I didn't mean to be a part of the Twilight phenomenon. The Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer spent 102 weeks on the NY Times Best Seller List for Children's Series, have sold 70 million copies worldwide, have been translated into 38 languages, and won the 2009 Kid's Choice Award for favorite book. They're classified as children's books and young Adult fiction, but I was astonished at how much I enjoyed the books and the lengths I would go to to keep reading them.
It was my daughters who first mentioned Twilight. "You should read it, Mom. You'd really like."
"Vampires."
"I don't like stories about vampires," I answered.
Too many B movies about vampires when I was
a teenager, I guess.
"But these vampires don't bite people.
They're different. You'd like the book.
I dismissed it again. "I don't really read much
fiction. I read mostly history, biography...I just
don't read fiction very much." They dropped
the subject and so did I.
Last fall, Twilight, the movie, came out with much anticipation. I read about it. Our girls went to see it and reported disappointment. When the movie came to DVD, we rented and watched it without a lot of enthusiasm. It was okay but certainly not remarkable.
Several months ago at work, in casual conversation with several co-workers, my supervisor asked, "Driscilla, you read, don't you?" I wondered if it was a trick question. I work in an institution of higher learning: EVERYONE reads. "Do you mean something specific?" I asked.
She clarified: "Have you read Twilight?"
"No I haven't. I've heard about it. I just don't read much fiction."
"You really should read it though. I think you'd really like it. I'm reading the last book and I've only got 100 pages to go, so I'm reading it very slowly. I don't want it to end." That sounded like a great recommendation for a book.
A couple of weeks later another co-worker asked me if I'd read the book, and I told her the same thing, "No...I don't read much fiction..."
"I think you'd really love the books. I'd let you borrow my copies, but I keep going back and re-reading, and I don't think I could let them go long enough for you to read."
Hmmm. Another great recommendation.
In August, we went to Colorado on vacation. All of the family gathered at our daughter's home to celebrate the birthday that our grandson and I share. (It was a fun
visit, but that's another story.) One night I noticed the book, Twilight, on the bookshelf and remembered the recurring recommendations. I asked if I could read it while we were there. Our days and nights were very busy and I barely opened the book, so when we left, I asked if I could take the book with me. The girls offered to let me borrow the other books, too. "Is is a trilogy?' I asked (ignorantly)."
"No, Mom, there are four books."
"Four? I don't want to take four books. I'm not sure I'll even finish this one. I'll just take it for the trip." With four adults, two children, and four dogs in the van (that's another story, too), there wasn't much time to read. About six hours into the trip, things got quiet in the van, so I got the book out and started to read. I was hooked! I was surprised at how engrossed I was in the story. That was Sunday.
When I went to work the next day, I took the book with me so I could read on it during my lunch hour. Though it was 498 pages long, it was a surprisingly fast read, and I knew I would soon be finished with the first installment of the romance between 108-year-old-but-17-forever vampire Edward and 17-year old-and-normally-aging human Bella. I talked to my supervisor. "Do you remember when you asked me about Twilight?" She nodded. "Well, I'm almost through reading it, and I was wondering if I could borrow the second book from you. Could you bring it tomorrow?"
"Sure," she said, "I'll try to remember it" She would TRY to remember? That meant she might forget! I needed a more definite answer, some reassurance that she would bring the book, so at the end of the day, I caught her at the elevator and reminded her.
I finished Twilight Monday night. As a teaser, the book included the first chapter of the second book, New Moon, increasing my anxiety to follow the lives of Edward and Bella. I went to my supervisor's office the first thing Tuesday morning, and to my relief, she had remembered the book. I practically snatched it out of her hand before she could change her mind or someone else might come into the office in time to see my desperation. I took New Moon to my office, very anxious for lunch so I could start reading it during the break. I read the book at every opportunity that day and night though real life kept intruding and demanding my time.
By Wednesday night, I knew I would be ready for the third book, Eclipse, by Thursday.
I didn't want to harass my supervisor about the next book, so I checked the library online. There were numerous copies listed but they were all checked out except one. It was available in the Young Adult Fiction section at the downtown library, and it probably wouldn't stay on the shelf very long. Afraid it would be gone by the time I got off work on Thursday evening, I asked my husband to pick it up on Thursday morning as soon as the library opened. He wasn't sure he even had a library card since we usually to to the library together and put all the books on my card. He agreed to go to the library and get a card and check out Eclipse. I casually mentioned the library might have a copy of the Twilight DVD and maybe he could check that out , too.. Later he called me from the library and reported he now had a library card and was searching for the book.The poor unsuspecting man was about to use his new library card to check out a teenage vampire romance. I said, "If anyone asks you, tell them it's for your granddaughter." What? I had just encouraged my preacher-husband to lie! He called a few minutes later and reported that he had found the book and DVD and no one had made comments about his selection. That night we watched the movie again; it made more sense after having read the book.
Friday, I started reading the third book. I thought I would read it during the weekend, then call my supervisor to bring the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, on Monday. By Saturday, I was nearly through with the third book and was almost embarrassed that I was reading the books so fast. An online check of the libraries showed no copies of the fourth book were available. Perhaps it would be more discreet simply to buy the book, so a trip to Barnes and Noble seemed to be the best option. I searched through B&N and finally found a complete display of the Stephenie Meyer books, again the Young Adult section. The first three books were available in paperback, but the most recent was available only in hardback at $25. I couldn't justify spending $25 on the last book when I hadn't purchased the first three so I swallowed my pride and called my supervisor's cell phone number. Standing in the Barnes and Noble vestibule, I made the call. "Hi B. How are you? Are you at home?"
"No, I'm at United doing my grocery shopping."
"When will you be home? I tried not to sound desperate. There were other people entering and leaving the store.
"Well, I'm about halfway through my list, so it'll probably be another 30-40 minutes. Why?"
"Will you call me when you get home? I'd like to pick up Breaking Dawn." She laughed and assured me she would hurry.
I waited around Barnes and Noble until she called, then went to pick up the last book.
I finished it Sunday. Though the last part of the last book was not as engrossing as the rest had been, by then Edward, Bella, Jacob, Carlisle, Alice, the vampires and werewolves were friends to me, and I was at a loss when the story was ended. Maybe I should read all the books again-except I didn't own them and I didn't think I could go through the runaround of borrowing them again. My reputation at work was already damaged. I heard my supervisor recommending the books to some else and she added. "Just ask Driscilla. She read all of them in a week."
Fortunately, one of our daughters came to my rescue. She told me about an incomplete book, Midnight Sun, which was available online. It was a retelling of the first book but from a different perspective. When an unauthorized draft was posted on the internet, the author stopped work on the book but made the draft available on her web site. I read Midnight Sun on Monday night. After that, I'd read all of the Twilight but I continued to spend time with vampires and were-woves by watching trailers of the upcoming movie, New Moon, based on the second book of the series.
I'm not sure exactly in the Young Adult demographic, but there is abundant evidence that the appeal of the books has reached all ages. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Rosa's for Taco Tuesday, always a busy day for the restaurant. A middle-aged cashier had a copy of Eclipse sitting to side of her register apparently hoping to read during a break in the customer line. A friend of mine--in her early 40's and mother of two young adults--told me of her obsession with the Twilight saga; she had joined and online group called Twilight Moms, has two Twilight charm bracelets, bought tickets to the second movie as soon as they were available, took a vacation day so she could attend. On the Today Show, a tour bus guide told the interviewer that visitors to Forks, Washington, (population 3000), the location of the story, included not just teenage girls but even their grandparents. There is more evidence that I'm not the only senior citizen in the Twilight fan base: one of the sponsors for the New Moon movie trailers is Polident!
In August, we went to Colorado on vacation. All of the family gathered at our daughter's home to celebrate the birthday that our grandson and I share. (It was a fun
visit, but that's another story.) One night I noticed the book, Twilight, on the bookshelf and remembered the recurring recommendations. I asked if I could read it while we were there. Our days and nights were very busy and I barely opened the book, so when we left, I asked if I could take the book with me. The girls offered to let me borrow the other books, too. "Is is a trilogy?' I asked (ignorantly)."
"No, Mom, there are four books."
"Four? I don't want to take four books. I'm not sure I'll even finish this one. I'll just take it for the trip." With four adults, two children, and four dogs in the van (that's another story, too), there wasn't much time to read. About six hours into the trip, things got quiet in the van, so I got the book out and started to read. I was hooked! I was surprised at how engrossed I was in the story. That was Sunday.
When I went to work the next day, I took the book with me so I could read on it during my lunch hour. Though it was 498 pages long, it was a surprisingly fast read, and I knew I would soon be finished with the first installment of the romance between 108-year-old-but-17-forever vampire Edward and 17-year old-and-normally-aging human Bella. I talked to my supervisor. "Do you remember when you asked me about Twilight?" She nodded. "Well, I'm almost through reading it, and I was wondering if I could borrow the second book from you. Could you bring it tomorrow?"
"Sure," she said, "I'll try to remember it" She would TRY to remember? That meant she might forget! I needed a more definite answer, some reassurance that she would bring the book, so at the end of the day, I caught her at the elevator and reminded her.
I finished Twilight Monday night. As a teaser, the book included the first chapter of the second book, New Moon, increasing my anxiety to follow the lives of Edward and Bella. I went to my supervisor's office the first thing Tuesday morning, and to my relief, she had remembered the book. I practically snatched it out of her hand before she could change her mind or someone else might come into the office in time to see my desperation. I took New Moon to my office, very anxious for lunch so I could start reading it during the break. I read the book at every opportunity that day and night though real life kept intruding and demanding my time.By Wednesday night, I knew I would be ready for the third book, Eclipse, by Thursday.
I didn't want to harass my supervisor about the next book, so I checked the library online. There were numerous copies listed but they were all checked out except one. It was available in the Young Adult Fiction section at the downtown library, and it probably wouldn't stay on the shelf very long. Afraid it would be gone by the time I got off work on Thursday evening, I asked my husband to pick it up on Thursday morning as soon as the library opened. He wasn't sure he even had a library card since we usually to to the library together and put all the books on my card. He agreed to go to the library and get a card and check out Eclipse. I casually mentioned the library might have a copy of the Twilight DVD and maybe he could check that out , too.. Later he called me from the library and reported he now had a library card and was searching for the book.The poor unsuspecting man was about to use his new library card to check out a teenage vampire romance. I said, "If anyone asks you, tell them it's for your granddaughter." What? I had just encouraged my preacher-husband to lie! He called a few minutes later and reported that he had found the book and DVD and no one had made comments about his selection. That night we watched the movie again; it made more sense after having read the book.
"No, I'm at United doing my grocery shopping."
"When will you be home? I tried not to sound desperate. There were other people entering and leaving the store.
"Well, I'm about halfway through my list, so it'll probably be another 30-40 minutes. Why?"
"Will you call me when you get home? I'd like to pick up Breaking Dawn." She laughed and assured me she would hurry.
I finished it Sunday. Though the last part of the last book was not as engrossing as the rest had been, by then Edward, Bella, Jacob, Carlisle, Alice, the vampires and werewolves were friends to me, and I was at a loss when the story was ended. Maybe I should read all the books again-except I didn't own them and I didn't think I could go through the runaround of borrowing them again. My reputation at work was already damaged. I heard my supervisor recommending the books to some else and she added. "Just ask Driscilla. She read all of them in a week."
Fortunately, one of our daughters came to my rescue. She told me about an incomplete book, Midnight Sun, which was available online. It was a retelling of the first book but from a different perspective. When an unauthorized draft was posted on the internet, the author stopped work on the book but made the draft available on her web site. I read Midnight Sun on Monday night. After that, I'd read all of the Twilight but I continued to spend time with vampires and were-woves by watching trailers of the upcoming movie, New Moon, based on the second book of the series.
I'm not sure exactly in the Young Adult demographic, but there is abundant evidence that the appeal of the books has reached all ages. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Rosa's for Taco Tuesday, always a busy day for the restaurant. A middle-aged cashier had a copy of Eclipse sitting to side of her register apparently hoping to read during a break in the customer line. A friend of mine--in her early 40's and mother of two young adults--told me of her obsession with the Twilight saga; she had joined and online group called Twilight Moms, has two Twilight charm bracelets, bought tickets to the second movie as soon as they were available, took a vacation day so she could attend. On the Today Show, a tour bus guide told the interviewer that visitors to Forks, Washington, (population 3000), the location of the story, included not just teenage girls but even their grandparents. There is more evidence that I'm not the only senior citizen in the Twilight fan base: one of the sponsors for the New Moon movie trailers is Polident!
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