Once Bitten

I imagine it all began about four years ago when one of my students literally got on her knees and begged me, with all of her little ten year old heart, to read this book. So I did. And I'll admit, it was quite a good young adult novel. A little beyond the fifth grader's years, even though she was rather mature for her age, but book suppression I don't believe in...let the parents take an active part in their child's reading list.

By the way, many of you have heard of this book. It's called Twilight.

Uh huh, yes, you heard right. Twilight.

I read it, added it to my classroom library, suggested it to my then seventh grade daughter, and promptly forgot about it. When the next book came out, I didn't bother getting it due to having forgotten the majority of the story. While I read most of the books that went into my classroom library, dragons, magic, sailing away to other worlds were the words that tugged at my heart and bookshelf more so than the popular reading list. Okay, I admit it. I was Lestat's biggest fan, but I gave up on vampires years, even decades ago. Sorry, Lestat, but you ain't got nothin on Aragorn, and don't even try to compare yourself to Fizban. No way, it just ain't gonna happen.

Yeah. Right.

Enter HBO. I'm telling you, right here, right now, HBO knows how to do a series and how to do it right. Deadwood, Big Love, Rome, just to name a few, held me, not the biggest fan of television, riveted to the screen. So it wasn't a big surprise that when last season's, not this season's, run of Big Love reached its finale, we scanned the list of "On Demand" series.

Can we say True Blood? Can we say Bill Compton? Can we say an aussie putting on that sweet southern drawl so that every time he said "Sookie" some over the age of 18 female swooned and melted just a little? Listen to him say it..."Sookie." ::aside:: When he says sookie, it sounds a bit like Elvis saying Soo kay. Hmmm. Needless to say, Bill Compton and Eric the Vampire compelled me to touch the surface of the vampires of the millennium. And when the girls wanted to go to the midnight viewing of the movie, "Twilight," I was only too happy to oblige. Seriously, I know the sap poured into the making of the movie. And I know the rush to fame that Mr. Rob whatshisname is experiencing due to this goo fest of a movie. But hell if I didn't leave the movie theatre feeling all giddy in love can't wait to get back home and snuggle with husband who stayed home. Damn Straight!

I got to thinking, yes, I do think on occasion. It wasn't the whole vampire spiel that pulled me in, it was the way it left you remembering what fresh, not necessarily young...I was already in my thirties when I met my husband, love felt like. Seriously, there is nothing like fresh love. So I went home, scooted next to my sleeping husband (don't think his butt woke up at nearly 3:00 a.m.), and reveled in the "fresh" love feeling. And yes, when the movie was released on DVD, I bought it for my movie obsessed daughter. We watched it at midnight. And once again, I was left with that fresh love feeling. And once again, after the movie, I went to snuggle with my fresh love hottie (and yes, he slept through the entire fresh love episode). It was great, though. What a movie. Not the best of movies, but I was totally digging the love.

So now, after four years and counting, I am finally reading books two through four. I've also picked up the Sookie Stackhouse series (Vampire Bill says, "Sookie."). Quick easy reads. Definitely not going to add them to my fifth grade reading library. I'll leave that decision up to the parents.

Sookie.