Bandwagon? What bandwagon?

I have never been what you'd call "cool" or "trendy."

I catch up with a fad a good 3-5 years after its peak.

I have never intentionally seen a movie on opening weekend.

Once I finally break down and pay for a sports jersey with a player's name on it, he gets traded, retires or is arrested for assaulting a drunk college girl in a bar. (OK, that's only happened once. So far...)

The transition to the Mommy minivan was not really a step down for me. And really, with the DVD players and now satellite radio, I think I'm as almost cool as I can get.

So it should come as no shock that I JUST read the Twilight books. I somehow missed when they first came out (I blame kid #1), and then vaguely remember when the first movie hit the big screen (I blame kid #2). But at that point, I didn't have the time or the attention span to read the back of a cereal box. Vampire love saga? Yeah right.

The other thing that turned me off is how flipping crazy people got about the darn things. They couldn't possibly be worth all that fuss.

Fast forward to a few months ago when I finally got out of my book slump and started reading things that didn't rhyme or have pictures. I was cruising through Target with my new-found only-one-kid-to-deal-with-while-shopping HEAVEN and went to see if there was anything I could easily digest on their book shelves.

I caved. I bought the first one. I finished it in 2 days. It was not what I'd call well-written. But I was intrigued to see where the series went and if the plot, the writing and the never-ending teenage angst got better.

The next time I went to Target, the second book accidentally hopped into my cart. Damn. I hate when that happens.

The third was a birthday present.

I went to Target again last week. They really should think about securing their merchandise to the shelves before a sharp book jumps out and puts somebody's eye out.

So today, I finally finished the 4th book. I slowed down before I finished it because I was pretty sure I was gonna be pissed at the end. But then I remembered that it is technically a young adult series, so therefore more prone to happy endings.

The writing did improve, the plot stayed predictable and the author toned down the angst a bit. I haven't been a teenager for a few years, so I can do without that. But I do like the excuse to use "angst" repeatedly.

Now onto the next book quest. Anybody heard of James Patterson? ;-)