Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Confession Time (no laughing allowed)

So I mentioned in my post yesterday that I did a lion's share of reading while we were away. The first series I plowed through was the Cape Refuge Series by Terri Blackstock. I was a huge fan of her Restoration Series books and I was not disappointed with this one either. It follows the lives of a handful of residents on a small (fictional) island off the coast of Georgia and I really found myself hooked on the characters and relationships.Not knowing what I would do with myself without anything to read for the next week I asked a family friend (whose family was staying at the same campground) if she had any books she could lend me since they were going home. She had an Alton Gansky book she'd also borrowed from the church library and then mentioned in passing that she also had the first book of the Twilight series. I asked her for both just to have something to read.......I tried getting into the Gansky book for about an hour but it just wasn't grabbing me so I put it down and grabbed the Stephanie Meyer book hoping it would be somewhat good and that I could stretch it out for a couple days.

Ha.


I wish.


I was a goner for all 498 pages and when I finished the book about 18 hours after it was lent to me I knew I couldn't wait to read the rest. We rented the movie that night and watched it together and then I ended up finding the second installment, New Moon, at a local craft store on the island and finished all 563 pages in a little over a day. Then I hunted down the third book, Eclipse, at a different local book store and had those 629 pages gone on Thursday evening. I was going to try and wait until we got home to buy the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, hoping to find it in paperback but I figured out the paperback wasn't coming out until next year and knew I couldn't wait that long. So I went back again and got a laugh out of the store owner who was reading at about the same pace as me. I read as much as I could on Friday and all the way home on Saturday and woke up Sunday morning with about 50 pages left. I've got to admit, I was feeling physically anxious for the climactic ending and found myself reading while I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I finished all 768 pages just after 10:00 on Sunday morning and then walked downstairs to tell my husband that he could have his wife back now.
I know what you're thinking and I do feel like a bit of teenage girl at a BSB concert but there was just something about those books! My usual genre is murder mystery/suspense; I don't think I've ever read a romance novel in my life. But I found myself totally drawn into this bizarre love story. If you've seen the movie and weren't impressed, neither was I. The books give so much more depth to the characters and plot that a short movie can't.
If you're a reader, you'll like these books. I think they're the only books I've ever read that I could honestly see myself reading over and over again.


Yeah, go ahead and laugh. I guess I've turned into a Twi-Hard, I think it's called :) I can think of one other person (Megan, of West Coast Milne Chapter) who has experienced the same instant addiction. It's not that I swore myself as an enemy of all these fad books, I just never thought they would interest me. Apparently I was wrong......
So there you have it.
My name is Christy, and I am addicited to Twilight.
Do you all still love me?
**Added Note** Lots of comments wondering how I managed to read that much. Denay naps a couple hours in the morning and about and hour in the afternoon so I did most of my reading then and after she went to bed. There were also a couple long boat trips that she napped during and I read then and there were a couple days my mom offered to watch Denay while I went with the boys fishing. I'm also a very quick reader and am able to read a lot in a short period of time.

8 comments:

Kristin said...

I have read the Terri Blackstock series too! I haven't read Twilight yet, but I keep hearing good things, so now you have me really curious. I might have to borrow my sister in laws and see what happens!!

Anita Grace said...

haha, Christy I couldn't help but laugh out loud at your last line of this post... too funny!

I haven't read any of those books yet... but I know of someone else who is addicted to the Twilight series too... and I haven't got a clue of what it's all about yet.

I know the feeling of getting into a good book series too though. I'm just amazed that you were able to do that much reading! You must have had someone else watching Denay? I can barely get 2 pages of reading done while with our boys... they are far too rowdy~ ha!

Well, thanks for sharing!

Steph Chester said...

YOUR NOT ALONE! I had the exact same reaction about a year ago after hesitantly picking up the first book of the series and they consumed my every waking moment until I was finished the series! I loved the movie but only because at that point i had read the whole series and I knew the characters so much more then the first movie could tell. the second movie comes out in November!!

Omi Kim said...

Now that to me sounds like a perfect vacation...and good thing you had your family there to watch after Denay!!! A few weeks back Dean and I went to the states for a Trial and I read and read...it was so wonderful and relaxing and took me away for a few days into my own little land. I haven't read the twlight series yet, but think that I'll be buying it soon as I hear it's quite addiciting!

Chris said...

Casi couldn't put those books down either...can't say I have read them myself but would really like to some day!

Laura said...

Thanks for sharing, Christy! I've heard good things about the Twilight series... maybe I'll have to pick it up one of these days! And thanks for the suggestion for the Terri Blackstone ones too... I'm the same as you - I read too quickly and am always looking for something new! I get it bad too... like sometimes I read at red traffic lights!! haha

I noticed Jessi wrote you a comment under her mom's name (Omi Kim) if you're wondering who that was... ;)

E. said...

Christy,

You're not the only one who got taken in by the Twilight series. Lucky for me, I read it while visiting family in Canada, so my hubby didn't have to "lose" me for a couple of days..

To all you ladies who haven't read Twilight yet, do. It's great escape lit.

Theresa said...

I was laughing at your addiction to Twilight - I did the SAME THING! Innocently read the first book just to see what all the fuss was about then tore through the rest of the series as soon as I could. If we hear that you are camped out in Vancouver tracking down the actors who are filming the 3rd film there right now, then we'll know you're a Twi-hard! I don't know, there's just something so appealing about the whole Twilight thing. I agree though, the movie really doesn't do it justice.