I’ve never read Anne Rice’s vampire novels. I did, however, see the film Interview with a Vampire, and it was years before I could watch Kirsten Dunst in a film without seeing her bloodstained lips saying, “Please, I want some more.” Shudder. I never saw the attraction to vampire stories, and so when I saw the reviews of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight showing up on various book blogs, I just shrugged. Not my thing.

Then I read Sherry’s review at Semicolon, and I had to rethink my position. After all, Sherry is a serious book blogger. If she “read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse last month, one after the other, like candy, in the course of two or three days,” then perhaps I would like them, too. When Twilight showed up on our library’s list of new audiobooks, I checked it out. I finished it tonight.

Oh, my. I like to listen to audiobooks while I do dishes, drive, fold laundry, and do all those other mindless chores that simply feel like a waste of good reading time. Once in a while, an audiobook will hook me so well that I find extra jobs to do around the house, because simply sitting and listening to an audiobook with idle hands seems a little lazy. That didn’t matter tonight as I sat on the couch while Kevin watched TV and listened to the final disc of Twilight, my hands completely still except for the times I gasped and covered my mouth in horror. I then headed over to Natasha’s blog to watch the movie trailer she posted earlier this week, and that I resisted watching until I finished the book. (The film will be released in December.)

Twilight is the story of Bella Swan, a junior in high school who leaves Phoenix and moves to Forks, Washington to live with her father. Forks is the rainiest town in the United States, and the sun rarely makes an appearance. Which makes it the perfect place for the Cullen family, since they just happen to be vampires. The Cullen family has found a way to live in harmony with human-kind, by hunting only animals. But, as Edward explains, it would be like a human living on soy milk and tofu. While the animal blood sates their thirst, the craving for human blood is never gone.

Bella runs into Edward Cullen at school, and immediately causes Edward to have a violent reaction. She thinks he has taken an instant dislike to her; in reality, he has become enraged by her scent and wants to drink her blood. Edward vows to stay away from Bella, but that proves more difficult than he imagined, since they are undeniably attracted to each other.

Will Edward be able to spend time with Bella, and yet resist his innate urge to gorge his thirst? Will Bella discover Edward’s true identity? And, what happens when Bella meets a vampire with more traditional eating - or should I say, drinking - habits?

Keep in mind, this is a YA novel, so it’s not meant for children younger than their teens. There isn’t any sexual content - only a few kisses - but Bella and Edward’s relationship is pretty charged wtih attraction and tension, which Meyers captures perfectly.

I put New Moon on hold at the library, but there are 12 people on the hold list in front of me! Sigh.