This week’s question of the week is inspired by my upcoming vacation. (WooHoo!) I’ll be spending next week relaxing at a cottage by a lake, and I’m looking for some fun, light reads so I can keep my brain entertained, without exerting too much effort.

So my fellow book lovers, here’s where I put the call out to you! What Book Should I Take on Vacation?

And if you’re feeling up to it, a brief thought on why this would make a great vacation read would be appreciated! ALL suggestions are welcome!

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening
by L.J. Smith

The Vampire Diaries was originally published as a trilogy back in 1991, and a fourth book was written the following year. The books were republished in two volumes in 2007, and they will be re-released again this year to coincide with the launch of the new CW series of the same name.

The first book in the series The Awakening, introduces us to Elena Gilbert – the most popular girl in her small-town high school. We also meet her friends Matt, Bonnie and Meredith, as well as Stefan and Damon – estranged brothers with a dark secret.  When strange attacks begin happening in their small town, the townsfolk blame Stefan much to Elena’s dismay, and she and her friends take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of the story.  The book ends on a huge cliff-hanger, which I believe is the only possible reason anyone would ever read any more of this series.  (Which I did, BTW. It doesn’t get better. I just can’t handle a cliff-hanger.)

I don’t even know where to begin with what’s wrong with this story.  I guess the biggest issue I had is that I really didn’t like Elena, who basically comes off as a manipulative, self-centered brat. The only character I actually enjoyed in the book was Elena’s best friend Meredith. Along with the un-likable characters, there’s clichéd writing and a complete lack of logic to round things out. I found myself saying, “But that would never happen!” more times than I can count. And I don’t mean because there’s vampires in the story. Here’s a paragraph that should have tipped me off early on that this wasn’t going to be good:

“That was it; something was watching her. The sky overhead was not blue but milky and opaque, like a giant bowl turned upside down.”

Yep. That’s a whole paragraph.  Or then there’s this:

“Elena felt Stefan’s lips meet hers. …What she felt was not merely passion, but a bruising tenderness and a love so strong it made her shake inside.”

A bruising tenderness? Seriously? And it’s their first kiss and they barely know each other. What kind of message is that for young girls? Pages of this kind of syrupy drivel had me close to gagging. I read a number of reviews that claimed Twilight was a rip-off of this series, but this will have you wishing you were reading Twilight.

BUT, here’s the funny twist… despite really not liking the book, I can totally see how it could make for a promising television series. And I actually haven’t been able to stop thinking about the possibilities since I finished the book.

For my thoughts on The Vampire Diaries the show check out the post over at RTVW.

This week we want to know:  Do you prefer reading one-off stories, or books that are part of a series?

This is an easy one for me. I’m a series type of girl all the way! (See just a few of my favorites pictured on the left.)

It’s a weakness… I’ll even sometimes choose a less-great book in a series over a great one-time story. And this is most definitely NOT because I prefer reading crappy books!

I find I’m very slow to get into a new book. I often take days to get through the first couple of chapters, but then will whip through the last half of the book in one sitting. And this is a pretty common occurrence for me. But, if I’m reading a book in a series, I already know all the characters and therefore I’m already ‘into’ the story before I even start the book. Not to mention the fact that once I fall in love with characters, I can never get enough of them and I just want to read endless stories about them.

This phenomenon was put to the test this week, when I actually stopped reading the 2nd book in a really bad series, and started a new book. Sadly, 4 days later I was still having a hard time getting anywhere with the new book because I could not stop thinking about the story I had left unfinished. Finally, I just gave up and went back and finished the not-good 2nd book. Hopefully now I can enjoy the new book I was starting!

So, tell us – What do you prefer reading? Single books or books in a series?

In honor of all the Vampire Diaries talk this week, I think it’s time we discussed books that have made their way to the small screen! There’s SO many choices out there right now… with the upcoming Vampire Diaries and Accidentally on Purpose, or the currently running True Blood, Bones, and Gossip Girl, and of course past favorites like Privileged and Roswell, there’s no shortage of TV shows based on books. So, our Question of the Week this week is: What’s your favorite book that’s been made into a TV show?

Remember, we aren’t looking for which show you like best, but which of the books that started the shows that is your favorite.  (But please let us know how you feel the show compares to the book you love!)

As a long time fan of the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris, my vote goes to Dead Until Dark, the first of the Sookie Stackouse books for best book that’s been made into a TV show.

I started reading the series long before there was even talk of making it into a TV show, and I just loved all the characters. I think that’s what I like most about the show… getting to see all these characters that I’ve been following for so long come to life on the screen. I have to admit to not liking the show as much as I enjoy the books… it’s pretty over-the-top campy in comparison to the books, and they’ve made Sookie such a bitch on TV.  I’ve only seen season 1, so I have no comparison on how it’s going now that they’re into season 2 (and I presume the second book), but depspite not thinking it’s living up to the books, I did enjoy season 1 enough that I will be watching season 2 when the DVDs come out.

Alright, now tell us what’s your favorite book that’s been made into a TV show?