Stephenie, Phillipa and Ian

Reading is another huge hobby of mine. Last summer I discovered the books of Stephenie Meyer. The Twilight-saga. I loved it! I've never been so absorbed in a book! I got my hands on it at ten at night and never stopped reading until I had finished it the following morning. It was page turning, and I seriously recommend it to anyone who needs to withdraw from their own world. It is thrilling and easy to read. Even for those whose motherlanguage is not the English language. Like it is for me.

It is a fantasy novel, though I don't think I need to explain anything to those who live in the States. The hype about the movie which came to theatres last November can hardly have gone unnoticed by anyone.
Here in Europe the craziness hasn't really gone that far, but the girls all love Edward Cullen, and my gosh, can you blame them? I do sound like such a girl, don't I? I, however, don't understand all this drama about the guy who plays Edward Cullen, Rob Pattinson. Sure, he's good looking, but he's just another human being like we all are and I think we ought to respect his privacy. This is one of the topics I can be very fierce about, but this is not the blog to expand my thoughts on paparazzi, fame and celebrities. I was talking about books.

Twilight is the best of the four novels in the saga, without a doubt. And this work of Stephenie Meyer has influenced my own writing style a lot, to my dissapointment. I don't think the author's work is bad, not at all! I love her writing and stories, it's just that I would like to have a certain style of my own. However, I'm young, and don't they say that practise makes perfect? So that's what I've got to do!

Other books I've read in 2008 were Phillipa Gregory's novels about the Tudors. The other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover (in that order, which is the way to read, by the way) are the ones I liked. She's a maginificant writer, she conjures the world of the Tudors with quite some realism. The grandeur of the livestyle, but also the misery and worries of her characters. I'm not sure which one is my favorite. I really like Mary Boleyn, oppose to Anne Boleyn. And Hannah Green is also wonderful, I think she is one of the strongest women Gregory has written about in these three novels. Princess/Queen Elizabeth the First was all right, too, but the love story was quite sad. I think I like The Other Boleyn Girl and The Queen's Fool best because the love story is satisfying.

It is already obvious I need romance in the stories that I read.

Atonement by Ian McEwan was the saddest and most beautiful thing I've ever read. Sure, it wasn't easy, it was very hard at some points, especially when half of the book contains only several hours of a hot summers day. The Briony-parts were sometimes hell to get through, but McEwan captured the thoughts of a preteen quite good! The movie was also fantastic, Keira Knightley and James McAvoy were brilliant! And did you know the green silk dress Keira wore in that film was voted as one of the most beautiful costumes? It truly is gorgeous.
I've also read Enduring love, which was also quite tough to get through, though I managed. Yes, Enduring love is also a movie, the actors in it are 007 Daniel Craig and Four Weddings and a Funeral star Rhys Ifans. The movie is based on this novel. I've never seen it, though.

Call me crazy (many have done so), but I'm trying to read War & Peace by Tolstoi. How's that going you might ask. Well, truth to be told, I've put it aside for the moment. The names are very, very long! And it's really difficult to keep track of who knows whom and the other way around. No, I'm not going to read the cliffnotes, I want to read the story, not a summary of it.

I love historic novels, but I'm looking for new idea's. New books to read, does any one have any suggestions? Oh, don't bother mentioning Tolkien, I've tried, but I'll just stick to the movie. That's easier.