Wednesday, December 3, 2008

"The Time of Day Immediately Following Sunset"

Yesterday was interesting. First my plans were canceled several hours after they were supposed to happen, which threw off most of my day. Then I went to the airport to pick up guests for Ibis' hotel. That in itself went fine, but as soon as they arrived at the hotel, they decided they'd rather go to Mazatlan. Come again? He made some calls, found a flight, and rushed them back to the airport. Total time in Zihua, one hour.

While I was waiting at the airport, I wandered to one of the gift shops. Our neighbor works there and I figured I'd pass the time chatting with her. She asked me if I ever looked at the books in her shop. The last time I was there, I discovered they have books in English and ended up buying A Thousand Splendid Suns in paperback. I had just been in the US and it was still only available in hardcover, so I snapped it up. With the exchange rate is was around $9 US, not bad considering we're in Mexico.

Our neighbor started telling me a few of the books they had, then asked if I've read Twilight. I told her I want to but I'll have to wait since they don't have it here. She smiled and hurried to the wall, where all four of Stephanie Meyers books were on display. Excited, I rushed to her side and cradled Twilight. It was the same price as the other book I bought, and this is about four times as thick. I was very tempted, but decided to wait. "La proxima vez," I told her. (next time.)

Then the fiasco with the guests happened. Since Ibis drove them back to the airport, I had to sit at the hotel and man the phones. I wandered around and stopped at the small bookshelf in the lobby. Guests often leave books and I've discovered I can borrow them without a problem.

Guess what was on the top shelf? Twilight! Guess what I'll be reading next?

I have to admit, I've never read a vampire book but so many of my friends have said good things about it that I'm curious. I'd also like to see the movie and hate seeing movies before reading the book. I'll let you know what I think.

22 comments:

Janna Leadbetter said...

What a day! I'd like to have followed you around, just to experience it all.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Janna, really? It seemed like my end just involved a lot of waiting.

Spy Scribbler said...

Oh, how cool, Melanie! I skimmed Twilight, but did enjoy it thoroughly, in spite of the fact I've forgotten a lot of it. That is really cool!

Kinda weird about the guests. I've never had the money to book a flight in the middle of a vacation, on a fancy.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, I was very excited I didn't spend the money! I dug through the pile to make sure there weren't more, but that was the only one.

Yeah, it was weird. Ibis tried to get them to just go to another hotel, but they wanted nothing to do with it.

WendyCinNYC said...

Those people sound strange. They probably would have been very high maintenance if they had stayed, so maybe it's for the best.

Happy reading.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Wendy, that's what we decided. They were supposed to stay for two weeks and would have been a nightmare! They were already treating me like I'd be their personal driver during their stay.

Anonymous said...

Good! Glad you were able to get rid of them! People like that bug me.

I was planning on writing a review on the whole saga this week. Shall I wait? ;)

Zoe Winters said...

Twilight IS a very good book. And wow, can't believe you've never read a vampire book haha. That's like hearing someone's never had chocolate. ;)

Robin said...

Funny story! That was awesome luck. Definitely karma at work.

We've taken a lot of bike tours with VBT, and usually end up palling around with the guides. I've heard hilarious stories about entitled vacationers who treat the guides like personal slaves. It cracks me up. One lady brought 8 suitcases, and demanded the bike guides find her mascara and a blow dryer. These people sound like they are of the same ilk.

Rachel Burton said...

Sorry about the crazy day, but at least you got a fat book out of the deal. I know thickness has little to do with quality, but I always love the weight of a nice, fat novel. Makes me think I got my money's worth...

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Turkey, you can go ahead and do it. I'll just cover my eyes for that post. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Zoe, that's funny because I don't think I have any real world friends who read them. Or fantasy. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Robin, people like that are just so ridiculous. I don't know if it was working in the service industry or that I just have good manners, but I've always kissed the "help's" behind. They're the ones that make things happen!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Rachel, I know what you mean. When books are the same price but one is twice as thick it seems like you're getting a better deal!

colbymarshall said...

I'm curious to see how Twilight is for you...some love it, but I personally didn't make it past page 20...I was bored to tears. To each their own, I s'pose!

Nadine said...

Wow, good thing those guests didn't stay! Being a personal driver does not sound like fun.

I loved Twilight, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Spy Scribbler said...

*checks watch*

;-)

Angie Ledbetter said...

Good find! The book was just waiting for you. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Colby, I read the first page and I immediately saw that's it's YA, which I haven't read since I was in that age bracket. I'll let you all know.

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Nadine, yeah, everything turned out better than we thought. :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Spy, I finally thought of something!

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Angie, it was FATE!