When I was in middle school, each student in my English class was required to do several oral book reports for the class. Those listening to the report were supposed to ask questions. My question (super original!) was always, "How does it end?" Looking back, I suppose what I was really asking was whether or not the book was worth reading. Should I invest my time and possible emotional attachment to the characters and plot in this book? Charlotte's Web? Worth it. Anne of Green Gables? Worth it. Cheaper by the Dozen? Worth it. Harry Potter? Worth it. Twilight? Not worth it. . . . I'm kidding!! I'm kidding!
I read my cousin's post on Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer, and I got so carried away just commenting that I thought I had better just post and get it all out at once. Although I am a fan of Stephenie Meyer, I'm not fanatical about it, and I was planning to just wait until I could get a copy of the latest book at the library.
Chelsea got the book at the library(!) the day it came out, read it and then passed it on to me. Thanks, Chelsea!!
Jack saw me reading when he left for school in the morning and found me reading when he got home that afternoon and asked me (1) are those books really that good? and (2) what are those books all about, anyway? (I just about fell over unconscious when he told me he might want to see the movie with me. I guess there are going to be plenty of action scenes and special effects in between the tense, emotional, romantic ones.) I told him I felt ridiculous even discussing it with someone who hadn't read the books. As if it isn't silly enough just as a teen romance, the vampires and werewolves now almost seem normal in my head. Normal enough to discuss without thinking, "am I really having a serious discussion about this"? No, but yes, Nat, I do feel like I know all about them.
In this latest installment, I just kept turning the pages thinking, "what if" . . . only to find out a few pages later: "no way. no. please. not that." Once I suspended my disbelief just a little more, still committed to finding out how it all ends, something new came up. I so desperately want to elaborate, but I do feel guilty for those of you who haven't read the book yet. Ask me when you're finished if you don't feel too ridiculous yourself.
The one thing that still amazes me is that even though I don't want to, I know which characters the author wants me to like, and I like them. At the end of the book I really and truly do like them, even the one or two people that I absolutely think are annoying in every way, I do not want to like at all, and I wish had disappeared a long time ago like they kept threatening to do. My sister says that better writers can do that invisibly, or without your knowing who the author likes and doesn't like, but we both majored in literature-heavy degrees, and I admit to reading enough Stephenie Meyer interviews and articles online to be looking for that anyway.
All done with book four? If you want to read more teen romance/angst/emotion/what!?/sci-fi/I-can't-believe-I-am-still-reading-this books, try Uglies, Pretties, and Specials, a trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. While I am actually glad I read the entire Twilight saga, I still can't believe I read all of Westerfeld's series.
1 comment:
I totally know what you mean about feeling ridiculous talking about it with someone who hasn't read it. Steve and I got into a conversation where I needed to explain about... um... "R". While it seemed to natural and matter-of-fact to me in my head, it seemed so lame coming out of my mouth aimed at Steve.
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