One Mouthy Broad

So I read Twilight - or rather I read 224 pages of it before getting bored and putting the book down. It was bad, but not in the way that I expected.

I admit that I had a lot of preconceived notions about this book. I thought for sure that while 33 year old Pris was going to hate it (especially since I hate vampires), inner 13 year old Pris was going to think it was full of sparklicious awesomesauce. But as I read, inner Pris13 kept telling me that this book sucked ass, while Pris33 thought that while it was definitely bad, it could have been salvaged if Stephanie Meyer had done a few things.

( Cut for Twilight spoilers - which probably aren't spoilers to anyone since I must be one of the last people to read this book. )

Has anyone else been following the Cassie Edwards vs. Smart Bitches plagiarism smackdown over on Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books?

( Cut for plagiarism and author shannagains that's setting the online romance writers community on fire. )

Spoilery thoughts on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I have to say that overall I enjoyed this book. Honestly I think the series took kind of a down turn after the fourth book in quality (although overall still entertaining to read). Still, it was cool to see the resolution of JK Rowling’s vision of her universe.

( Read more... )

Why does every vampire in every damn book have to:

1) Be insanely hot
2) Own a goddamn nightclub
3) Be a sexual tyrannosaurus
4) Be conflicted and overly emotional

I mean, where the hell are the fat, balding, middle aged car salesmans that got made into a vampires? Or the granny vampires (which would rule so much)? Why is every single one a super hot stud muffin with no chest hair, chiseled features and piercing eyes?

You think that they could branch out in professions too. Where the hell are corporate vampires and political vampires or the redneck vampires that want to watch football and drive their pickup trucks around while drinking a six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon?

Why does almost every author write the same goddamn thing?

I'm getting so bored with this cliché that I actively avoid any book in it with a vampire now. Unfortunately I broke this rule the other day when I picked up Nora Robert's new book Morrigan's Cross at the airport before jumping on the plane (yes - I read romance novels on rare occasions and Nora Roberts is a decent, albeit rather repetitive, author) and I'm regretting it now.

Serves me right.

Since I seem to be stuck in a reading rut, I thought I'd ask you all to recommend some books for me. At the moment, I'm having a rather difficult time finding books that look interesting enough to bother reading. I'm right in the middle of reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett and The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold, and while I love both of these authors to death (Bujold is one of my all time favorites for her Vorkosigan series), these two particular books aren't doing a hell of a lot for me. I'm kind of stalled out reading them (I've taken to re-reading both the Dresdon Files books and the Miles Vorkosigan books instead of finishing them), but every time I go to the bookstore and browse I can't seem to find anything that captures my attention.

So I'm turning to you all for help. Recommend a couple of books for me (and when you do so, tell me why you like the book). I'm pretty open to any genre or style, although I do admit that while I'm a sucker for a good romance, I detest 99% of romance novels out there. I also am not a big fan of most fantasy books (because seriously, if it has hot elves in it, I instantly tune out), but have enjoyed the occasional fantasy novel. Non fiction is also fair game, even though I tend not to read much, but I suspect that there are some seriously interesting books out there. Comic books are also fair game as well, although I like to read things in the trade paperback format and finished story arcs.

I very much like books that are *different* from the norm, or take an old, worn out idea and do something new with it.