My Name is Memory

     I really loved this book. Ann Brashares did an amazing job writing this. She is also the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books.
     Daniel is a man who has an amazing memory. So amazing, in fact, that he can remember all of his past lives. And one component is the same in every one: Sophia.
     Sophia is the one he has always loved, and always lost. He spends each life searching for her, hoping that this will be the life he finds her and gets to be with her. Of course, their bodies are always different, but their souls never change. Daniel could recognize Sophia's soul from anyones.
     The book switches between descriptions of Daniel's past lives(and his memories of Sophia) and the present time(in the 21st century). Don't think that the switching is confusing, it isn't. At the beginning of each chapter is the place and year, so it is easy to keep track of the history and what is going on. It is written beautifully.
     The one problem I did have with this book was the ending. I won't give anything away, but it was very sudden, as if the last chapter or two was left out. There are some rumors online about this book being the first in a trilogy, but I'm not sure if this is true or not. So far, there is no sequel. I am hoping for one to be written and published, but I'm not holding my breath.
     I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good love story and/or history.

The Search for the Giant Squid

     First of all, I love squid and especially giant squid, so I was expecting a lot out of this book. And thankfully, it lived up to my expectations.
     I know there are not a lot of things to know about giant squid, since they are very rare to see in person(alive, at least), and much is not known about their lifestyle at all. Ellis did an amazing job on this book. Each chapter has a main focus(and I have to admit, sometimes it seemed that he did go a bit off-topic), and it keeps it easier to read. There are a lot of names, places, and dates mentioned, and at times it is hard to keep track of them all. I tended to skim over the dates and all, because I do not need to know every single year that a dead giant squid washed ashore, but if you want to know, it's in there!
     I loved the chapter about the mythology of the giant squid. I am very into mythology and such, so it was very interesting to me. Ellis talks about how the giant squid is most likely the basis for the myths and legends of the kraken, and he also says that sea serpent sightings may also be linked to giant squid carcasses. This makes sense because a lone tentacle floating at the top of the ocean could very much look like a giant sea snake to a sailor who has been at sea for months at a time. This whole chapter was very interesting.
     I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either marine biology or mythology.

Bridget Jones's Diary

I enjoyed this book very much. Bridget Jones is a young woman who isn't completely sure what she's getting to in life. She goes through the ups and downs of romantic relationships, freaks herself out about not getting invited to a party or get-together, and her mother's constant ideas. She's a very hopeful person, mostly, but at times gets depressed and feels very down about her life. I feel that this is one reason that many woman can relate to Bridget. She is a very smart woman, but doesn't always show it. 

I would reccomend this book(and its sequel) to any woman(or man, even) who has had hers/his struggles in life thrown their way all at once. This book is a good book to read when you have a whole day to read, because you're going to want to read it all at once.

Gossip Girl series(the books)

So, I've never had a book blog before, so forgive me if I don't do this right. For Christmas, I received the first three Gossip Girl books(Gossip Girl, You Know You Love Me, and All I Want is Everything) by Cecily von Ziegesar. I have finished the first two so far, and partway into the third.
In the first book(Gossip Girl), Serena van der Woodson returns from boarding school, after being gone for a year, with no explanation. She left New York in such a rush, she didn't even say goodbye to her then best friend, Blair Waldorf. No one knows why Serena is back, and Blair wasn't even aware that she was coming home. The book explores Serena's life back home(and her conflicts with Blair), Blair's relationship with her longtime boyfriend Nate Archibald, and the lives of "New York's Upper East Side's elite." We meet Dan Humphrey, a not-so-rich boy who is sercretly in love with Serena; Jenny Humphrey, Dan's younger sister, who adores Serena and looks up to her; Vanessa Abrams, Dan's friend(who has a major crush on Dan); Chuck Bass, an egotistical rich kid; and Kati and Isabel, Blair's "followers." In Gossip Girl's blog, they are all referred to by their first inital(to "protect the innocent" according to GG herself, although everyone knows who she is gossiping about anyways).
In the second book, Blair's boyfriend Nate meets Jenny(who introduces herself as Jennifer) and falls for her. Nate realizes that he isn't really into Blair anymore, and cheats on her with Jenny. When Blair finds them kissing at a party, she heads for the bathroom and cries, and Serena comforts her. This brings them close again, and they become best friends again.
Throughout these books, Ziegesar constantly drops the names of many high-end fashion designers as much as she can. This is very distracting from the plot, and gets kind of annoying after a few pages. But of course, I read on, hoping the rest of the book would be good. It wasn't.
The writing style didn't really draw me in, and the characters swear a lot, which is not how I would imagine classy, Upper East Siders would speak(like on the show). I definitely like the television show much better.

In the books, Blair is always described as the mean and cruel one, but we see no evidence of this at all. In my opinion, Serena is the mean character in this series. In You Know You Love Me(Gossip Girl #2), Blair's life falls apart. Being that she is my favorite character because I can relate to her, I felt horrible for her throughout the entire book.

Dan is a very intense, poetry writing boy in the books. I actually like him more than any of the guys(such as Chuck and Nate). Nate is a complete jerk, and Chuck...words cannot explain him. I like Dan's deep thoughts, and I like when he references other books and makes connections and such. He is honestly the smartest character in the whole plot.

I'm going to finish reading the third one, and I will probably borrow the rest of the series from the public library, because I want to see a) how they compare to the show and b) I want to see if Ziegesar's writing gets any better. I would recommend these books if you love to read about spoiled kids who make stupid decisions, love reading about fashion, and don't mind a lot of mindless swearing. They aren't completely horrible, but I'm glad they're shorter books.