, though we've yet to see it for ourselves." -Alyson Noel, "Fly Me to the Moon

When I read this part of the book I laughed out loud. It just warmed my heart to know that I am not the only one searching for the perfect man, and am not the only one who is not able to find him. I would give this book three stars, because it is not a terrible dense book, but the overall story has a nice plot, and quotes like this throughout the book give it a nice warm, comic feel.

Quick Summary: Flight attendant Hailey Lane is happy to be home early to see her boyfriend on her birthday, and at her apartment a surprise awaits her, one that she does not welcome. With a broken heart, she sets out onto a world wide trip, with the help of free flight passes and long layovers in beautiful places, she begins to see the world and all it has to offer her.

I thought this was a nice light funny beach read that warms the heart, and reminds us that heart break isn't always as bad as it seems and that the world is full with possibilities for each and everyone of us, we just have to take a leap of faith and hope that we find what we are looking for.

xoxo
Miss Reader

Back When You Were Easier to Love

Hello.

Back When You Were Easier To Love  by Emily Wing Smith, is a very sweet romantic book. I love the way Noah is always there for the main character, Joy, and she doesn't even really see it.

Summary: Joy is obsessed with her "boyfriend" who suddenly left with barley a goodbye to her or to anyone else. She thinks that she can't live without him and is determined to go to Pitzer, the college where Zan now goes. Apparently before Zan left, he told Noah, his best friend, to "befriend" Joy. He tries to do this, but Joy is standoffish, and wants no part in it. Then, she has an idea. Why not take Noah with her on her journey? This is exactly what she does. They make a journey to Pitzer, and Joy discovers not only who she is, but who she truly loves.

I think that this is a really sweet, just happy book. I closed the book with a smile on my face. The way the book is written is also a nice change of pace. The chapters are short with little sassy titles. They span from the current times to the past, and Joy shares enough information that the stories of the past are worthwhile, but they are kept short, so your eyes never waver from the page. Noah Talbot is the sweetest most generous boy alive. I saw what he was feeling from the beginning of our journey, and it was a delight to see how the heroine grappled with him, Zan, and their journey, all the while unconsciously finding herself.

I give this book four stars. It was a light read, but extraordinarily delightful, and Noah is definitely one of my book boyfriends (boys in books who I wish would miraculously jump off the page and become my boyfriend.)

My favorite quote of the whole book was "He looks all expectant, eager-to-please, and I know now's the time I could ask him to go on a tour of every public restroom in the vicinity and he'd do it, no questions asked."

The song that this book reminded me of was a song called "It's a Miracle" by Barry Manilow. Joy has an obsession with Barry Manilow in the book, and I thought that this song would be extremely appropriate and I like the song in general.

xoxo.
Miss Reader

Prom and Prejudice

Hello.

This weekend I read Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg, and I think that it is a fairly good book. I probably would give it a three star.

Summary: Prom and Prejudice is a retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Lizzie Bennet is one of the two scholarship students at Longbourn Academy, an all girls school in New York. Prom season is starting and all of the girls are trying to get a date with one of the boys from Longbourn's brother school Pemberley. Jane is Lizzie's room mate and Charles is Jane's sort of boyfriend. Darcy is Charles friend, and slowly he falls in love with Lizzie, except that she doesn't want anything to do with him. There is an interesting twist, Lizzie loves to play the piano, and that is one of her saving graces it seems.

I think that this is a good retelling of Pride and Prejudice, although I think it was a little short and lacked description. Everything went by so quickly that sometimes despite the very straightforward writing style, was sometimes confusing.

I really enjoyed the characters and thought that they were amusing. I think it is an interesting twist how Wick is turned completely into a bad guy, he is the antagonist in the story. I didn't really expect that.

I would peg this as a good summer-beach read. Three stars.

xoxo.
Miss Reader