Sunday, July 19, 2009

Okay, I Caved!

I just pre-ordered the paperback copy of Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight Series, with mixed feelings. I finished Twilight earlier this month, and didn't like it much at all! I finished New Moon over the weekend (I'd already bought it, so I decided to go ahead and read it), and liked it a little better. Now I'm hoping the series will continue to warm up for me. For those of you following the Twilight Series, it looks like I'm in the Team Jacob camp so far.

I continue to be curious about the hold this series has on people. Teenage Bella seems to be at her worst when she's with Edward, vampire extraordinaire: klutzy, whiny, clingly, and dependent. Edward's family seems to accept all of this, and they remind her of her own awkward self at different times throughout the first two books. When Bella befriended Jacob (who turns into a werewolf in New Moon), she became more self-confident and adventurous. That's why I liked New Moon better--Bella became a much more interesting and well-rounded character.

I'm such a horder of books I want to read, that I am beginning to get a little overwhelmed by all the unread possibilities on my bookshelves at home, not to mention my Amazon.com Wishlist and my to-read list on Goodreads.com (there is some duplication between the two lists, but not totally). While many of the books I have at home are personal copies, many are library books (both university and public). I recently decided to start weeding books out a bit, so that I can focus on what I really want to read for a while, and make my home office a more comfortable place to read, write, and relax in the evenings. Recently, I took a few personal books I didn't want to keep to work to share with my colleagues, with the promise that I didn't expect (or even want) to see them again. This afternoon, I returned a bunch of books to the public library that I'd either finished or decided I could read later on down the road. While my bookshelves are still double-stacked when possible, and now-smaller stacks of books still abound elsewhere, my home office is looking more airy, relaxing, and productive. I feel like I have a little more focus.

Meanwhile, I have a total of seven (SEVEN?!) books in various stages of ordering and shipping at Amazon, so I'm hoping to finish up some other books at home before they arrive! Three of those books are released for shipment in August, and another won't arrive until late October, so I'm hopeful that I can make some progress between now and then. Three of the seven will arrive this week, though. I'd better stop writing and go read for a while! :)

5 comments:

Susan Mo said...

I wind up doing the same thing. I put books on my list at the library, then they all seem to come in at the same time. I have books sitting on the floor that I want to read (eventually), but I keep getting other books from the library. As for Eclispe, I think you made the right move. You need to finish the series now. I think you will be happy by the end.

Lesley Looper said...

Susan, the SAME THING happens to me with my hold lists at the library! LOL! Seems that lately, when I get the first email notification that a book's waiting for me at the public library, I think, "Yay!" Then, it seems like the flod gates open up, and I get a flood of books ready at the same time! :)

So many books, so little time! :)

Tinsie said...

I love the Twilight series! Bella just behaves like a besotted teenager - perfectly natural when you consider she's, like, 16 when she meets Edward - and I like teenagers, even kranky ones ;-)

As for the Jacob vs. Edward debate, let's just say I can't stand Jacob! He's way too narrow minded and full of himself for my liking.

I have more than 100 unread books at home... better not go there!

Lesley Looper said...

Tinsie, you and Susan both are part of the Edward camp! :) I see Jacob's behavior as a bit teenager-ish, too, but then he IS a teenager! That's part of why I like Bella and Jacob together. Edward, in "reality," is much older, and should know better than to act the way he does sometimes. :>

I must admit, today I've sort of missed not having the next Twilight series book to start on. From what I understand, Edward and Jacob interact more in Eclipse, so I'm interested to see what happens, as well as whether or not my opinions about the characters and the series change any.

Thanks for your comments, Susan and Tinsie! Keep 'em coming! :)

Tinsie said...

Check out Stephenie Meyer's website for a partial draft of Midnight Sun - this is the story of Twilight as seen from Edward's perspective. It might make you like him a little better ;-)