I've Been Twilighted

Count me in. I'm on the Twilight bandwagon.

If you had told me at any point in my life that I would have gotten hooked on a book about vampire love, I would have laughed in your face. My 5th period class (a.k.a. "the dream class) told me I MUST read it, so I did. (Now, I did start the book at the end of the summer just to see what all fuss was about, but I didn't get very far in the book before school started.)

Last week, I read the book. Now, it is a bit melodramatic and full of angst--very Young Adult fictionish--but I enjoyed it. I am a SUCKER (no vampire pun intended) for stories of forbidden love. Edward is a tortured vampire who is completely in love with the girl he most wants to kill for her blood. (I'm actually chuckling as I write this. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?) I'm already reading the second book in the series, New Moon, and I'm enjoying it as well.

I also saw the movie yesterday. I have mixed feelings about it. I liked the actors, although Edward wasn't what I had pictured. I thought the movie downplayed some of the emotional stuff in favor of the special vampire powers stuff. I realize the novel had to be edited down to a couple of hours, but the movie misses some of the more tender moments of the book.

So is the book life changing for me? No. Is it one of the best books I've read? No. Did it keep me interested? Yes. And look...I've seen Stephenie Meyer on a couple of talk shows, and she has three kids--all fairly young--and she said she literally wrote Twilight with one hand while holding a baby in the other. I have to give her props for that, for sure.

(An interesting note...one of my former students posted on her Facebook "status" that after reading Twilight, she wants to know where she can find a vampire to love. I know she's joking, but I think vampires just got a big popularity boost, courtesy of the Twilight series! Oh, and when I bought New Moon Friday night, the checkout clerk at Barnes and Noble said, "Looks like they got you, too!" Craziness, I tell you.)