 I recently found myself sitting alone in a movie theater, in a foreign country, reading a book. That’s right, I was actually reading inside the cinema as I waited patiently for the movie to start. The movie in question? Twilight. The book I was reading? New Moon. Who does that? Especially when you consider the fact that I am a 31 year old man who makes a living singing for women, and when you consider the fact that I was at least double the age of anyone else in the theater and of the opposite sex as well it bodes a few questions. So what does all of this mean? It means that after finally caving in and reading Twilight, I was hooked. So hooked in fact that I immediately picked up New Moon at an English book store in Germany and I could not put it down. So hooked that I finished reading the second novel in 4 days and immediately went back for Eclipse. So hooked that after I finished Eclipse, I did the unthinkable and read the 700-plus pages of Breaking Dawn in 2 days. I am sure that most of you, especially the die-hard Twilight fans, have matched, or perhaps even beaten my reading conquests, but how many of you are 31 year old men. How many of you are on tour in a show with 9 other guys who everyday are trying to outdo each others so-called “machoness”? I am sure I stand alone in that category and that is perfectly fine but lets look back at how I got here.
After college I was never much of a reader, sitting down really only to read the USA Today at lunch five days a week, but like most of America, I was much more interested in what was on TV or at the movies then when someone handed me a book. That was until I saw the first Harry Potter movie. I was very intrigued and went out and picked up a copy of the book “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. I found the writing of JK Rowling as an escape. I became involved in the story, enthralled with every page and left hanging at the edge of my seat with every cliffhanger. It was after finishing with that book that I fell in love with reading again and I will admit that although I was not at Harry Potter parties at retail bookstores in my Gryffindor robes, I usually wound up making my way to Walmart around midnight every time a new book came out. So, with the rest of the world, I was saddened when I finished the 7th and final book in the series, wondering exactly when I would find something else that I could get lost in, never wanting to put the book down. Enter Edward Cullen and Bella Swan.
It’s safe to say that I never had any intention of reading any of the Twilight novels, but after numerous references from both my mother and my sister as well as feeling that the rest of the pop culture world was passing me by, I relented. I was about to embark on a 6 week trip to Germany where I knew my days would be free, so the night before I left I went to Walmart to pick up a few last minute items and somehow I managed to leave the store with a copy of Twilight in my bag.
That was the beginning of the end for me. I couldn’t put it down, in fact I was unable to put any of them down. My friends were laughing at me and even ridiculing me but it did not stop me from reading with reckless abandon and of course I had to see the movie immediately after I was finished. Yesterday I even found myself in a Hot Topic store perusing the plethora of Twilight merchandise. In case you are wondering if I walked out with any, I was, for once, able to harness my manliness and leave the store with all of my dignity in tact.
Everyday I find myself wandering the internet for the latest news on the current filming of New Moon, reading interviews and bios of the cast, patiently waiting for the release of the next 2 hours so that I can once again lose myself completely and forget about all of the problems in the real world. The failing economy can not and will not stand a chance against the insatiable love triangle of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. So does all of this mean that I am less of a man for being so adamant about Stephenie Meyer’s fairytale world or does it mean that I will seem more in touch with the females of today because I can relate to and even admire Edward Cullen’s feelings and passion for Bella? In the end does it even matter? Probably not but nevertheless I have decided to keep my schedule open around midnight on November 20th, 2009, so that I can join every teenage girl in America at the premiere of New Moon. This gives me a little over 9 months to once again regain and harness my “machismo” before I let it go all over again.
 Quote this article on your site
|
