anisia

Title: The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries) Author: L. J. Smith Book Description (amazon.co.uk) Elena is the school beauty, but she’s bored. Until a new boy turns up in her class. Stefan is dark and mysterious – and she’s determined to get to know him better. But Elena reminds Stefan of someone from his tragic past, and he’s just as determined to resist her. Until a series of attacks in the area terrify the school and town and Stefan, the outsider, is held responsible. Elena is the only one who offers to help and, falling in love with her, Stefan tells her his terrible story. He is a vampire, on the run from his evil brother, Damon, who is also a vampire, but doesn’t share Stefan’s qualms about drinking human blood. And Damon is the one Stefan suspects of really being behind the recent attacks… Can Elena help prove his innocence – without revealing his secret? Personal Note I definitely expected something else when I started this. I saw the TV show first and I thought it was very much based on the books – instead I found an Elena I dislike and no Damon. Although I guess he does make an appearance at times. I will read the next book in the series, but I am not impressed so far. It feels simplistic, with not enough emotion and character depth. I think I had too many expectations because I loved the TV show. It is an easy read though, it took me just a few hours, and it was enjoyable despite everything. Certainly enough to keep me reading.

It's definitely a good book to read if you are interested in how people become criminals, as there were so many theories studied. It felt very comprehensive unlike some of the psychology books I've read, which just focus on one or two aspects.

How weird, I completely missed your reply... and I normally get notifications! Odd. ------------------------ Title: Carpe Corpus Author: Rachel Caine Book Description (amazon.co.uk) This title includes a brand new and exclusive morganville short story only available in this edition. In the small town of Morganville, vampires and humans lived in (relative) peace – until all the rules got rewritten when the evil vampire Bishop arrived, looking for the lost book of vampire secrets. He’s kept a death grip on the town ever since. Now an underground resistance is brewing, and in order to contain it, Bishop must go to even greater lengths. He vows to obliterate the town and all its inhabitants – the living and the undead. Claire Danvers and her friends are the only ones who stand in his way. But even if they defeat Bishop, will the vampires ever be content to go back to the old rules, after having had such a taste of power? Personal Note I feel that the Morganville series is getting better and better with each volume. In this volume I reached the point where I was questioning everyone’s motives and wondering who was on the good side after all, as Rachel Caine keeps the readers in suspense until the last page of the book. I’m very curious to see how the changes happening at the end of the book will affect Morganville in the next volume.

1.Who was your favourite character and why? Charlie was my favourite character by far. It was so interesting to see how he develops and I think the emotional developing he goes through is even more fascinating than his IQ rising. 2.Was there a particular part you enjoyed/disliked more than the rest? I enjoyed reading the transition from retard to normal intellect (before he becomes a genius, reading everything). I also liked reading the childhood memories though at times they were quite painful to read. The part I disliked, although it’s a strong work, was the conference bit. I didn’t see a real point to it. I also found the idea of the old Charlie just hiding and waiting to take over absolutely fascinating. 3.Was this the first book you've read in this genre/by this author, has it encouraged you to read more? I’ve read SF, but it’s the first book I’ve read by the author, and I definitely would read more by him. 4.Were there any parts/ideas you struggled with? I wasn’t particularly fond of the relationship between Alice and Charlie. I just didn't feel comfortable with where the relationship headed. 5.Overall, did you find it an enjoyable experience? Yes, definitely! This was actually a re-read because I knew it was being discussed here and I wanted to remember details. I loved the book the first time and found it even more interesting the second time.

Author: Daniel Keyes Title: Flowers for Algernon Book Description (amazon.com) Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper, and the gentle butt of everyone’s jokes, until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him into a genius. But then Algernon, the mouse whose triumphal experimental tranformation preceded his, fades and dies, and Charlie has to face the possibility that his salvation was only temporary. Personal Note This was a reread for me and again I found this book fantastic. It’s so interesting watching the way Charlie evolves, both intellectually and psychologically. I found the ending excellent and it brought up a lot of questions in my mind. Again, very glad I reread this!

Title: Still Me Author: Christopher Reeve Book Description (amazon.com) Christopher Reeve has beaten the odds before. He scored his first role in a Euripides play at 15, costarred with Katharine Hepburn at 22, and was one of two advanced-program students accepted at Juilliard, to which 2,000 drama students annually apply. (The other advanced student became his best friend, Robin Williams.) Reeve rode a sailplane to 32,000 feet over Pikes Peak, fell 90 feet from a parasail harness into four feet of water and walked away. He survived emergency appendectomy, malaria in Kenya, and the disastrous filmChanging Channels, with Burt Reynolds. He flew vintage airplanes upside down. On his first solo transatlantic flight, a radar controller informed him he was about to run out of gas 200 miles west of Iceland. The radar controller had misread his screen, and Reeve landed safely. Then, in 1995, his horse balked at a 3-foot-3-inch racecourse fence, made an abrupt “dirty stop,” Reeve’s hands got tangled in the reins, he landed on his head and got a “hangman’s injury”–a broken neck. Ace paramedics got oxygen to him 60 seconds before brain damage set in, and a helicopter named Pegasus lofted him to a hospital. Reeve was already important. His interpretation of Superman was classic, and his starring role in The Bostonians launched the Merchant/Ivory school of filmmaking. But it was not until his paralysis that Reeve really got moving as a public figure of the first rank. As his memoir Still Me details, since the accident, Reeve has directed his first film, started the Christopher Reeve Foundation to fund spinal-cord-repair research, lobbied Congress, and crisscrossed the country on speaking engagements. Says Reeve, “Lindbergh made it across the Atlantic [where he was feted by Reeve's grandma]; Houdini got out of those straitjackets; with enough money and grass-roots support, why shouldn’t I be able to get out of this wheelchair?” Part Hollywood reminiscence, part scientific detective story, and part soapbox speech, Still Me explains the tantalizing but quite real possiblity that Reeve (and a quarter-million other paralyzed people, plus 49 million disabled Americans) may get back on their feet. Bobby Kennedy once tried to bolster Reeve’s faith by saying, “Just fake it till you make it. The prayers will seem phony, but one day they’ll become real.” Christopher Reeve has more than a prayer, he has a program. He ain’t fake, and he just might make it, leading a cast of millions. Personal Note “Still Me” , Christopher Reeve’s autobiography is definitely not what I had expected when I started reading. Despite the fact that it was written after Reeve’s horrible accident that left him paralyzed, the book is incredibly uplifting. The chapters are a combination of Reeve’s life before the accident, starting with his childhood, and his life and everything he went through after the accident. I think what I liked the most is the honesty. He doesn’t sound unnaturally upbeat, he talks both about the very low times and the happy ones. Another thing that stood out to me, which is less related to his own story is the names that make an appereance. Reeve comes from an older generation of actors, the ones that are now highly acclaimed – Robin Williams or Morgan Freeman to name just two. These are actors that became famous during the same years as Christopher Reeve, and I found it interesting to read about how they were before they were very well known for their acting careers. I definitely recommend this book whether you are one that’s followed Reeve’s acting/directing career or not.

I'll friend you on sparkpeople, I'm anisia85 (I think ) there! I love the site, used it a couple of years ago and lost quite a lot of weight with it in a very healthy manner. I've been back on it for about a month and a half now, I find it VERY motivating!

Author: Rachel Caine Title: Lord of Misrule (Morganville Vampires) Book description (amazon.co.uk) Morganville. Texas. Just south of normal. In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, a master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat. Violent black clouds promise a storm of devastating proportions. As student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against the elements – both natural and unnatural – the unexpected happens: Morganville’s vampires begin to vanish one by one. Discovering why leads Claire to one last choice: swear allegiance to Bishop…or die. Personal Note: After I was done with the 4th volume of the series, I felt the need of a break from Morganville. Not because I didn’t enjoy the books, but simply because after four volumes, I needed to read about something else. Lord of Misrule is the fifth book in the Morganville Vampires series and although I don’t think it’s the best so far, I definitely loved reading it. It’s packed with action, I love that the characters have enough depth that I now have favorites – Michael. As with every other volume, the ending has left me wanting to start the next one the minute after! Rachel Caine certainly likes cliffhangers…

Thanks Ben; sorry I'm only replying now, I kinda missed my own thread's reply Thank you! That's right, we did have a talk about the book, when I was still at the beginning of it. It was definitely a good read, although I need to stop taking notes, it made it a very long read too Hope you enjoy it! I'm halfway through Still Me, Christopher Reeve's autobiography right now. I am also halfway through the 5th volume of the Morganville Vampires series. I was hoping to finish both before February 1st, but unfortunately I work tonight, it won't happen

Understanding Criminal Behaviour by David W. Jones was definitely worth it. Although I definitely could have been faster with it, the reason it took so long to finish was that I decided to take notes while reading, since the book was from the library. As I've always been fascinated by "why" people end up doing criminal acts, this was a very interesting read. The chapters were focused on different topics, including Gender and crime or Youth crime. I particularly liked the studies it brought forth and the fact that although the book did focus on different aspects, the chapters did link with each other because of these studies. Another thing I liked was that it combined sociological and psychological theories, giving a more comprehensive explanation to certain behaviors.

The book should be kept the way it was written. Yes, the word changed is offensive, but it's part of a history that won't change by re-editing the book.

My mom's home made cookies

Just joined Goodreads, this is the link to my profile Profile

This so has to be a better year for reading as far as I'm concerned! With this in mind, new thread! Currently reading: "A Clash of Kings" - George R.R. Martin January 1. "Understanding Criminal Behaviour" - David W. Jones, 262 pages February 2. "Lord of Misrule" - Rachel Caine, 352 pages 3. “Still Me” – Christopher Reeve, 336 pages 4. "Flowers for Algernon" - Daniel Keyes, 224 pages 5. "Carpe Corpus" - Rachel Caine, 356 pages 6. "The Awakening (The Vampire Diaries)" - L. J. Smith, 240 pages March 7. "The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries)" - L. J. Smith, 210 pages April 8. "Fade Out" - Rachel Caine, 345 pages May 9. "Kiss of Death" - Rachel Caine, 348 pages 10. “Ghost Town” – Rachel Caine, 480 pages 11. “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” – J.K. Rowling, 128 pages June 12. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" - J.K. Rowling, 223 pages 13. "Bite Club (Morganville Vampires Book 10") - Rachel Caine, 448 pages 14. "An Utterly Impartial History of Britain" - John O'Farrell, 592 pages 15. "Beyond Belief" - Colm O'Gorman, 320 pages August 16. “How Starbucks Saved My Life” – Michael Gill, 368 pages 17. “Room” – Emma Donoghue, 402 pages 18. “Slam” – Nick Hornby, 304 pages October 19. "The Amber Spyglass" - Phillip Pullman, 368 pages 20. "The Illustrated Man" - Ray Bradbury, 240 pages 21. "The Great Gatsby" - F. Scott Fitzgerald, 320 pages November 22. "A Game of Thrones" - George R.R. Martin, 807 pages 23. "The Collector" - John Fowles, 283 pages

I know, right?! I guess because Criminal Psychology isn't very developed back home, he didn't think I needed to read about it more than his notes or something. Don't know! It's such a fascinating subject too...

I got it from the library, so you should find it The thing with how our class went was that we didn't get to do much extra reading and our teacher wouldn't give us a list of books that we could read - I actually asked him and he told me next time till the end of the semester. So I'm sort of just randomly choosing books This so far is good!

Sure! It's called "Understanding Criminal Behaviour - Psychosocial approaches to criminality" by David W. Jones And yeah, we had one semester of Criminal Psychology at Uni, but I only really enjoyed the second part of it. The first was a lot of rambling that didn't really take me anywhere because it was also not very... in depth? So I felt like I wasn't really gaining any really understanding. I do prefer reading at my own pace anyway. Cause I sometimes find stuff that interest me more so I'll just focus on those I can't imagine I'll go through the whole book in the 4 weeks I have it from the library.