The official 543-page encyclopedia to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series hit bookstores Tuesday, offering in-depth profiles of even the most peripheral characters, outtakes from the novels, genealogical charts, and original illustrations (including the sketch of Bella’s wedding dress seen exclusively on EW.com last week). Meyer clearly wanted The Illustrated Guide to supplement her series, to put on paper the world she carried for so long in her head. Some of the book’s notable tidbits:
—It includes a 2008 Q&A between Meyer and her friend Shannon Hale (Princess Academy) in which Meyer says Jacob was originally an afterthought. “Jacob was born — as a device really — to tell Bella what she needed to know [about Edward being a vampire].”
—Edward’s first human victim was actually Esme’s abusive ex-husband from her pre-vampire days. (Edward tracked him down and sought vengeance for his adopted mother.)
—When Quileute Leah Clearwater first turned into a werewolf, the shock of seeing her transformation caused her father (and Charlie Swan’s best friend) Harry Clearwater to have a heart attack.
—Bella’s parents met at First Beach, on the La Push reservation, during Charlie’s rookie year on the police force. They fell in love and were married within a few weeks.
—Meyer offers an annotated playlist of songs that influenced certain moments in the series. The description of Edward and Bella’s first dance as husband and wife was inspired by Muse’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.”
—The book outtakes include a section cut from New Moon in which Bella got high on Percocet after slugging Jacob and hurting her hand. “How’s your arm?” “I can’t feel it. Is it still there?”
Twilight fans — who’s bought the book? Who’s planning to (or not planning to)?
