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Twilight Series
I'm with Jackie-I enjoyed the books for what they were, fluff (and there is certainly nothing wrong with reading fluff!). I really wouldn't recommend it to any young adults in my family because that was one unhealthy relationship...but since we're old enough to know better...:)I REALLY liked The Host a lot though, and I'm looking forward to see what she writes next. I enjoy her stories enough to overlook her odd writing style.
I was going to stop after New Moon but needed a Romance for the Winter Challenge so I read Eclipse which I thought was better than New Moon but not as good as Twilight - I agree with Allison and Jackie - they are fluff and sometimes that's just fine. Not every book you read has to be a Grapes of Wrath. If it gives you entertainment then it is fine.-- Robin (32 days until Avempartha)
Allison wrote: "I REALLY liked The Host a lot though, and I'm looking forward to see what she writes next. I enjoy her stories enough to overlook her odd writing style. Allison - I haven't read through all the posts, but I was just wondering what you found "odd" about Stephenie Meyer's writing style. Just curious.
Robin wrote: "Ann...you didn't find New Moon a big "draggy" It seemed to really lie there until page 417. That's a long time to wait for it "to get going"...You didn't feel any of this?"New Moon is much better the second time through, because I wasn't freaking out with Edward being gone--I could actually appreciate Jacob's character, etc. The first time was painful (and very slow)...
Eclipse was better the second time through as well.
I'm not ashame to admit that I love Twilight. For one reason, it brings me back to reading. I hardly read one book in the past 10 years and after much hype about Twilight I just got curious. So I put a request on my library and a few weeks later I got it. After I started reading, I just simple couldn't put it down. I think it's just the kind of book that you can enjoy without putting too much thought into it. So I read the whole series in 2 weeks and re-read it again a few times. :) But then I did move on and discover several other fun books!
I loved the Twilight series, but I read it so quickly out of fear that someone would ruin the ending for me!! I wanted Bella to end up vampire, but I didn't think the author would do it. My friend at work did NOT want her to be a vampire, but she thought the author WOULD do it. I avoided Goodreads, the movie version, and anyone who had read the series out of fear that this ultimate question would be spoiled for me!Great story! I want a boyfriend who obsessively protects me and watches me sleep. Sorry, but I do.
Amy wrote: "I'm not ashame to admit that I love Twilight. For one reason, it brings me back to reading. I hardly read one book in the past 10 years and after much hype about Twilight I just got curious. So I p..."I really appreciate books that bring in readers - Twight and Harry Potter are the two most notable. There is something to be said about a book that is just a fun enjoyable read - no shame required ;-)
Robin...all of you... scream out loud funny!!!
I am in LOVE with these! I know some people may beg to differ saying it's very bland and totally blown out of propoortion by the means of a human falling in love with a vampire . . . but I can debate, till black and blue in the face that these are 100 % quality books. The only thing that you need, to enjoy these books is an open mind and attitude towards love. So to all those throbbing girl or guy fans out there, we are united in loving and enjoying quality books that are obviously going to be remembered for generations!
I agree, Michal. Despite a few of its flaws, I really love Twilight.
To be honest, I highly doubt these books will be as popular once the fad is over. I feel like in 20 years they will be long forgotten. I mean, it's kind of like the Da Vinci Code, once Dan Brown has hung up his pen, people will forget about it. I take it for what it is, pulp fiction, not literature.
I anyone wants to read a complete bashing of Twilight - simply go to my reviews. For me, these books were so full of loop holes I could hardly read them with a straight face. But, for all of you who like them: lucky you, I really wish I could as I have gotten a lot of grief for insulting Stephanie's writing abilities (or lack thereof)..
Katie, I would love to read your reviews, but since your profile is private, I can't figure out how to get to them.
Sorry April - I should change the settings, but I'm new to the site.Is it okay if I add you?
I haven't read the Twilight books and I don't think I would enjoy them (not my type of thing), but I will probably read the first one eventually, just because I like to keep up on what's popular.I wanted to say though, that I'm very impressed with how rational and friendly this discussion is! I've read a few other reviews/discussions and they have all quickly resorted to personal attacks and arguments that make no sense (on both sides). Way to go, TNBBC members, what a friendly bunch!
Thank you, I think we all like and respect each other and, by listening to, and reading, one anothers' thoughts, we've learned many new and wonderful insights we never would have on our own.
Twilight is a good read. It's not the greatest book on Earth, however it kept me reading and it also happened to do the unthinkable, that is getting my mother back into reading, having never been a reader to begin with. I'm not sure what led me to read through all four books, perhaps the story itself is just one the reader just has to finish? I don't know. But it was a good read.
I felt the series wasn't a literary masterpiece, but Ms. Meyer has a talent for storytelling. Even when you get to the fairly unbelievable finale.I'm disappointed she doesn't seem to have any books in the works yet. You can see how her writing improved through every one of her books.
Amy wrote: "I'm disappointed she doesn't seem to have any books in the works yet. You can see how her writing improved through every one of her books. "Have you read The Host yet?
I'm not a twi-fan (being a feminist and all LOL), but I was captivated by the first three books (guilty pleasure much?), but I felt like Breaking Dawn just didn't do it for me. *SPOILER* IDK, I think I would rather gouge my eyes out than read about pregnancy, since placentas are kind of gross. That, and I was 21 when I read it, I didn't care about babies then. And the highly anticipated sex scene? Throw us a bone (no pun intended) Meyer! There wasn't any ecstasy or quivering members, or anything fun like that, just a ripped pillow. I just thought it was kind of disappointing.
April wrote: "but I felt like Breaking Dawn just didn't do it for me."SPOILER ALERT *** I can't agree with you more, however my big thing over Breaking Dawn was about the actual ending. I wanted world war 3 to go down and some semi-big characters lost in battle. I wanted something more epic and not so HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
The best comment I've ever heard concerning Twilight?
"I feel bad for Stephanie Meyer's husband. Because you know that's her fantasy. To be Bella. And how could someone be Edward? No one sparkles in the sun like that and sparkling is... dreamy."
"I feel bad for Stephanie Meyer's husband. Because you know that's her fantasy. To be Bella. And how could someone be Edward? No one sparkles in the sun like that and sparkling is... dreamy."
Lissa wrote: "The best comment I've ever heard concerning Twilight? "I feel bad for Stephanie Meyer's husband. Because you know that's her fantasy. To be Bella. And how could someone be Edward? No one sparkles in the sun like that and sparkling is... dreamy.""
Stephenie said that she's told her husband that if Edward shows up at her door, she's leaving him... And that he didn't seem too worried about it.
I've wanted to read the series. I even bought one of the books in secret. But in all times my parents found out and took them away. Should I be sad, thankful, mad? They say that there reason is because it is to "adult" for me. That vampires are against our way. Against God's way. And they're right. I haven't read the books, and I'm happy. :) I am in a good position, I feel better, actually. I was stressing and obsessed over a series, about an abstract figure. I am not against you Twilight readers, but I have my own beleifs, that I believe you should follow. Good Day to you. :)
I actually really loved the series. It was recommended to me one night in a chat room after someone (now my friend Rebecca) said something about Twilight being so good and someone else really kind of blessed her out for talking about it. I (trying to be nice and tick off the person who was fussing) asked Rebecca to tell me about it because I always loved hearing about new books. She told me about it for nearly an hour and honestly I never really thought that I would read it. Then my cousin told my mom that it was really good and my mother read it. She handed it to me 4 days before it had to be back at the library and I started reading that night. I was finished before the 4 days were up. And then proceeded to devour the remaining 3 books in the next 23 days. I couldn’t tell you what really drew me into the books…just that by the first few chapters of Twilight I was hooked!!
Buddhaflakes wrote: "April wrote: "but I felt like Breaking Dawn just didn't do it for me."SPOILER ALERT *** I can't agree with you more, however my big thing over Breaking Dawn was about the actual ending. I wante..."
I, on the other hand, am a sucker for Happy Endings! I want EVERY book I read to end happily no matter how unrealistic that may be! So the end of the Twilight Series fit perfectly into my little fantasy!
Amy wrote: "I, on the other hand, am a sucker for Happy Endings! I want EVERY book I read to end happily no matter how unrealistic that may be! So the end of the Twilight Series fit perfectly into my little fantasy!"Amen, sister! ;) I LOVE happy endings!
Amy wrote: "Buddhaflakes wrote: "April wrote: "but I felt like Breaking Dawn just didn't do it for me."SPOILER ALERT *** I can't agree with you more, however my big thing over Breaking Dawn was about the act..."
I agree with you on the whole happy ending parts. I LOVE happy endings. If the book doesn't end in a happy ending I go into mourning (of sorts) for the character. I crave happy endings like I crave cold lemonade on a hot summers day.
But I disagree with you that a happy ending should be unrealistic. I think an author has a responsibility to bring a story to life and when you put something unrealistic in it, it is just like a big red sign that says EXIT WONDERFULLY AMAZING STORIES THROUGH THIS PARAGRAPH.
I don't mean to offend anybody by this statement, it's just my own personal opinion of an authors duty.
But on the topic of Twilight, I've only read the first book so far. It was ok to me, I would put it as a five star on good read. But I got distracted and didn't move on to any of the other books for a long while. And then my cousin fell out of love with twilight after a LONG unhealthy obsession with it (she was the one that made me read twilight in the first place) and discourage me to continue. Still twilight was a good book and a perfect mesh of chick-lit and fantasy.
I personally thought that it was badly written,the characters were really under developed and dull. Also I felt that the author had "borrowed' quite a lot of ideas from other authors and then proceeded to, well kind of ruin them. The few original bits like the vampires sparkling,no fangs and being able to have sexual intercourse and even impregnate somebody just plain did not work for me.I also don't like the fact that the main character (Bella) was so weak and pathetic that the man had to swoop in and save her. He then proceeds to control her actions, or at least tries to through the entire book. The fact that the guy also watches the girl while she sleeps suggests an obsessive and dangerous relationship. I just feel it sends out the wrong message to young and impressionable girls.
I totally understand how people think Bella was weak and that she had to have "her man" swoop in and save her. However, I disagree with most in the fact that I believe ANY "mere human" would seem weak and pathetic in comparison to these vampires. Of course Edward had to save the day and her life, because she stumbled into this other world where being human doesn't give you a chance of survival.I also don't mind having a woman play the "damsel in distress" act in the story. I've enjoyed other stories where the man was the one in distress and had to be saved and I enjoyed those just fine too. So that didn't take anything away from the story, at least for me.
At this point in my life, after LIFE happens enough, I say 'SWOOP AWAY, DAMNIT'
How I got tricked into reading Twilight:http://misfitsalon.blogspot.com/2009/...
The story of a woman drawn into a shadowy world where her obsession quickly brings about her downfall. The lying, the cheating, the shame - how low will she go to satisfy her craving...
I think an interesting question is WHY did the Twilight series hit it so big? Why that one, and not a billion other teen vampire books out there? I read all four books, trying to analyze it, and I think I came up with an answer that at least satisfies me: In a cynical world, there's not much Grand Romance anymore - the never-get-over-it, can't-live-without-you kind of romance that makes the stories of Romeo-Juliet, Tristan-Isolde, and Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot still be read and treasured today. Meyer, rather than just aim for a teen romance, swung for the fences and went for Grand Romance, trying to give Bella and Edward a love for all time like Romeo and Juliet.
Now personally, I think she struck out - Edward is a tad too tousled and gleaming for my tastes. But millions of readers across the country would disagree with me and say that she smacked a home run for grand romance, and their opinions are just as valid as mine. So I will salute Meyer for aiming for the stars, because for many people, she got there.
That's a very interesting theory, Kate.
I wasn't a huge Twilight fan, warmed up to NM and Eclipse, and then really didn't like Breaking Dawn. I got so frustrated with how Meyer portrayed Bella's self-image nd how unhealthy the whole relationship was. Plus, she was not always the greatest at moving the plot along.Honestly, I could go on for a while. I'm glad I read it once to see what it was all about, and enjoyed them, and I'll check out more by Meyer in the future.
April wrote: "I'm not a twi-fan (being a feminist and all LOL), but I was captivated by the first three books (guilty pleasure much?), but I felt like Breaking Dawn just didn't do it for me.
*SPOILER* IDK, I t..."
I SO agree with you April! BD was just so full of anti-climax.
I intensely dislike the Twilight series and I am a teenage girl. I have never in my life thought or been anything like Bella, and I hope I never will be.I could not connect to any of the characters, because I have never met anyone who actually acts or thinks that way. I found Edward to be creepy and abusive, and Bella to be a completely brainless idiot. My friends and I would read through this book aloud and start cracking up for all the wrong reasons. The comments made in the article were truly horrendous and cruel. I can't understand why on earth people would get so worked up over a review. She didn't call the people who enjoy Twilight mindless idiots or attack them on a personal basis, she did not even say the book should be censored, just a topic of discussion between teens and their parents so that girls wouldn't think it was ok for their boyfriends to abuse them. I couldn't believe what I read in people's comments. I personally think this is a very good article, it encourages discussion, reading, and open-mindedness. I don't like Twilight at all, but I can talk about my differences with my friends who love it, they have never insulted me because of my distaste for the book, and they just wanted to know why I didn't care for it out of curiosity, they are very smart intelligent and mature people and I don't think any less of them for enjoying this book and they don't think any less of me for disliking it. I don't understand how people can get so cruel over a book, it blows my mind.
I love the books.. at what point was Bella 'abused' by her boyfriends? I'm confused, i didn't notice any 'abuse'.
Suzanne, Edward puts Bella down regularly, implying she's not smart or capable enough to do anything. And if it were real life, the fact that he stares at her while she sleeps would be considered stalking. :) That's considered abuse.
Suzanne, I think the abuse comments were in the context of "when you look at the ten traits exhibited by those that are abusers..." Edward has 7 of the 10 tendencies. Obviously, not all people that have (some of) these traits are abusive, they are just always prevelant in some form in abusers. I'm not sure who wrote up the whole list.That said, I enjoy the books and want to know what the end of the story holds (I'm reading the third now) but I don't like the "I can't live without you" attitude exhibited by Bella and Edward. Yes you can, you just find your life enhanced by the other-that is a bit healthier. Jacob is the only character I like. So I guess overall I have a love/hate attitude toward these books.
Yeah, Edward has some distinctly "controlling" attributes, and in the "real world" those can often be a warning sign.
yeah i suppose, but it is a fantasy world.. there are vampires and werewolves and such, why do Edwards possessive nature or controlling attributes matter? I find it a little odd.. lol. And anyway i think it was just about showing how completely and ridiculously over the top their love is. You know, how teenagers DO sometimes feel..
I personally thought that they mattered because you have tons of young teenage girls reading these books and Meyer writes Edward in a way where it seems okay to be controlling and writes Bella in a way that it seems as if she's saying if you love someone than you should "take" it; a philosophy which I don't follow at all. Bella was just the so-called "typical" submissive female and that grated on my nerves a lot. Plus, the staring...uber-creepy.
lol, i do agree, but i really don't think Meyers was trying to portray Edward as 'abusive'..
Suzanne, Alisha wasn't saying the abuse was intentional on Meyers' part. That's the problem. Meyers never even implies that Edward's behavior is negative or inappropriate, even for a vampire, lol. It's viewed as okay both by the other characters as well as the readers, and that's what makes it so scary. Girls are reading this and thinking that Edward's behavior is appropriate, and they're going to go into their own relationships looking for that. There are some books/movies/music that make it into popular culture that make all the progress over the last 100+ years fall back.I guess when I look at books for young readers, I look at them as whether or not I would want my own children reading them - is there a good message? Are there quality, strong characters? The Harry Potter books, for example, show young characters who overcome diversity, often with the help of their friends, and all of the characters grow because of their experiences. That's one message. Then in Twilight (and I've only read the first book) you have Bella, someone who doesn't really overcome anything, who puts all of her hopes and desires into Edward so that whatever he says and does is gospel in her mind, and she grows more and more incapable of caring for herself. I wouldn't want my children to grow up thinking they need someone else to provide their happiness or their strength for them.
Sure, it's easy to say, "Oh, it's just fantasy" or "These are just books/movies, what's the big deal?" It is fantasy, but the problem is many of the readers are going into it wanting it to be reality. And that can be a very slippery slope, especially for young readers who are still forming their beliefs, behaviors and opinions.
And it's not just the young readers who are affected. I just read an article about the adult population of Twihards and how it's affecting their own relationships. It's certainly interesting from a sociological perspective, but it's also very depressing.
El, I really couldn't have said it any better myself. :)
Well, my little sister read these books, she is the ideal target audience but i don't see her going along thinking that is how relationships should be, in fact we recently spoke about how ridiculous it is. I don't think teenage girls are so stupid as to think that Edward and Bella's relationship is normal and average. I sort of think it's an insult to the average girls intelligence to worry about them thinking it.
I'm a mother of two girls and i would never worry about them reading these books and then getting themselves into an abusive relationship and thinking 'oh, this is ok because it's just like twilight' because luckily my girls do have some intelligence and wouldn't think in that way. The whole thing is almost like the violent computer game argument.. just because they see violence they think it's OK to act it out etc, and yeah it does happen for some kids, but lets face it, only the stupid ones! Same for twilight, if you have so little intellect to think that Edward is your average guy and his controlling nature is what you aspire to then, well.. what more can you do?.
And how is twilight affecting some adult relationships? i'm interested in that! haha, probably some women deciding their husbands just don't cut it anymore.. not when there are lovely vampire types out there.. ridiculous!
oh and i really have to add.. People are getting overly concerned about the whole possessive/abusive or whatever relationship.. but everyone is fine with him being a vampire that spends pretty much every second wanting to kill her? LOL. so are we also assuming that these poor impressionable girls will end up with a serial killer boyfriend and think 'oh it's ok, just like Edward'?
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I just hope that people can move on from these books and discover other authors and stories. Unfortunately, when people are not exposed to different works they don't have much to compare too. I'm not trying to sound like a literary snob or anything. I really did enjoy the Twilight series, but I feel that I was able to recognize it for what it was- "brain candy" just as many of the people here in this thread that have read it.