The Vampire Got Me

In 2005 my grandpa summed up a newspaper article he'd just read about a Mormon mom who wrote a book while her baby sat on her lap.  The book hit the top of the charts, along with the following three sequels.  I remember hearing girls say how much they loved the book, that they couldn't put it down and would neglect home and family till they were finished reading, that they were "obsessed".  Knowing I am the kind of reader that gets sucked into books I decided I would wait for a time when I could get away with neglecting home and family.  That time just never seemed to arrive.  Then Adam rented "Twilight" two weeks ago and we watched it together.  After that I decided I needed to just get it over with and read the books.  I borrowed the first book from my sister and was determined to use self-control because it was Easter weekend.  I finished on Monday, borrowed the rest of the series from a friend on Wednesday and finished all of them in a day each.  About 2,500 pages in less than a week.  My eyes are bloodshot, I'm sleep deprived, my children got away with a whole lot of TV watching, and my husband called me a "dork".  

When I told my mom I was reading the Twilight series she said, "Oh there is a lot of controversy as to whether we should read those books or not."  That got me thinking.  I looked up interviews with Stephenie Meyer online to see if I could find out what the arguments were. Then I got sidetracked.  I found a few interesting articles about the rise in Mormon women writers.  Something about our religion, according to this reporter, makes these women very good at fantasy writing.  I agree. There are links between my religious views and popular fantasy themes like good vs. evil, pleasure vs. pain, agency, eternal progression, the idea that we are not alone in the universe, symbolism, the power of a united family, etc.  I'm all for not letting my girls read these books till they are married (instead of when they are 12), but otherwise I'm on the "support" side of the controversy.  And I think my husband appreciates how romance novels affect his wife (I only was grumpy with him for one night for not being just like Edward.  Then I decided that our marriage should and could be every speck as lovey and passionate).   

This is a funny link from a man's point of view of "Twilight":

 http://mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/2008/02/twilight-series-for-dummies-and-totally.html (actually there are a few funny "Twilight" posts on this blog).