MzSerena’s Garden

15 years ago, I was graduating from high school. It’s hard to believe that it’s been that long, but it has. My nephew graduates from high school tomorrow. I’m proud of him for sticking it out and graduating when so many teenagers are dropping out. Friend of the family’s daughter also graduated this weekend. I’m glad she finished school, I wasn’t sure she would, honestly.

Today was busy, but not really. It’s kind of odd, but I slept til 1pm, so it was a short day, which makes it seem busy. I couldn’t sleep worth a crap last night, so hopefully tonight is better. Too bad the only thing on television at 4am are infomercials or advertisements for Mesothelioma lawyers. I don’t understand that one, though. Is Mesothelioma really that big now? I know someone who died from it, but that’s the only case I’d ever heard of.

If you read crime thrillers – check out Lisa Gardner’s The Neighbor. It’s absolutely fantastic. I like Grisham for crime/law thrillers, but typically I don’t get into other authors. I got this one for review and absolutely LOVED it. I’ll share my review once it’s published.

Death, a sardonic and articulate character who is afraid of humans, narrates this WWII coming-of-age story about faith, love, hope amidst tragedy.

Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands.

The child arrives having just stolen her first book –- although she has not yet learned how to read -– and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when she’s roused by regular nightmares about her younger brother’s death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayor’s reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents.

Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesel’s story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.

A conversation that pissed me off…

HER …twilight is horridly written
HER i read the first few chapters
ME big fucking whoop, you read the first few chapters.
ME I read the whole series.
ME If you don’t like it, fine, but don’t sit there and talk shit about something you have not read.
HER well we are about to talk shit though the whole movie =P
HER but the writing was just awful =P
HER so i gave it back to the community =P
HER i read stuff that has…literary…well, at least acceptability
HER but who knows, i could like the movie
HER i have not yet seen it, though i have inbibed a fair bit
ME What you like and what others like are two different fucking things. You do not need to sit and talk crap about the writing of a book you did not finish reading. You didn’t like it, fine. End of discussion.
ME I’ve had about enough of people talking out their asses about things they know nothing about. If you can’t bother to read the entire thing, you know absolutely nothing about it.
HER oh Bella`, i am not saying you have horrid taste, just that yours seems to be different from me and my friends
ME It may not be the best book out there, but goddamnit, it gets people to READ and that’s FAR more important than the ‘great literary quality’
HER after the movie i would be more than happy to give you my opinion
ME Don’t bother, I don’t want to hear it.
HER if you say so
HER i assume you have nto read WIlliam Gibson?
HER though i may be wrong in that assumption
ME Nice assumption. You should assume absolutely nothing.
HER fair enough.

Why on earth would you assume that I’ve not read William Gibson? I don’t understand. I realize that Twilight is not of the writing caliber of William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, but come on, who sits and reads them for fun? Oh wait, I do. Have I read William Gibson? Sure have. I read Neuromancer ages ago. Wasn’t my cup of tea, frankly. I don’t care if others loved it, that’s their choice and I’m not going to diss them for it. Everyone has a right to read whatever they want. I read what I want, that’s my choice.

If you look at my Goodreads account, you’ll find that I’ve read quite a few different things in my lifetime. Do I like fluff? Sure, who doesn’t. I also like books that get people off the computer and into the pages of a book. So what if they’re fluff, they’re well-read fluff! Wouldn’t you rather have people reading something like Twilight than have them only ever read an automotive performance parts catalog? I know that if I were a parent, I’d want my kids reading books, any kind of books that capture their attention and imagination.

But that’s just me.

One thing that I found interesting about the Southern Vampire books by Charlaine Harris is that there was a bridal shower that followed the absolute norm. You would think that in a series of books that features vampires, they would have different things as gifts instead of honeymoon lingerie and appliances.

Sure, the bridal shower was for a girl who had nothing to do with the vampires, but an author as creative as Charlaine Harris is, couldn’t she have come up with something a little bit different as gift ideas. Perhaps it’s because it’s set in the South where things are still a bit more traditional. I just expected something a little bit different.

Also…
New Anita in June
New Sookie in May
New Betsy in June

I kind of need to find a few new series to get hooked on since there are no more Twilight or Harry Potter.

Laurell K Hamilton – A Lick of Frost (Meredith Gentry 6)

I am Meredith Gentry, princess and heir apparent to the throne in the realm of faerie, onetime private investigator in the mortal world. To be crowned queen, I must first continue the royal bloodline and give birth to an heir of my own. If I fail, my aunt, Queen Andais, will be free to do what she most desires: install her twisted son, Cel, as monarch . . . and kill me.

My royal guards surround me, and my best loved–my Darkness and my Killing Frost–are always beside me, sworn to protect and make love to me. But still the threat grows greater. For despite all my carnal efforts, I remain childless, while the machinations of my sinister, sadistic Queen and her confederates remain tireless. So my bodyguards and I have slipped back into Los Angeles, hoping to outrun the gathering shadows of court intrigue. But even exile isn’t enough to escape the grasp of those with dark designs.

Now King Taranis, powerful and vainglorious ruler of faerie’s Seelie Court, has leveled accusations against my noble guards of a heinous crime–and has gone so far as to ask the mortal authorities to prosecute. If he succeeds, my men face extradition to faerie and the hideous penalties that await them there. But I know that Taranis’s charges are baseless, and I sense that his true target is me. He tried to kill me when I was a child. Now I fear his intentions are far more terrifying.

Ann Brashares – Forever In Blue – 4th Summer of the Sisterhood

Ann Brashares has created a wonderful, heartfelt series for teens (and adults) around a pair of pants. In her breakout bestseller, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Brashares introduced readers to four girls, Lena, Bridget, Carmen, and Tibby, and to the magical pair of jeans that fit them all perfectly, and inspired them to live their young lives to the fullest. Forever in Blue, the fourth and final novel in the series, promises a dazzling finale–one “last glorious summer” for the four girls, and their fans. See a note from author Ann Brashares, below.–Daphne Durham

A Note from Ann Brashares
December 1, 2006

Dear Amazon Reader,

Well, here we are together again. If you are getting ready to read the fourth book, Forever in Blue, that means we’ve probably spent some time together. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I know I have.

We don’t know each other and we may never get to meet, but I feel like we are connected nonetheless. We’ve spent time with four fictional girls together. We’ve puzzled over their lives and their choices. We’ve rooted for them and sometimes felt annoyed by them. We’ve shared some hopes for them, I think, and in the process for ourselves.

So thank you for being part of the sisterhood with me. I have really appreciated your company along the way.

Happy reading,
Ann

Nora Roberts – Dance Upon The Air (Three Sisters Island trilogy #1)

When Nell Channing arrives on charming Three Sister Island, she believes that she’s finally found a refuge from her abusive husband – and from the terrifying life she fled so desperately eight months ago…

But even in this quiet, peaceful place, Nell never feels entirely at ease. Careful to conceal her true identity, she takes a job as a cook at the local bookstore cafe – and begins to explore her feelings for the island sheriff, Zack Todd. But there is a part of herself she can never reveal to him, for she must continue to guard her secrets if she wants to keep her past at bay. One careless word, one misplaced confidence, and the new life she’s so carefully created could shatter completely.

Just as Nell starts to wonder if she’ll ever be able to break free of her fear, she realizes that the island suffers under a terrible curse – one that can only be broken by the descendants of the Three Sisters, the witches who settled the island back in 1692. And now, with the help of two other strong, gifted women – and the nightmares of the past haunting her every step – she must find the power to save her home, her love…and herself…

Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mystery Book 3)

“hey know how to make a great cocktai in Club Dead – a twist of lemon, a dash of pepper and a shot of Blood Group O.
There’s only one vampire Sookie Stackhouse is involved with (at least voluntarily) and that’s Bill. But recently he’s been kind of distant – like in another state distant. Bill’s sinister and sexy boss Eric has an idea where to find him, which is why Sookie ends up in Jackson, Mississippi, mingling with the under-underworld at Club Dead. It’s a dangerous little haunt where the elitist vamps can go chill and chow on some prime flesh. But when Sookie finally finds Bill – caught in an act of serious betrayal – she’s not sure whether to save him, or sharpen some stakes.

Charlaine Harris – Living Dead In Dallas (Southern Vampires Mystery Book 2)

Waiting tables, sweeping floors, reading minds and solving mysteries for the undead. It’s all in a day’s work for Sookie…
Cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse is on a streak of real bad luck. First, her co-worker gets murdered and no one seems to care. Then Sookie is attacked – and poisoned – late one night by some weird and apparently mythical beast. She only survives because the local vampires roll up and graciously suck the poison from her veins (like they didn’t enjoy it). But in return the blood-suckers need a favour.
Which is why Sookie ends up in Dallas, using her telepathic skills to search for a missing vampire, on the condition that her undead friends don’t do anything, well, vampiric while she’s there. Easier said than done. All it takes is one delicious blonde and one small mistake for things to turn deadly…

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416212/]

Lily Owens( Dakota Fanning) is a young girl who lives on a peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen(Jennifer Hudson) is a black woman hired by Lily’s father to be a stand in mother for Lilly (Her real mother died in a horrendous accident that happened when she was a toddler). but when Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town, Lily is forced to take Rosaleen and run away to a town Lily believer her mother once lived. She believes she is looking for someone who knew her mother and then finds out the picture is a jar label. They find the lady who makes the honey from the label and a host of new people enter their lives. August( Queen Latifa) is the lady in the picture and her two sisters run the farm and offer them refuge.Once living on the farm Lily learns to make honey and many lessons about life as she also learns what it is like to have a real family.

Purchase the Book: The Secret Life of Bees
Purchase the DVD: The Secret Life of Bees

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/]

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has always been a bit different, never caring about or fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke) remarries and decides to move with her new husband to Florida, and Bella decides to go live with her father, Charlie (Billy Burke), in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn’t expect anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a boy unlike any she’s ever met. Intelligent and witty, his piercing eyes see straight into her soul. Soon, Bella and Edward are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance. Edward can run faster than any cheetah, he can stop a moving car with his bare hands, and he hasn’t aged since 1918. Most importantly, he’s a vampire. Like all vampires, he’s immortal. He doesn’t drink human blood (they’re vampire “vegetarians”), which is rare among the vampire population. Instead, they go on regular “hiking” trips, where they feed on prey such as grizzly bears and mountain lions. For Edward, Bella is the thing he has waited ninety years for – a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. And what will they do when James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi), and Victoria (Rachel Lefevre) come into town and James sets his sights on Bella? Will true love prevail when Edward is forced to save her life and conquer his thirst? The true question is, When you can live forever, what do you live for?

Order the books: The Twilight Saga: Slipcased

Order the movie: Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition)

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417741/]

Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts turns out to be quite the exciting year. First off is the arrival of a new teacher at Hogwarts, Horace Slughorn, who is a bit more useful to Harry than he realizes. Next, Harry obtains a Potions book which used to be belong to the very mysterious Half-Blood Prince. Harry finds that the Half-Blood Prince’s ancient scribbles are written along the margins of almost every page, giving Harry advice on how to improve greatly on his Potions work, and also teaching him a few helpful (and dangerous) spells along the way.

Amidst this, Harry is starting private lessons with Professor Dumbledore, during which Harry learns the dark secrets of Voldemort’s past, hoping that they could use these secrets to find a way to defeat him.

Harry’s year gets even more stressful with the suspicious actions of Draco Malfoy, who has been sneaking around the school doing, so Harry assumes, Voldemort’s bidding. Harry quickly becomes determined, and slightly obsessed, to find out exactly what Malfoy has been up to and putting and end to it.

Yet, during this time, Harry and his friends go through daily life, busy with school work, Quidditch, (in which Harry has been made captain of the team) and of course, romance. Ron has found a new girlfriend, Lavender Brown, a perky (if not obnoxious) Gryffindor student, and Hermione is not happy about it. Ron and Hermione’s friendship takes a toll throughout the school year and Harry, as usual, is stuck in the middle. Harry, meanwhile, is facing a romantic dilemma of his own: he realizes he is falling for his best friend’s sister, Ginny Weasley, who is unfortunately dating Harry’s classmate, Dean Thomas. Harry’s pining for Ginny and Ron’s hilarious relationship with Lavender give this story a large dose of reality.

Throughout all the school drama, however, the obvious darkness of Voldemort’s impending rise to power is always apparent. The incredible action-packed climax is sure to leave the audience stunned and, inevitably, prove that you shouldn’t trust everybody who you think is good and also prove that not everyone can manage to survive.

Purchase The Book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)

Charlaine Harris – Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampires Mystery Book 1)

Charlaine Harris – Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampires Mystery Book 1)

Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana, but she keeps to herself and doesn’t date much because of her “disability” to read minds. When she meets Bill, Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s the type of guy she’s waited for all of her life, but he has a disability, too–he’s a vampire with a bad reputation. When one of Sookie’s coworkers is killed, she fears she’s next.

I don’t know why, but for some reason, I keep looking at Amazon for different books to read, knowing full well that I won’t be buying anything until after the holiday is over. One thing that has caught my attention, though, is the wide selection of Christian books as compared to what there is for other religions, especially for New Age.

Is it that hard to understand that not everyone is a Christian? Not everyone will have the same belief system. I know it’s all about the authors writing books, but I know there are quite a few writers out there that focus on New Age religion, but there aren’t nearly enough of the books out there for people to get hold of without knowing exactly where to look for them.

As a Wiccan, I find it disturbing that I can’t just go into a book store or to Amazon and pick up the book I want without hunting for it.

I love books, books are a great thing. I have always been surrounded by books. I always want to be surrounded by books. They can take you to a different world, they can take you away from whatever worries that are bothering you.

Why do I love books so much? I love books because you have to use your imagination. You can’t just see the scene, you have to use your mind and paint your own pictures. You have to figure out what you think the scenes look like, rather than what someone else thinks.

Movies and television are fine, but in the end, books are the things that make you learn and grow more. Personally I’m glad that I grew up surrounded by books. I will be surrounded by them until the day I die. If you never have enough time to sit down and read, you really should make some time. It will make your life a lot less stressful. Audio books are good too, especially if you have a long commute or trip coming up.

John Grisham

Ann Brashares

Kieran Scott

Laurell K Hamilton

MaryJanice Davidson

Jim Butcher

Stephanie Meyer

Nicholas Sparks

* Not Released Yet
Feel free to suggest authors in similar genres to what’s up there.
In addition to the books above, authors I’ve read everything from:
J.K. Rowling, Carrie Vaughn, Mitch Albom

Books are good for anything that ales you. Seriously. I tend to forget that sometimes, but it’s nice to read once in a while. Even just listening to an audio book is satisfying for me.

I have finished 2 books this year, which is pretty paltry. But they’re good books, to me at least.

1) Kitty and The Silver Bullet – Carrie Vaughn
2) Playing for Pizza – John Grisham

I will definitely be reading the newest LKH when that comes out. I should read the Merry book that I haven’t touched yet. I also have a few Grisham’s in my reading list too.

With that said, I should make a new ‘to read’ list. In fact, that shall be done before bed.

Been a long time since I’ve posted this.. Let me preface, the books are ADULT CONTENT

My Store Front

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One Heart, One Voice (direct to cart)

One Heart, One Voice is a collection of poems that have been written over the last fifteen years. The collection includes some special poetry written for friends and even one that is dedicated to Margaret’s father after he passed away.

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Under The Summer Moon (direct to cart)

This collection of short stories have been hand selected as ones that I have written over the past year and thought were among the best. It is entirely adult content with lesbian relationships, bdsm, taboo and other subjects, so please be sure that you won’t be offended by the subjects prior to purchasing this book.

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A Year In My World Calendar

Laurell K Hamilton’s got a sneak preview of the newest Anita Blake Book, Blood Noir up on her web site!
Chapter One

Blood Noir (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 16)
This title will be released on June 3, 2008.

Sharing for my fellow LKH fans.

I need to win the lottery or something. I need to buy new books. I have absolutely nothing new to read.
I can’t wait til it’s time to do taxes, I’m going on a book and yarn buying spree. Just don’t tell Rob.

I went to look at the books on our book shelves and aw nothing that I haven’t already read that sparked my interest. Usually I can pick up something I’ve ready and be happy, but I’m restless today and want something new. Unfortunately, the holidays wiped out anything I had saved. Guess that means a library trip is in order tomorrow.

It’s not a well kept secret that I love books. It doesn’t matter the genre, as long as it catches my interest. And it’s not a well documented secret that if I could, I’d be buying books all the time. But, I can’t do that, so I take advantage of the great ebook resources online. Including Classic Bookshelf for a TON of great ‘old’ books in e-book format.

I read, and loved Walden. It’s got some of the best quotes. But on the flip-side, I also love, believe it or not, trashy romance novels sometimes. Something absolutely fluffy, cheap and predictable to the point that it’s mind numbing.

Yeah, I really do love books. As long as I can read it without sleeping, I’ll read it.

Undead And Unwed Summary

It’s not some of my best work. *shrug* It’s not horrible either. I’ve definitely written much worse articles in my life. Oh well. It’s still written. It’s still passable.

I’ll have to post a list of my other articles and stuff for everyone later.

Book Title: God-Shaped Hole
Author: Tiffanie DiBartolo

Book Title: Return of the Evil Twin
Author: Kate William

Book Title: The Body Sacred
Author: Dianne Sylvan

Book Title: Forever In Blue: Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
Author: Ann Brashares

Book Title: A Non-Blonde Cheerleader in Love
Author: Kieran Scott

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Author:
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Feel free to comment and suggest other things for me!