Book Club: Beautiful Creatures

I took a little blog break last weekend to read.  You see, I have an unofficial New Years Resolution to read one book each week.  Well, I got the month off to a bad start by not finishing War of the Worlds until about two weeks into January.  Whoopsie. 

Thankfully, I read one of the newest Sookie Stackhouse mysteries in just a few days and plowed through Beautiful Creatures by bedtime on Saturday.  So that puts me one book shy of being on track to reading 52 books this year! 

Have you heard of the Beautiful Creatures series?  There are at least four books and even though I'm just not up for a long series right now, I was happy with the first installment. 

So, why read yet another teen series?  Well, it's a book to movie opening in theatres next month.  The movie preview looks really good, and having been a fan of the Secret Circle trilogy back when I was a teenager (not so much a fan of the failed television show by the same name) and a lover of movies like The Craft and The Covenant, I thought this would be a book series to enjoy.

I can't say this book was a page turner for me, but I'm looking forward to reading Beautiful Darkness next.

One of the most intriguing things out of this story, for me, was the mention of haint blue ceilings.  I'd never heard the word "haint" before and when dictionary.com was no help, I turned to my good friend Google and found a really good explanation on a website called Between Naps on the Porch.  I'd never heard of painting the ceiling blue to ward off evil spirits, but I am in love with the idea.  The story gives a different reason, though.  When we painted our bedroom and kitchen a few years ago, we painted the ceilings a shade of blue to coordinate with the walls.  I guess the bathroom is protected too, since I painted the ceiling and walls the same color!  Who knew I was warding off spirits all this time?  I've given some serious thought to painting the porch ceiling, but I think Casey will veto me!

Another captivating thing is the charm necklace Lena wears.  She collects little mementos and wears them on a necklace which she never takes off.  If I were a teenager, I'd have to have a necklace like that.  I'm not so sure I won't have to have one now!  I've always admired charm bracelets but feared losing one of the little charms so I've never owned one.  I'm sure you'll find me checking out the jewelry making section on my next visit to Hobby Lobby.  A charm necklace might make a really cute DIY gift for a couple teenagers I know!