What to Read While Waiting for "Breaking Dawn"

If you have not yet been formally introduced to the heady reading experience that is Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" series, consider yourself lucky. This means that you have escaped the agony involved in waiting for the last book of the series, "Breaking Dawn", to come out. The series may be classified as YA fiction, but whether you be 65 or 16, if you like suspense, mystery, and love that conquers all, these books are for you. They're utterly engrossing. But what will we do while we wait for August to come? Here are a few ideas

(Also see my hub on the movie, "Twilight").

Fortunately there are many talented authors out there to keep you occupied and breathing while you wait. Consider trying:

• "The Golden Compass", "The Subtle Knife", and "The Amber Spyglass" by Phillip Pullman (His Dark Materials series). Lyra is a young girl in an Earth that is similiar yet different than ours. Accompanied by her daemon (an extension of her soul) Lyra searches for her missing friend Will, and uncovers secrets and adventures both dark and strange. Can she and Will change the fate of all the parallel Earths together, or will the angelic forces mounted against them proving overwhelming?
• "Eragon" and "Eldest" by Christopher Paolini: We are also waiting on Mr. Paolini's final piece in the Inheritance trilogy, "Brisingr". While you're waiting, catch up on the first two novels that spawned a huge fan movement. Eragon is a young farm boy who finds a strange blue stone in the mountains, and is whisked away on an adventure he could have hardly imagined. As the story progresses Eragon learns about his mysterious heritage, and his blood ties. Epic battles, unrequited love, and mythical beasts, what more do you need to escape this dreary world?
• "Sabriel", "Lirael", and "Abhorsen" by Garth Nix. Sabriel was born in the Old Kingdom, but she has grown up in the modern New Kingdom. When an apparition appears to he at night and hands her her father's sword and bells, the tools of a necromancer, she becomes worried about him. Leaving behind everything she has known she ventures into the danger fraught Old Kingdom to find him, and along the way discovers her true role as the Abhorsen, the necromancer who puts the dead back to rest. The story continues in "Lirael" and "Abhorsen", where a new character joins the story and a new, more terrifying threat to the Old Kingdom, and all human life, surfaces.

There are, of course, many other wonderful books out there, these are just the ones on my shelf that I consider personal "classics" that will always be reread.

The most obvious pick to read while waiting is Meyer's new adult novel: "The Host". The basic premise is alien invasion, except the woman whose body is being taken refuses to leave. Complicate this with an alien love triangle as the woman tries to search for her love, and you've got an interesting story! This new release came out yesterday, and with my stimulus package I'm going to treat myself. I can't wait!

You should also read:

• Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series. Wonderful, engrossing books about a woman who stumbles back in time to 18th century Scotland and falls for a clansman. Not in the bodice ripper catergory, more historical fiction mixed with a lot of tension and romantic spice. I made the mistake of introducing my friend to these books, and I think I may have been the cause of many nights of leftovers.
• For a more fluffy, easy read, try Michelle Bardsley's "I'm the Vampire, That's Why". The citizens of Broken Heart, Oklahoma sure live up to their town's name, with heartbreak, infidelity, and divorce.But when a ravaging monster kills eleven townpeople, who soon awake as vampires, the fun really begins. Who is the monster, can he be saved, and can our heroine, Jessica, resist the wiles of vampire prince Patrick?
• A less than typical vampire choice is Elizabeth Kostova's "The Historian". Riding the suspense through to the very end we travel through exotic Eastern Europe in search of one of histories' most interesting, and bloody characters: Vlad Sepesh (aka Vlad the Impaler). Could he be the grandaddy of all vampires?

Hopefully these series will keep you entertained until fateful August. When I stumble into work, bleary eyed from non-stop reading all night, hopefully they won't notice if I take a nap under my desk. Have any other suggestions for those who are trying not to pee their pants in excitement? Leave them in the comments below!