"Twilight Director's Notebook" by Catherine Hardwicke

Before I start, let me clarify one thing here: I am not, and never will be, a Twilight fan.

I have read all four books and watched three of the movies, and I have to admit that though the books are not necessarily as great as those teenage girls claim to be, the first Twilight movie does show a quality moviemaking.

There, I said it. The first Twilight movie is superb.

Which is the reason I got curious of "Twilight Director's Notebook : The Story of How We Made the Movie Based on the Novel by Stephenie Meyer", where the director Catherine Hardwicke compiles a huge stack of handwritten notes with a heap of pictures from the shoots and behind-the scenes. And voila, an amusing, and at times sentimental recollections of how the crew worked at their picturesque locations on the outskirts of Portland, OR.

It is also interesting to note how oftentimes Bella's scenes have to be done by a double because the actress Kristen S. was still 17 during most of the shoot process. In most U.S. states, you can only work a maximum of six hours a day if you are below 18. This led the crew to throw a birthday party saying "Welcome to [Working] nights!".

On the whole, this small-ish hardcover would be an interesting companion to watching the first movie. Unless of course, you don't like the movie either.

And try listening to Twilight OST album while leafing thru the pages.

Oh crap. Forget I said that. Now I'm sounding like a teenage girl too.

Verdict: 7 out of 10 stars