I repent for ever rolling my eyes at anybody who was obsessed with this:
I had no intention of reading it. Three years ago, when you Hollister people were drooling all over Twilight, and had told me how addictive it was, I thought, "Yeah, well I don't have 2 days to check out of my life, so maybe someday when I'm on vacation or something." And yet, I was never that interested, and never read it, and then she kept writing more and more sequels, and it seemed like too much to catch up with.
Erin read the first 3 books in the series a month or so ago, about the time the movie came out. I let her, relying on the good judgement of my CA friends, and the fact that their teenage daughters had all read them, too. Then, in conversation with one of my friends here in Ohio, I was alerted to the fact that they might not be completely appropriate for a 12 year old. Then I panicked. What had she read?
So, since I had a little plane ride to go on last Friday, I picked it up at the airport, hoping to be done before Sunday.
It was good. Really good.
I didn't read much more until the return plane trip. And then when we got home, I sat my catookus down on the couch for 3 hours and finished it Saturday night.
And then Sunday, I was counting the hours until I could go back to the bookstore and get New Moon. So, Monday morning, I bribed my kids into cleaning the house so we could go run errands, and swing by Barnes & Noble (so the girls could use their gift cards, of course!) Eric got off work early and came with us. I didn't start reading until about 4 pm, taking breaks for karate, dinner, bedtime, etc. And I went to bed at a decent hour. I finished it by 10:30 Tuesday morning.
Now what was I going to do? I needed to know more about Edward and Bella, so I made up the excuse that I needed to go to Costco to get cucumbers (which happens to be next door to B & N). I decided to quit lying to myself that I wouldn't finish Eclipse that day and come back tomorrow to get Breaking Dawn, so I just bought them both. The same clerk had helped me on Monday, and I could tell he wanted to laugh at me. Oh well.
Anyhow, by the time I got home, it was time to run off to an appointment with Calvin, so I got about 15 minutes to read in the waiting room, and then had to wait until evening. And again, I went to bed at my normal time, 10:30 or so.
On Wednesday, I sat in my pajamas and read in between getting kids on the bus, instead of running like I normally would have. I even skipped having a shower before I went to help in Calvin's class.
After lunch, I read again until about 4, then started making dinner (I had a recipe exchange to go to, so of course I made something I could just put in the oven so I could read more.)
I started Breaking Dawn while waiting for dinner to finish, and then somewhat begrudgingly went to party with my friends.
I finished it Thursday at about 2pm. Pathetic, I know.
The funny thing is, I laugh at people who read escapist literature. I think it's so silly to get caught up in an imaginary world, and let life pass you by.
Mmm, but it sure is nice.
Oh, yeah, and then I found the draft for Midnight Sun on Stephenie Meyer's website, and read that on Friday. So, in less than a week, I read the whole series.
And I liked it.
Here are my thoughts:
Twilight - wonderful. Exciting, riveting, very descriptive, (I feel like I REALLY know Edward and Bella) It brought back all of those exciting memories of falling in love for the first time.
New Moon - also very good. My heart broke over and over for Bella, and I missed Edward so much.
Eclipse - good, but Bella's angst started to get on my nerves. And her indecision and inability to leave Jacob alone. And the fact that she didn't want to get married to Edward. And the fact that Edward kept tolerating her lameness.
Breaking Dawn - I LOVED the first part (the honeymoon, the wedding, etc.) I really didn't like that the whole baby trauma was seen through Jacob's eyes. I felt that seeing Edward's agony first person would have been much more real. The baby - weird. I don't know why, but I don't GET the baby, and her name was a little too strange. And the ending, well, by then I was just trying to hurry and finish so I could be done. Too much Harry Potter warring wizards stuff. And I kind of don't like that Bella became a vampire, but I guess there was no other way to make it work.
And if you haven't read the draft of Midnight Sun, well, you should. Wow. Better than Twilight. It's not finished, and from what I understand, she's not planning on finishing it. But it was my favorite. And now I'm sad, because there's no more, and I have to return to my real life where people eat food, not blood, (which requires no dishes!) and can't run super fast and read my thoughts or see into my future, where I don't have a sister-in-law who is always designing new fashions for me and a brother-in-law who is making me feel calm.
It's killing my buzz.
Oh, yeah, and I don't want to see the movie. Because Edward doesn't look like that in my mind. So it would ruin it for me. Maybe someday.
10 comments:
You're so funny Lydia. I loved the breakdown of your days, trying to live your normal life while trying to finish the books. Love you!
Ha Ha. I also resisted until last summer when we needed an escape. I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I didn't love the pregnancy and birth I actually thought she did a pretty good job. I could tell that she had experienced both and that is what I enjoyed, knowing that she knew it could literally feel like your body was being riped apart. Anyway, they were a nice escape. Love you!
Lydia - you make me laugh so hard. I pretty much felt the same way about each of the books as you described. And... what about Erin? Did you find it appropriate for a 12 year old? I'm glad you finally succumbed, well worth the wasted week (not really wasted tho huh?)
Now I have to go check out Midnight Sun!!! I don't know why I haven't. I finally let Kayla read them too. A lot of her school friends were going crazy over Edward and I told her she had to read the book before seeing the movie. She just finished Eclipse last night before I went to bed, and as much as I don't really want her reading Breaking Dawn...I'm afraid I have no choice. I can't wait for her to finish them, because she has done pretty much nothing else since she started them. Anyway. I loved your review. And I too agreed with your thoughts. So funny Lyd!!! You're great!
Another victim of Twilight! I love them. I think you made a good choice about not seeing the movie. I enjoyed it, but no one looked like i imagined they would. It is a nice escape and I LOVED Edward's story.
haha! So funny, you really didnt know who Edward was did you? Or maybe you didnt KNOW Edward yet and now you are totally in love! I have to say I had moments where I was more of a Jacob fan....I loved the series too! I cant believe you read them all in one week, so funny! I have to say though, I went to the movie with no expectations, and I LOVED it! He was exactly how I pictured Edward, you should go, I really dont think you will be dissapointed. There is just something about him.....
Okay, yes, I did know who Edward was, I was only kidding way back when I blogged about that....teasing you guys....and no, I'm not IN LOVE with Edward, I'm in love with both Edward and Bella and their awesome story. And no, I didn't think it was terribly appropriate for a 12 year old, merely for the fact that I don't want to start her thinking about falling in love - and especially not with a "bad" boy! ;)
I am SOOO glad you got Twilight out of your system before the cruise!!! I felt the same way in the books. Especially #2 & #3. Bella was way too weak for me. And I'm still torn between Edward & Jacob. The baby freaks me out, too. But at least she got to have a family. That was the hardest thing for me to get past. Be a Vampire=No Baby. And we all know how I feel about No Baby......
You are awesome! I felt exactly the same as you about each book/ AND about Robert Pattinson as Edward. The Edward in my head looks SO MUCH BETTER. So I have to admit, didn't love the movie. Your post was the best! Thanks for making me smile today:-)
Really? You weren't creeped out at all by Edward? I was creeped out by Edward and bugged that Bella wasn't creeped out. Do girls really like finding out that some guy has been spending the night in her room while she sleeps? CREEPY!
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