Thursday April 2, 2009
Books
Displayed below are the top selling items for today, Thursday July 2, 2009 along with the review customers have voted "most useful".
To find top selling items in for a specific category, use the menu on the left or click here to see all categories.
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
- New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) by Stephenie Meyer
- The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
- Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
- Liberty and Tyranny : A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin
- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
- Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
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Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer
(based on 3928 customer reviews)
-
(Paperback)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $6.59
You save: $4.40 (40%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
435 out of 621 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/30/05
Not just for young adults
I am a big vampire genre fan, so when I saw this book in a magazine, it caught my eye. I have to admit, I felt a little funny even thinking of buying it, because it is listed and shelved as a young adult book. Well, I decided to "bite" the bullet, and I purchased it, curled up with it over a weekend, and could not put it down. Don't let the fact that you have to visit a different section of the book store stop you from reading it, (or of course, purchase it on Amazon, no one will ever know if you don't want them too). This is a really great book with real emotions all wrapped up in a vampire story, a young woman's story of having to grow up faster then she maybe should have because of her parents, and yet still dealing with all the issues that growing up brings with it. All in all, a great book, glad I decided to overlook the age description.
Click here to see more reviews for: Twilight
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New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)
by Stephenie Meyer
(based on 1705 customer reviews)
-
(Paperback)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $6.04
You save: $4.95 (45%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
292 out of 335 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/27/06
A Dalliance with Wolves
4.5 stars
In my review of Twilight, I said that the book had more in common with "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pride and Prejudice" than it did with any vampire novels or stories. That still holds true, although be certain: I'm not comparing Twilight or New Moon to these books in terms of literary quality. There are few that match either.
In New Moon we miss the vampires for most of the story, and Bella spends time with her friend Jacob, an Indian fated with becoming a werewolf, and fated to hate all "bloodsuckers", regardless of whether or not the bloodsuckers took human lives. (Btw, that little bit is cleared up at the end...what exactly their treaty entails. It's interesting, kind of, but I have to wonder if the author thought of it as the story was being written, and that it wasn't planned when the "treaty" was first mentioned. I suppose it doesn't matter.)
If you're reading this story because you like vampire stories, you will be disappointed. Edward's only around for a bit less than 1/3 of the book. When he is around, however, his presence is appreciated. One thing that the author didn't do this time, and it was similarly appreciated, was to have Bella writing down every single thought that she had regarding his absolute perfection (remember, this is a first person narrative).
While spending time with "the wolves", Bella goes through some interesting growth patterns. I say interesting, because I'm not entirely certain that I followed them or that if I understood them that I agreed with them. That said, I've never been a teenage girl, and the author has been a teenage girl, so I have to bow to her experience in this.
Many readers will look at Bella's behavior during her "dalliance with wolves" as bizarre and entirely unbelievable. I don't think they were. For anyone that has had the absolute love of their life torn from them, with the *absolute* belief that this love would not return, and if you happen to be emotionally immature to top all of this off, your behavior wouldn't be too far off from Bella's. I'm not saying exactly like Bella's, just not too far off.
Again, this is not a vampire story. The fact that vampires were not around in this book as often as some may have liked did not lessen the quality of the story. What was missing, though, was the urgency, and the mystery. For example, we never knew why, in Twilight, Edward recoiled upon first seeing Bella until the very end. We had a reaction, and a resolution, and during that time we had lots of questions. That type of immediacy was missing here. Everything was rather straightforward.
When Edward lies to Bella, we know that he is lying, and we know that there will be resolution. The problem is that we know he's lying, and we know the resolution won't be too surprising.
I did enjoy the unique take on werewolves, but I felt that since we had seen so much of the vampires in the first book, that we should have seen and felt more of the werewolves in this book.
One thing that I found particularly frustrating was the similarity of emotion that both Jake and Edward have for Bella. Yes, Bella is a clutz, and she definitely needs protecting. But to have two main characters, in two separate books, respond to her in a nearly identical manner (both fearing for, and being vocal about, her need to be less careless), is tough to buy.
There were some hints of future issues between the Cullens and Jake's clan. I hope we see them. And I hope that this story can survive the necessary metamorphosis - at some point, it will need to be less about Bella's intense love for Edward, and more about the actual situations surrounding them.
This may sound like a negative review. It's not. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've seen others that gave Twilight 5 stars give this 1 or 2 stars, and I've questioned that. I think that given the nature of this story, readers need to be more aware of what this story is really about. See the first paragraph of this review for that.
I'm anxiously awaiting the third book. There are a lot of possibilities, and I can't help but wonder which possibility the author will choose, and how she will resolve whatever roadblocks her choices give her.
Click here to see more reviews for: New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2)
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The Twilight Saga
by Stephenie Meyer (based on 806 customer reviews)
-
(Hardcover)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $49.80
You save: $33.20 (40%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
215 out of 222 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 10/17/08
The Complete Hardcover Twilight Saga
This set includes all the books from the Twilight Saga, which includes; Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and lastly Breaking Dawn. The books themselves are exactly likes the ones you find at any bookstore, in hardcover. The case it comes in has all the book covers displayed on each side minus the names of each book.
What is included that you couldn't normally get by buying each one individually elsewhere are 4 5x7-ish cards that have the cover picture on one side, then quotes from the corresponding book written on the other. for example: one 5x7 has a picture of the twilight cover, hands holding a red apple, then the other side it says, "About three things i was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him--and i didn't know how dominant that part of him might be--that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."
I would recommend this set to those who do not already own the twilight collection(like me) and would like to own all the books(i borrowed them all from a friend). Or of course obsessed twilight fans. There's nothing truly remarkable about the set so i wouldn't go buying this if you already own all the books.
I am very happy with my purchase nonetheless. This saga is one of my favorites.
Click here to see more reviews for: The Twilight Saga
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Breaking Dawn
by Stephenie Meyer (based on 4279 customer reviews)
-
(Hardcover)
Edition: First Edition, First Printing
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $12.64
You save: $10.35 (45%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
1166 out of 1550 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 8/3/08
Relax and Enjoy the Fairy Tale
Reading all these one star reviews is totally killing my post Breaking Dawn buzz, y'all.
Bella's happily ever after is heart warming and tidy just like any other fairy tale you might enjoy from childhood, though with quite a bit more blood and (tastefully described) sex. Many of these one star reviews criticize the happy ending, the early marriage, and motherhood in place of a college education, among various other complaints. I'm suspecting these reviewers would be much happier with an independent Bella who marches off in her human form to get a Masters degree in Psychology before marrying Edward. Or heck, not marrying Edward at all, and eschewing the idea of something so base and demeaning as becoming a wife or parent. Though perhaps it's more the youth of the heroine that causes their lament.
I however, like happy endings and am thrilled she gets to be a mother. Yes, GETS to be a mother. Many people I spoke to who were in "Camp Jacob" expressed their reason: "Because she could have a family with Jacob". Well surprise, she had a family with Edward.
Yes, Jacob imprints on Bella's daughter, but because imprinting on babies/children had previously been introduced in the series, I didn't find this at all unsettling. All this shouting about pedophilia is a little... intense for what really happens. Jacob makes it clear that it isn't a sexual thing at all while the object the affection is still so young. Jacob imprinting on "Nessie" means they all stay a family, which is what Bella wanted all along.
Which brings me to another common complaint: Bella gets everything. Goodness! After fighting for it, tooth and nail, yes, she does. Isn't that what makes most of us smile at the end of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty?
As for the complaint that Bella should have gone to college first -- good grief, does she not have the rest of eternity to obtain as many degrees as she wants? This isn't real life, folks.
For those worried about the impact this book may have on impressionable young teen fans, if you're allowing them to read the books at all (I know some parents aren't), why don't you read the book along with them and talk about the real life application of Bella's choices? Sounds like a great excuse for some good conversation.
One complaint I completely agree with, Bella names her daughter Renesmee, which is hard to read, hard to pronounce, and impossible to spell. I'm amazed that made it past the editors.
Stephenie Meyer has been able to create characters that feel intensely real. I was able to lose myself in the story throughout all four books. While the first in the series remains my favorite, the characters remained almost tangible people that I cared about and rooted for throughout.
Stephenie admitted herself that pleasing all of her fans would be impossible, but insisted that this was the story she wanted to write all along. I've been a happy voyeur for the ride, and remain a happy fan.
Click here to see more reviews for: Breaking Dawn
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Eclipse
by Stephenie Meyer
-
(Hardcover)
Edition: 1
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $10.99
You save: $9.00 (45%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
374 out of 499 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 8/8/07
Good, but...
I really love Twilight and New Moon. Really love? More like I'm obsessed. I can read them, and immediately reread them. I eagerly looked forward to Eclipse. It delivered, and it didn't.
Others have summarized the story, so I'll just tell my reaction to it.
The Good:
1. Bella finally starts to think about the consequences if she turns into a vampire. She starts to worry about Charlie and Renee, and what she will be like once she turns. In the other two books, she gave very little thought to these things--not very mature, in my opinion.
2. Jacob and Edward both appear a great deal, unlike in the previous two where one of them would go missing for long periods of time.
3. We learn more about the werewolves, their history and their habits. Very interesting stuff.
4. Bella FINALLY gains a backbone and defies Edward in something. Even going so far as to trick him into getting her way. Before, she conceded to his wishes so easily, or he manipulated or guilted her into conceding. Not very attractive, I don't think.
The Bad:
1. A lot of worrying, a lot of planning, a lot of backstory, not a lot of action.
2. Bella is STILL so terribly dependent on the Cullens. They haul her around and risk their lives to protect her while she is helpless. Not her fault, I know, but I wish Stephenie Meyer would give her some kind of human way to defend herself.
3. I suspected this in the other two books, but Eclipse confirmed it: Bella is ANNOYING in her love for Edward. She blocks out everything but him. I don't know, maybe it's because I love Jacob so much that I get angry when she dismisses him. Bella thinks she will die if Edward leaves her. DIE. Really? Is that such a good message--that the ONLY way a girl can be happy is if she is with her one true love, and bye bye happiness if she's not?-- to teach the young girls who are the target audience for this book?
4. Again, I just can't get over it, she is so obsessed with Edward when Jacob is there and he is much more real. He knows Bella. He doesn't treat her like she's glass. He treats her like a girl. He thinks of his own needs as well as hers, like a normal being would be. And he's so warm. He really is like a sun. I've never really believed in Edward's love. SMeyer never shows us why they love each other. She just states it as if it's fact and we should believe it because she says. In Twilight, there was no falling in love. There was just curiosity, a little obsession, and suddenly they declare themselves to each other. So unrealistic.
Conclusion: Despite all my ranting, I really did enjoy the book, and anyone who has been reading the series will enjoy it too. Get it ASAP!
Click here to see more reviews for: Eclipse
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Liberty and Tyranny
A Conservative Manifesto
by Mark R. Levin (based on 254 customer reviews)
-
(Hardcover)
Author: Mark R. Levin
Publisher: Threshold Editions
Price: $13.75
You save: $11.25 (45%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
742 out of 818 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 3/24/09
The Left doth protest too much
The louder someone complains, the closer you are to the truth. I anticipate a lot of ad hominum complaints from statists here. Do not let them talk you out of reading this book.
In any given generation, there are but a few authors and thinkers whose creations can survive the ravages of time and the shifting sands of societal evolution. It is rarer still when a key book is written, recognized, and celebrated contemporarily. This is one such book.
Mark R. Levin logically lays out what has made the United State of America different from all other nations in the history of humanity. He re-introduces us to the founders and framers, and those people who inspired them long ago. At its most basic elements, our country was founded on the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness...and that we have these rights conferred on us, not by man or government, but by the laws of nature, which originate with the Creator. Mr. Levin puts us back in touch with our founding doctrines, which are the at the very heart of what conservatism is and has always been.
For too long, Conservatives have let themselves be defined by the media. Mr. Levin's book recasts what it is to be a proud Conservative, and gives voice to those who are often silent in the face of ideological slander. If you believe in this great country, if you believe in truth and honesty, if you believe in life and principles, if you believe in freedom and patriotism, if you believe that all people are created equal and it is up to the individual to succeed according to their talents and interests, and if you believe in a smaller efficient government then this book is for you.
Click here to see more reviews for: Liberty and Tyranny
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New Moon
by Stephenie Meyer (based on 1705 customer reviews)
-
(Kindle Edition)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $6.04
You save: $4.95 (45%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
290 out of 332 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 9/27/06
A Dalliance with Wolves
4.5 stars
In my review of Twilight, I said that the book had more in common with "Catcher in the Rye" and "Pride and Prejudice" than it did with any vampire novels or stories. That still holds true, although be certain: I'm not comparing Twilight or New Moon to these books in terms of literary quality. There are few that match either.
In New Moon we miss the vampires for most of the story, and Bella spends time with her friend Jacob, an Indian fated with becoming a werewolf, and fated to hate all "bloodsuckers", regardless of whether or not the bloodsuckers took human lives. (Btw, that little bit is cleared up at the end...what exactly their treaty entails. It's interesting, kind of, but I have to wonder if the author thought of it as the story was being written, and that it wasn't planned when the "treaty" was first mentioned. I suppose it doesn't matter.)
If you're reading this story because you like vampire stories, you will be disappointed. Edward's only around for a bit less than 1/3 of the book. When he is around, however, his presence is appreciated. One thing that the author didn't do this time, and it was similarly appreciated, was to have Bella writing down every single thought that she had regarding his absolute perfection (remember, this is a first person narrative).
While spending time with "the wolves", Bella goes through some interesting growth patterns. I say interesting, because I'm not entirely certain that I followed them or that if I understood them that I agreed with them. That said, I've never been a teenage girl, and the author has been a teenage girl, so I have to bow to her experience in this.
Many readers will look at Bella's behavior during her "dalliance with wolves" as bizarre and entirely unbelievable. I don't think they were. For anyone that has had the absolute love of their life torn from them, with the *absolute* belief that this love would not return, and if you happen to be emotionally immature to top all of this off, your behavior wouldn't be too far off from Bella's. I'm not saying exactly like Bella's, just not too far off.
Again, this is not a vampire story. The fact that vampires were not around in this book as often as some may have liked did not lessen the quality of the story. What was missing, though, was the urgency, and the mystery. For example, we never knew why, in Twilight, Edward recoiled upon first seeing Bella until the very end. We had a reaction, and a resolution, and during that time we had lots of questions. That type of immediacy was missing here. Everything was rather straightforward.
When Edward lies to Bella, we know that he is lying, and we know that there will be resolution. The problem is that we know he's lying, and we know the resolution won't be too surprising.
I did enjoy the unique take on werewolves, but I felt that since we had seen so much of the vampires in the first book, that we should have seen and felt more of the werewolves in this book.
One thing that I found particularly frustrating was the similarity of emotion that both Jake and Edward have for Bella. Yes, Bella is a clutz, and she definitely needs protecting. But to have two main characters, in two separate books, respond to her in a nearly identical manner (both fearing for, and being vocal about, her need to be less careless), is tough to buy.
There were some hints of future issues between the Cullens and Jake's clan. I hope we see them. And I hope that this story can survive the necessary metamorphosis - at some point, it will need to be less about Bella's intense love for Edward, and more about the actual situations surrounding them.
This may sound like a negative review. It's not. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've seen others that gave Twilight 5 stars give this 1 or 2 stars, and I've questioned that. I think that given the nature of this story, readers need to be more aware of what this story is really about. See the first paragraph of this review for that.
I'm anxiously awaiting the third book. There are a lot of possibilities, and I can't help but wonder which possibility the author will choose, and how she will resolve whatever roadblocks her choices give her.
Click here to see more reviews for: New Moon
-
Eclipse
by Stephenie Meyer (based on 1480 customer reviews)
-
(Kindle Edition)
Edition: 1
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Price: $9.99
You save: $10.00 (50%) off the list price!
click for more info
Most useful review as voted by customers:
373 out of 497 people found the following review helpful.
Review Date: 8/8/07
Good, but...
I really love Twilight and New Moon. Really love? More like I'm obsessed. I can read them, and immediately reread them. I eagerly looked forward to Eclipse. It delivered, and it didn't.
Others have summarized the story, so I'll just tell my reaction to it.
The Good:
1. Bella finally starts to think about the consequences if she turns into a vampire. She starts to worry about Charlie and Renee, and what she will be like once she turns. In the other two books, she gave very little thought to these things--not very mature, in my opinion.
2. Jacob and Edward both appear a great deal, unlike in the previous two where one of them would go missing for long periods of time.
3. We learn more about the werewolves, their history and their habits. Very interesting stuff.
4. Bella FINALLY gains a backbone and defies Edward in something. Even going so far as to trick him into getting her way. Before, she conceded to his wishes so easily, or he manipulated or guilted her into conceding. Not very attractive, I don't think.
The Bad:
1. A lot of worrying, a lot of planning, a lot of backstory, not a lot of action.
2. Bella is STILL so terribly dependent on the Cullens. They haul her around and risk their lives to protect her while she is helpless. Not her fault, I know, but I wish Stephenie Meyer would give her some kind of human way to defend herself.
3. I suspected this in the other two books, but Eclipse confirmed it: Bella is ANNOYING in her love for Edward. She blocks out everything but him. I don't know, maybe it's because I love Jacob so much that I get angry when she dismisses him. Bella thinks she will die if Edward leaves her. DIE. Really? Is that such a good message--that the ONLY way a girl can be happy is if she is with her one true love, and bye bye happiness if she's not?-- to teach the young girls who are the target audience for this book?
4. Again, I just can't get over it, she is so obsessed with Edward when Jacob is there and he is much more real. He knows Bella. He doesn't treat her like she's glass. He treats her like a girl. He thinks of his own needs as well as hers, like a normal being would be. And he's so warm. He really is like a sun. I've never really believed in Edward's love. SMeyer never shows us why they love each other. She just states it as if it's fact and we should believe it because she says. In Twilight, there was no falling in love. There was just curiosity, a little obsession, and suddenly they declare themselves to each other. So unrealistic.
Conclusion: Despite all my ranting, I really did enjoy the book, and anyone who has been reading the series will enjoy it too. Get it ASAP!
Click here to see more reviews for: Eclipse
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