I wrote last week that I finally succumbed to peer pressure and downloaded the "Twilight" and "New Moon" audio books on iTunes.

But I waited to start listening until I had a good chunk of time to devote to the stories, as I've heard they have the power to completely consume readers, turning otherwise normal people with busy lives into hermits. Hence downloading the audio book so my life wouldn't come to a complete halt while taking in the series.

A long car ride to the Chicago suburbs last weekend seemed like the perfect time to start. But the six - hour round trip only got me halfway through "Twilight," and I spent all night listening until I couldn't stay awake any longer.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through and, spoiler alert, I can't believe how taken in I've been by the romance in which the love interests have only kissed briefly three times so far. There's no steamy love-making scenes that aren't fit for the young adults the series was intended for, but yet I'm completely enthralled by the innocent romance and constantly find myself smiling as I'm reminded of my own adolescence, such as what it was like trying to figure out the best way to introduce boys to my father in high school.

I haven't quite reached hermit status yet, but am pulling out my iPod every chance I get. I also added "Twilight" to my Netflix queue and became the 128,715th follower of @Twilight on Twitter.

What were your experiences like when you read "Twilight."

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