Bonk!

Hey, I found this book at the bookstore last week. I put it on reserve at the library. There are four copies and four people ahead of me in line so it might be a while. But I thought it might be a good read. Sounds interesting and funny and I think we will have some great conversations about it.

Per book jacket and barnesandnoble.com :

Synopsis
The
best-selling author of Stiff turns her outrageous curiosity and infectious wit on the most alluring scientific subject of all: sex.The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson. The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey's attic.

Mary Roach, "the funniest science writer in the country" (Burkhard Bilger of The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors. Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn't Viagra help women—or, for that matter, pandas? In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place. 16 illustrations.

I think this should be our next book. Let me hear your thoughts.

Done

Let me know when you have also completed and we shall discuss.

Next...?

I want to bring up for debate that we might consider the Inheritance Cycle Series by Christopher Paolini for our next endevor. The third book in the series is being release on 9/20/08 and I was planning on picking it up. The story is a fantasy series about humans, dragons, elves and dwarves. The story surrounds the mythical dragon riders and their history and battle for independence from a tyrannical king. You may have heard of the series when a movie based on the first book, Eragon, was released a few years ago. One of the best parts of this is that the evil despotic king is played by John Malkovich. Anyway, I think this might be a good idea. The first two books are readily available in libraries since they have been out for several years. We will probably have to purchase copies of the third book when it is released, if we have a favorable opinion of the books at that time. Okay, let the debate begin.

More on Jacob

For those of you who have started Breaking Dawn, I just want to say that I love hearing from Jacob's point of view. It's sort of nice to get out of Bella's head for a while. She can be a little irritating. Also, Jacob's chapter titles are awesome. Don't worry this doesn't spoil anything, but I love "Why Didn't I Just Walk Away? Oh Right, Because I'm An Idiot." I laughed out loud, scaring the other patrons of the coffee house.

Psyche

I'm wondering what it says about me, about us, when we choose between Edward and Jacob. Bella is forced into the decision as well. By now Jackie is into Eclipse and Dena and I are reading Breaking Dawn. We all know that Bella is faced with choosing between her love for Edward and her connection to Jacob. This is unsurprising in the plot of the books but is still an interesting choice between good and good.
I have not hidden this fact but apparently I am alone. I preffer Jacob. Jackie has made me feel quite ashamed but I can't help it. I like Edward, I really do. He's obviously gorgeous; he seems to love Bella. But... she cannot be with him without drastically altering her life. Edward outlines the options for his relationship with Bella in Eclipse. The only options left for them are for Bella to choose to leave Edward or for Bella to become a vampire. I understand her motivation. I can assure you, I understand choosing love despite reservations. I just am not okay with it.
I like Jacob. Beyond the fact that I disagree with Bella's decision to become a vampire, I really do like Jacob. He's warm and protective and loving. I am not presenting my case as well as I want to.
I think the choice is similar to choosing between passion and compassion. Edward is a passionate love for her. She feels weak when he is not around, unable to function. Jacob is a compassionate love. She feels connected to him, the same as he is. She would be happy with him. She would have children and companionship and love.
I guess I will have to see. Either one or the other or all of us will be a dissappointed with the results.

A serial thang...?

What do you think of reading an entire series at a time? I think it might be fun...

Too good to put down...

Sorry. I just finished New Moon. It was fabulous. I purchased the final two books today, knowing that I would want to read the entire story without taking a break. Sorry Jackie. You've got some catching up to do...

If you don't want to know about the ending or any part of New Moon, don't read any further!

The book was a bit depressing at times, but it was a good contrast to the up-beat romance of the first book, Twilight. I love that the story is told through Bella's thoughts, even though Edward can't read/hear them (I'd say that's a bit of irony). Her thoughts aren't always complete, but they give a good account of her emotion as well as how she perceives the things around her. I like that she's not always right. It would be corny if she were...

The love triangle makes things a bit more difficult, but it's just what any other desperate woman would do: seek another to lift her spirits. Too bad Jacob turns out to be a mortal enemy to Edward and the Cullens. Somehow, all along, Jacob just didn't seem right for Bella. I know they were perceived to be good friends with a hint of something more, but Jacob just wasn't the character I would hope would fill Edward's shoes. He served a purpose, and Bella got too attached to the happiness she felt with him during the empty time away from Edward. It makes that triangle harder to break. (note: in her acknowledgments she thanks her brother Jacob for helping her with cars/characters.)

Something that bothered me was how Bella continued to intertwine Jake and Jacob. Considering many of her thoughts also included Jared and the other Werewolves, it made it seem like two different people. She did this both verbally and in her thoughts. It would have been a little less confusing eliminating the pet name from at least her thoughts... I know I don't give my Jared nicknames when I'm thinking of him... only when I'm face-to-face.

Did you notice all of the moon references. They were pretty overwhelming. Granted, the book is called, "New Moon," but there were a lot of places in the story that mentioned the moon, both for Jacob and Edward. They were both positive and negative references too.

I liked all of the references to one of the most-known plays, "Romeo and Juliet." Bella and Edward both compared their relationship, both before and after the break-up, to that play. It's something most readers will relate to and know, and it's also a significant play considering the story line of "New Moon." Both characters want eachother, but know they shouldn't. They are willing to die for eachother, yet neither wants the other to do it. Edward made the attempt after hearing his 'Juliet' took her own life. Yet his savior was his Juliet. It's not over yet. There's still more to come, and Meyer has been popping out a book each year...

Ps. Totally Unrelated

I got my teaching license in the mail today! I'm gonna put it next to my degree so they can start working together for me. ;)

Continuing Twilight

I am totally okay with continuing the series. I have also been reading New Moon. I told Jackie today and I'll let you know too, Dena, I reserved my copy of Breaking Dawn on Thursday. It released at midnight on Friday. B&N called me on Sunday afternoon to make sure I still wanted my copy. It sold out!

If we are gonna read the whole series, I suggest buying at least the last one since it will be hard to find at the library. To aleviate that, I have a it's-good-to-know-Sandy discount at B&N. You would get an extra 10% of the prices. Eclipse is only available in hardcover and is 19.99. Breaking Dawn is 30% off of 22.99. To use the discount at the store you just give them my home phone # 608-483-2206. To use it at barnesandnoble.com you need my member # which is 5176118995. You can also go to b&n and if they don't have it they will order it and ship it to the store for free. They are quite cool. I love them. It might be good to know Sandy next year. If it is not good to know Ann, that is.

Anyway, I think Jackie can catch up, if it's not too much of a distraction with her getting ready for school. It's not difficult reading and it goes so fast. Like Dena said, you can't really put it down. I feel like a smoker on my breaks at work because I start getting jumpy if I have a call that goes over or some other such delay.

I think we can keep the posts coming about the discussion even if we are not all at the same stage. Even though the book is suspenseful and definately wants you to turn the page, there is little to give away. I think we can discuss the major issues, style, etc without giving anything away to someone who has not read it. Maybe as a guideline we could say that if you are going to post something that references a fact or event that might not be totally obvious (ie. Edward is a vampire but Bella doesn't realize until like chapter 10, that was certainly obvious at least from the jacket info) maybe add a disclaimer. Like "This post refers to events up to page 999 of New Moon." And then if someone hasn't read that far, they can wait to read that post.

Anyway, I gotta go and make dinner. I will post soon. I'm interested in Dena's lack of background knowledge on vampires and wanna talk about that some more. Like how do/did we create our presupposed ideas about vampires/werewolves? What is some of the mythology behind it? It will be cool to compare that from different fiction sources and television and movies and our own cultural experiences (ie Halloween).

Vampire vs. Werewolf

I am loving this battle between the good vampires and the good werewolves. This mythical hatred is portrayed often in fiction. Remember Underworld? Werewolves and vampires are similar creatures; they each have monstrous natures and can be killers of humans. Usually the stories are told from the point of view of an insider, either vampire or werewolf, who either idolizes or demonizes the other side of the war. Often this includes a Romeo and Juliet type situation where love is crossing the boundries.
This story varies from the typical because the narrator is not aligned, totally, with either side. Bella by being a human rocks the presupposed ideas of good and evil. She is in love with a good vampire. She also knows the story of the werewolves, who will arise as the story continues as Jacob's story hints, and sees no evil in them. Werewolves and vampires who are both striving to protect humans and be good are not the typical monsters of stories we are familiar with.
It is inevitable that this will continue to build to a confrontation between the two sides. The ultimate struggle will be Bella's decision as she chooses between the wolves and vampires. How can she make this choice? How can she decide when both sides are well intentioned and she loves them both? Where will her loyalty fall?
I'm excited for this conflict. Unlike other fantasy books, Harry Potter or LOTR for examples, good and evil are not clearly defined and Bella's choice is not obvious. I am in trepidation.

Twilight: loving it...

I gave up on the Waupun Public Library. It's been about two weeks and I still didn't have a copy of Twilight. So, I broke down and bought the book. I read nine chapters the first two days I had it; I couldn't put it down.
I don't know what else to say about it. I don't analyze literature for the writing style and structure; I just look the story line.
Even though it took quite a few chapters to be sure that Edward is a vampire (even though the book description tells us he is), I learned a lot more in those few chapters about the type of vampire he is. It sets it up for events that happen later in the book.
I'm sure I'll finish the book before the end of the week. Jackie, have you started it yet?