When Swift hosted Saturday Night Live last week, she was funny! Here is the video “Monologue” from that:

And her performance on SNL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZU0KjdkBaM]

One more week until “New Moon”! Do you have your tickets yet? I do! (Yes, I’m way too excited about it).

I’ve been reading faster and more often these days, so I have two book reviews this week:

“Evermore” by Alyson Noel

St. Martin’s, 2009

Thoughts

I’m not usually a paranormal fan, but this reminded me somewhat of “Twilight.” It has a contemporary feel and a great love story with a lot of mystery that keeps you turning the pages. If you enjoy paranormal YA romance, I would recommend this author. This book is part of the “Immortals” series, and the second book (the sequence to “Evermore”) was released a couple of months ago.

“Lost It” By Kristen Tracy

Info

Simon Pulse, 2007

Thoughts

This contemporary YA is about a girl who loses her virginity, and the way she deals with it, along with her struggling family situation. The author has a great voice and style that keep you moving through the story. I liked the ending and how the character was changed even though we don’t quite know what will end up happening in her life.

Keep reading and have a great week!

I prefer contemporary teen fiction and television to paranormal and fantasy (I know, don’t hate me), which is probably one reason I liked “Twilight” so much. “Vampire Diaries” claims to be “darker” and more “edgier” than “Twilight,” but at this point I’m not seeing how that is (the bad vampires bite and kill people, the high school scene is much the same, etc…).

I like the characters, especially the tension between the two brothers (good vampire vs. bad vampire). I also like the high school drama as it’s portrayed (the main character deals with her parent’s death and her brother has drug problems).

There are still a lot of unknowns (who is “Katherine,” and why is Stefan obsessed with Elena? It’s a little creepy that he keeps showing up, catching her off guard, and that his parents are gone too and that he lives with his uncle—Elena’s parents are gone and she lives with her aunt). This tension is good; it keeps us glued to the TV. I have to hand it to the CW…they know how to reach their audience.

 It’s worth tuning into, at least to give it a shot (or bite, ha ha ).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8m7Sk81PIk]

I like Beyonce’s song and video too (“Single Ladies” (Put a Ring on It)”), but that was just plain rude and wrong. The poor girl was giving her acceptance speech. She was, however, somewhat vindicated—West was booed by the audience and told to leave the building. Later, when Beyonce won video of the year, she invited Swift up to finish giving her speech (plus, a couple of singers tweeted some choice words about West). He did, though, apologize on his blog today.

The VMAs are known for their controversy (think last year and Brand’s rude comment about the Jonas Brothers purity rings), and their crazy antics (this year Lady Gaga speared herself in fake blood as a testimony of the Paparazzi and what they did to Princess Diana). So, if nothing else, it’s some strange, yet interesting entertainment.

Photo credit: AP | Singer Kanye West takes the microphone from singer Taylor Swift as she accepts the "Best Female Video" award during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

I have to say the “New Moon” clip was awesome. The movie looks better than the first one and I can’t wait.

And, one of the best parts, there will be a preview of “New Moon.” Yippee!

If you grew up in the 80s (or even 90s) you’ll fondly remember the PBS Show “Reading Rainbow.” I loved this show. I could sing the theme song by heart and knew LeVar Burton’s face better than any other television personality. Maybe that’s where I learned to love books and that in turn fed into my subconscious to become a writer.

So I was bummed the other night when I heard the show ended as of last Friday. It ran for 26 years, the third longest running children’s show, beaten by only “Sesame Street” and “Mr. Rogers.”

Part of the reason for the closure was funding for the show. However, there has also been a shift in philosophy from teaching kids that they need to read, to actually showing them how to read through phonics and other techniques.

I hope that more of the children’s cable television shows will focus on reading as PBS has done in the past. The end of an awesome era has come, and it makes me sad. So long Reading Rainbow. I’ll miss you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6j8EiWIVZs]