I’ve been on a major reading kick. It started that week that Mikey had to travel for work. I had downloaded the Twilight series (Stephenie Meyer) thinking that I wasn’t sure that I would go with pop culture and like the books and also I just wanted to try out reading books on my iPhone. If I liked reading books on my iPhone then I might actually get to read more books than I normally do, just because I would have toilet reading material at my fingertips. Well, it turns out I didn’t mind reading on my iPhone and I became totally addicted to the Twilight series. Totally addicted…like heroin addicted…ok, maybe not that addicted, but close.

I thought the Twilight series would be similar to the Anne Rice Vampire books. I was sorely mistaken. I did love some of Anne Rice’s books, but after a while they all melded into the same story told a dozen different ways with different characters, but same general thesis to it. Not these books. First, it wasn’t overly graphic, it wasn’t very graphic at all as far as the Vampire stuff goes. If you don’t like Vampire stories, you’d probably be ok with reading this book, because it is nothing like normal Vampire stories. The entire series is an intense romance, but an innocent romance. You will not find anything that does not go along with Christian values, if you can look past the fact that the book has Vampires in it. The first book is like Pride and Prejudice, but Mr. Darcy is a teenage Vampire and Elizabeth Bennett is an awkward and severely uncoordinated teenage girl. In fact, the character Bella is one that most women who are really into books could relate to; just as women over the centuries could relate to Elizabeth Bennett. At times you hate Edward, just like you hated Mr. Darcy at first, but then when you loved Edward, he was infallible…a lot like Mr. Darcy. Stephenie Meyer actually based each of the books in the series off of one of the Romantic Classics. So, if your kids want to read this series, its ok to read it, if you can get past the fact that there are Vampires in the books.

As you can tell, I really loved reading these books and since Twilight was a series and I got so hooked into the books on my iPhone, I had to order the complete set in hardcover. This is kind of a book tradition of mine. If I like a series…A LOT…then I order the books in a nice hardcover set, because they last longer and they look good on the shelf. I did this with the Harry Potter series and I think I’ve read through that series about 5 times already, so it is worth the investment…especially if you buy the hardcovers cheap. Since the Twilight movie came out on DVD, all the books have been on sale at various establishments, but I found that Barnes and Noble had the best deal. I didn’t pay more than $13.00 a book and I got these Twilight prints (based on the book cover art) with quotes on them and they came in their own little box. If you’ve ever bought a hardcover full price, you know they can be as little as $25.00 or as much as $35.00+. I want nice hardcovers, but I am not paying the price of them.

So, anyhow, the books came in yesterday. I also got the other Stephenie Meyer book, The Host. Once I like an author, its pretty much all over, I’ll probably like most of the books they write. Exhibit A: Stephen King. I’ve got almost every book he has written and I only have about 10 that I haven’t read yet…and there are still more I want to read that I don’t have. So, yeah, I’m a hopeless case when I like an author.

Anyhow, once I read all the books, then I had to get the Twilight DVD, because I hadn’t seen the movie. The movie was pretty good, very close to the book, just a bit different. Let’s face it, not everything that is written in a book translates well on screen, so where it wouldn’t be translated well on screen, they cut it out. But still a very good movie. They casted the movie very well and watching the movie had the same effect as reading the book, in my opinion.

Ok, I got on a tangent there. So, anyhow, I am on a big reading kick. I’m now reading Angels & Demons. I bought the book in hardcover, on sale, a few years back, because I really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons is the predecessor to The Da Vinci Code. The time has come to get this book read. Tom Hanks is going to be in another Dan Brown inspired movie, Angels & Demons. I have a rule that if a movie comes out that is based on a book and I own the book, it has to be read before I see the movie. Some people are the opposite, but if I don’t read the book before I see the movie, I might not ever get to it.

Now I am inspired to find time to get through all those books on my shelf that I haven’t read and to re-read some of the ones I have.

So, here’s my book list, in alphabetical order, not in reading order:

295 days by James V. Patterson
1984 by George Orwell
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
Cannibal: The True Story Behind the Maneater of Rotenburg by Lois Jones
Cannibal Killers: The Real Life Flesh Eaters and Blood Drinkers by Peter Haining
Danse Macabre by Stephen King
The Dark Tower Book V: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
The Dark Tower Book VI: Song of Susanah by Stephen King
The Dark Tower Book VII: The Dark Tower by Stephen King
Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Eat Pray Loveby Elizabeth Gilbert
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
Emma by Jane Austen
Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
From a Buick8 by Stephen King
The Green Mile by Stephen King
The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Instruction: Living the Life Your Soul Intended by Ainslie MacLeod
Just Keep Dancing by Susan Brauer
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Rings Book II: The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien
Lord of the Rings Book III: The Return of The King by J.R.R. Tolkien
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
On Writing by Stephen King
The Other Boleyn Girl Persuasion by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice Continues: Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
The Stand by Stephen King
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Vesuvius Prophecy by Greg Cox
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

One last thought, anyone up for an online book club? Something easily done over Skype, on a semi-regular basis? If you see something on my book list that you like and want to read to, leave me a comment or send me an email and maybe we could do a bloggy book club!

There is one great thing about living in CA, more specifically So Cal. At the almost drop of a hat (I did have to plan this 6 months in advance), you can drive up to LA or Hollywood and experience a wonderful play in a beautiful theater built in absolute splendor, there are quite a few to choose from. You will pay a pretty price to see a wonderful play in a pretty theater, but it is always worth it.

I've seen:
Rent at the Pantages
Les Miserables at the Ahmanson
Cats at the Ahmanson
Lion King at the Pantages
Phantom of the Opera at the Ahmanson and the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Beauty and the Beast at the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Numerous Gershwin Musicals at the Redondo Beach Playhouse
Annie at the Ahmanson

You can also catch a few good concerts at a few good venues, a couple of absolutely lavish concert halls, as well as some historic ampitheaters.
I've seen concerts at:
The Hollywood Bowl – LA Philharmonic concerts, NKOTB **blush**
The Dorothy Chandler – LA Philharmonic concert
The Greek Theater – The White Stripes
The Anaheim Pond – Gwen Stefani, Aerosmith
The Verizon Ampitheater in Irvine – Kelly Clarkson
The House of Blues in Anaheim – JC Chasez
Dodger Stadium – Wango Tango
Irvine Lake – Hootenanny

Anyhow, I'm just saying I am grateful that I live in an area that can support my Fine Arts habit without having to go out of State or driving more than 40 miles. And boy do I have a Fine Arts habit! And a lavish one at that! When I go to these shows, I buy the best possible tickets that I can. I will buy 6 months in advance to get center stage view and if it is a last minute Fine Arts whim, I'll pay a pretty penny to get the best seat available. And if work has me in another state doing testing, I'll drive back home for the weekend late on a Friday night just to make my play/concert dates! Lets just admit it folks, I am a Fine Arts whore! If I could see a concert or a play once a month, I would and I have.

I once was engaged to a guy whose dad would buy season tickets to both the Hollywood Bowl and the Redondo Beach playhouse. This meant that all year long, we would have a Fine Arts event to go to every month or so and sometimes more than once a month. Sometimes I think the only reason the relationship lasted as long as it did was because it supported my Fine Arts habit in excess…I actually used to get tired of going to the Hollywood Bowl almost every Friday or Saturday night! Pity the thought of being tired from that now!

You have not lived until you have heard the LA Philharmonic play John Williams movie scores echoing throughout the Hollywood Bowl! The violins from ET make my arm hairs stand on end! The intro to the Harry Potter score make my heart float through the air like a feather! It is indeed an experience! If you ever get the chance to be in CA in LA during the summer months, you have to buy tickets to an LA Philharmonic performance at the Bowl, another show I suggest from the Bowl is Tchaikovsky night (he is the guy who did the modern day score for The Nutcracker ballet).

If you happen to be in LA any other time of the year and you've got kids, go to the El Capitan Theater and catch the Disney movie that they are running…it will cost you about 15 dollars a ticket, but it is a beautiful and historic theater and has an awesome organ player who plays before the movie. The El Capitan is quite an experience! I've seen The Nightmare Before Christmas in October before Halloween about 3 times! After the movie, you go to the basement and they have an area for the kids to play in or an exhibit that is themed to whatever movie they are showing.

Last but not least, if you happen to be in LA anytime in the next few years, go to the Pantages theater (which is absolutely gorgeous inside and quite lavish) and see Wicked! This is the point I'm getting to…

I saw Wicked last night at the Pantages Theater and my God! It was quite possibly one of the best musicals I've seen to date! The costumes are full of color and just beautiful, the music is very catchy (I caved and bought the CD as I was exiting the theater). More importantly the storyline is phenomenal.

For those not in the know, Wicked is about the "Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" and offers a different perspective to the Wizard of Oz and I don't mean in a weirdo 1976 movie Oz way. The timeline predates The Wizard of Oz, by profiling the Wicked Witch of the West from the time she was born until she became the Wicked Witch and was melted by Dorothy, or so you think! It is the play version of Gregory Maguire's book, Wicked. The play frequently makes little funny references to the movie Wizard of Oz, oftentimes inserting a line from the movie out of context, like having the Wicked Witch say, "There's no place like home." It shows how the Cowardly Lion became cowardly, how the Tin Man came to be as well as the true identity of the Scarecrow, and why Dorothy's house was in a tornado and landed on the Witch's sister. Throughout the play, you notice a history that parallels our own. Its a story about a disadvantaged green girl who triumps as the underdog of Oz society. Anyhow, I don't want to give too much away should you actually read the book or see the play.

I just wanted to say, the play was phenomenal and I'd see it ten million times more if I could afford it! If you've been debating whether or not to buy tickets, stop thinking about it and just do it! Anyone you take will enjoy it, because it is both hilarious, romantic and adventurous…and who doesn't like The Wizard of Oz story? Its ingrained in our culture. I can't tell you how many writers reference The Wizard of Oz in the books, plays and shows they write…even my favorite guy, Stephen King!

I swear it! The day was so long that I actually finished, “The Black House,” by Stephen King and Peter Straub. I am now on my way to finishing, “Caesar’s Way,” the book the Dog Whisperer wrote about correcting dog problems. Summaries are in order or reviews are in order.

The Black House
I loved the book. The beginning was kind of slow, but the ending made the whole book worthwhile. It is a shoot off from Stephen King’s Dark Tower series and the sequel to “The Talisman.” It is a mix of mystery, fantasy, horror and police crime drama. It kept me so glued that I almost forgot to eat lunch while my co-workers were chowing down in front of me. The book is about worlds overlapping eachother. It involves an investigation of a serial killer that is powered by a demon in another world and it involves an LAPD detective that can jump in between these worlds. What I liked most is how it was tied into the Dark Tower at the very end.

For my fairly new readers…I am obsessed with Stephen King books, but even more so with the Dark Tower Series and the patterns of the Dark Tower spilling into his other books. Since I had been waiting for the new Dark Tower books to come out in paperback, I’ve been reading all the books connected to the Dark Tower. Most of which are not fantasy books at all. The only fantasy books Stephen King ever wrote were the Dark Tower Series. Anyhow, if you are a fan, you know that Stephen King will create parallel worlds of our own and overlap them with the current geography of the US. If you got out a map of the United States, you could go to the places of the cities he creates…most times you’d find a spot of open land or a border between two cities. The point is that, this is his alternate world and all the cities are connected to eachother in some way…and that way is the Dark Tower. I’m so into it, I started to create a chart, representing which books are connected, parallel to, overlapping and related to the series. Ok, I sound totally weird and nerdy…I think you get it, I enjoyed the book.

Moving on…

Caesar’s Way
I’m not finished with the book yet, but I probably will be tomorrow. What I learned…

1. When Miss BB rolls on her back and shows her belly when I assert dominance, that means she is being submissive and is essentially saying, “Ok, you’re the boss. I get it!”
2. When a dog follows you around the house, it means they know that you are their pack leader.
3. When your dog jumps on you and you let them, you just told your dog that they are the pack leader and you are the follower…something you never want to happen.
4. It is more important to get your dog in a calm-submissive state than it is to have them sit or laydown when someone comes through the door…because you have more control over them when they are in that state regardless if they are standing, sitting, or laying down.
5. A dog feels fullfilled for doing a job everyday and if their job is taken away a high energy dog will go nuts and start exhibiting erratic behavior.

Just some things to take back to Miss BB when I get home. Although, I must say that before I left she was doing much better since we first moved in. I hope she remains that way when I finally get home. But she is growing on Mikey. She follows him from room to room (which drives him bonkers) and he has let her spend the night in the bed with him a few times (so she’s been getting spoiled a bit, that’s a BIG treat for her). Of course she went and snuggled up and slept on my side of the bed. She misses me!

Or atleast what is left of summer to read in. I’m reading Cesar’s Way…its that book by the Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. A friend suggested it to me, because I guess she watches the show and says he works wonders on people’s dogs and since we aren’t sure of her previous owners background it might be a good idea to try his techniques. So far, so good. I never knew I could learn so much about dogs from an illegal, well now legal alien. People want to deport all the illegal Mexicans and this guy was a great product of that. Another reason to let them find their way to citizenship before deporting them! Anyhow, that’s a political topic and this is supposed to be a dog topic. Anyhow, I like what I read and have already been making some changes around the house after a day of reading. I’ve been telling Miss BB what to do, not baiting her and asking her to do things, just being more authoritative and she follows it very well. Its sad I needed a book to tell me that, but thats what you get when you are a book learner, right?

I’ll let you know what I think of the book when I finish it and whether or not I thought it was worth the buy.