Slogging through the Twilight Series

Vampires aren't my thing, but I am aware of the success of the Twilight saga of books and movies with the "tween" set. Actually, several of my adult friends (all female) have confessed to being totally caught up in the books, and eagerly await each movie. I received the first two books last year at my retirement party, for my summer reading. Well, with all my travel and the sheer euphoria of not working anymore, the books stayed on the shelf til this summer.

(I'll blame it on Bill, who has been gone so much, and maybe even on the twins' summer babysitter. I'm glad Bill is needed at work, he still wants a job. And I am so impressed by how well Courtney babysits for the twins, and I do enjoy the break! I'll get them back when school starts, and I look forward to that.)

However it goes, I have had plenty of free time so far this summer. So I pulled the first Twilight book off the shelf around Memorial Day. It is now July 4th, and I just finished the last book. Hah, you may think, I got hooked just like the rest of us! Not true, however. I did a lot of skimming, and actually considering the amount of free time I have had, 5 weeks was a long time to read those books. The writing is not complex. I didn't identify or even get involved with any of the characters.

Before I even started reading, I made a conscious effort to suspend all belief. Then, honestly, I got caught up in what was ultimately going to happen. My original thought was that this was the ultimate "bad boy" romance, and no wonder the "tweenies" loved it. Then there was the theme of "getting along", and how Bella brought the vampires and werewolves together. (I can't believe I am even writing those words!) But from the beginning, I realized this was a totally different twist on "vampire" stories... well, what I assumed were typical vampire stories, I have not actually read any other vampire story in my life.

Nevertheless, I could learn what happened by skimming and even skipping pages. I just never got caught up in the actions and characters, I only wanted to know how the relationships between the vampires, werewolves, and humans got resolved.

So I have the first two books in paperback, if anyone is interested. I had to borrow the last two, so those go back to my neighbor. But I could live the rest of my life without re-reading any of the books, so the first two are up for grabs, just let me know!!