Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Meh.

I read Twilight because it was picked for this month's book club, though I've been thinking of picking it up for a while now anyway. I enjoy young adult novels in general, and I love vampires, so I expected to love this. And I didn't. I'm so disappointed. Three-quarters of it was boring, just the two of them (mostly Bella since it was from her perspective) pining over each other. That's it. I hate romance novels, and that's basically all this was - a Harlequin romance novel without all the sex. Blech.

It's also poorly written. Very poorly written. And there is no real character development. Bella is beyond annoying, and all she does is pine after Edward. That's it.

I did somewhat enjoy the parts where we finally find out how the vampire thing works, and the parts where Edward's family came into play. I sort of liked the last part where things were actually happening. So it wasn't a total loss, and I didn't loathe it or anything like that, but... I was disappointed.

Not recommended. I'll skip the sequels and also the movie unless it gets fabulous reviews (based on the limited previews I've seen, though, it looks pretty bad).

This review from Amazon is pretty much a perfect reflection of my thoughts on the book: Click Me.

Just added!: For highly entertaining chapter synopses. I suggest To Try a New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer.
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Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver

Meh. I had high expectation for Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life since I'm a fan of eating locally (even if I don't consistently apply what I support...). The book, however, really wasn't all that interesting of a read. Also, she seems to be seriously naive about her approach being able to support our current global population. Like I said, I'm a fan of the approach, but I recognize it as a luxury of my high socioeconomic status and national residence.
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Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is pretty good. I'm not a huge Steve Martin fan, but I'd heard his autobiography was actually quite interesting, so I decided to read it. It did not disappoint; it was actually fairly interesting to see his persistence that lead to his rise to fame. He worked hard to get where he is.

Highly recommended if you're a Steve Martin fan. Moderately recommended if you're not a Steve Martin fan but find autobiographies or performing arts interesting.
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Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born by Tina Cassidy

Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born is fabulous. I found it fascinating. The author discusses the history of approaches to (and consequences of) childbirth over the ages. She focuses primarily on the Western world, though some non-Western cultures get minimal treatment.
Highly recommended.
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