Guest Blog Review of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Hi BRIO Book Club readers. My name is Sara and every week I will contribute reviews on the BRIO Book Club blog about the latest bestsellers. In anticipation of the upcoming release of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, I chose to review Twilight. This is the first in a series of four books by the prolific author. Check back next week for New Moon-the sequel to Twilight.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
It has spent months on the New York Times Bestseller list, Amazon declared it the best Book of the Decade, and Publisher’s Weekly called it the Best Book of the Year.
This unassuming young adult book about young love has captivated the world. It is a phenomenon not seen since a young woman in a London coffee shop penned a story about a boy named Harry.
The story takes place in rainy, dreary Forks, Washington. Isabella Swan is moving to Forks to live with her father. Bella does not like Forks: she bemoans the lack of sun, the landscape being “too green,” and the fact that everyone seems to be staring at her. She is bored. But Bella’s life is about to become much more exciting when a boy named Edward takes an instant dislike to her. Bella is confused yet intrigued.
The emotion Bella construes as hate is actually passion. Edward does not hate Bella. He desires her; but it is not a passionate love but a passionate desire to taste her. The desire is so great; Edward forces himself to stay away from Bella. But for reasons he does not understand, Edward saves Bella’s life when he stops a runaway truck with his bare hands. Bella is fascinated. She does not know what Edward is but she is determined to find out. Bella Swan’s life becomes a journey to discover the truth about a boy who has superhuman strength and seems to desire nothing but to taste her blood.
Twilight takes the reader on a young girl’s journey to find true love and come to terms with a secret that may make her question everything she holds dear.
What follows is a rip-roaring, suspenseful page-turner guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. Readers will not be disappointed. In fact, with fan sites blogging about the characters, two sequels on the market and a fourth book due out August 2; Twilight fans are never at a loss for news.
So welcome to Forks. Prepare for the ride of your life.

The author discussing the book on YouTube:



Talking about her making of the movie at my home town place - the Mall of America in Minnesota:

Last Summer's Favorite - John Grisham's "The Partner"

I was married on July 20th, 2007. We went to Cabo for our honeymoon and I picked up a book that I knew I would like, John Grisham's "The Partner". His style of writing is consistent and I enjoy the twists and turns in his books.

This book is about Patrick Lanigan who is a partner in a law firm in Biloxi, Mississippi. Lanigan was killed in a fiery car crash. He is burned beyond recognition, and his remains are cremated and then buried. But when several weeks later, 90 million dollars goes missing from his law firm, Patrick becomes the chief suspect. Four and a half years later, Patrick is discovered living in Brazil, and is captured and tortured by some disreputable characters who are working on behalf of the companies that were bilked of their millions, including two insurance companies. Patrick does have the money, although he doesn't know the exact location of it. But he also knows a terribly powerful secret that can bring many people crashing down if the information was to be made public. The Partner becomes a literary game of chess as Patrick uses this information while bargaining with the FBI, the Justice Department and Harrison County Law Enforcement.

"The Partner" is a great read and I enjoy them because he can see the movie while reading it. The book comes to life and the twists and turns were just right. This is a great summer read because it doesn't require lots of thought, just pure entertainment.

Let me know if you have read this book and what you think.

Cheers

Business Book I Recommend - "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits" by Verne Harnish

There are many business books with all sorts of great information. Topics include sales, human resources, profitability, managing a team, and many other specific niche books. I have had the pleasure of meeting Verne Harnish over a year ago and he has changed the way our company does business. At BRIO, we help others who want to self publish.

As he was speaking that day he mentioned that every business owner should write a book. It helps establish them as an industry expert, builds credibility, and you will be referred to as an author for life. When I heard this I thought I could help everyone in the room make this happen. We work with great writers every day and people are always very busy. They are either too busy or not a great writer or both.

Now we offer ghostwriting at BRIO and can help anyone fulfill their dreams of becoming an author. In Verne's book "Mastering the Rockefeller Habits" he also talks about many other small differences people can do in their business to build a better, more profitable company. His tips have helped our company grow 20% in one year and build a brand instead of "just another company" competing for the same services.

There are many great books with lots of great tips/advice on how to become better but what I have found is that it comes down to one thing - implementation. The discipline to implement these useful ideas and making them a reality is what makes the difference from a company that is good to take it to the next level of being known as a "great" company.

Please feel free to share other great business books you have read and/or leave comments about this one.

Cheers!