J.K ROWLING or STEPHENIE MEYER?

[[deleted user]]

A writer as talented as J.K Rowling, should NEVER be compared to a writer like Stephenie Meyer!!! J.K Rowling is better by far!! The Harry Potter plot is really detailed and every single one of her books in AMAZING! Twilight's plot is nowhere near as interesting!

[Jacob]

"Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people. … The real difference is that [Harry Potter author] Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and [Twilight author] Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good."
— Stephen King

[Jacob]

Masha wrote: "J.K. Rowling is a better writer, but Stephenie Meyer is more original. Harry Potter is awesome, but a lot of things are clearly derivative from other sci-fi and fantasy. At some point Orson Scott C..."

She was not original with Twilight, she took an idea that was popular and wrote about it. The only reason that she seems original is because she knows nothing about Vampires. Also Card is an idiot when it comes to his opinions, Harry Potter was not based on Ender's Game and even if it was the whole storyline is completely different. Stephenie Meyer combined Romeo and Juliet with Vampires and destroyed the concept behind both. She is a failure as an author.

[[deleted user]]

Jacob wrote: "Masha wrote: "J.K. Rowling is a better writer, but Stephenie Meyer is more original. Harry Potter is awesome, but a lot of things are clearly derivative from other sci-fi and fantasy. At some point..."

agreed!

[AlbertaJenn]

I can't believe people are still having this discussion. After years and years, I would think people would get tired of it.

[Shélah]

Calling Stephenie Meyer an author is an insult to authors everywhere. Period.

[Avital]

Are you serious??? Of course J.K. Rowling, no doubt!!!

[Marina]

AlbertaJenn wrote: "I can't believe people are still having this discussion. After years and years, I would think people would get tired of it."

It's just another vehicle for trashing Meyer and the Twilight series. I wish haters would get a life and stick to the threads for books they like instead of inserting negative energy into every discussion.

[Shélah]

Masha wrote: It's just another vehicle for trashing Meyer and the Twilight series. I wish haters would get a life and stick to the threads for books they like instead of inserting negative energy into every discussion.

I wouldn't feel the need, except every alleged "discussion" about Twilight/The Host/Meyers is a non-discussion wherein fans do very little other than rave about how great everything is:

"It's SOOOOOOOOOO amazing!"

"I KNOW! I LOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!"

etc.

If people could have an intelligent discussion about these books, I might have an ounce of respect (maybe not). In fairness, it's pretty much the same with Harry Potter.

[Sara]

J.K.Rowling's characters all have individual personalities and are not completely defined by their love interests. Her books have good morals and appeal to all ages and to both male and female readers alike. She has found a way to tug at thousands of people's heartstrings and keep them captivated from page to page. I love her books and she's such a nice person who has inspired so many children to read and I think that is what makes her and her work incomparable to Meyer and her storytelling.

[Marina]

I've seen plenty of intelligent discussion on both pro- and anti-Twilight sides. And yes, there are some people who love the books "just because" and are not very good at verbalizing why. I have laid out my reasons for liking Twilight, as well as the positive lessons young people can take from the stories, several times in multiple threads. I'm not doing it anymore because every 5 seconds somebody new comes in and says, "this is mindless trash with no value" and I just don't want to keep repeating myself. To say that there's no real discussion out there just because you didn't take time to read through the comments is unfair and insulting.

My original point was that inserting snarky comments into every thread is not advancing the discussion. This thread should really be for people who like both HP and Twilight and would like to exchange opinions on which they like more and why, in a constructive way. Outside of that, it's just people insulting each other over taste preferences, and it's not what Goodreads is about.

[Patricia]

I think both author are cashing in on their writings, which is a good thing. First, Lets start with Stephenie Meyers. I have mixed feeling towards Stephenie Meyers. I love the Twilight books and movies, but I don't care for the authors attitude toward her fans. I agree with Marsh (Message 44), "She has TONS of potential in terms of creative ideas. What she needs now is develop more on the purely writing skill level, and I believe it will come with time." Only time will tell. On the other hand, I think the J.K. Rowlings is a better writer, but I'm not much of a Harry Potter fan.

[Shélah]

Masha wrote: "I've seen plenty of intelligent discussion on both pro- and anti-Twilight sides. And yes, there are some people who love the books "just because" and are not very good at verbalizing why. I have la..."

In fairness Masha, I have read the comments. I've never seen intelligent ones on the pro-Twilight (or Host) side, but perhaps I have been reading the wrong boards. My sister is an intelligent person and she likes Twilight because she thinks its mindless trash that's mildly entertaining. For you to insist that those of us who trash Twilight need to get a life is likewise "unfair and insulting" (as you put it), not to mention incredibly shortsighted (as is the suggestion that we are inherently attempting to be merely snarky rather than stating our actual opinion [perhaps whilst being snarky] - I would suggest that, like you, some of us are tired of writing lengthy posts on the cons of Meyers' books). Not to mention I doubt many people are trolling around commenting on EVERY thread. I've posted on maybe two or three.

I have no intention of insulting anyone's personal preference: certainly I respect (most of the time) that people will like what they will like, and many books I like other people loathe. That isn't the point: Stephenie Meyers is not a good writer, which is what this discussion is asking, not which books you liked better. I personally don't think J.K. Rowling is a particularly good author either, but I still like her idea and stories, therefore, I have no real issue with her (except when fans rave that the HP books are flawless, which they clearly are not). Stephenie Meyers has not proven that she can write well, only that she can write huge books that (in my opinion) not only have no value for young people, but actually perpetuate some extremely problematic themes.

Edit: Typo

[BlackroseBlackheart]

J.K. Rowling all the damn way. I mean, she's an inspiration for women everywhere.
But if you really must compare...
S.M: Shallow books with no real depth, knew after reading Twilight that Bella was gonna end up with Edward NO MATTER WHAT!!!
J.K.R: AMAZINGLY AWESOMELY MAGNIFICENTLY OHMYGOSHINEVEREXPECTEDTHATTOHAPPENLY GREAAAAATTTTT!!!

Ya see the difference? ;P

[Shélah]

BlackroseBlackheart:

No, I don't see the difference. Was there ever really a question that Harry would defeat Voldemort? No. Both series had prosaic endings, and Rowling's plotting has gaping holes (which may explain why you were kept guessing). The majority of people seem to agree that Rowling is the better author, but it certainly isn't because the HP books weren't predictable. They did however (as you point out) have more depth.

[BlackroseBlackheart]

oooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
sorry if I hurt ur feelings Shélah ;(
just voicing my opinions

[Jessica]

I think J.K. Rowling is a better writer. There is no way to compare the plots because they are too different. However, personally I enjoyed J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series more than Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

[Elizabeth(The Book Whisperer)]

J.K Rowling hands down. I liked the Twilight books, but I ADORE Harry!

[Nicole]

Is it possible to say both, because I really can't decide. They are both fantastic authors. And they are different genres anyway.

[Kirby]

Masha wrote: "@Kerri- here's the link you asked about- Card on J.K. Rowling:

http://hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everyt...

Come to think of it, Card doesn't even mention adults lying to and manipu..."

oh, wow- I had never heard of this! those plots do sound a little too similar!

[Marina]

I think the point is that although Harry Potter is well executed, it's far from original or "the best ever" as some people claim. Yes, I admit feeling down when there were no more Harry adventures left to read, but there's a LOT of good stuff out there that would appeal to the same type of reader.

For the record, my husband is claiming HP is a ripoff of Lord of the Rings (an evil Lord working to get resurrected, a ragtag group of reluctant heroes to oppose him, a wise mentor to guide them... see the pattern?)

By the way all of this is not to criticize Harry Potter. I personally thing originality is overrated because too many authors concentrate on the original concept and forget to make a good story. Just to point out it's not one-of-a-kind type of thing.

[Imogen]

Marina wrote: "J.K. Rowling is a better writer, but Stephenie Meyer is more original. Harry Potter is awesome, but a lot of things are clearly derivative from other sci-fi and fantasy. At some point Orson Scott C..."

I'm going to be honest, my impression of vampires were bloodsuckers. I've been reading this blog that pretty much tears Twilight apart, and the blogger has pointed out that somewhere in the first book, Edward mentions Carlise trying to kill himself by starvation. Apparently a vampire cannot be killed by starvation. So Meyer's vampires don't actually need to drink blood, the sun doesn't affect them in a negative way, they don't sleep in coffins... I can understand Meyer changing some things but if I'd changed this much of the original lore then I'd probably do a J.K. Rowling and give them a different name, and say that they were distant relatives of vampires.
If I come off as a Twilight hater, I'm sorry. I don't have much patience for the books but the movies are okay.
No comments for The Host because I don't plan to read it.

[Amaranta]

I'm going with the author who's not afraid of killing a character if the ending demands it: Rowling.