"Twilight": Ick, Blah, Okay, or Pretty Good?

My husband and I don't make it a practice to exchange Christmas gifts with each other. In fact, we only exchange gifts on birthdays only. However, this year, my husband surprised me by announcing that he purchased me a small Christmas gift this year the week before holiday. However, he set up the gift like this:

"Now, you are probably going to hate me for getting this for you, and you'll probably wonder why I picked this out, but you just gotta give it a chance. It comes highly recommended."

First off, that's a pretty crappy set up for a gift, secondly, my mind starting racing with possibilities which results in something usually not too good, and third, well, I was worried about the hubby spending too much money on something ridiculous.

Well, I ruled out number three (expense) as he told me the price (it wasn't much). However, I did warn him like this:

1. No weirdo shaving products.
2. No baking things (like mixers, etc.) as I don't bake.
3. Nothing for the yard or for yard work.

He laughed and said it wasn't any of those things and that I would never guess.

So, just before the holiday, I got my gift. My response?

Oh.

Yeah. OH.

The hubby got me the "Twilight" book series written by Stephanie Meyer. I won't provide any links or pictures of the book(s) or the author, as it is a worldwide, well known literary and movie phenomenon particularly for GIRLS ('tween and teen).

So, what does a 41-year-old woman do with THIS? My first thought was to get responses on the gift selection from other female peers. Some responded with laughter, others responded with "Oh" (just like me). There wasn't any positive responses. Now my husband has a thick skin, and is a master of self depreciation, so his feelings weren't hurt; however, he "challenged" me NOT to get hooked on these novels. He knows, that I always rise to the occasion for a challenge. And he also knows that I will be fair when it comes to novels.

I am now 100 pages in. Here's my analysis thus far:

My LIKES

1. The mystery of the Cullens (though unfolding a little slowly) is good.

2. The book has big print and a nice book jacket.

3. Typically I loathe books set in Washington State (particularly if the author is NOT from my fair state) because they always way over do the rain and the clouds. Though the whole setting of Forks, Washington is actually pretty acceptably written and gives a pretty decent backdrop for the plot.

4. The book reads fast.

My GRIPES

1. The main character of Bella and her narration/voice sounds more like a 35-year-old woman then a teen girl. Now, I understand that the point of Bella being very mature and an "old" soul, is mentioned throughout, but she still sounds "off."

2. I know that Edward Cullen's character is played by a Brit actor in the movie and I have this irritating habit of "hearing" all his lines read in my head with a British accent!

3. Everyone is so "brooding." I guess that's the point, but I don't understand the concept of "brooding." To me, that translates into sullen, sulky, or dull. Maybe that's just me.

4. I have fallen asleep mid-sentence twice when reading. Not sure if that's good or bad?

I am going to keep going with it. I think the mystery will strengthen in some respects.

However, I am looking to all of you to help me keep going. So, where are you at with this topic? Are you a "Twilight" fanatic? If so, why do you like these books? If you hated "Twilight," I'd love to hear the same from you, too.

P.S. BTW, I gave my hubbby a William Faulkner novel, a John Steinbeck (his favorite author) short novel anthology and a John Hughes Classic DVD pack ("Sixteen Candles," "Breakfast Club" and "Weird Science"). Curious what readers responses are to these gifts, too.

Have at it!

P.S.S. I'll do some more updates on my progress.