Completely obsessed!

I am, that is. I am completely obsessed with Harry Potter.

The new movie came out yesterday and, of course, Matt and I went to see it. I had tickets purchased a week early and I had been re-watching the movies and re-reading the sixth book to fully prepare myself for the awesomeness.

I had to get into the proper HP mood (as if it takes much) before leaving to see the movie, so I enjoyed a "butterbeer" while reading my book.

The butterbeer is basically one ounce butterscotch schnapps to a cup of cream soda or ginger ale. It was delicious. And very magical.

I made Matt rush home from work so we could get to the theatre ridiculously early. I thought it would be crazy busy.


It wasn't. We were the first in the theatre. I must have been the only obsessed fan in the audience for that showing. But the theatre filled up before the show started.

Here we are, excited for the movie to start. Or at least I am. I think Matt's just pretending.

The sixth book is my favorite (though my favorite book seems to change daily), so I really wanted this movie to be good. In general, I liked it. But I'm not sure I can make a real judgment until I've seen it again. Maybe seven or eight times.

After seeing the movie and reading the book over the last couple of days, I am now in a "Harry Potter-induced funk." I get this way sometimes. I can't get my mind out of the HP world. Even when I'm not consciously thinking about the story, I just feel funky. The idea of it all being over saddens me immensely.

Tonight, Matt suggested we re-watch all the movies from the beginning. I was thrilled to hear him say this. So, now we're watching the first movie, while I read HP things online, occassionally leafing through one of the seven books piled next to me. Completely obsessed!

Ah... Books...

Not much has been going on in the Herndon world this last week. I had an audition last weekend that didn't pan out into anything (seems to be a trend...), Matt took a short and uneventful business trip to Kentucky for a couple days, and we've both just been working and working. A lot of my free time has been spent watching TV, listening to music, and reading. Three of my favorite activities!

One of the things being passed around on a social-networking site recently is a "Fifteen Books" note. The idea is to post a list of fifteen books that have "stuck with you" over the years. Because I love to read, I had to participate. And considering the lack of other interesting things in my life at the moment, I thought I'd put my list up here. If you haven't read some of these books, I would recommend pretty much all of them. And I'm always looking for suggestions, if you have any of your favorites in mind.

1. Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
2. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
3. Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce
4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
5. Bloodsucking Fiends (and the sequel, You Suck) by Christopher Moore
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. Wizard's First Rule by William Golding
8. My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure by Shawn Decker
9. Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfeld
10. Irish Trilogy by Nora Roberts (kind of embarrassing...)
11. Incarnations of Immortality series by Peirs Anthony
12. Still Life With Woodpecker by Tom Robbins
13. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
14. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
15. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

The interesting thing is, I already want to change some of the books I put down. There are just too many good ones out there. But I won't because the idea is to have the first books that come to mind.

Hopefully, I'll have some eventful things to share over the next few days. But until then, I'm happy to just keep reading.

Twilight: Dumbing down teenagers since 2005!

I have a confession to make. I read Twilight. And then... I read the sequel. And while I haven't read the third or fourth books yet, I probably will eventually. But sometimes complete mindless drivel can be fun; it's nice to read and not have to think at all. And I promise, read Twilight, and you won't have to think (except when you're thinking, "Really? That's lame." over and over). With the movie coming out this week, I wanted make clear that, while I read the book, I did not find it a literary masterpiece by any means. And to compare it to Harry Potter? That's just dumb.

The story follows Bella Swan, as she moves to a new town and falls for the gorgeous outsider at her high school. We soon find out that the unbelievably good-looking Edward Cullen is a vampire. The author then proceeds to go on and on about the deep love the two suddenly began to feel for one another, and how amazingly hot Bella finds Edward. At the end, Bella gets in a little trouble with some rival vampires, providing the only action and somewhat interesting elements of the entire novel, before Edward bravely comes to her rescue. The boring end.

So why did I read it? Well, I like to read. I like to read EVERYTHING. From Nora Roberts to Tom Robbins (though I prefer Tom Robbins). It's just fun to get lost in another world. And Stephenie Meyer creates a somewhat interesting world. The cool elements are there. Love: I can dig that. Rivalry and battle: awesome. Vampires: sweet. Vampires that glitter: ...what? Seriously? He "glitters" in the sun? Well... ok... whatever, I guess...
Should teenagers read this book? Sure, why not. My problem? The complete and ridiculous obsession that rivals only that of the Harry Potter series (which is a little excessive itself). This really is a mediocre book that should be read, and then forgotten. Set aside, and only re-visited during a blizzard when you are stranded at your parents' house, and the only book available is an old copy of Twilight, left in the basement because no one wanted it. This is not a book that is worth waiting in crazy lines at midnight the day it's released.

The things I didn't like? The characters and the plot are weak. I know that there are many literary elements that make a story "good", and I won't get into those. But characters and plot are essential.

Bella has no interesting qualities at all. She has no hobbies or interests other than her obsession with some boy she met in high school. She's not a member of the math bowl, or in high school choir, or on the volleyball team, or addicted to World of Warcraft. Nothing. Is this really a good role model for young girls: someone addicted to a boy, with no goals or aspirations of any sort (other than her dream to be turned into a vampire herself)? I have a hard time being interested in a protagonist like that. And Meyer's other characters are all equally one-dimensional.

The story line is dull. It arcs at the very end, when Bella's life is threatened by the "bad" vampires. But the rest of the book is slow moving and uninteresting. There are very few things that surprised me at all as the story went on.

Now, I'm not a writer. There is no way that I could write anything as good as what Meyer's written. But I am a reader, and I know I've read many things better than Twilight. It's laughable to compare this to the Harry Potter series. Rowling may not use a myriad of literary techniques, but the basic elements are there. Her characters are well-rounded, with both good and bad qualities and multiple interests. The story is complex, with twists and turns, and mysteries that take seven books to fully unravel.

But hey, the Twilight books are fun to read. It takes me back to when I was younger and boys were the most important thing in the world. I just think teenagers also need to be reading other books (and not just Harry Potter). Books with intelligent and strong heroes/heroines, who fight for what they believe in and let no boy (or girl) bring them down. And books that are just a little bit better written than a high school creative writing project.