Twilight

My wife started reading Twilight, the best seller from rookie author Stephanie Meyer, and couldn't put it down. She finished the book in two days. This compelled me to read it, which I did. And finished it in two days. If you had told me I'd get into a vampire book, I'd have politely responded, "Um, no." But it was a surprisingly good book. Easy reading, and each chapter left you wanting to know what came next, which speaks to Meyer's abilities as an author. We've now begun the second book, New Moon, and are a few chapters into it. I love reading to Mary—yes, I read aloud to her. This started a few months ago when she purchased a book by (now) one of our favorite authors, also somewhat of a newbie, Jenn Lancaster. She would read for a page or two and then cackle with laughter all of a sudden. "You've gotta hear this," she'd say, and she'd proceed to read me a section. She did this every few minutes. Finally I suggested that I read aloud to her. It's great practice for me as a voice over guy and audiobook narrator and we both get to enjoy the book at the same time. We've (make that I've) now read several books this way, and it's great. So back to Twilight. For those not familiar with the story, the main characters are Bella, a human, and Edward, an unbelievably perfect-looking guy who just happens to be a 108 year-old vampire (a good vampire, not your run-of-the-mill bite-you-and-suck-your-blood vampire). To make a long story short, they fall in love through a series of events, in most all of which Edward emerges the strong, romantic hero. I'm reminded of this each time I read such a passage, as Mary will inevitably sigh, "Edward..." And then she exclaims, "He's so romantic! He watches her sleep! Isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard?" And each time, I will stop reading and patiently wait for her to finish swooning before I continue. And each time, she will grin sheepishly, pull the sheet up to cover her mouth, and mumble, "I'll stop." But it continues, my reading and her swooning over Edward, until finally her eyes close and she drifts off. I slide the bookmark between the pages, turn the light off, and watch her as she sleeps.

~Alan