The Morganville Vampires

Volume 1 (includes books 1 and 2: Glass Houses and Dead Girls' Dance)

A friend recommended this series to me after learning of my fondness (and borderline obsession) with the Twilight series. I didn't know if I would like this book, but I gave it a shot anyway. After the first chapter I was hooked. Maybe it was because I felt I shared a small bond with the main character, Claire, a nerdy girl more interested in academics and learning than other teenage interests. She's so smart, in fact, that she graduates a year early and finds herself off to college at the young impressionable age of 16. Because she is so young, her parents insist that she go to a college closer to home rather than Yale or Caltech (California Institute of Technology). Lucky Claire gets to attend TPU in Texas instead because her parents think she'll be safer there. If only they knew how Claire would be treated there. Black eyes, bruises, and death threats greet Claire at TPU, courtesy of the meanest mean girl around: Monica Morrell. After stumbling upon a classified ad for a roommate, Claire lands herself in the Glass house with new friends Michael, Eve, and Shane. And that is when the fun (and danger!) begins!

I found it extremely difficult to put this book down and am really excited to get my hands on the next volume. Why do I feel like I'm going through withdrawal?

Are vampires REAL? Some people think so.

The Blue Bistro

Have you read The Help by Kathryn Stockett? This book is nothing like The Help in content, BUT it is just as captivating. I couldn't put it down! The Blue Bistro takes place in Nantucket and it spotlights a young woman with an inability to settle down. Meet Adrienne (yes, I occasionally thought of Rocky while reading). She's been in the hotel business for some time, but never in the restaurant business. She goes looking for a job and finds herself at The Blue Bistro. Meet Thatcher, the owner, who happens to be looking for an assistant manager, but finds more than that. Adrienne immediately spots his watch, which she guesses to be a $10,000 Patek Philippe. On her first night at the restaurant Adrienne finds her new boss, Thatcher, to be actually quite, well, bossy. He doesn't like her outfit and he orders her around all night. She came to Nantucket with three rules written on a napkin: (1) Become self-sufficient (2) Do not lie about past (3) Exercise good judgment about men. It seems like they would be easy to follow...

The Legend of Bagger Vance

This book differs radically from the movie, so if you enjoyed the movie and are expecting the same thing, you might be disappointed. It would be very difficult for Hollywood to capture the true meaning of this book in a two-hour movie.

I requested this book from the library after hearing Wayne Dyer mention it in one of his presentations. Apparently the novel, written by Steven Pressfield, is based on the Bhagavad Gita, where Bagger exists as God-like teacher and guru. It follows the story of Rannulph Junah, an amateur golfer from Savannah, Georgia, who is commissioned to play what would become a legendary match against two golf greats: Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. The game of golf is simply a metaphor for the game of life. The novel is written from the point of view of a man named Hardy, who accompanied Junah and Vance during that fateful match. There is an additional character, Michael, in the novel that is not present in the movie, and Junah's story is told to him by Hardy.

The novel really is wonderfully written as it explores man's greatest fears and the illusion that we are in this life alone. We all have a Bagger Vance that walks beside us, advising us and encouraging us, we just have to stop and listen.

Mother Teresa (DK Biography)

We as an American society are at a loss for good role models. When asked to create biography posters of people they admire, middle school students typically choose professional basketball players like Kobe Bryant, singers like Justin Bieber, actors like Miley Cyrus, and soccer stars like David Beckham. Occasionally a student will choose a parent, sibling, or other relative that has inluenced the student in some way. While all of the people chosen by the students have at least one admirable trait, rarely has a student chosen someone like Mother Teresa, a woman who consistently exhibited truly admirable qualities while working tirelessly to make our world a better place.

If you can ignore her religious affiliation with Catholicism (if it bothers you), I am confident that you will find that she was a remarkable woman. This particular book explores her childhood (born as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) in the Ottoman Empire, the day she decided to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary, her years spent teaching children, and her life-changing decision to start the Missionaries of Charity, a group of nuns and eventually lay people that ventured into the depths of India's slums to treat and care for the sick and dying. Today the Missionaries of Charity has expanded internationally.

While reading this very quick yet informative biography, I found myself stopping frequently to grasp the magnitude of the effect Mother Teresa had not only on the people of India, but on all the people of the world. Her perseverence and dedication to a life of helping others is not only admirable, but inspirational. She touched those affected with leprosy when others wouldn't. She chose a life of simplicity over one filled with possessions and the newest gadgets. She chose to spend her life spreading love to those that needed it most. She was a refuge to people who had lost all hope.

I have so much to learn from this extraordinary woman. In a society ruled by television, videogames, superstars, grossly overpaid athletes and CEO's, this biography of Mother Teresa offers an opportunity to go within and observe how we're living our own lives. Who do we want to be? There is no reason why company CEO's and oil moguls should be earning million-dollar bonuses while people around the world starve to death and don't receive adequate medical care. There are more than enough resources on this planet to accomodate everyone, if only we could learn to adopt an attitude of sharing instead of greed. I think that only when we begin to understand that what we do to/for someone else we do to ourselves, will we be able to change this global catastrophe. We have a lot to learn about how to treat other people, and thus ultimately our selves.

This book is a starting point.

The Little Soul and the Sun

I was introduced to the parable of the little soul and the sun while reading the book Conversations with God (see previous post for more information about that book).


This is really a wonderful parable for children and adults alike, as it explains perhaps why people do "bad" things to us on earth. This offers an alternate explanation of people's behaviors, suggesting that possibly it's because they are helping us to know and experience something about our own selves. Without their help we might not remember Who we Are.


So maybe experiences we observe and label as bad, traumatic, terrible, and intolerable are really necessary to help us along this journey we call life.


I know I'll be reading this to my own children someday. I read it twice today, and both times there were tears in my eyes. It's beautiful.

Conversations with God, Book3

WARNING: You need to read this book with an open mind.

Something happens to you and you get really mad and you lash out at God in some way. Who, at some point in their lives, hasn't had this happen? The author of the book was in a really bad place in his life and he was angry with God, so he let God know. He wasn't expecting what happened after that. God responded. Clearly and audibly. So the author wrote down what he heard, asked more questions, and kept writing. Those pages became this three part series.

Don't wonder about whether you should or shouldn't read this book. You WILL read it when you are supposed to. And that may not be in this lifetime.

This book is the third part in a three-part series. The first book focuses on some major issues humanity is facing today in their personal lives, spirituality, and how they function in today's world. The second book goes into a bit more detail, and this third book goes into more detail about more specific things like (don't laugh) life on other planets, more highly evolved beings (HEB's), and how we are treating our bodies and our environment. Everyone can learn something by reading this book (or the other 2). You really should start by reading the first in the series.

The main message from "God" in the book is to remember Who You Are and Who You Choose To Be. If you make all your life decisions based on that idea you will lead a more fulfilled life. You will let go of all fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) and doubt because you will realize that they are the opposite of what God is. You will start to really LIVE andyou will enjoy it, all of it. The things you used to determine as "problems" will be seen as blessings. We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, rather we are spiritual beings having a human experience. God is with us all the time because he can't NOT be. He is everywhere, ALL the time. When we understand that, we can really let go and let God.

There are many powerful messages to be received in this book, no matter your background, religious or not. It's powerful and life-transforming. I'd say that based on recent global events our species could use some inspiring, powerful words to change what we're doing because IT'S NOT WORKING! And if it ain't working, we need to FIX IT. It starts here, with this book series.

Midnight in Paris

Ok, so even though this blog is supposed to be about books I read I am posting today's blog about a movie I saw today. But in all fairness it's a movie about writing and writers and books...sort of.


I just came back from viewing Midnight in Paris, and if you haven't seen it I've included a link to the trailer at the bottom of this post. Some people don't enjoy Woody Allen films. I think this was my first Woody Allen film, actually.


I enjoyed the movie for several reasons. One, it takes place in Paris - which most of you know is very near and dear to my heart. Two, the main character (Owen Wilson) is an aspiring novel writer and we have that in common. Three, it showcases the 1920s, which is such an interesting and important time period. Four, it introduces the audience to geniuses who transformed our culture by gracing the world with their brilliant talents: F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Salvatore Dali, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and many, many more. People may not have enjoyed the story, but it would amaze me if people didn't leave the theatre feeling just a little more inspired than they were before seeing the movie.

If you can look past the time travel situation (which I happened to think was a very creative idea), there is great meaning and inspiration to take from this film. Some people live in the past, while others take what they feel is important from the past and learn from it and use it to better themselves. And other people are just oblivious to anything meaningful and live very shallow, incomplete lives. I think part of life is about trying to figure out which category you fall into and deciding if you're ok with that.


I recommend the movie, especially if you're an aspiring anything - musician, poet, artist, writer, etc. Find your muse and make it happen. I know I plan to.


http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi853581081/