ramblings, random musings, fascinations, rants, raves and revelations

It’s been a while since I posted about a book, so thought I’d catch you up to date on what I’m reading.I’ve been checking online about the most current [unfinished manuscript] of the Twilight Saga - Midnight Sun. A friend asked me, “What is it with Twilight that you guys are all dying for?” Let me tell you.

You pick up Twilight and wonder what all the fuss is about. “I’m not into romances,” you say to yourself. And you’re not, save one Harlequin paperback you read when you were fifteen, you haven’t touched a love story since. “But Twilight’s not a romance novel as per se,” your neighbor, an avid fan who’s read the whole series, tells you. You tell her you’ll try it. “Watch out, it’ll suck you in,” she warns as she hands you the book. “Yeah, whatever,” you scoff.

And then you read the first chapter.

You meet this Edward character who is beautiful in a weird non-human sort of way. What’s more, he seems to like an ordinary klutz by the name of Bella. You fall into the story just like the neighbor said you would. The kids walk in the room while you’re reading and you hardly know they’re there. They ask you questions that you ignore or barely hear. You forget to make dinner and send the husband to the store, grateful for the extra reading time. Keep your eyes on the page—you might miss something. Hastily eat dinner and then return to the book. Like a woman infatuated with a secret lover, you can’t stop reading. And when you must close the book to take a shower or to drive the kids to soccer, you can’t stop thinking about the story.

You fall in love with Edward. You think it’s strange to be so attracted to someone who’s...
a] not real
b] sucks on animal blood but would really prefer to suck on your blood
c] has the body temperature of a Frigidaire
d] has a body hard as rock, literally
d] won’t ever get a wrinkle, gain weight, or get a gray hair
e] thinks he can read a woman’s mind

You have no control over the fascination you feel. Even though the most the characters do is kiss, you are completely frisky and attack your husband on numerous occasions. Once, in the early morning, you wake him up and he rolls over, his eyes ringed in red and his skin pale. He looks like a vampire. “Edward!” you want to shriek.

There are times when the cat curls up around your neck and then bites your neck. It’s disturbingly familiar. Vampire kitty?

You read the second and then the third books, all the while breathing shallow. You stop breathing when Edward leaves in the second book, but start again when Jacob shows up. You didn’t think anyone could replace Edward. But then this Jacob fellow reminds you of a guy you saw back in college. You were hiking in the canyon with a friend when a tall Native American guy walked by. You both looked, your mouths agape at his beauty. His hair, black and silky, hung down his back. His copper skin glistened in the sun. His face was strong and narrow, his cheekbones prominent but not angular, his arms muscular and long. You imagined those arms around your waist. “Take me now!” you wanted to say, throwing yourself in his path. But alas, he simply walked by without a glance. And though you often looked, you never saw him again.

That is until Stephenie Meyer brought him back to you in the form of Jacob Black. You feel Bella’s conflict. Jacob, with his seventeen year-old hormones racing through his body at the speed of light, is dangerous, precarious. You never know how he’s going to react. Suddenly Edward seems old. He can’t kiss too passionately or he’ll eat Bella. But Jacob, now that’s a fellow who knows how to let loose. He’s earthy. Jacob, you decide, is granola guy, sweet and nutty and spicy. Edward is more like cream of wheat. Predictable. Bland. Fibrous…

You want to know how the 1st book was? Here…