2 down, 28 to go

I love reading. In fact, one of my favorite things in the entire world is the first sentence of a new book. I also read insanely fast. Combine those things and knocking out 30 books should be a piece of cake. It hasn't been. Why? I blame Twilight.

I got pulled into the Twilight world hook, line and sinker about a year ago. I read all the books in three days (see, quick reader) and re-read them again ... and again ... and again. And then the movie came out. And then I discovered a link to an unfinished copy of "Midnight Sun," aka book 5. And then I got pulled into the embarrassing world of fan fiction. Don't laugh until you've tried it. There's seriously some incredible talent out there writing some insanely interesting stuff. And, it's free! So I've spent months curled up with my computer soaking in each new chapter of my favorite stories.

Problem is, I haven't cracked open an actual book in months. I'm trying to remedy that as I refuse to let something as silly (and crazy addicting) as fan fiction stand in my way of completing my goal.

My goal originally started out as 30 classic novels because somewhere along the way I’ve missed out on reading books like “Anna Karenina” and “Pride and Prejudice.” It probably has something to do with my obsession with “classic” novels like “Twilight” and “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” So the first book I picked up to read was in fact "Pride and Prejudice." I'd seen the movie many times so (spoiler alert) I knew Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy fall in love. The book was ok. I can definitely see the draw to Jane Austen books ... but it was also the reason I changed my goal from 30 classic novels to 30 novels. My head hurt from all the prose.

So for my second book I continued the vampire theme and started "The Southern Vampire Mysteries," aka the premise for HBO's "True Blood." It has nine books in the series so that will help me work towards by goal 0f 30. The first book, "Dead Until Dark" was a quick read and the plot pulled me in pretty quick. I've got book two on my nightstand ready to read over the long weekend. With any luck I'll grab a couple more books in the series and finish them as well.

-B