When I was 12, I was over at Brandy Weaver's house (she was Keffer than I think and is now) and saw a book in her bedroom. I picked it up, curiosity getting the best of me. It was Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice. I had been reading various "scary" books for a year or two so I had no problems with the idea of reading this book. Brandy and I were the type of girls who were happy to sit in the hammock out in the yard and read books "together." I was a bonafide nerd in those days and once I got my hands on a book, I couldn't put it down.
Before I was 15, I had read nearly all of Stephen King's published works. I had delved into Ira Levin and pre-Jurassic Park the movie Michael Crichton. I have ventured into the world of Bram Stoker and had singlehandedly checked out and read every single Young Adult suspense thriller in our sad little library. I had easily finished any suspense, vampire, horror and similar book I had put in my eager little hands. I was a fiend when it came to reading. I was nearly always curled up with a book somewhere in our creepy 1.5 story, so engrossed that I wouldn't even notice when day turned to night.
By the time I went to college, my obsession with the supernatural had practically subsided. Well, with the exception of my need to read every single Dean Koontz book published. Hardly an easy task since he's apparently written well over 100 novels. Whew. Vampires and the appeal of their lifestyle, regardless of who made it up and what myths went with that character, were a thing of my past. I no longer needed my collection of Fear Street books, R.L. Stine and crew were too young for me.
I tried with every part of my being to ignore the Twilight series. I knew I could easily be sucked into the excitement of a new vampire chronicle. Louis and Lestat weren't that far from my memory. I didn't want to get dragged down by the obsessions that come with a series like this. I know them well, first hand. Much like the Harry Potter syndrome, even after finally getting my hands on the final novel, I would crave more.
Yesterday I gave in to my crumbling willpower and bought Twilight, the first of the series at Barnes and Noble. I began reading it around 2 pm. I stopped for a bit to clean the dishes and the living room and vacuum and watch the news and eat dinner and all that, but yesterday was a blur. By 10:40 pm, I had finished the 450 plus page book.
Damn.
Fe and I had watched the movie last Friday evening. Like every movie made from a popular book, it wasn't all that you wish it to be. But that's life. I learned that after I read Alive and then watched the gory movie. Gross. But it was enjoyable. Intriguing. Which is why I chose to read the book.
Vampires have always been a human obsession. They are beautiful and surreal and unlike humans in every way that they are just like humans. Stephenie Meyer did what Anne Rice did some many years ago, she made us fall in love deeply with them. We care for them and don't see them as savages or animals. We feel their cold emotions as our own. We want to be near them. To touch them. To kiss them.
It's an amazing ability for an author to be able to transport a reader into the character. I'm not sure if in my mind I was a careful watcher, narrator or one of the characters themselves. Either way, I was part of the story, part of the intensity.
I remembered while reading Twilight why I enjoy reading so much: I DO become involved. It's so surreal to put down the book after reading a brilliant chapter and realize that my life is just as it was before I read that chapter. Nothing interesting has happened to me in that time except the story provided by someone else that I was reading. However, something DOES change. The power of reading, of a great novel, is felt all through my mind and body. I am physically MOVED by a great book.
Now, I will stop myself and say that when I read Twilight, I do feel a lot like I've been dumped back into my late teen years and that's not really a good thing. But besides that, the story is appealing. It's not so believable anymore after reading hundreds of books on the subject, but it is easy to let your mind go into fantasy world, even for just a few hours, and wonder what it would be like to be Bella or Edward or Alice or even Mike.
So, I am addicted to the Twilight series. I will be borrowing the remainder of the series from Lisa this afternoon. Since I am leaving tomorrow, after I pack tonight and for the rest of the weekend and during my dad's surgery, I have a feeling I might just finish the series before the end of next week. Grrr...
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