Found Money and a Lengthy Book Review

I found a dollar on my 4 mile run this evening! With an overall time of 39:17, that dollar was pretty much the highlight of my run. I've never found money on a run before, but after spending who knows how much on running gear and races, it's about time I started to recoup some expenses. I would, however, be more appreciative if those expenses came in hundred, not one dollar bills, but I guess I should be happy with my found money, no matter the denomination.

In other news, I finally finished "Breaking Dawn" today. For those who are currently reading it, no fears, I will not spoil the plot for you, and for those who don't read the series, go ahead and leave me a comment about the found money and be done with the following. But for those who remain (ie: fans of the "Twilight" series who are either currently reading, have read or are anticipating the read of BD, read on my friends), here are my thoughts:

Overall, I think it was good. There are, however, some criticisms. Now, I won't comment on the plot issues that book reviewers and fan reviews online have been noting (although I agree with most of them), but I do have two major criticisms: One, the length. If I were Meyer's editor, I would have demanded that she cut it by at least 150 pages. I am not adverse to a lengthy novel (two of my favorite novels are "Gone with the Wind" and "Les Miserables" each well over 1,000 pages), but I think length should add to the story, not detract from it. And it's my general opinion that editors allow writers who are big-wig-money-makers (JK Rowling, for example, whose last 3 novels in the HP series could have been heavily edited as well) to write with little restriction. Not smart. I am of the E.B. White school of thought that "less is more" and, in my opinion, Meyer was allowed a too-free reign with the word count in this one.

Second criticism? The anti-climatic ending. True, the last 50 pages were incredibly engrossing, and I was on the edge of my brain with anticipation, but then? Well....I thought the plot took an easy way out, and quite frankly, I think Meyer left things conveniently open. Yes, she says this is the last in the series (excluding "Midnight Sun" -- Edward's telling of "Twilight" -- to be released, tentatively, sometime in 2009), but the ending seemed to leave so many loose ends that I would bet $10 she wants the wriggle room to write more if she later decides she wants to. Which, in some ways, I'm fine with, but I think it could have reached a more dramatic and satisfying climax. (Think of the Harry Potter climax in the last book, now that was a satisfying peak to a series' end!)

Otherwise, my other criticisms pretty much sync up with what some reviewers have said, and then I have always maintained that Meyer's writing is a little, well, stylistically lacking, but those concerns are minor. Overall, I am impressed with her ability to tell an engrossing story. And before this series, I had no idea that a tale of vampires and other monsters could be the stuff of fairy tales.