i just finished reading my other favorite book. i've never been able to say "i couldn't put it down" and mean it so much. i read almost all of it today. it wasn't too long and it wasn't too short. it was just right. the plot was wonderful and detailed with multi-tiered meanings almost worthy of Hawthorne. and the suspense...oh the suspense. Alfred would be proud. and it read well, too. colorful enough to be a vivid screenplay for a movie and sprinkled with just enough interesting words (aka "big" words) to keep it intellegent without being verbose. and where the plot seems a little thin ("technology like that's hardly believeable..."), it's where the message takes over, and the reader realizes that it's a warning. it doesn't seem that dangerous, even inviting in some aspects, and it's so widespread that it's scary when i think how incredibly imminent it is. you think i've used "it" enough? how vague can i be? well, the name of the book is nightmare academy. it's by frank peretti, one of the best authors of the 20th century. my other favorite book is this present darkness, and hangman's curse, the first book in the veritas series, is really good, too. those are the only two books i've ever read twice (or even wanted to read twice). forget that harry potter stuff. who needs it? give me peretti anyday.