It was so logical to buy a copy of New Moon. Cate zipped through it quickly, and dropped off her copy before leaving so that I could read it too. How could I possibly say anything except thank you? I've heard so muc As ye sow, so shall ye reap. I've heard so much about this book, and I suppose it is interesting to see what people are talking about. But, Jesus Christ, Bella is eighteen and she's already obsessing about getting old.
She keeps hassling Edward to turn her into a vampire so that she can stay young and pretty for ever. There is some chance that this will result in her losing her immortal soul, but hey, seems worth the risk. I suppose future ages may consider that this says something about early 21st century Western society. You don't exactly have to overexert your mind to come up with interpretations in that direction.
Bella is a bright girl who gets mostly As and Bs at school, so why hasn't she stopped even for a second to consider the physics of vampires? To start with, where do they get their energy from? They don't really eat, they don't really drink, and they don't even need to breathe. Yet they're incredibly strong and fast.
OK, they claim they need blood every now and then. But not, apparently, very often, and how could they possibly get this amount of energy from the occasional liter of blood? Then they're hard, "like marble". In fact, if they didn't claim to be vampires, would we even think of calling them that?
They certainly seem to be a lot more like humanoid robots. And if you just follow up that hypothesis for a moment, several things fall into place. Their blood must surely be full of those little nanobots that are going to be the Next Big Thing. When a vampire bites a human, the nanobots get into the victim's bloodstream and start restructuring him from the inside out, replacing all the soft animal tissue with something far more durable.
That no doubt includes the brain too; they probably scan it and then map the structure onto software, a trick that's been standard in SF for several decades now. No wonder the "vampires" can think so uncannily fast. But if your brain has been scanned, destroyed, and turned into software, are you still the same person?
You can see why Edward is warning Bella that she might lose her soul. It's a bit like turning an LP into a CD, a process that several of my classical musician friends describe in exactly those words. And, going back to where we came in, where is their energy coming from? Those nanobots must have their own power source too.
I must admit that I don't know what it is. The fact that "vampires" don't seem to need any kind of material inputs suggests it's not chemical; nuclear seems more likely. Maybe they have some kind of catalyzed cold fusion, or it could be a post-quantum force that we haven't discovered yet. After all, we're way overdue for the coming revolution in physics. Also, where did the nanobots come from, and why are "vampires" unhappy to be out in open sunlight? I can only see one sensible answer.
They can't have been created by humans. They must be from elsewhere, which in practice means from another solar system. Probably they were originally created thousands of light-years from here, and have been drifting slowly on the cosmic currents for millennia.
Well, if their normal habitat is deep interstellar space, no wonder they're scared of sunlight. They wouldn't normally be this close to a star; they're not designed for it at all. And here's the thing that surprised me most. In fact, the story isn't irrelevant or far-fetched. If people like Ray Kurzweil are right, it's tackling what could soon be a major issue. According to Kurzweil, the Singularity is supposed to arrive this century, and those nanobots will be a reality.
Millions of people will have to make exactly the moral choice that Bella has to make in the book. Are you going to stay human, or allow yourself to be transformed into a godlike and near-immortal being, which might however not actually be you any more? It's interesting that the books are appearing when they are, and present such a compelling emotional case for allowing yourself to be infected by nanobots.
If you like conspiracy theories, feel free to speculate some more here. I mean, hating it would hardly be a challenge, would it? But every now and then, I get a passage like this one: I'd been broken beyond repair. But I needed Jacob now, needed him like a drug. I'd used him as a crutch for too long, and I was in deeper than I'd planned to go with anyone again. Of course, there are some problems, starting with the fact that Stephenie Meyer can't write to save her life.
But by making it a first-person narrative told by the shy, clumsy Bella, she has found an ingenious way to get around that.
Bella's endearing klutziness is just a metaphor for her even more serious problems as a writer. As she keeps telling us, every time she walks across a room she wonders if she'll trip over her feet and end up in hospital; similar remarks apply to her ability to string together an eight word declarative sentence.
But she's stylistically consistent, and after a while I found myself accepting her. This just happens to be her voice, even though it's not a very good one. I also thought that she was a seriously unreliable narrator.
Not about factual events; to start off with, she doesn't seem to be imaginative enough to make anything up. We hear over and over again that she loves Edward, and only thinks of Jacob as a friend. But we also hear that Edward feels hard and cold to the touch. I couldn't help thinking of the wonderful scene in Mean Girls where Rachel McAdams's Cool Mom insists on giving Lindsay Lohan a silicone-enhanced hug; I'm sure that Bella often winces in just the same way when Edward hugs her, though she doesn't allow herself to notice it.
In contrast, Jacob is warm and alive, and she genuinely likes holding his hand and feeling him put his arm around her. There are several scenes when she nearly kisses him, knowing full well what that will lead to.
It's clear that she wants to, and the excuses she makes to herself about him just being an unsatisfactory substitute for Edward are laughably unconvincing. I found the opposition between Edward and Jacob the heart of the book, and after a while I decided that the author was presenting something interesting and essentially honest.
The tricky thing is that she's subverted the vampire symbol. Usually, vampires represent the young girl's simultaneous dread and fascination in the face of sex. But Edward isn't very sexy. We're always being told that he looks like an angel, and indeed there does seem to be an angelic purity about him. I find it much more plausible that he's representing religion, and when you think of him in those terms several other things come into focus.
As Richard Dawkins keeps telling us, a religion is a kind of virus, which infected parties want to spread as quickly as possible; well, vampirism is rather like that too. And Bella is very conflicted in her feelings about vampires. She loves the Cullens, "her family", but she is well aware that most vampires are monsters. If you're brought up in a cult-like religion, that's not a bad metaphor.
All other religions are evil and wrong; your own religion is the one exception to the rule. As everyone knows, Stephenie Meyer is a committed Mormon. It doesn't seem far-fetched to claim that Bella's feelings about vampires mirror the author's feelings about her religion, which among other things is very down on premarital sex. And that's where the werewolves come in; they represent the normal sexual feelings that most young Mormon girls are taught to deny.
The tension between these two conflicting attractions is what gives New Moon its undeniable force, and I found the story credible at an emotional level. I can readily believe that it's just like that to be a eighteen year old Mormon girl with a healthy sexual appetite, and I feel I understand their plight better after having read this book.
Well done, Stephenie! Aug 03, Scott rated it did not like it Recommends it for: anybody except feminists, girls, and the emotionally secure. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I can't even Is anyone else completely aghast that this dreck saw a printing press not to mention became a wildly popular series?
I thought I was being hard on Twilight when I criticized it for portraying a relationship so ill-advised and unhealthy and then romanticizing that relationship to young people as if people didn't already make enough bad decisions. I thought maybe now that Book 1 was done the series would take a nice turn.
Enter: New Moon. Exit: Shred of decency. Were it simply a I can't even Were it simply a problem of the weakly-developed characters, confused and uneven plotline, hundreds of pages of cloying depression only to be replaced by cloying sentimentality later on , and an appalling and unsubtle parallel to Romeo and Juliet, this novel would simply be mediocre teen fare.
But then we must consider the problem of Bella: whiny, needy, and sullen, blindly devoting herself to a partner that constantly patronizes, criticizes, and subjugates her only for him to leave so she can spend the next 8 months in a state of emotional vacancy so acute that she forgets everything else in her life that a girl can be happy about.
Bella is only complete--and she says this herself--when her man is by her side. And apparently, according to Meyer at least, this is ok. It's ok to create a character so bereft of purpose, self-assurance, and identity that she can't live without a relationship based on nothing substantial, just beauty, lust, and exoticism. And it's ok for her to experience no emotional maturity whatsoever because in the end, her lover comes back spewing the same gushy nonsense as before while still lording it over her and flying into rages when he doesn't get his way.
The only compelling character in this story was Jacob. That is The irrational hatred between vampires and werewolves gets played off as instinctual, but it has all the logic of bigotry, and that these characters do nothing to try overcoming it is yet another way in which they are immature and non-self-examining.
Due to the audience for which this intended, I have to say that New Moon and the Twilight Saga as a whole are not just poor, they're damaging. And don't even get me started on the "epiphany" of p. We were expected to believe Bella thought Edward had ceased to love her even though an autistic housefly could see it was nowhere near true?
This book failed. I'm sorry. View all 17 comments. Apr 02, Kai added it Shelves: owned , finished-series. I love every single book and it's kind of hard for me to pick a favourite. This one, however, is probably my least favourite. Not for obvious reasons, though. Most people complain about how nothing really happens, how Bella is mainly depressed and moping and boring.
To be honest, this is my favourite part in this book. It's the perfect rainy autumn day read. When you're feeling down and annoyed, this book wraps you in a blanket and comforts you.
Bella's numbness and depression, Fork's atmosphere, Jacob's warmth, all of that soothes your - or well at least my - soul and lets you sulk a little and enjoy the silence. I could do without the action, though. I don't need the big drama at the end of every Twilight book. I'm happy just reading about Bella's thoughts and inner conflicts, about her life in Forks, her friends and the Cullens. That's enough for me. Find more of my books on Instagram Shelves: young-adult , heroine-i-adore , werewolf , favorites , part-of-a-series , desert-island-keepers , im-jealous-of-this-heroine , suicidal-hero , reading , fantasy.
I admit I put off reading this second book in the Twilight series, for a few reasons. Maybe my love for Twilight would turn out to be a fluke. I had watched the movie recently, so it would feel like a rerun.
Well, I finally manned up and read New Moon this week. I can honestly say this is one of my favorite books of all time. Many bad things have been said about Ms. Meyer has proven to me that she can I admit I put off reading this second book in the Twilight series, for a few reasons. Meyer has proven to me that she can write books that I can admire and enjoy, and that I can appreciate from an artistic and literary standpoint. She brings the story to vivid life, and pulls me right into the action.
She knows how to make me feel. The beauty of their love story. Surprisingly, it did. Meyer took the story that much deeper for me with New Moon. I have actually read few writers that have such a gift for illustrating and bringing emotions to live.
Showing the complexity of relationships, how they all come to matter and play a part of our emotional landscape. The pain that Bella feels when Edward leaves…. I felt it acutely. I felt angry at Edward. I was so mad I wanted to slap him. I could understand why he left, not possibly knowing that his leaving could never be the best thing for Bella.
With this couple, as with my favorites in literature, you can see how mutual, how all-consuming their love for each other is. Some might call it self-destructive. Even when people try to control them, they still manifest in other ways. Especially those that are so powerful, like the love these two people shared. The way that Ms. Meyer showed the first four months was so beautifully evocative and yet so basic, it was that much more effective.
Just each month written on a individual page. Nothing else. So she existed. Nothing more. After that, there was her developing relationship with Jacob Black. Again, there was so much skill in describing how Bella becomes friends with Jake. Her love for him that is more than just a friend, like a brother, but deeper. But in the world where Edward existed, there was no substitute. I thought that the book would be boring without Edward, but it was far from that.
That voice that came around to warn Bella when she was in trouble. When he would smile his sweet smile, and shine his light on Bella. Her friendship also helped him. She stood up for him and cared about him, bringing something to his life as well.
I love Bella as a character. I like how she is shown to be imperfect, but more than willing to examine her actions and her motives to see if she is doing what she feels is right. Yes, Bella did some immature things, but what do humans do when they are hurting? I think Bella might come off wrong on first glance to the casual observer. Like she is in her own little world, selfish and self-absorbed. She has to hold herself at a distance or lose herself. It totally makes sense why she falls apart when Edward leaves, and then when Jake pushes her away because of what is going on with him.
The fact that I respected Bella so much is why I loved this book passionately, even though my favorite character is hardly even in the book. It also testifies to Ms. Her characters keep me invested, the way they interact with each other, creating the fabric of this book, a beautifully-woven creation that sucked me in too deep to let go until I was done.
I love my dad, but Charlie would be a great dad for any girl. He makes this book series special to me, just for his small parts in the books. Silly me. The wolf pack aspect was very interesting. I felt so much for Jake, how he was confused and at sea; how he truly believed that the wolf that had awakened in him made him bad. I was glad that he had Bella to help him see that the wolf was a beautiful thing, part of who he was. Part of why she loved him, and like she loved Edward even with his being a vampire, she would continue to love him, even as a wolf.
I have to say that although Edward is still my favorite, I adore Jake tremendously. I just love how he is described. So yes, I am a Jacob fan now, and well as loving his pack brothers and Emily. Even though there is not a lot of action in this book, it still kept me riveted. I appreciated how the menace of the Volturi came off so clearly, even with very little onscreen violence.
The contrast between the Cullens and the Volturi was beautifully, clearly rendered. How the Cullens had chosen the connection between them, the capacity to love over the bloodlust, even if it was terribly hard at times. I love Edward way too much. I also adore the Cullens, especially Alice and Carlisle. It shows a deep, powerful romantic love, but also the love of friendship, the bonds of family not merely by blood, but by choice , and how they all come together, serving as our greatest weaknesses, but also our greatest strengths.
Funny how I can learn this lesson from a book about vampires and werewolves, and a human girl caught between them. I can hardly describe how much I love this book! View all 53 comments. Aug 17, Lucy rated it did not like it Shelves: teen , trashy. Bella Swan's relationship with her hot vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen is heating up when her characteristic clumsiness messes everything up again at her vampire-thrown birthday party.
In typical Bella style, she gives herself a paper cut and Edward has to literally throw himself in front of her to keep her from being dinner for six hungry vampires. That's the last straw for Edward, and he and his entire family pick up and leave to prevent any more harm from coming to Bella on their tab. Bella i Bella Swan's relationship with her hot vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen is heating up when her characteristic clumsiness messes everything up again at her vampire-thrown birthday party.
Bella is, of course, inconsolable, and walks through life like a lovesick zombie - until she renews her friendship with local boy Jacob Black. Jacob is a good friend - and more importantly, he helps Bella fix up two motorcycles and teaches her to ride them. Bella's friendship with Jacob - and the adrenaline rush that the motorcycles bring - sustains her, until she discovers a dangerous truth about the identity of Jacob and his friends - they are a pack of young werewolves.
And even worse, they have been working to protect her from a vicious vampire who has it in for Bella. After the horrible drudge that was Twilight, New Moon was a pleasant surprise. At least, part of it was, if you can get past Bella's melodramatic, lovesick, woe-is-me-I-am-the-center-of-the-universe depression.
I was actually starting to enjoy Bella's somewhat odd relationship with Jacob, and the book in general, which kind of surprised me - until Edward showed up again. Then, the writing dissolved once again to "I love you more, shmoopy. That's the problem with this book. I like Bella with Alice. I like Bella with Carlisle and Esme.
I like Bella with Jacob. I can't stand Bella with Edward. And let me rephrase that. There is nothing likeable about Bella as a character - she is a complete and total MarySue. Jacob is goodhearted and clever and interesting, and I have no trouble understanding why Bella is drawn to him. But why is Jacob drawn to Bella?
There seems to be no reason I can understand. And most laughable of all is Bella's desperate urge to become a vampire herself. Especially at the end, when Edward asks her to marry him first, and she balks.
She's afraid of commitment, but not of being turned into a vampire so she can stay with him always? Give me a break. View all 28 comments.
Twilight: 1. Is this what we're supposed to be teaching our teenage daughters? Apparently Ms. Meyer believes that: 1. Moping for 4 straight months over a goddamned boy is okay, and even though you'll make people worried and your friends may stop talking to you, hey! Becoming another boy's friend solely to use him to make yourself feel better and to try and fill that "void" the other boy left, without any regard for his feelings and how your actions might affect him is definitely okay because hey!
Even though he doesn't know. But that's okay. Cause you know. And you'll tell him. Okay never. Hopping on a plane to another fucking continent is definitely the best decision you could make when your twoo wuv is in danger of killing himself, even though he's immortal.
With no regard to your father. Who literally just came back from his friend's funeral. Nah, don't think about Dad. He's probably not that worried. Cause Daddy, I love him! You're supposed to be selfish because you're in love! I'm not even going to try to explain this one. It's literally the whole book. I'm just so utterly disgusted by what I just read, and I can't believe I managed to stomach it all. Bella is so incredibly weak as a protagonist, girl, woman, character, whatever.
Just the way she treats everyone is extremely self-centered--from her father to her friends to Jacob--and it made me furious. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Bella, the person Edward holds most dear.
Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite. Have you ever wondered what your friends really think about all things Twilight?
Now you can find out! Edward or Jacob? Commentary novels not included. Twilight was in development for approximately three years at Paramount Pictures's MTV Films, during which time a screen adaptation that differed When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options.
How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved? To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point.
Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs. Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences.
Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life-first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse-seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed The astonishing, breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced millions.
Only the adjacent abandoned farm with its fallow pastureland, resurgent wildlife, winding stream and quiet woods offers her solace through the long, hot and lonely summer. There she befriends a newly hatched painted turtle, discovers a red salamander and finds herself protected by a bald-headed eagle.
Unlike normal dreams, Lois is susceptible to 'waking visions', when real time is suspended in dual planes of reality. Her father is lead aeronautical engineer for the Avro Arrow. Now Emily's an orphan, and her mother's snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. She's sure she won't be happy.
Emily deals with stiff, stern Aunt Elizabeth and her malicious classmates by holding her head high and using her quick wit. Things begin to change when she makes friends, with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, who's sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper.
Amazingly, Emily finds New Moon beautiful and fascinating. With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon. The 2nd study c onsiders the cult of the moon and its surprising survival in the Hebrew canon. The book follows the 13 lunar cycles of an agrarian year, and includes recipes for every season. Montgomery - Enjoy the first book in this fabulous series from the author of the "Anne of Green Gables" series.
This book features an active table of contents and the ability to jump between chapters. Follow the story of Emily Starr, a young girls who finds herself an orphan after her father passes away. There she meets a collection of fascinating, entertaining characters as she pursues her truest dream -- to be a writer.
With new friends and adventures, Emily might someday think of herself as Emily of New Moon. The first study in this volume considers the cults of goddesses dedicated to trees and the Earth in the Near East before the Deuteronomistic reform. The 2nd study c onsiders the cult of the moon and its surprising survival in the Hebrew canon. Accomplished chef and passionate food activist Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods.
The book follows the 13 lunar cycles of an agrarian year, and includes recipes for every season. Emily of New Moon L. Montgomery - Enjoy the first book in this fabulous series from the author of the "Anne of Green Gables" series.
This book features an active table of contents and the ability to jump between chapters. Follow the story of Emily Starr, a young girls who finds herself an orphan after her father passes away. There she meets a collection of fascinating, entertaining characters as she pursues her truest dream -- to be a writer. Now Emilys an orphan, and her mothers snobbish relatives are taking her to live with them at New Moon Farm. Shes sure she wont be happy. Things begin to change when she makes friends, with Teddy, who does marvelous drawings; with Perry, whos sailed all over the world with his father yet has never been to school; and above all, with Ilse, a tomboy with a blazing temper.
In this lyrical memoir, Lily Hoy Price writes with moving detail about her childhood and adolescence in a large Chinese Canadian family in the Cariboo country of northern British Columbia. The ninth daughter in a family of 12 children, Lily is an observant child who tucks away every image of life in rugged Quesnel during the s for one unforgettable tale after another. She has carefully selected many of her father's early photographs to illustrate her stories.
The celebrated pioneer photographer Chow Dong Hoy left a legacy of more the 1, photographs taken after , and created an invaluable record of the cultural diversity of the Cariboo region.
Filled with love, confusion, family celebrations and family tragedies, these stories open a window on an era long past. I Am Full Moon creates an intimate portrait of life in an unusual, gifted family and is a significant addition to the historical literature of British Columbia.
A undici anni va a vivere dai parenti di sua madre nella vecchia fattoria di New Moon, dove la sua passione per la scrittura cresce e matura, grazie anche alla presenza di un cugino poeta e nonostante la severa opposizione della zia Elizabeth.
First it's her mother's missing gold brooch. Then, a blue and white dish she hasn't seen in years. Followed by an entire grove of cashew trees. When objects begin appearing out of nowhere, Calamity knows that the special gift she has not felt since childhood has returned-her ability to find lost things. Calamity, a woman as contrary as the tides around her Caribbean island home, is confronting two of life's biggest dramas. First is the death of her father, who raised her alone until a pregnant Calamity rejected him when she was sixteen years old.
The second drama: she's starting menopause. Now when she has a hot flash and feels a tingling in her hands, she knows it's a lost object calling to her. Then she finds something unexpected: a four-year-old boy washes up on the shore, his dreadlocked hair matted with shells.
Calamity decides to take the orphaned child into her care, which brings unexpected upheaval into her life and further strains her relationship with her adult daughter.
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