Twins seem to be the theme this season on television.  ABC Family brought us the small screen adaptation of The Lying Game by Sara Shepard.  Easy to see why they choice that series after the success of Pretty Little Liars.  Also we have CW bring Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy!!!) back to television with Ringer.

The Lying Game brings us the story of Emma and Sutton.  Emma takes her twin’s place while Sutton is on the search for their mother. Emma struggles to keep her identity secret while trying to uncovering plenty of secrets of her own.

Ringer tells a similar story of Bridget who takes on her sister Siobhan’s life after she believes her sister commits suicide.  She sees taking her sister’s place as a way to escape her past but soon finds out Siobhan’s life may just be worse.

The two shows have many similarities between them.  Besides the twin thing, there are many similarities between Bridget and Emma.  The first being that they both appear to be the twin in the more unfortunate situation.  In Emma’s case she is a foster child and flees from the current family she is with after she is accused of stealing money.  In Bridget’s case she was an ex stripper who was witness to a crime.  Fear of the man accused coming after her drives her to seek out refuge with her sister.  Both stories include cops after the runaway twin.

Siobhan and Sutton are also similar.  Both come from rich lifestyles and appear to have the perfect life.  But those around them are keeping secrets that their twins came across and taking over their lives.  Another similarity between the two is that they were both having affairs.  Sutton with Ethan and Siobhan with Henry.  The two guys seem to not be similar characters at this point.  Ethan realizes right away that Emma is not Sutton but ends up falling for her and helping her put together clues about her mother.  Henry seems to be a fairly cocky character so far.  I really thought when he first kissed Bridget that he was going to call her out just like Ethan did but that has not happened yet.

Both series very from the book series The Lying Game.  In the books, Sutton is actually dead and the story is told from her perspective. At first I thought that Ringer was going to be similar to the series in that one sister is dead.  At the end of episode one we realize that is not that cases though when we see Siobhan in Paris.

So far, I am enjoying both series because of the fast pace and mystery that builds with each episode. The books series was impossible to put down and I can’t wait for the next one to come out.  As for the television shows, as much as I love Sarah Michelle Gellar, I would say that I prefer The Lying Game.  The drama in it pulls me in and I love that there is also stuff that makes me smile like Ethan doing nice things for Emma.  Plus Ethan is super super hot.  Although I do love Kristoffer Polaha who plays Henry from his days of playing Baz on Life Unexpected.

That being said, I LOVED the book.  It was what it was.  It entertained me and made me laugh with all the candid and trashy situations that came up.   It was a very cute book overall.

First off, this is fiction.  Going in I thought it would be fiction as in really close to what really happen to her at the shore.  That was not the case by any means.  The stuff that happened in this book was so ridiculous and obviously not true that I laughed so hard. Yes, some of the stuff was kind of taken from other films and such but it was still funny.  Edward trying to date Bella?  Really? Too funny.

The main character Gia, was definately based off of Snooki herself.  Bella also seemed to be based on Jenni but I’m not certain how much.  That character was dealing with bad boyfriends so not sure if Jenni has that problem or not.  As for the male characters, and there was plenty of those, they seemed to be based on sexual fantasies.  Again, so funny.  So many lovable characters in the book that I can’t wait to see what they do in the next book. 

Plot wise, the book was nothing groundbreaking.  Girls looking for love and getting stuck in funny and sometimes bad situations.  It kept my attention though and was a fast and enjoyable read.  What else can you ask for in a book by Snooki?

Overall rating- 4/5 stars

Favorite quotes:

“It’s too cutesy, right? Might work for blond sorority girls.  But we’re Italian ball breakers.  We’re…lethally brunette.  No self-respecting lethal brunette would bend and snap.”

Celebrating beating NaNoWriMo!

Yep that is right, I wrote 50,000 words in one month.  It needs a lot of editting but I like what I came up with.  I think it is a very good base for something good.

I went on vacation so have been not reading or writing in a bit.  Finally just finished Firestorm by Rachel Caine.  I’m so in love with the Weather Warden series I wish I could make them last forever.  It’s sad that there is only four more to read.  Well then the Outcast Season series of course. 

Side story, today I was at Target looking over the book section when I heard a couple trying to decided what books to buy a teenage girl for Christmas.  Apparently she asked for Twilight and the Vampire Diaries.  They were very sure she had already read them though so wanted to get her something else.  They were picking around other books by LJ Smith and the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead.  Being nosy I made a comment about how I had read a lot of the series if they had questions.  Then I pointed them in the direct of the Morganville Vampire series.  They ended up getting some of them.  I really need to work in a bookstore, lol.  I love doing stuff like that.

Also Target had The Vampire Diares tv series on sale. I haven’t watched the show but I’ve read the books so I decided to pick it up.  I’m about twenty minutes in right now.  So far I’m liking it. The little brother is bugging me but I guess it adds a different/more human storyline.   And the Salvator boarding house with his uncle?  Do we really not get the old lady whose name I’m spacing on?  She was so badass.  How can you not include her? Oh well. I’ll write more about what I think as I watch more.

So what has everyone else been up to this month?

Today I had a flash of how I wanted the story to end so I wrote most the ending.  I think one of the things I’m loving about NaNoWriMo is I feel like when I have an idea I need to hurry and write it out instead of just taking notes and until I get there.  Hopefully I’ll be able to peice it all together okay when I edit.  If this writing style works for me I’m definately going to start to stick to it.

Word Count: 12,508
Song of the Day: Waves and the Both of Us by Charlotte Sometimes

As I got to thinking about the direction my book was going, I realize it was heading in to subject I never imagined I would write about.  It has become about quantum physics, esoteric cosmology, and scythian warriors.  No, I am not kidding.

Now all have to actually learn about these things.

A lot of that research will probably be done after I finish NaNoWriMo.  It will be interesting. I really love how my story is going.  There is lots of good verses evil right now.  Blurring the lines which I know is kind of cliche but oh well. I think that is something that most people question all the time so seeing it in story format is good.

Word Count: 6866
Song of the Day: Lions by Lights

No, I’m definitely in love with Tucker Max.

Yes it is true.  Go ahead and say whatever you want but in my mind, the man is brilliant.  His writing style is funny, honest, and very well executed.  From start to finish I was laughing and could barely put the book down.  I also went to a book signing but what to comment on that in a separate post once I have the video I took online. 

In case you don’t know who Tucker Max is, basically he is a guy that sleeps with a lot of girls and enjoys being the life of the party even if that means being a giant asshole.  His honest account of what happen makes the stories really come to life.  He even is not afraid to poke fun at himself.

I feel like I could go on for hours about how much I loved this book but instead I’m going to highly recommend it to everyone that is not overly sensitive and has a sense of humor.   Here are comments on a couple of stories that I especially loved.

Tucker Goes to Campout, Owns Duke Nerds
This is the first story in the book and instantly I was sold. Basically there is a large school event that lots of people have to camp out at so he gets drunk and uses a megaphone to harass people. For some reason I find the idea of a drunk guy with a megaphone insanely funny.

The Tucker Max Experience
Somewhere along the lines, Max was asked to put together a date with him that people could bid on.  His bullet points on what the date would be was hysterical.  His proposed date would include…

-I will answer the door in a white T-shirt with at least one hot sauce stain on it, gym shorts, messy hair, unshaven, reeking of pit sweat, stale alcohol, and fresh sex.

-Depending on how many beers I’ve had, I may repeatedly point at my crotch and nod approvingly. This is what I call “a hint”.

-By the time we get to the fourth or fifth bar, I will be completely shit-housed, will have stains on top of stains on my shirt, there may or may not be serveral whores trailing us, vying for my attention, and at least one of my friends will have told you that you are too good for me and should love him because he is such a wonderful person. (FYI: He’s a hater and a liar.)

-When you get home, you will regret ever meeting me.  If we had sex, you will rush to the free clinic to get tested.  The results will come back negative, and you’ll think to yourself, “At least the fact that he passed out a minute into sex has some benefit”.

Um sign me up, lol.

I Want to Cum Get a Load!
This was actually a whole section in that book that in my mind, makes Max the most brilliant man alive.  Why?  Because he got girls to do his laundry for free for years and slept with most of them.  I’m sorry but that is awesome beyond words.

He posted on his facebook that he wanted to meet a girl that would do his laundry for him and he got offers nonstop.  He offered sex in return and the girls took him up on it.  Classic.  Like I can’t go over how awesome that is. Go ahead and call it sexist or whatever but these girls came over on their own free will so he is in no way responsible for their actions. 

Can I steal this idea?  Half kidding.  But if I was dating someone I would totally offer certain things in return for not doing chores.

Tucker Max: Baby Killer
Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Dead babies aren’t funny but jokes about them sure are.   This chapter was mostly about his comments about abortion.  They made me laugh, a lot.  Reminded me of an old interview with Senses Fail where all they answered back was comments about dead babies.

So yeah, a few favorite of the favorites. Awesome book.  Don’t read it if you will get offended.  Enjoy it if you have no soul like me.  Completely joking.  Actually referring to an old Daniel Tosh joke about putting in horrible jokes because you can’t take them away from people that were born with no souls.

As far as I know this will be Reichs first novel that does not center around Temperance Brennan.  The main character however is supposed to be Tempe’s neice Tory.  This book is more on the sci-fi side where as the Temperance books are crime mysteries. 

I am excited for this book because Reichs is an extremely talented writer.  The detail in her books is incredible.  I even named my cat Temperance after her character.  It will be  interesting to see her writing something in a different genre.  I would say from the description, this book will be more along the type of books I have been reading this year anyways.  I’ve really been on a supernatural kick. 

This will also be her first young adult novel.  I don’t see any information yet on if this will be a series.  I hope so.  I know I will certainly buy it as soon as it comes out to help the cause!

I’ve gotten tons of reading in lately.  Already at 29 books read this year which is pretty good. My current addiction is the Partholon books by PC Cast.  Having read the House of Night series, I was excited to see what else she had written.  Divine by Mistake completely sucked me in.  It was hard to put down.  Same goes for Choice and I just started on Blood.  Sometime soon(ish) I’ll do a write up about Rhiannon.  I’m going to have to give myself a Welsh mythology refresher.  I took a class on Welsh and Norse Myths in college, and even wrote a paper on Rhiannon, but I can’t quite remember the story.

Anyways, here are a few quotes that I liked from the books…

Divine by Mistake

As my favorite college prof once sagely said, “Don’t fuck with an English major. They keep lots of useless crap trapped in their heads.  Once in a white they let some of it out and it bites you square on the ass.”

Haha, true story.  Don’t mess with me!

 Until then it hadn’t occurred to me that everyone couldn’t control his or her dreams.

Okay this stood out for me because I can control me.  I can like think and make them change.  I honestly until reading this thought that everyone could.  Can they not?  Now I’m so confused. 

He blinked again.  Why do I always assume tall guys are smarter? (Note to self: tall guys are not smarter, they’re just more attractive.)

This sounds exactly like something I would say.  This series probably draws me in so much because I think I’m a lot like Shannon.  They things she says and does are very similar to what I would.  Such a great character.

Divine by Choice

I’m not really very musically inclined, although I’d like to be, so I keep trying.

This is totally my new motto.  So fitting for all the singing I do in the car, club, wherever.

http://blog.mtvmusic.com/2010/04/20/mtv-music-book-club-lights-on-the-oath/

The books Lights talks about is The Oath by Frank Peretti.  I was not familiar with him.  According to Lights, the book fits under the fantasy/horror genre.  It is about a cult that has to do with a dragon.  She talks some about the themes behind it. 

I certainly want to read this book after seeing her talk about.  I was into fantasy books as a teen then kind of fell out of them for a while.  In the last few months, I have picked up more and more.  I think that pretty much any vampire books fall under this and if you look at my list of books I’ve read this year, you will see that is my main source of enjoyment these days.  Plus I’ve picked up a few Dan Koontz books which are probably along that horror/thiller type novel.  Oh and I’ve decided that I want to read the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.

The part of the interview that made me think the most was the last question about if a song or album can tell a whole story.  Lights answer not quite.  I would agree with her almost completely but there are some exceptions to that.  If you are looking at the whole album, there is some concept albums that tell an entire story.  A perfect example of this is What to do When You Are Dead by Armor for Sleep.   The album tells the entire story of a person that commits suicide for the one they love, goes into life as a ghost, then ends with moving on.  There is main characters, there is a plot, and there is emotions.  It definitely tells a complete story.

On the other hand, there is concept albums like Volcano by Gatsbys American Dream.  The songs are based on Lord of the Flies by William Golding.  Some songs are emotion driven, other are more story.  Overall, you get a feel of the novel but the album doesn’t tell the whole story.

As for songs, Lights definitely has a point that maybe a ten minute country ballad can but most songs just give a peak.  In the case of Meg and Dia, they write a lot of their songs based on novels.  They usually are about the emotions you feel after reading the books though.  Like in the song Indiana, based on the novel of the same title by George Sands, as a reader, you definitely notice the sad injustices going on.  That is exactly what the girls wrote about in the song.

The only example I can think of that is a relatively short song that captures a whole story is Bob and Bonnie by Houston Calls.  It tells the story of a couple that meets, falls in love, and lives happily ever after.  I can’t think of any songs that capture a whole novel though.  I do think that would be nearly impossible.

Man, I love when music and books combine! Nothing makes me happier.

PS, make sure to check out The Listening by Lights! It is amazing.  My favorite song is Pretend [Reprise].  Close behind it is The Last Thing on Your Mind which I actually plan to have a line from tattooed on me.