Friday, July 10, 2009

Why I love followers, and a book review.

Every time I turn on my computer to do some blogging, I eagerly check to see if I have any new followers. Followers feel like friends to me, people who are interested to check in and see what I've been up to, or what I've got to say today. I love it when they leave me a comment, it lets me know what they think on a topic I've written about, or just that they've stopped by.
I love to follow other people's blogs too. When I visit a blog for the first time, I have a read through some of the most recent posts. If I like what I read, I make sure that I follow. Then I add the blog to my blog list (on the right hand side of the page). It's wonderful; whenever one of the blogs that I follow has a new post, it moves to the top of my list. I can visit these blogs to see what the blogger has to say today, and leave a comment if something particularly interests me.
Please feel free to use the links in my blog list to visit some of the blogs that I follow. You might find something that you like. And please keep commenting! That way I know that you're really out there!
I recently finished reading the host by Stephenie Meyer. Here are some of my thoughts on it...
From the back cover:
"The earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact...Wanderer, the invading 'soul' who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderer's thought with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding...Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met..."
the host is a long book at 617 pages. I find myself incredibly surprised that I'm commenting on the length of the book - I wouldn't normally. But I really think the book was a little too long; a bit like a 3 hour movie that would have benefitted from some ruthless editing!
Wanderer becomes a very appealing and sympathetic character. Nearing the end of the book, I found myself wondering how Stephenie Meyer was going to resolve the story in a way that gave Wanderer a satisfactory outcome. She does manage it, but after the pages and pages it takes for the rest of the story to unfold, the ending is a little too neat and too quick for my liking!
Meyer has done well to create a complete world for this story. She gives the alien species, the 'souls' a history, she describes, through Wanderer, what life is like on other planets, and creates a believable society for the humans living in hiding. If you enjoy science fiction, you will appreciate this aspect of the book.
The main thrust of the plot, when it comes right down to it, is a love story. So if you enjoy that sort of thing, and think you can get through pages and pages of set-up, then you might enjoy this book.
Don't assume that if you liked Twilight, then you'll like the host. They are completely different genres.
All in all, I'm glad this was a library book, and not one that I bought. I don't think I'll be tempted to re-read it!
If you'd like to read the review that convinced me to give the host a try, click here.

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