13 March, 2009

This week's free time sucker

Well this week I finally read the Twilight saga books.

Originally I tried to read "Twilight" when it first came out. I tried, and failed - I couldn't get into it. Young Adult is not exactly my genre of choice. A few months ago, the rage went through the office and everyone was reading the saga. I tried again, but couldn't make it into the volume. Then for my birthday, a friend gave me a copy of "Twilight." I figured this was a sign, and vowed to make it through this time.

Well, after the first excruciating 300 pages or so, things improved. The book definitely plays (preys?) on my personality to a certain extent - taking me back to my teenage years when I really thought anything nice that happened to me was more than I ever deserved, and anything bad that happened to people I cared about was inevitably my fault. The one notable exception is Bella gets the hottest guy in school who is also the perfect forbidden fruit and her key to immortality - and I got a dorm room with an awful room mate.

I went ahead and read the other 3 books during the course of this week ("New Moon," "Eclipse," and "Breaking Dawn.")

I must say, by "Breaking Dawn," the author finally found her stride. The Young Adult genre sappiness is tuned down a bit, and instead of syrupy teenage romance we get a few glimpses of more mature interactions. The book was the right combination of suspenseful, supernatural, romantic and heartbreaking. While I can easily take or leave the first 3 volumes, I actually enjoyed "Breaking Dawn," and will likely turn around and read it again.

And yes, I'm a fast reader, but the fact I was able to get through all 4 books in 1 week while working 2 jobs should tell you they are VERY light reading.

5 comments:

Holly said...

i have really wanted to read those, but i just can't get past the fact that the author is a mormon...i know that makes me a total hypocrite, but every time i pick it up i find myself searching for the hidden moralistic meaning. bah. per your recommendation (since i have the highest esteem for your literary taste) i will try again.

Monique said...

Don't be fooled - it was a struggle all the way through the first 3 - the primary theme of the entire book is the many varieties of abstinence available to us in life ;)

Maybe read the Cliff's notes for the first 3 and just read Breaking Dawn.

fortunesmiles said...

I owe you a better book!

Holly said...

so...would you say that a person could just skip the first three and still enjoy "Breaking Dawn" or are they a necessary evil for the understanding of the last novel? i am on the prowl for my spring-break fiction right now...

Monique said...

necessary evil otherwise the 4th one makes no sense. however you can likely skim the first 3 in an afternoon or 2.