Postcard Killers by James Patterson

Ok, I'm a convert. I see why everyone who read James Patterson reads all of his stuff! His writing just flows so well. His chapters are so short that I find myself saying, "Ok, just one more chapter, and then I'll put it down." That one chapter leads to another hour of reading. It's so hard to stop!

This is the first murder mystery novel of his that I've read and I was a little take aback by the gory picture that he painted for the first killing. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't ready for it. And in hindsight, it wasn't even that bad! Fortunately, he didn't describe each murder in detail.

The other thing I didn't expect was a sex scene. Again, I'm not sure why I didn't expect that, but I didn't. I was thrilled though. As a woman, I appreciate a good sex scene in a book! The scene in this book was short, and not super erotic, but it fit the story and the characters.

Overall, this was a great book! I read it in 2 days because of my inability to put it down! I read it while my 2 year old watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse during the day, and when my husband was watching football at night! Now I have to pick out the next James Patterson book that I'm going to read. My husband has plenty to choose from, so I don't even need to leave the house! He swears by the Alex Cross books, so maybe that will be a good place to start!

Dead Until Dark

This is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I've already watched season 1 of True Blood which was loosely based on this book. I think it was actually pretty close to the book with a few character exceptions, and of course the sex scenes that were added for the TV audience.

I started reading this book long before I had watched even one episode of True Blood. For some reason I wasn't immediately taken in. It sat in my room for months, untouched. This time I was determined, and actually excited to read it. I really enjoyed it, and didn't put it down much for a few days!  I now see why everyone reads the whole series. The books aren't complete in and of themselves. They lead you to the next one with a non-ending. So now I'm waiting not-so-patiently until I can get a hold of the next book in the series. I don't even know what it's called, but I'm sure my best friend still has a copy!

On a side note, I don't know what it is about vampires, but I am hooked! I have read the entire Twilight Saga, and now I'm getting into this series. I watch The Vampire Diaries and True Blood on TV, and I own Twilight and New Moon on DVD. Seriously...it's getting a bit excessive. My husband makes fun of me, but I don't care! It's not like I'm the only one. Most of my friends are the same way! We're even making plans to get Eclipse on DVD at Midnight on December 4th.

Coming up...

It's been almost a week since I've read anything. I've been really busy with Halloween and then my son's 9th birthday party this weekend. I spent a lot of time baking and cleaning, and neglected a lot of other stuff, including this challenge. I've decided to read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. It's the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series that the show True Blood is based on. My best friend wanted me to read this series of books so bad that she bought me the first one. I started it months ago, but because I was also watching the series from the beginning on DVD, it was too much. I needed a little distance from the show to get back into the book.

Now it  has been several months since True Blood season 3 ended, and I haven't seen the first season since before that. I'm hoping that when I pick this book back up, it will feed by True Blood thirst (pun intended). Yeah, I'm a dork. This I know!

The Perfect 10 Diet

I finished this book last week, and I've been following its principles for about 10 days now. I'm down almost 7 pounds and I feel great! I'm sleeping better and I wake up feeling more rested than I ever have! My mood swings have evened out a little (still hoping for more on that front) and my energy level is increasing.  So far, I'm a believer!

So let me tell you what this book is all about. It's a healthy way of eating the puts 10 key hormones in balance to ensure overall health and weight loss. Here are the basics:
1. No sugar- real or artificial (this means no diet soda for me- which wasn't easy)
2. No grains/starches for the first 3 weeks (after that they're gradually added in)
3. No refined/white carbs such as pasta, white rice, white bread, etc...
4. 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day (no more than 2 servings of fruit)
5. No manufactured oils such as corn, safflower, canola, soybean, etc. This is a hard one. They're in everything!
6. 40% carbohydrates-20% protein-40% fat intake daily
7. Increase healthy fats like coconut or macadamia oil, extra virgin olive oil, butter and avoid all trans fats
8. No processed meats containing nitrites/nitraites
9. Exercise daily (I'm still working on that one!)
10. Eat full fat dairy, but keep it to a minimum

So it's basically a whole foods kind of diet with a focus on the purest, most organic ingredients. Because of this book I have now been to Trader Joe's and fully appreciate its greatness! I am eating fish 3 times a week and drinking a ton of water! I now understand how my eating affects the hormones that keep me healthy and I have committed to learning to eat this way, hopefully for life!

One of the controversial topics in this book is Saturated Fats. For years we've been told that it's bad for us and is linked to heart disease. Dr. Aziz says that in fact there is no link between saturated fats and heart disease. He writes that the body makes its own saturated fat and it is necessary for producing sex hormones.

The thing that I enjoyed most about this book was Dr. Aziz's description of how insulin and glucagon affect so much of our metabolism and other hormones. I learned about these hormones in Anatomy and Physiology class, but it was never explained as clearly as it was in the book. It's because of this that I was able to give up sugar...at least for now. I don't ever want to go back to my old way of eating now that I know what it was doing to my body!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, etc...If you're just looking to shed a few pounds, I'd recommend it for you too!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

This book was so short that I read it in one day, within a few hours. Having read all of the other Stephenie Meyer books it just made sense to read this one as well! It fills in the gaps where the newborn vampires of Eclipse are concerned. Bree's existence is only known for about 5 minutes in Eclipse, but the reader never knows how she came to be and the life that she and the other newborns lived prior to the attack on the Cullens.

I have to be honest...this book was a quick and easy read, but it didn't provide any earth shattering insights. The most important bit of information taken from this book was the fact that the Volturi were aware of Victoria's plan and they were on board. Other than that, it's really only about 50 normal pages (regular sized print and margins) of story and it's only marginally interesting.

I'm also reading The Perfect 10 Diet  this week. If you'd like to follow my health overhaul visit my other blog, Musings of a Cul-de-Sac Mom. 

The Host

I chose The Host by Stephenie Meyer this week. I'm a fan of her other books, and really had no preconceived notions about this book. I had heard that it was good, but had no idea what the basic premise was. To put it mildly, I was shocked. It was so unlike the Twilight Saga...at first. By the end, I realized that the overall story wasn't so different.

What I love about Stephanie Meyer is her ability to write about the unbelievable while convincing you somehow not to question it. I mean, let's be serious- vampires and werewolves? body snatching aliens? I didn't think I could get into her books just by the mere mention of the subjects. Her genius lies in making the story so intriguing that you forget that the characters are supernatural. She doesn't get bogged down in technical jargon, and she doesn't spend a tremendous amount of time on the science fiction part of things. She focuses on the relationships between the characters and makes sure that you care so much for them that you overlook that they are not quite human.

To be honest, after the reading the first few pages of this book I wasn't sure I would be able to finish. The idea of aliens taking over human bodies and then living as their "host" was a bit absurd to me. I generally don't like science fiction. I didn't even watch the X-Files at the height of its popularity. It wasn't long though before I was completely wrapped up in the characters and their relationships. I found myself imagining the crazy world that Wanda and Melanie lived in. I was pulling for the characters to survive and find their way to each other.
By the end I wanted more!

One of the best things about this book was the bonus chapter. It covers the time that Melanie and Wanda are apart, before Wanda is aware of what's happening. All too often those scenes are left to the imagination, and if the movie rights hadn't already been sold to this book, chances are that chapter wouldn't have been written. It will be interesting to see what they do with the movie!

So overall, I liked this book and I would recommend it! It is exceptionally long, as almost all of Meyer's books are, but worth the effort!

Week 4...and 5, and 6, and maybe 7

Okay, so it took me a little longer to read this last book than the first 3. In my defense, I took a 10 day vacation to Florida, which in and of itself, means several more days of preparing and recuperating! I'm not sure I can keep up the book a week pace that I originally hoped for, but I'm going to keep reading until I've read 52 books. I'm still optimistic that I can do it in a year. I'll just have to double up a few weeks! Any suggestions for future reads?

I have 2 books on the list for next week. One is a self-help kind of book for my health and it's called The Perfect 10 by Dr. Aziz. I read a good bit of it in the bookstore today because it was recommended to me by a friend. She has been putting its principles into use, and has seen a marked improvement in her overall health. The other book is Stephanie Meyer's only book that I have yet to read, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella . My best friend has a copy and I'm trading her for The Host. I figure it will hold me over until Eclipse comes out on video on December 4th!