The Host (and signing), Truckers, and Princes

The Host
Stephenie Meyer, 619 pages, 2008
It was really good. It was different than I thought it would be, in a good way. So, all the little summaries that you can find of it online are really only the tip of the iceberg. It's still Stephenie Meyer, so it is still very detailed writing with plenty of foreshadowing. But I think that she's become a better and better writer over the course of her career. If the idea of aliens puts you off, just remember that so did the idea of vampires, but Twilight was good anyway. You should pretty much read it.

Oh, and last weekend, I went and got my copy of the host signed. Yep. I went to a Stephenie Meyer signing. It pretty much rocked. Especially because a bunch of us all went together and had some really good Taco Salad afterwards. And hobnobbed with Alphie and Pel. If you don't know who they are, don't worry about it. Anyway, about 25 of us pretty much went all out wearing matching t-shirts and making banners and buttons and sashes and all kinds of stuff. It's fun to be a geek sometimes. :)

Truckers
Terry Pratchett, 288 pages, 1990
This was a fun one. Terry Pratchett is so funny, you know? It's the first in a trilogy that is written for kids about "nomes" -- the little people who live under our noses. One bunch of these little guys has never ventured outside of the Store. After all, when the place says "everything under one roof" what could really be outside? Anyway, it was a cute book -- some interesting under-the-radar religious commentary, and plenty of fun.

Pulling Princes and Stealing Princes
Tyne O'Connell, 223 pages & 295 pages, 2004 & 2005.
Pulling Princes is the first in the series about Calypso Kelly, an American at a British boarding school. It deals with her struggle to overcome stereotypes and make friends -- as well as her goal to "pull" (kiss) a "fit" (cute) boy or two this term. These being the main premises of the novel, I found it a bit shallow. However, O'Connell must be a good writer or something because even though I thought the main ideas were kind of dumb, I still hung on to the book. And then I read the second one, Stealing Princes. Oh! Also, Calypso is a fencer. That's kind of fun. Imagine kissing a boy and then bashing him with your saber. hehe. Anyway, I liked Pulling Princes better than Stealing Princes, just because Calypso was a little dim-witted in the second installment. I had figured out the mystery problem a good 200 pages (at least) before she did, so that drove me bonkers. But hey, you might like them more than I did.