Monday, February 23, 2009

Twilight

I love to read, but what I primarily read is what I’ll loosely call high-quality fiction. Usually contemporary, but not necessarily. What matters to me is the writing. When I’m shopping for a book, I’ll turn to the first page and start reading. If it grabs me in the first paragraph, I’m in. If not, not.

So it was with not a little doubt that I approached the recent phenomenon, Twilight. On the one hand, it was a New York Times bestseller. I couldn’t help but suspect that it was too “fluffy” though, and when I spoke to bookshop staff about my reticence, they backed me up. A woman who shall go unnamed, however (to protect the innocent, of course!), found herself reading the series, and offered me the first two books. I was hooked from minute one.

If, somehow, you’ve just crawled out from under a rock and have no idea what I’m talking about, Twilight is book 1 in a series of 4 about a young woman (Isabella, or Bella for short) who falls for a very seductive, and essentially good, vampire named Edward.

I’m not going to address the controversy surrounding the books, you can read about the fact that the characters don’t have sex and that the author is Mormon, here. I will say that the sexual tension between these characters is obviously a big part of the seduction (if you will) of the book. The writing is good enough, but it’s the tension that keeps you hooked. There’s nothing like the appeal of a fundamentally good, bad boy who happens to be so beautiful that he glitters when in direct sunlight!

I’m sure I’ll read the next in the series (I mean, I’ve got it, so it’d be pretty hard to resist) and I’ll post a review when I’m done. This is actually timely, as I’ve been intending to start doing book reviews, although I had no intention of this book being my first! It just kind of crept up on me (kind of like Edward has!).

As always, I recommend borrowing books from friends (as I did) or from the library if possible. It’s not only helpful on your wallet, it’s good for the environment. If, however, you’re going to purchase it anyway, please consider linking to Amazon here (click on the image of the book). I’ll make a few cents on your purchase, thus enabling me to continue trying to feed my child and my habit (blogging) at the same time!

5 comments:

Strongrrl said...

This coming from the guy who posted a photo of himself sitting on the lap of a 60-something female former superhero?! I mean, really! Not much street cred, you know?

Dana said...

First of all, she is 72! And she wasn't a superhero, she was a supervillain! And as for street cred... Twilight is the literary equivelant of New Kids on the Block!

Strongrrl said...

I didn't say it was great literature. I said it was a good read (which it is!) My next review will be of a book I finished a week ago called "Replay" by Ken Grimwood. It's a solid time-travel piece. You might enjoy it. Now stop harassing me! ;-)

Anonymous said...

I did not try the twilight one but I have just finished her latest book. "The host" and I have had exactly the same kind of surprise. It is not the best book ever but that exactly the kind of book I find difficult to stop reading.

And yes I know the controversy. Every time I try to say that I enjoyed it people look at me as if I was insane. :-)

However, if you want an easy and pleasant book to read, do not hesitate. :-)

L

Strongrrl said...

Hi louci. Thanks for backing me up! Just started the second book, so we'll see if the series holds up! Glad to hear The Host is good, although I really don't need to get sucked into more of her books!