Reading

Have you ever read a book that is so good that it practically consumes you? Even after you finish it? A book that is so, so good that you seriously consider calling in sick to work so that you can just read until you finish the whole entire series? A book that is so enthralling that you don't even notice you haven't eaten all day? Or peed all day? A book that you can read while sitting 10 feet away from a blaring tv, next to your significant other who keeps talking to you and still not miss a beat? A book that you think about all day, while you should be doing things like actually earning your paycheck instead of scouring the internet for anything that will get you a little fix, because you haven't read any of it in almost 24 hours?

I have loved books before, had trouble putting them down, stayed up til midnight (or later) reading until I was finished or spent a whole entire weekend in bed/on the couch/floor, etc. reading. Most of that was when I was still in school and didn't have a million other pressing things that needed to be done. Not in my recent adult life has it happened. The closest I've come was The DaVinci Code, closely followed by Angels and Demons (both by Dan Brown). Those books were really, really good. But I don't remember needing them. I sure as heck finished them up as quickly as I could, but things like eating, sleeping, peeing and working didn't get put on hold for them. I don't remember being consumed by them all day when I couldn't read them. I don't remember dreaming about them. Still haven't watched the movie though. I have no desire to watch the movie. I generally like reading the book better. Any movie that I have seen after reading the book always, ALWAYS disappoints. They leave things out, the characters are never as I'd pictured them and generally, what I come up with in my imagination while I read the book, is way better.

This book is different. I'm still not entirely sure how I got started on this series. I know I'd heard a couple of friends mention it, but I didn't really think a whole lot of it. Until I happened across it one day at the grocery store on it's own special rack, marked 40% off. Love the 40% off signs! I figured, why the heck not?!? I had just bought two other books to read in another series that I was enjoying, but figured how often am I going to find it 40% off? I'm not usually the kind of person to pile books up that I want to read. I've usually only got maybe 1 book waiting for me. Everything about the way I got into this mess is so completely out of character for me! I'm not the worlds fastest or most dedicated reader. Unless a book is really, really good, I have no problem leaving it half finished on my nightstand for a couple weeks or a month if I get busy. But I do always finish one book before I start on another. I've never been the type of person to have more then one book going at a time. And I've also never read a book more then once. Unless it was for school, or one of the bedtime stories that I read with my mom as a kid, but those are different.

Anyways, I bought the book, 40% off, took it home and dove into it that night (Sunday). It started off a little slow, didn't really suck me in for about the first half of it, but I did really enjoy the writing style. I left it alone for a few days, while I was busy. Tuesday I ran into one of the people I had heard mention it. I knew she was rather obsessed with it, but I still wasn't under it's spell so I mostly blew it off when she warned me. And boy did she warn me. She told me (repeatedly) that it's CRACK! It's unbelievable addicting, don't do it! She said it's deceiving. It starts out slow and then all of a sudden you're hooked, like crack! I figured, eh, it's just a book. I can quit any time.

I left it alone for a couple more days, finally picking it back up on Thursday. Suddenly, it was late. Really late. And I had to pee. And I had to absolutely tear myself away from the book. It was pure torture. My mind was still going a mile a minute thinking about it, it took me quite a while to fall asleep. The next morning I confessed to my friend. It was crack. I now understood. But alas, it was too late for me. I was already hooked. I thought about it most of Friday at work, wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. Little did I know, that was only the beginning. Friday night I told the boyfriend that if we were really going to ride after work, then he could not let me near the book when I got home! I was allowed inside to change and then I was to load up! I had a great ride (see previous post), but I was anxious to get home so I could read more the whole time. As soon as we got home I was inside, changing into jammies and parking myself on the bed to read. I was able to put it down to get some sleep, but it was tough.

Saturday morning I some how managed to leave it alone long enough to go to the show, but you can bet I was thinking about it the whole entire time I was there! When we finally got home after the show, I was inside on the couch in comfy clothes before the boyfriend had even finished putting his horse away. That's where I stayed the rest of the day until I had finished it.

Now, you might think that finishing the book would release me from it's grip. Not so much! You see, there isn't just one book. There is four. And I've heard rumor of a 5th one, covering the same time period as the first book, but from a different perspective. Oh lord, help me. Can I just crawl in a hole for the next week or so, until I can finish all of them? Please? I really am not going to be any good to any one until I do finish them all, maybe not even for a while after that. Guess it depends on how they really finish up.

So this book, this evil, addicting book, is Twilight. The Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyers. There is a movie coming out next week, but you know me and movies based on books. I'm not so interested in seeing it when it comes out, unless I can finish all of the books before then. For some reason, I have a feeling that I might like this movie. But I'll probably atleast wait until it comes out on dvd. Maybe.

I have only read the first book so far, so I can only speak from the experience of the one. I have been told that the addiction only gets worse though. Again, this book is so out of character for me. It's based on kids in high school. In involves vampires. It is set in Forks, Washington, which isn't all that far away from me. Now that I am an adult (lol, I still can't hardly say that without laughing hysterically) I just don't see the appeal of a story about high school kids. I am not particularly fond of my high school days and regret that I was ever a teenager sometimes (man I was just dumb sometimes!) I've never been a very big fan of vampires or any stories about them. Generally, stories that are set in areas that I know, even vaguely, are wildy inaccurate and just bug the crap out of me. I would rather read about some fictitious location or one that I know nothing about so I couldn't tell you if it were accurate or not.

Most of the main characters in this book hardly seem like high school kids to me. Other then them being in classes, they act like they could be my age! They are intriguing and mature. The vampires are your typical blood-sucking "monsters", but different. They have more depth to them and they are (mostly) protrayed in a very non-monster-y light. I love it. As for the setting...apparently Forks, WA's newest tourist attraction is Twilight tours of actual places mentioned in the books! Plus, everything she describes in the books just sounds so northwest. Especially recently, with all the clouds and rain that we've had. It's just easy to imagine the whole thing happening here.

And then there is the writing style. Oh, the writing style! I do love the way Stephenie Meyers writes. She writes with so much detail and feeling. It is written from Isabella's point of view and I swear, you can just jump right into her shoes and totally engross yourself in the story. You can just feel the emotion in everything. The warmth from some characters, the sting of a snotty high school attitude, the pain and confusion. (Yes, I'm being vague on purpose) I also love the way she developes characters and hints at things to come and keeps other things a mystery.

So, in conclusion, if you haven't read this book yet, DO IT! But don't say I didn't warn you. It'll hook you, just when you think you're safe. If you have already read it, then you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. I was warned, it is crack, and I dove in anyways.