The healthiest addiction

September 14th, 2008 at 05:01pm Walla Words 461

addiction: the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma. (dictionary.com)
We've discovered many things in this world that can alter a person's emotional state or excitement level. Most of which fall under the category of...drug. Uppers, downers, street drugs, legal drugs, prescription, you name it. We're constantly surround by them. Even drug-free addictions like shopping, tv, eating, and exercise cause debt, eye-strain, weight-gain, and joint-pain.
For the past few weeks, however, I've re-discovered a truly healthy drug free high. An addiction who's side effects only include an increase in your vocabulary.
I've just completed the four-book Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, which, if you follow book publication at all, has been quite the craze as of late, and I wasn't about to miss the bandwagon. Of course, the movie adaptation from the first novel will be coming out this November, too.

2500+ pages, 2.5 weeks, 3 "Oh my God!", countless outbursts of laughter, and an insatiable desire to become a character in the book. 2.5 weeks with Bella Swan and Edward Cullen are not enough.

Not to take credit away from the author, but what I really thought was most amazing about the series was simply its grip on me. I felt like a slave to the drama unfolding on every page...in a good way.

In simplest terms: it made me realize how great reading can be again. It brought back a sense of invigoration from the simple act of comprehending words on page that I hadn't felt since Harry Potter. Fitting, since Twilight was the first book to surpass a Harry Potter on the best-seller list when it was first released.

What made the books so lovable was the author's ability to put you in their world, feel what the characters are feeling, and see through their eyes. It never ceases to amaze me when a writer can create, not only a solid plotline of action, but also an entire world of new realities, laws of nature, and backstories. So, I was constantly thinking about what Meyer was thinking when she was writing. With each new development I wonder how long she had planned for that connection or that new character.

Her writing was so rich with detail, I started to feel like I knew these characters, like I was actually in the book. By the end of the series I could almost predict how the characters would respond.
When I was away from the book (which was seldom other than sleeping and going to practice) it was difficult to concentrate on anything else. I would read while I walked to class, rode the bus, while I was stopped at red lights, while I was eating, between taking notes in class (hey, it's the professor's fault for not being interesting enough!). In one class we had the lights off for a slideshow, so I had to bust out my cell phone for a reading lamp!

If that doesn't give you a sense for how much I enjoyed the saga, I don't know what will. So, I won't tell you you HAVE to go buy these books and read them every free moment of the day like me (although I would strongly reccomend it). I will say this: find YOUR Twilight Saga. Find a book that you can get so emersed in you barely notice the setting sun and the people around you. Find yourself a book that you can't bear to put down so much that ever red light is like a small gift. (Yes, normally I hate red lights with a passion and have previously been known to do crossword puzzles and sudoku to keep from imploding from the frustration. Of course, red lights in Aspen aren't quite like the ones I find en-route from my house in Austin to our golf course. I go through no less than 23 of them on my way to give you a sense...)

So, cheers to all your future reading endeavors! May the pages bring you bliss. Share a good book with a friend, borrow one from the library, download a book on tape if you must. And please, if you've recenlty shared a similar addiction with fiction, please let me know so I can continue on this reading tirade of mine, further postponing homework and sleep.

Entry Filed under: Books, Women, United Post