Confessions 5: I never did finish reading The Host

Confessions #5: I never did finish reading The Host ( I guess italics only works in the body, not in the heading...)

I wanted to read The Host. I did. I spent half of my Borders gift card on it. I spent the other half on Water for Elephants. I finished that book in about two weeks of casual reading. I really enjoyed it. I saw the movie yesterday (in an XD experience theater with digital surround sound, no less). Again, I really enjoyed it. Rumor has it that the film version of The Host is in the works. And I ask myself if I want to see it.

I probably will see it. Most likely in the bargain theater with the sticky floors and seedy looking employees. It will probably be a good excuse for mom/daughter out of the house time, and it might spark long hours of fruitful conversation. I do enjoy that.

But I think again about why I never finished reading The Host. I got bored, honestly, sometime around where the main character girl whose name I can't remember was getting shoved around the caves and watching her guard eat Cheetos. I just got lost. I couldn't connect to the emotions anymore.

The reason for this lies in the fact that I inherently prefer books narrated by males. I am not sure why. I read all of the Twilight books (standardized testing had a lot to do with that), and then I read the manuscript of Midnight Sun, which is narrated from Edward's perspective. I liked it so much better than the others. Something about male emotion, how raw it is, and how definitive, makes it easier for me to read. Female emotion, especially in The Host, is so fluid. I love him, I don't love him, he hates me, I hate him, because I love him...

Look at Harry Potter: evil=bad, not evil=good. There is a little parent love, a little romantic love, and lots of brotherly "friend" love, but it's all steady once it's realized. And action is the main meat of the story, not emotions.

A Separate Peace (my favorite book of all time): The "bro crush" is a huge topic, and it is examined, but feelings come out of actions which remain steady through the story. Emotions stem directly from events, so there is no getting lost in someone's head.

I never did finish reading The Host. Women are from Venus; men are from Mars. Where am I from? Mercury, maybe? Or perhaps I'm just too down to Earth...