Follies of the King

"Follies of the King" is the eighth book in Jean Plaidy's Plantagenet series. I know, I know: what happened to six and seven? No one has them, that's what happened. Oh, well, so I'm missing big chunks of history here...King Edward II has taken the throne after his father, Edward I, dies. He marries Isabella of France, but really, he prefers handsome young boys to his wife. This makes Isabella, daughter to the king of France and a very beautiful young woman, extremely jealous. She manages to have four children by Edward, and when the oldest boy is old enough to take the throne she stages a coup and sweeps the crown away from her husband. Like they say, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned...

1215: the Year of the Magna Carta

After all that fiction I thought I should feed my brain some more nonfiction, so I read "1215: the Year of the Magna Carta" by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham. It was about King John and how he was so horrendous his barons forced him to sign the Magna Carta, guaranteeing them certain rights. It should have been interesting, but frankly it bored me. I don't know if it was the authors' writing styles or what. The subject matter was certainly interesting: it went into pretty good detail about what England was like in the early 1200s. I think I'm just anxious because of all the books coming out this summer that I'm waiting for: next Tuesday is Janet Evanovich's 14! Yeah!

The Case of the Waylaid Wolf; Wonderful Tonight

"The Case of the Waylaid Wolf" by Erle Stanley Gardner had Perry defending a woman who is accused of murder after she complains that her boss tried to force himself on her. Perry's courtroom skills are so good he gets the real killer to stand up out of the middle of the audience and confess.
"Wonderful Tonight" by Pattie Boyd was a pretty good autobiography. She was married to both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, and she inspired such songs as "Something", "Layla", and "Wonderful Tonight". She was very, very classy about writing this and laid blame at no one's feet and didn't drag dirt in. That being said, it was also very bare bones. When she leaves George for Eric, I wondered why. I didn't feel she explained that very well. And why she stayed with Eric, or married him, I didn't understand, either. Eric Clapton was horrible to her, not like she'd admit it, but you could understand. He may play guitar like nobody's business, but he certainly doesn't know how to treat other people, especially other people he supposedly loves.

The Case of the Glamorous Ghost

This was the longest Perry Mason mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner that I'd ever read. There was quite a bit going on, but it was really good, easy enough to follow, and the ending didn't seem too far-fetched, which is unusual for Gardner (see Screaming Woman post below). A beautiful young heiress is faking amnesia after the man she ran off with to elope in Arizona is found dead, killed with her gun. Perry learns that the man was an informant for the U.S. government regarding smuggled gems, and then finds gems buried in his client's luggage. In the end the real killer is found, but not until Perry actually has to put on a defense in court, something I haven't read him doing before. In all the previous books, he was able to foil the prosecution during their case.

The Case of the Screaming Woman

Well, back to Perry Mason by Erle Stanley Gardner. This one was actually pretty hilarious. A doctor is attacked in his home around eleven o' clock one evening. Not only were there, like, 100 people in this poor doctor's house this late at night, hiding in various rooms, but all his neighbors were at home, sitting by their windows, some with binoculars. What a nosy neighborhood! I'm glad I don't live there.

Eclipse

The last Twilight book until August, "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer, did not disappoint. Edward has agreed to make Bella a vampire if she'll marry him. But, of course, before that can happen, there is drama. Victoria, the vampire mate of James, who was after Bella in "Twilight" and who Edward killed, is after Bella to avenge James. She creates a team of newborn vampires to serve as her army. After they wreck havoc on Seattle, they come after Bella. Edward's family, the Cullenses, team up with Jacob's werewolf pack to kill Victoria and her army. There are some hilarious scenes with Jacob and Edward sparring, both verbally and physically, for Bella.
Most of the time it doesn't bother me that I'm not the type of woman men immortalize in song or poetry, or fight over, but sometimes, after reading books like these, I'm jealous.

The Queen's Handmaiden; Twilight; New Moon

On Saturday I finished Jennifer Ashley's "The Queen's Handmaiden", yet another fictionalized account of Queen Elizabeth I, as told through the eyes of her personal seamstress, Eloise, niece of her governess, Kat Ashley. It was good; the only difference between this one and most of the many others I've read is that Ashley (the author, not the governess) imagines that Elizabeth was in on the many plots to overthrow her sister, Mary, from the throne, and Eloise was a spy who smuggled communications in and out of Elizabeth's household. It doesn't seem likely to me that Elizabeth condoned the conspirators or was in cahoots with them, but then again, I wasn't there, so we'll never know for sure.
Okay, onto the good stuff. And I mean the really good stuff. "Twilight" and "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer. I've been wanting to read these books for a while now, ever since practically everyone I know has read them and gushed. I was a little wary; while I enjoy 99% of the books I read, I rarely gush. For these, I will gush. I totally understand everyone's obsession with them and have joined the ranks of the obsessed most willingly. My friend Shelly lent me "Twilight" (a thousand thank yous!!) and I started reading it Saturday after I finished "The Queen's Handmaiden". I literally could not put it down. It was midnight, and I kept saying just one more chapter and I'll go to bed, just one more chapter. I couldn't even keep my eyes open any longer, but I kept reading. I finally fell asleep and finished it Sunday morning, then raced to Barnes & Noble to buy the second and third one. I spent most of Sunday reading "New Moon", then finished it and dove into "Eclipse". It was very difficult to put it down this morning and come to work.
But enough about me! Let me tell you about Meyer's incredible characters, stories, imagination, insight, etc. She has imagined what every young woman wants (at least, I always have, ever since reading Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire" lo those many years ago): to meet an incredibly gorgeous vampire, fall in love, and beg him to make you immortal, too. Alas, Lestat never came for me like I'd hoped. But young Bella meets Edward, and they fall in love. He is a vampire, and she wants to be one as well, only he won't do it. He doesn't want to make her lose her soul. In the sequel, "New Moon", Edward leaves, thinking it will be best for Bella to forget about him and move on with her life (like she could ever forget!). She does grow closer to her old friend, Jacob, who, as it turns out, is a werewolf (this girl can sure pick 'em). Turns out the ancient enemy of the werewolf is...the vampire! Of course. Talk about your jealous boyfriends. In the end Edward comes back, and he and Bella vow never to part again. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, if you haven't read it. And if you haven't...do so! Now! Quickly! :-)
Meyer's characters are amazingly well written and so real. I'm curious to see how the Hollywood version will come out, since last I heard there was a movie in the works. She adds her own special touches to traditional vampire lore (shining like diamonds in the sun rather than burning to a crisp...I like that much better, sun goddess that I am) and really makes you care about what happens to them. Fortunately I don't have too long of a wait before book 4 lands in August, but it will be long enough. I haven't been this excited about a series since Harry Potter, and that's saying something!

A few hours later: well, I checked out the movie on the Internet Movie Database website, and it looks like it will be pretty good. They got the guy who played Cedric in Harry Potter to play Edward, which I think is pretty good casting. I read that Stephenie Meyer wanted Henry Cavill to play Edward, but by the time they got to filming, he looked too old. All I can say is Meyer is a brilliant woman with a good eye for men! Cavill is on Showtime's "The Tudors" series, which I don't love--it's too inaccurate, historically, but I do love the casting. I thought Cavill was in his late twenties until I found out a few weeks ago on the Tudors website that he's only 24! Yikes! He does look much older, though, so I can understand why they chose not to cast him for this role. It calls for a younger looking guy. They better hurry up and make the next two before the leads all get too old and you have the same controversy swirling around these movies as you do with Harry Potter (which I think is silly, but whatever!).