My daughter received the first two seasons of Gossip Girl on DVD from her father for Valentine’s Day. Not having ever watched a single episode, curious decided to join her in front of the television. Soon I became enthralled in this teenage version of Sex and the City where money, lies, betrayal and scheming are an everyday occurrence. Within a week we completed all six seasons.

Afterwards, I decided to read the books curious as to whether the series was anything close to them. I quickly discovered they are not. In fact, they are completely different. At least that’s what I found after the first book, Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar.

As in the books, Serena returns and Blair is upset about it. She is upset that Serena will overshadow her again and she orders Nate to stay away from her. And this is before Blair learns that Nate and Serena lost their virginity to one another. Dan is obsessed with Serena and Jenny is determined to meet the popular girls so she can ‘become someone’.

However, unlike the television series, Nate is a weak minded stoner with no clue about his future. Rufus is a disgusting slob whom Lily would never be involved with. Mainly because she is still married to Serena’s dad as Chuck also has both his parents. While Chuck is still an ass, in the first book, Chuck is a very minor character although he is still an ass. He and Nate are not even close to being the best of friends as depicted in the series. Plus, Vanessa is there from the beginning rather than returning from school and her look is quite different…she is a student at Constance and the only girl with a shaved head and wears all black with combat boots. Not exactly how she is depicted in the series!

Considering I have only read the first book, I have not yet decided which I prefer…the books or the television series. I will have to read on and let you know when I find out myself…

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was an outstanding thriller. This was the first time I had read any of her work and she has an amazing talent and is a gifted storyteller. She adds a unique twist to the supernatural world and winds it up with historical facts to create an elaborate story with interesting characters.

At first I was unsure what to think of her main character because of her background, but soon she grew on me in a humorous fashion. Her lack of grace and adequate ads style to her personality in an environment full of peers who were born into a world filled with proper language and expectations.

Johnson creates a world of suspense in London’s east-end where Jack the Ripper ignited terror amongst its inhabitants. I found myself captivated and unable to put the book down. I look forward to reading more of Johnson’s work in the future.

To my wife on her birthday,
Sitting here on sunday morning with no kids and fresh coffee…here we are !
With all the ups and downs over the years and beating the odds..here we are !
Staying together because we couldn’t agree on how to seperate our massive DVD collection…here we are !!
Thanking her for bringing 3 stepchildren and an ex-husband into my life ,HI David, what fun we have had….here we are !
For standing in our flower gardens every spring wondering wtf happned…here we are!
For all those times we ate dinner at home because we couldn’t agree on where to eat even though no one cared where we ate …here we are !
People ask me how i knew you were the one and I have no answer other than I always find my way to the couch every night next to you…here we are !

So to my loving wife on her birthday , what else can i say , I love you
as always and what better 3 words can I say…Here we are !!!!