Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1) Twilight discussion


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Should I still read Twilight?

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message 1: by Nathalie (last edited Aug 07, 2013 11:11PM) (new)

Nathalie So, I never read twilight, and now I am contemplating on whether to still read it. I have been reading divergent, matched, vampire academy, and I don't know if it would be a step back. If you get what I mean IDK. So should I still read or just forget about it and start reading newer books like shiver and such?


message 2: by [deleted user] (new)

Forget about Twilight, it is NOT worth it! If you're looking for a quick, mindless read to rant about to your friends later, then read it. If you actually want a book of quality, then move on to Shiver and such.


message 3: by Gerd (last edited Aug 07, 2013 03:26AM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Gerd Psst, it's "whether" not "weather", but it's one of those darn easy mistakes: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/wethe...

Now, I haven't read any of the above listed, 'cept "twilight", naturally, so I can't say how it would compare. But "twilight" is a quick and easy read, which I found quite entertaining, so I'd say give it it a try if paranormal high school romances are up your alley. :)


message 4: by Megan (last edited Aug 07, 2013 03:26AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Megan Read it before you judge it. Once you've read it, you then can say what you like about it and join in with discussions and understand why everybody dislikes it and why there's so many screaming girls in love with Edward. You might even like it.


Astra Read what you want to read! Do what you think will be fun! Don't worry about whether it's a step back, just worry about whether you're enjoying yourself! Remember, Reading is suppose to be fun! Happy reading!


message 6: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon NO! RUN AWAY. It is sooo over rated badly written and thin especially compared to the amazing work being done in some YA now. Life is short dont waste your time on hype and bad writing there is too much out there to read.


Kristina I suggest you read it, and then judge. Personally, I loved it.


Wandahost Weird wrote: "Read what you want to read! Do what you think will be fun! Don't worry about whether it's a step back, just worry about whether you're enjoying yourself! Remember, Reading is suppose to be fun! Hap..."

I totally agree with you.I'm not ashamed to say that I like it and that from time to time, I do read it again. But I read The Host more often. Just beacause I read Twilight doesn't mean that I have poor taste or it is the only genre I read. I read it, because sometimes I just want something light to read, thats all.


corina Try it if you want, but I've Divergent, Matched, Vampire Academy, TMI, and many many more as well, and Twilight couldn't even compare. I read Twilight, but it was badly written, the characters had no depth, and there are a million other books out there that you would be better off reading. I did not read the sequels.

Read Shiver! It's amazing and very well written. I love Maggie Stiefvater. Also, if you've read Vampire Academy, read Bloodlines too! (Ahem....Adrian!!) And if you like fantasy, Graceling by Kristin Cashore is a favorite of mine.


Naomi Twilight is just simply not good literature. It's poorly written and WAY too long. Invest your time in reading something more worthwhile.


message 11: by Holly (new) - rated it 1 star

Holly Bolzani No. Don't waste your time like I did. I could write better than this woman and I cannot write. The story is ok. So If you are dying to see what they hype is about rent the movies. There are soooo many wonderful books to read. I highly recommend Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It is amazing.


message 12: by Saro (new)

Saro Sometimes I read books that are notoriously crappy so that I can join in on all the fun.

I gave up on this series because I realized that the joke was on me.


Tcush Depends on what you are in the mood for. Mindless yes, but fun and easy and more entertaining of course than the movies. If you are looking for good literature you wouldn't be asking in the first place, right?


bipasha the time you spend reading that sadistic and repulsive book can be used for -
*cleaning your toilet, washing your basin, watering plants on a rainy day,etc
that saga was published accidentally. do yourself a favor and dont read that mc/bc sub par and trashy book. may god forgive miss meyer for writing such a pervese beastly book and antagonizing others!!!
DONT READ IT.


message 15: by Holly (new) - rated it 1 star

Holly Bolzani Bipasha wrote: "the time you spend reading that sadistic and repulsive book can be used for -
*cleaning your toilet, washing your basin, watering plants on a rainy day,etc
that saga was published accidentally. do ..."


Your post put a gigantic smile on my face. Yes, cleaning your toilet is much more productive and satisfying actually.


message 16: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon And as a teacher shouldnt you be discouraging the reading of a book that is that badly written...Weak thin characters, bad plotting, bad sentence structure, horrible life lessons...
Actually There is no way in hell I believe your a teacher thinking about it unless your a gym teacher.


Vickie I would suggest no because it is a poorly written book. However, the story idea is interesting, and for that reason, yes.

And I like Tirzah's comment!


☽Ƹɱɱɑ☾ It's all a matter of opinion. Twilight was OK when I read it; however, I had not read all the books I have today in order for proper comparison. If I had read Twilight after reading Divergent, TMI, Gone, and all of my other now-favourite series, I probably never would have liked it at all in the first place. Now that I'm well-educated in proper fictional romances and strong female characters, I'm ashamed to have ever liked Twilight.

Though, as I said, it's all up to you whether you like it or not. Though in my opinion it is quite a big step back from Divergent, but that's my favourite series, so don't listen to me. But here's one thing: if you read it, you'll know what everyone's talking about and be able to add your own input!


message 19: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon That was not your intention obviously.

I'm sure as a "Teacher" you know that it is suggested that you dont enter in bad literature for course study as it leads to unconscious sloppy habits.
Using examples of good writing Harper Lee, Ray Bradbury, even Rowling helps ingrain good habits sub-consciously and bad form is corrected as it is presented by the student after it has been taught.

Meyer can teach you how to use the word Laugh three times in the same sentence though.

This book has nothing positive to teach, not in writing skills or in life. And certainly not in literature... its a pop culture joke.
It adds to the zeitgeist of stupidity enveloping our country like 50 Shades of Grey, Jersey shore and American Idol, the very existence of the Cardashians, shock jocks, and texting.

I'm not saying one must only read the classics or Shakespeare. Reading should be fun but it shouldnt be this bad, this weak.
Rowling did an amazing job with HP its pure genius no matter how much she stole. Brandon Sanderson's new YA book The Rithmatist was Great. What about all the brilliant work Neil Gaiman has done in YA.

It can be fun, aimed at the joy of youth but still not be a massive car wreck of garbage like Twilight.


message 20: by Sara (new) - rated it 5 stars

Sara Read it!!!!!! :) Can't hurt. I loved it!!!


corina I also recommend Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. It's an absolutely amazing book!


message 22: by Heidi (last edited Aug 08, 2013 08:21AM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Heidi Nathalie wrote: "So should I still read or just forget about it and start reading newer books like shiver and such? "

So what exactly is causing you to pause? Your afraid you wont like it as much as other books? The books I don't like I don't finish. Are you the type to read it thru even though you don't like it?


corina I absolutely love it! Read it!


message 24: by Nathalie (new)

Nathalie Heidi wrote: "Nathalie wrote: "So should I still read or just forget about it and start reading newer books like shiver and such? "

So what exactly is causing your to pause? Your afraid you wont like it as much..."


Probably yes, but after thinking I think I will not read it. Just like some other people say, I have so many great books to read, and I think twilight would just be a let down.


Heather Twilight is definitely not my favorite series, but it's an entertaining and easy read. I feel the same way about Vampire Academy that most people seem to feel about Twilight, so if you liked Vampire Academy then I'd say: go for it.

However, if you already think you're not going to like it based on what everyone and their mothers have been saying, then don't bother. If you look at is as an entertaining, teen, high school, paranormal romance (with low expectations) you'll probably enjoy yourself.


Heidi Nathalie wrote: "Probably yes, but after thinking I think I will not read it. Just like some other people say, I have so many great books to read, and I think twilight would just be a let down.
"


Twilight is an easy read. Its fun just as long as you don't take it too seriously. (Did you take Vampire Academy seriously?) There is always going to be a better book than the one you just read. The fun part is finding it. Regardless of your decision, I wish you happy adventures in your reading. :)


Somerandom I say give it a shot. The hype really ruined Twilight for me, so be aware of that going in.


Kirby Apparently you already decided not to read it, but I still think that you should if you enjoy participating in the discussions here on goodreads. The Twilight series has some of the most active threads on the entire site, and they can be quite interesting.

I will say that I loved Twilight, and did NOT really enjoy many of the "much better" books that people listed, such as Matched, Vampire Academy, Harry Potter, and The Mortal Instruments series. So- just keep in mind that it's entirely possible that you might form your own unique opinion on the series, and that it might even be positive. These adamantly opposed people have no more idea of what you'd actually like than I do.


Jennifer Dupriest I think you should read it. I'm not saying this because I'm some die-hard twilight fan (because I'm not), I'm saying this because it's really up to you. Maybe You'll like it, maybe you won't. You'll never know unless you try... so go pick up the first book and try it out. Everyone's taste is different :) If you're basing your opinion on the books on what people have said and on the movies, you shouldn't. The movies are way different than the books :)

Try it out, you might love it!


Kristina I agree with Jenni. Don't give up on something just because people tell you to. If you're gonna hate it, at least hate it because you read it and YOU have an opinion, not because someone told you you will.

And you may end up loving it. I picked it up thinking I won't like it because that's not the kind of book I usually obsess over--you wouldn't expect a hardcore LOTR or ASOIAF geek to love Twilight, right--but it got on my 'favorites' shelf.


Allegra i loved the book i think if you want to read it then read!!!DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER!!!!!


Rachel Munch yes! haters make it look bad but thats because they never read it and although the movies are good, they make the books look bad so read it :)


message 33: by Jack (new) - rated it 3 stars

Jack D. It's an okay book, not completely awful and not brilliant either. If you're just looking for something to read go ahead and read it. It's not a very complicated writing style so even with the length of the books you can get through them quickly. Honestly its good to read too just because so many people have and then you'll know what they're talking about. Some people hate it and some people love it, but you'll never really know until you try it yourself.


message 34: by [deleted user] (new)

Nathalie wrote: "So, I never read twilight, and now I am contemplating on whether to still read it. I have been reading divergent, matched, vampire academy, and I don't know if it would be a step back. If you get w..."

I have read the entire Twilight series...but here's the thing, outside of my own opinion(I thought they were good books)- Twilight offers a few things that can be wonderful or annoying...

1.Sparkly vampires who glitter in the sun.
2. 500+ page books
3. First person POV of a girl obsessed with a vampire(so you know all her rambling thoughts).
4. There is romance and a serious love triangle.
5. It is a very, very popular book series and for those who hate it, they made the book even more talked about so...

It's up to you.


message 35: by Emma (last edited Aug 09, 2013 09:03PM) (new) - rated it 1 star

Emma Mecham It all depends on your personal preference. If you like TONS AND TONS of detail and romance, twilight is the book for you, but if your like me, seeing that you like Divergent and matched, I would not recommend it. I read it in defiance of my parents and I wish I hadn't. It wasn't worth my time or attention. But it all depends on your preference. Do what you want to do.


message 36: by Nathalie (new)

Nathalie I'll read it then. It just seems so.... uhhh, and because I know Kirsten Stewart portrays bella, and I really don't like kirsten stewart. IDK


George I stopped half way through as it was horrible. I would recommend Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice instead.


message 38: by Neve (new) - rated it 2 stars

Neve Don't. Just don't. Not worth it. It will be a couple of hours that you will never get back.


message 39: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon Life is short, why waste precious reading time on absolute garbage when there is so very many great things to read out there.
May I suggest....anything in the world but this crap aimed at immature 14 YO girls and read a book that isn't written by a hack.


message 40: by Nathalie (new)

Nathalie Alright so I just bought my copy of twilight,I'll read it and I'll make my own judgement. Thank you for all your responses


message 41: by Lisa (new) - rated it 5 stars

Lisa Don't be deterred by the movies!! Ths books are better!!


message 42: by Gerd (new) - rated it 4 stars

Gerd Paul wrote: "....anything in the world but this crap aimed at immature 14 YO girls and read a book that isn't written by a hack."

It's always a "pleasure" to hear from you, why, who else would dare to think of himself as a reader and equal books for young girls to garbage... *sigh*


message 43: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon No not books for young girls...by all means go read Nancy drew... These BOOKS aimed at immature young girls...written down to girls and treating girls as second class characters incapable of understanding more complex ideas other than... ooh I got to get me a boyfriend...


Kristina Paul wrote: "No not books for young girls...by all means go read Nancy drew... These BOOKS aimed at immature young girls...written down to girls and treating girls as second class characters incapable of unders..."

Are you saying that everyone who loved Twilight is immature?

And getting a boyfriend is not the sole point of the book. It's about a situation that happens to many teenagers, moving and having to fit in the new community, being socially "awkward" and not popular...and also about Bella finding her true love, not about catching a guy you can walk around and show to your friends or Bella thinking she must have a boyfriend or anything. I mean, she was 17 when she met Edward and she made it pretty clear she wasn't thinking much about guys before.

Also, if you don't like Bella or think she's weak, there are plenty of other characters in the book that surely meet everyone's standard of strong or badass or whatever. Alice, Esme, Jane, Tanya, Maria...


message 45: by Paul (last edited Aug 10, 2013 08:57AM) (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon Kristina wrote: "Are you saying that everyone who loved Twilight is immature? "

Short answer ...Yes

There are exceptions to every rule like maybe the over simplistic writing style and lack of anything approaching the need for thought would make this series good for the mentally handicapped.

Woman want to be taken seriously and most of the time they damn well should be but when you have a bunch of grown woman standing around a cubicle discussing Twilight believe me those woman are no longer taken seriously.

Nothing across the pop culture world is made fun of more than Twilight...not even Justin Beiber and Reality shows which Like Twilight appeal to very immature and under-developed minds.

The Writing is horrid...Hack bad and embarrassing saying NOTHING of the plot and characters.

Examples: New Moon, page 476
Aro started to laugh. "Ha, ha, ha," he chuckled.

That's three times Meyer told us Aro was laughing. I'm sure most people over the age of five know what laughter sounds like so I'm pretty certain we don't need a 'ha, ha, ha' and 'chuckled' tagged on to demonstrate that.

Then later, on page 479, just three pages after that, she does it again:
"Ha, ha, ha," he laughed, his head still bent forward.

The Series is plagued with grammatical errors, Purple Prose, over usage (such as Dazzling), repetition and worse.

how about the fact that she describes Edward's "crooked smile" and "marble chest" about 200 times!

Meyer places big words in simple sentences to make the books seem more advanced, yet misuses words I learned in first grade.

Meyer has no sense of Biology WHAT SO EVER. Vampires are dead..no heartbeat no Pulse according Meyer they can't cry Blush, pee etc but wait no blood flow? means no erection, no sex, no impregnation only an immature mind could easily dismiss basic biology for the sake of suspension of disbelief right? But When you assume as Meyer was that you're writing to an IMMATURE audience no one will question common sense as long as they can say "OMG Edward is like so hot, I wish I could get a boy to stalk me and break into my bedroom."

Renesme shouldn't be a "perfect baby", she has 23 paired chromosomes and 2 unpaired - generally "left over" chromosomes lead to conditions such as Down's Syndrome, and it is likely that Edward's vampire "sperm" wouldn't be compatible with Bella's human ova (you can't mate humans and chimps for example) but god forbid a mature reader like Twilight's even question any biology.

Bella is a spineless, whiny doormat who's obsessed with her boyfriend. She's also the biggest Mary Sue in literary history. All her flaws are so fake. She's clumsy which is the stupidest "flaw" ive ever heard of but how does this make her life harder in any way? Edward thinks it's adorable & funny and it's just another excuse for him to stalk or "protect" her on every page. She's nerdy and since when is this a flaw? Last time i checked, being smart was a virtue. Meyer tries to make it seem like this impacts her social life, yet 2-5 guys chase after her and all the girls want to be her friend. The only ones that don't are portrayed as mean in general. She's an anti-social anti-feminist crappy character.

Edward is a controlling, weird, 108 year old virgin creep. He monopolizes Bella and their relationsihp is far from normal. And not in a good way, like S.Meyer tries to make it seem. In a seriously creepy way.

the entire thing is poorly written with an over dramatic plot about a girl who can't live without a boy. Just read any random page out of any of her books and you'll see.

The Book is overloaded with her Right -Wing Mormon Dogma.

Or how about the simple fact that she destroyed vampires for Ever. They glitter and can move in daylight and play baseball (STUPIDIST SPORTS SCENE EVER WRITTEN), can have kids but they don't drink blood or in any way act like a vampire.

Stephen King one of the most prolific and read and respected authors FOR ADULTS hates her.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009...

Let me know if you have anymore confusion because I'm just stopping due to boredom, and god knows I wasted enough time on this joke of Writer.


message 46: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon AND Just a General note about Urban Fantasy as a genre...LADIES, Stop lusting after vampires...They CAN"T have sex...They are DEAD...no heartbeat...no Blood flow...no erections...NO SEX, (NONE, ZERO, ZILCH) THATS WHY Bram Stoker created the biting and sucking blood the way he did it's substitute sex...NO intercourse you only get oral...WITH TEETH...get it?


message 47: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon You want another Opinion this is it in a nutshell POINT BY POINT read it then say oooh he's wrong because...
Edward and Jacob are hot and they have teams and millions of junior high girls read them

http://www.jamiechavez.com/blog/2011/...


message 48: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon Wait I'll even copy and paste for those whos nails are too long too keep clicking the mouse comfortably

How bad are they? Let me count the ways.

Bad romance: Edward breaks into the bedroom of a young girl without her knowledge. He stalks her, for heaven’s sake. The relationship is psychologically unhealthy from Bella’s standpoint too: she completely subverts her personality to please him.

Bad technique: Bella goes on and on and on not knowing why Edward is mad, yet readers already know why he is angry—because we know his character and Meyer telegraphs it through his body language. This is a violation of POV. We shouldn’t discover why Edward is angry until Bella does. Meyer constantly tells, rather than showing. (Show don’t tell is the first commandment in the Novelist’s Bible.)

Bad characterization: Meyer has said she left out a detailed description of Bella so the reader could “step into her shoes” (which sounds to me like something made up after the mistake was pointed out) but the fact is Bella also lacks a personality, goals, interests, and life experiences. The only thing we know about her is she’s clumsy, and that never truly made sense to me. She is weak, passive, and overly emotional. The books reek of melodrama.

Bad craft: Meyer provides a reaction to every single comment. I rolled my eyes, I groaned, he stiffened, I glowered groggily. Here’s one and another example.

Bad storytelling: The books move really, really slowly. They don’t utilize any aspect of modern story structure, which recommends we start out with some piece of action that will reveal the conflict to come. In the case of the protagonists, Bella and Edward, there is no conflict for them to overcome (the most obvious of which would have been for Bella to remain human). And due to the overwriting and repetition, the books are about twice as long as they need to be. Meyer should have been reined in after the first book. I can’t imagine why no one at the publishing house did so.

Bad copyediting: Take it from me, kids, it’s atrocious. Look! Look! I’m shocked it got past the proofers.

Bad fiction: It’s just one coincidence after another in Twilight-land. (Jacob imprints on Renesmee? Oh, stop.) There are continuity errors literally from page to page.

Bad research: It bugs me when Meyer writes that Edward grips the handles of two steamer trunks in one hand. (Steamer trunks? Really?) It annoys the snot outta me when Alice bribes a guard in a foreign city with an American one-thousand-dollar bill, when those bills have been out of circulation since 1969. I could go on and on, but my point is an editor should have questioned every single one of these details.

Meyer breaks the laws of her own universe in the last book. Worse, she breaks the rules of good YA, the first of which is the story stops at the wedding. Teens really don’t like reading about other teens doing the Mom Thing. Why didn’t her editor remind Meyer about her target audience, much of which is tweens? If I’m the mother of a middle-schooler, I don’t want her reading about an eighteen-year-old girl who gets all bruised up after some rough vampire sex, even if it was on her honeymoon. What were Meyer and her editor thinking?

Worst of all, I think, is there’s a whole generation of girls out there, some of them aspiring writers, who will be misled into thinking the Twilight series was good writing simply because it moved them emotionally (and sold a lot of copies). Twilight et al should have been better books. They should have been books that made girls think and grow. Because what’s the point otherwise?


message 49: by Paul (new) - rated it 1 star

Paul Harmon This paragraph right here is exactly why I despise this loathsome garbage that Meyer wrote.

Worst of all, I think, is there’s a whole generation of girls out there, some of them aspiring writers, who will be misled into thinking the Twilight series was good writing simply because it moved them emotionally (and sold a lot of copies). Twilight et al should have been better books. They should have been books that made girls think and grow. Because what’s the point otherwise?


message 50: by Jen (new) - rated it 5 stars

Jen I would read all the books. They are great! I remember how I just couldn't put the books down. Yes it was an easy read but it was a page turner for me. I think if I remember I read all of them within a week!
Give it a try if you haven't already. I love underworld, vampire, witch type storylines as well as romance! Good Luck!


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