I recently finished reading the Twilight series written by Stephenie Myers. No, I am not a YA anymore at the ripe old age of 34. I figure at the rate I'm going, I should be re-reading all of my "Choose Your Own Adventure" books by the time I see 45. Do they even publish those books anymore?

Back to Twilight. My girlfriend has spent the last 8 months or so telling me about these books she was 'listening' to in Audio Book format. My first reaction, without knowing anything about the saga as it were was 'no thanks'. I had no desire to read about vampires, period. The deeper she got into the audio files, the more crazed she became about selling me on it. To me it was not even a question of should or shouldn't I. It was more like flat out no interest. I didn't even look up Twilight on Amazon as I normally do when someone refers a new title to me, adding it to my wish list/ future must reads list if I like the synopsis.

How did I come to finish the 4 book series in 3 weeks time after professing undying lack of interest? Simple. I found myself on a weekend get-away with one chapter left in the Penny Vincenzi book I was reading, with no back up. Forget my cell phone, my keys, or even my wallet- if I don't have a book to read I feel incomplete.

So, there I was at the beautiful, romantic, cozy Chateau Montebello located in the REMOTE town of Montebello, Quebec with no book to read. Feeling Claustrophobic, as I often do when I feel a loss of control in my life, I left my husband napping in our suite and headed down to the lobby for a little breather. I was making my way around the perimeter of the main floor, appreciating the magnificent stone chimney center piece when I came face to face with the gift shop. My excitement was a little hard to contain, knowing that when I laid eyes on the titles of the books sitting dust covered on the bottom shelf, tucked under a display of magazines and chocolate bars I would quickly forget my initial giddiness. Holding my breath, I skimmed the titles not recognizing any but one, of course.

And so I left the little gift shop with Twilight in hand, and settled in to an obsession of sorts for the next 3 weeks, ending in a new appreciation for the Fantasy genre, and a very warm and fuzzy feeling in my belly. Though it will never be considered a masterpiece, I will say this-if there is a prize for the art of storytelling, Stephenie Myers gets it. She drapes you in with her portrayals of love, lust, the supernatural and fear of death. She turns you into Bella and makes you romanticize vampires, leaving you wondering "Where can I find one of those?"

I'm glad I fell victim to Twilight and I must officially apologize to my friend for refusing to just take her word for it and read the darn series- thanks Lynn.