11/30/09

Hand me the Humble Pie!

I have totally resisted and sneered at the 'Twilight' phenomenon, despite being surrounded daily at work by Twilight groupies. In fact I have given one of my bestfriends and fellow bookclub member fits about her addiction to the series and vampires.

But after witnessing grown women I like, rushing to line up for hours to see the midnight showing of the movie, I finally succumbed and asked to borrow the first book. I figured there had to something driving them to go to such extremes in freezing temperatures!

So yesterday afternoon at around 3pm I opened the first book and started reading to see what all the fuss is about. At 12:40AM and 432 pages later I finally MADE myself go to bed, and only because today is a school day. As predicted by many, I literally could not put the book down and will definitely finish it today.

It didn't immediately grab me, but within in a couple of chapters it had. The first thing that struck me is the simplicity of the writing, there's nothing fancy about it. It's written in the first person from Bella's perspective and she is a teenager, so initially the language used seemed juvenile to me. But then I reminded myself the book was originally written for the young adult audience.

Put simply and as I had been told by my friend repeatedly, it's a love story that just happens to center around a vampire. The lead characters personalities are allowed to develop fully, bit by bit Edward's dark secrets are revealed and his magnetism leaps off the pages drawing you in. What transpires is utterly compelling; why does Edward react so strongly to Bella, will she throw all caution to the wind despite knowing his secret, will they ever kiss, can he protect her from himself and darker threats....you just have to know!

So if you've been like me and resisted 'Twilight' because of the vampire angle, or because you have all the romance you need already, or because you refuse to fall for 'the latest thing' - think again. I suspect there's a little bit in all of us, that needs to go back to basics and read a simple, all conquering, GREAT love story.

17 comments:

Daryl said...

First book was not bad, the movie however was as slow moving as the book, not such a good thing. The second book is duller than dishwater and I literally skimmed it til I couldnt stand it any longer ...I havent bothered with the subsequent books... nor will I waste my money or time on the movies ...this is one instance where staying true to the book didnt make a better movie.

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

I thought the first book was pretty good. The second book, which I'm reading between library books that come in, started out incredibly dull but then livened up quite a bit.

Pam said...

I tried the first book but didn't make it through it before putting it down. Don't know why, unusual for me to put a book down. I don't mind a vampire but it just didn't speak to me. Maybe state of mind at the time earlier this year.

Unknown said...

Daryl interesting, I am going to give book 2 a chance, but have heard bad things on 3 & 4 so won't bother.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recommendation. I too wouldn't fall for 'the latest thing' or betray the Vampire Lestat. I will put this on my Christmas list.

Its Just Me - Daring to Dream said...

You got sucked in! LOL. I have completely avoided the craze, but I hear it is a great love story. And every woman appreciates a great lovestory (vampires or not).

Kay said...

Hoo boy! Now you've got me curious! I'm going to have to get that book. Thanks for the tip.

Jenny said...

I love a good vampire story, but the whole "craze" surrounding this puts me off. We did watch the first movie - and hated it! We hear the second movie is better. Our daughter is reading the books. She said the first book was okay, the second was better, and the third was better than the first but not as good as the second. And this is from a 13 year old. We'll watch the second movie (only because we watched the first), but I'm not interested in the books at this point, having seen the movie - I do not like the look of Edward, he creeps me out.

I've had different series of books I follow religiously over the years, however I have a hard time understanding the ADULTS I know with countdown timers on their websites to "Edward!" One friend started her timer with something like 132 days until the next book/movie/whatever. I just don't get it. And this same person saw the movie 4 times the weekend it was released.

But good for you for giving it a go.

karen said...

Wow! I have been kind of avoiding it, despite having teenagers around - but now I am inspired to have a read!

Sherri said...

I had to laugh Sarah at your description of not wanting to fall in with the millions who seem to love this series! Jenny, my youngest is obsessed with this series (she's 26). She read all the books and has seen the movies. She has decided I need to read them now and so on Thanksgiving she brought them all to me. I haven't picked them up but after the holidays I told her I would give them a try. Thanks for the thumbs up on this series!

Robin said...

like you, i really avoided getting on the bandwagon with this series. then last winter i thought i'd give it a try. first book, couldn't put it down til i was done! second book, ehh, it was alright. really liked the 3rd & 4th books though. have not seen the movies yet. it may be because the actor playing edward is not at all the way i pictured him; also, i'm afraid it'll be really cheesy.

Jo, a retired teacher said...

I read all four books after I promised a sweet, former student that I would. They were a bit uneven, and I'm a little old and jaded for the "true love in spite of everything at 18" theme. That said, I did enjoy the series. It was creative and intriguing.

However, I haven't seem the movies and may not. Movies are never as interesting as the books they are based on, although the special effects are sometimes fun to watch.

Sweet Virginia Breeze said...

OK, I have resisted so far - haven't read any of the books or seen the movie. I'm not into vampires. I may give them a try if I run out of other things to read.

Unknown said...

So tonight I watched the first movie and BOY what a disappointment - I say go with the images in your head, they'll be better! Just starting book II so we'll see how that goes.

Michael said...

i've been wondering the same about all this buzz for this series. Interesting, maybe I should see the movie at any rate.?

Well you did miss quite the XMAs Tea over on my blog--y posts of them! But we've recorded it all here, so you can run through it at you own leisure now, should you care to. It was quite the do, let me tell you. Maybe we'll see you in the morn, Sarah. i think your cowboy will love it up here. I'll out the kettle on in the morning -- must keep adding to your tea stat counter!

Jill of All Trades said...

I liked the first one but the 2nd was boring and I had to force myself to finish. The 3rd, well, hmmm, I don't even remember what it was about. That is not good. The 4th one I that was not bad and had a kind of strange storyline but it was better than 2 and 3. Good luck.

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

I finally read them all. She became a better writer as the series developed, and I found myself lost in the pages too. I'm a bit embarrassed that I like them so much. The Diva teased me about them in fact. She read them long ago. Have you seen the movie?~~Dee