Twilight - Love it or hate it?

[Prunesquallor]

(split from the 100 Books List (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)thread)

Hating Twilight seems more contagious than the flu this year. LOL

C'mon, it's crap.
I hate plenty of other things too..

[darynthe]

It's not quite Bram Stoker, is it?

Well I have a little rant about this topic. I feel that people hate Twilight just because if you say it is a guilty pleasure, then people will despise you forever.
I mean, all I hear is that the book is bad. But can anyone tell what on earth is a "good book"? That is an meaningless category. As there are different aspects that can be measured that makes a book remarkable. Being well written is just one of them and doesn't make it especial, just acceptable, sometimes.
What is a good book? Good as in a page turner? As in elegantly phrased? As in intelligent? As in morally uplifting? As in successfull? As in original? How can I say one category is superior to the other?

I can give you ten reasons why Twilight is original and hilariously shocking.

[Prunesquallor]

Well I have a little rant about this topic. I feel that people hate Twilight just because if you say it is a guilty pleasure, then people will despise you forever.
I mean, all I hear is that the book is bad. But can anyone tell what on earth is a "good book"? That is an meaningless category. As there are different aspects that can be measured that makes a book remarkable. Being well written is just one of them and doesn't make it especial, just acceptable, sometimes.
What is a good book? Good as in a page turner? As in elegantly phrased? As in intelligent? As in morally uplifting? As in successfull? As in original? How can I say one category is superior to the other?

I can give you ten reasons why Twilight is original and hilariously shocking.

It is poorly written. Very poorly. Very very very poorly.
Also, nauseatingly dumb.
And poorly written.
Successful, yes. But that says more about the people buying it than the book. McDonald's does very well, yet no one says their food is good, as in quality. It's not supposed to be good, it's supposed to be fast and cheap.

[darynthe]

It is poorly written. Very poorly. Very very very poorly.
Also, nauseatingly dumb.
And poorly written.
Successful, yes. But that says more about the people buying it than the book. McDonald's does very well, yet no one says their food is good, as in quality. It's not supposed to be good, it's supposed to be fast and cheap.

Ok, go on, I am really interested in your POV. Now why you think it is successful. Don't come with something that says nothing such as that people who read is dumb. Even for pleasing dumb people there must be an interesting psychological aspect at play.

[Prunesquallor]

Ok, go on, I am really interested in your POV. Now why you think it is successful. Don't come with something that says nothing such as that people who read is dumb. Even for pleasing dumb people there must be an interesting psychological aspect at play.

It doesn't require thought. Look at television. People like that kind of thing. It asks nothing of them.
Frankly, the only people I know who like it, like it because they find it hilarious. As in, they read it to laugh at it. You're gonna have to help me on the sincere liking part. Because even when I was a fourteen-year-old girl, I still had taste.

[darynthe]

Continuining with the Twilight and hating books theme, I am not criticizing anyone in particular.

Here my conclusions.

Seems it is the same thing to me. Loving it or hating it. I ask people around and both groups of fans and haters can only come with either their love or hate and some expletives, but are incapable of articulating actual reasons. I think that these are not real judgements but feelings.

It is totally ok, everybody is free to like or unlike, just hoped to find a deeper understanding of what moves people to critic literature. Personally I detest critics in general because they only feel well then they destroy new writers. Somehow that makes them feel more intelligent than the new successful writer. So for me it is an ego trip.

And then people come, read the critics and do the same in an even lower level.

Don't have time now but will post the redeeming qualities of TW later. :)





darynthe added to this post, 2 minutes and 43 seconds later...


It's badly written. That doesn't mean that all the people who enjoy it are somehow inferior, it just means that they have a low threshold for writing quality.

Yeah, I agree. I don't have any threshold myself. I wonder why people want to have one.

[Rudy]

Yeah, I agree. I don't have any threshold myself. I wonder why people want to have one.

I like having a reading threshold, because I have a limited amount of time in which to read. I'd like to read well-written books that make be think, or reflect, or teach me something about humanity. Twilight does not do any of these things.

[altoid]

I've never read Twilight, and have never had a desire to change that. I felt the same way about the Harry Potter series before I read it, though, so it's possible I would enjoy it were I to pick it up.



Don't have time now but will post the redeeming qualities of TW later. :)



I would be interested in seeing more about why people love (or hate it.)

[Cocoa]

Hmm I read it.

The movie was awful, the book was better.
Things I liked (about the book):
- imaginative description of vampires
- natives vs. vampires back story (it goes into warewolves next book I hear)
- the mysterious rainy town of Forks

Things I didn't like:
- the romance just didn't do it for me. It was said to be based on Pride and Prejudice but I just did not see Fitzwilliam Darcy within Edward. I have several friends who enjoyed the romance, I just didn't.
- The book really died for me near the climax.... where Bella's mother gets taken? I just don't understand why Bella would sacrifice herself for her mother. The evil vampire guy will kill them both and that's a fact. I could not understand why she didn't ask her friendly neighbourhood vampires for help. I think it just comes down to the fact that she made an F choice and I'm a strong strong T.
-the ending, why does she keep asking to be a vamp? it got on my nerves a little :P

so yeah, overall not the greatest book. Altho it had good potential.

I do not mean to judge anyone who enjoyed this book. I'm only sharing my views on what I experienced (LOL.... this is my P talking!) :>

[stankerbell]

personally, the reason why I didn't like Twilight is a complaint that I have about a lot of books that are out nowadays regarding the nature of vampires.... i really hate the trend Anne Rice began and Joss Whedon continued, of the moody, brooding, beautiful, emo vampire filled with self loathing about who he is and what he does.... and currently the market seems to be flooded with them. When I got to the part where it's revealed that they sparkle in sunlight, I just didn't want to read anymore.

i know that authors are continually adding to the canon and mythology of vampirism and everyone wants their own personal twist but i'm just not down with sparkling vampires..

i want my vampires back to the days of old where they're scary, blood-thirsty beasts on the hunt

[rara avis]

What is a good book?

A good book is one that you really enjoy for any reason or combination of reasons, regardless of what anyone else thinks. When you happen to find one that pushes your personal buttons, that's a gift.

The only way in which it matters to me what anyone else thinks of what I read is when I like a book enough that I want to try to make other people read it. It's one of the only ways in which I'm prone to pushiness and evangelism.

I read Twilight, I didn't think it was bad. It is lightweight, and wasn't a hugely engaging story, to me. But it's geared to tweak the imaginations of teenage girls. I probably would've lurved it at age 14... if I'd been allowed to read about vampires. :rolleyes: Which I wasn't.

I did love that it did a good job of evoking the place where I grew up - or near it. I live in the opposite end of the spectrum, now, climate-wise, and I get hoooomesick for gray and green and darkness and water. Moss and ferns and deep forests and the ocean. sigh. I thought it was kinda funny that in the book, due to the cloud cover, this is an area of the world where vampires can go outdoors almost every day of the year. I know that feeling... :)

[Storm]

Oh, the new vampire series. I thought this thread was going to be about Twilight Zone and I got really excited.

I've never read the Twilight books, I don't really have a desire. I can't get over being romantically interested in a vampire.





Storm added to this post, 6 minutes and 18 seconds later...

Ok, really read the thread this time around.
I know a lot of people that really enjoy reading the book, while at the same time recognizing that it's poorly written and not intellectually stiumlating.

These people are graduate level students. They read it because we spend all day reading complicated, mentally taxing material. It's a break, like watching a bad TV show.

[rara avis]

Most people like to eat something once in a while that just tastes good, regardless of whether it's good for you or not. I think it's the same with books. My mom calls books like this "mental bubblegum". Tastes good, it occupies you for a bit, little/no nutritional content.

If it's all you eat, you're likely going to have health problems. But if you eat with nothing in mind but nutritional content, I'm sad for you. :)

It's about finding a happy medium, to me...

[Rudy]

Most people like to eat something once in a while that just tastes good, regardless of whether it's good for you or not. I think it's the same with books. My mom calls books like this "mental bubblegum". Tastes good, it occupies you for a bit, little/no nutritional content.

If it's all you eat, you're likely going to have health problems. But if you eat with nothing in mind but nutritional content, I'm sad for you. :)

It's about finding a happy medium, to me...

Yeah, I really can't point any fingers, as my "mental bubblegum" is fanfiction.

[Maayan]

I hate it except for this one passage:

I tried to concentrate as he explained the lab we would be doing today. The slides in the box were out of order. Working as lab partners, we had to separate the slides of onion root tip cells into the phases of mitosis they represented and label them accordingly. We weren't supposed to use our books. In twenty minutes, he would be coming around to see who had it right."Get started," he commanded."Ladies first, partner?" Edward asked. I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot."Or I could start, if you wish." The smile faded; he was obviously wondering if I was mentally competent."No," I said, flushing. "I'll go ahead."I was showing off, just a little. I'd already done this lab, and I knew what I was looking for. It should be easy. I snapped the first slide into place under the microscope and adjusted it quickly to the 40X objective. I studied the slide briefly. My assessment was confident. "Prophase." "Do you mind if I look?" he asked as I began to remove the slide. His hand caught mine, to stop me, a she asked. His fingers were ice-cold, like he'd been holding them in a snowdrift before class. But that wasn't why I jerked my hand away so quickly. When he touched me, it stung my hand as if an electric current had passed through us."I'm sorry," he muttered, pulling his hand back immediately. However, he continued to reach for the microscope. I watched him, still staggered, as he examined the slide for an even shorter time than I had."Prophase," he agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. He swiftly switched out the first slide for the second, and then glanced at it cursorily. "Anaphase," he murmured, writing it down as he spoke. I kept my voice indifferent. "May I?" He smirked and pushed the microscope to me. I looked through the eyepiece eagerly, only to be disappointed. Dang it, he was right."Slide three?" I held out my hand without looking at him.He handed it to me; it seemed like he was being careful not to touch my skin again.I took the most fleeting look I could manage."Interphase." I passed him the microscope before he could ask for it. He took a swift peek, and then wrote it down. I would have written it while he looked, but his clear, elegant script intimidated me. I didn't want to spoil the page with my clumsy scrawl.We were finished before anyone else was close.

:lovestruck: I re-enacted this scene in the lab today after my partner told me she was making a "Team Edward" t-shirt.

[Prunesquallor]

CSeems it is the same thing to me. Loving it or hating it. I ask people around and both groups of fans and haters can only come with either their love or hate and some expletives, but are incapable of articulating actual reasons. I think that these are not real judgements but feelings.

darynthe added to this post, 2 minutes and 43 seconds later...

Yeah, I agree. I don't have any threshold myself. I wonder why people want to have one.

They are real judgments, they just use standards with which apparently you have a problem.

Longer explanation:

I hate bad writing because I notice it. because I've read good literature and I've studied good literature and writing and language. Reading a poorly-constructed sentence is like getting hit over the head by a mallet to me. I can, however, watch shitty movies and enjoy them, because I know a lot less about filmmaking and acting. I recognise that they're shitty, because I'm not brain-dead, but it doesn't force itself on my attention to the same degree. I read really terrible books as a kid - I can't enjoy them anymore because I got smarter. I can listen to shitty music because I am not a music geek. But books - no.

I take writing seriously so I hate fluff in that context. Other people like it. That doesn't mean it's good quality. It means it plays to an audience of people who take writing as a craft much less seriously and can appreciate stupid books because they don't notice the flaws as much. They read for other reasons.

As to why one would want this sort of threshold - it makes one hyper-aware of flaws, yes, but it also makes it easier to recognise and appreciate the really really good ones. Because you can recognise the quality, know why and how it's good, you get more out of it.

Not everyone has to take writing seriously, and people are allowed to enjoy fluff. But just because something is popular doesn't make it good quality. These are very different standards with very different criteria.

[Mozzes]

Most people like to eat something once in a while that just tastes good, regardless of whether it's good for you or not. I think it's the same with books. My mom calls books like this "mental bubblegum". Tastes good, it occupies you for a bit, little/no nutritional content.

If it's all you eat, you're likely going to have health problems. But if you eat with nothing in mind but nutritional content, I'm sad for you. :)

It's about finding a happy medium, to me...

Well, you know the problem with mental bubblegum is when you blow bubbles you inevitably end up blowing too large of a bubble and of course it pops and gets all matted up in the super-ego and next thing you know you're shoving peanut butter in your ear to get it out. Or does that only happen to me...?

[Rudy]

I offer the newest addition to the book-a-minute site, here: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

The book-a-minute summary of Twilight:

Twilight

Edward Cullen: Hoo mama, I can't decide whether to drink your blood or kiss you passionately.

Bella Swan: That's hot.

THE END

[Cthulhu]

I usually have three or four books going at the same time and one of them is usually some kind of brain candy. I certainly don't have an aversion to reading something that's not too weighty.

I read Twilight a few months ago, just to see what all the fuss was about. Frankly, I think my Y chromosome precluded my enjoying a book about a teenage girl falling in love with a vampire.

[Cocoa]

TWILIGHT, acted out by bunnies, in 30 seconds (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.):)

ENJOY!


Oh you gotta select TWILIGHT on the right side, otherwise it's Hellraiser. I dont have a direct link

[Nomadofthehills]

I offer the newest addition to the book-a-minute site, here: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

The book-a-minute summary of Twilight:

Twilight

Edward Cullen: Hoo mama, I can't decide whether to drink your blood or kiss you passionately.

Bella Swan: That's hot.

THE END


I like your synopsis.

[mel]

Twilight is the best!

it is pretty poorly written but its got most things people want to read.

plus, it's readible to the "dumber" portion of society.

AND, the movie's got Robert Pattinson in it.

He's hot ......

[darynthe]

TWILIGHT, acted out by bunnies, in 30 seconds (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.):)

ENJOY!


Oh you gotta select TWILIGHT on the right side, otherwise it's Hellraiser. I dont have a direct link

OMG, Cocoa, that was the most hilarious thing EVER. *dies over and over again* ROTFL

*goes watch once again*

Ok, I was going to post my analysis of TW, now I can't take it seriously anymore. I will be back tomorrow I guess.

[speedsuit721]

I go through phases of wanting read intellectual junk and pure escapist junk. I've been on an escapist phase for quite a few months now. I read the first two books of Twilight, and for what they are--romance novels with vampires--they're entertaining. They did exactly what I wanted them to do, which was make me forget about the shittiness of my life for a little while. I read a lot of dragons/castles/armor fantasy novels too.

I'd like to think I'm a good writer. I've written for UPI, I won essay contests in college and high school, and I've gotten numerous comments from people who read my blog. I don't think enjoying "bubble gum" literature necessarily means someone is dumb or uneducated. People read for all kinds of different reasons, not just to learn more factoids with which to impress people who think INTJs are aloof a-holes already.

[darynthe]

Redeeming Twilight

This analysis will use the perspective of “the author is dead”, which means I will interpret the story as it is without any input from the author, I don't care and don't know what she meant, but what I can read. Anything she says outside the universe of the written series is not relevant.

I won't delve on the obvious problem that it is poorly edited book and other issues. My analysis will deal with character, plot and spiritual philosophic reader interest.

The first theme of the book is clearly a deep one. It is about temptation. And this is clear, mostly when you read the companion book to Twilight, the Midnight Sun, which is written from Edward's perspective.

Let us start with the most interesting character of the story. His character development is absolutely fascinating and nothing similar to another psychological POV that I know of in literature. This is why vampires are great metaphysical experiments for a writer.

Edward, the 100 year old vampire is frozen at age 17 and by conviction decides not to go with his inner monster natural inclination of killing humans. He is a virgin, which is a psychological byproduct of vampires not suffering any physical change after the moment of their transformation and his distaste for the world due to the fact that he can read everybody's mind.

Interesting from a psychological perspective, someone who can read minds will not be able to find mystery or interest in other being, as we all are prone to pretty thoughts and silly selfishness in our minds. So while Edward can read the minds and understand the thoughts, the ability does not encompass empathy, so, while he will see the worst in people, he won't be able to sympathize and understand the process in the humans that brought them to that state. In any regard, this is the only thing that separates his POV from one of God's omniscience.

However, not being able to help herself, Meyers gives him a sister that can see the future and a brother who can feel the emphatic and the understand the underlaying feelings. This is a sort of omniscient trinity, an inside joke about writing from God's perspective or simply writing from all points of view at once.

Now, the fascination of temptation. This story is obviously Christian on a first level of interpretation. The cross hanging in the house of the vampires is proof enough, if not for the constant talk of Edward of not wanting to condemn Bella's soul to damnation by turning her into a vampire and later by not consummating their passion.

After careful examination, in fact, we can see that his whole resistance to temptation is due to this. He is in doubt of the existence of his own soul. For the sake of the chance that it is still able to be saved in a Christian sense, he doesn't give in to murder, also because he has hold on to a clear conscience of good and evil (this is very interesting from a general vampire lore perspective. In all other lores, vampires cannot resist the impulse and delight in evil.)

However, by the time he meets Bella, he is presented for the first time with an object of desire. Difficult time, as he realizes that his sainthood is not due to self-control, but to lack of temptation. (reader laughs out loud mischievously)

So in the bottom, what is the real draw of Twilight? It is this, what Saint Francis of Sales mentioned in his “Introduction to the devout life (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)”, a human is able to feel temptation, even saints can feel it. There is a pleasure we can feel on those temptations, it is called technically, delectation. Edward feels delectation on the thought of killing Bella, but he doesn't sin. Delectation becomes a sin when the person willingly gives in to this pleasure, even if they don't act on it.

We see throughout the book, that Edward fights delectation over and over. Until he finally gives in, and takes Bella into his life, knowing he probably is condemning both of them. This descent and flirt with the stages of sin-temptation, letting always chastity and temperance win, is the real draw of the story.

However, this is the first reading. There is the second reading, the deeper subtext and it deals with extreme perversion. The other side of the coin.

Very simple indeed. Bella meets Edward and no real temptation takes place as she embraces the possible loss of her life and soul as a very desirable outcome for the sake of pleasure.

She gives in her own person so deeply that when he tells her that they are to go to the forest and he isn't sure if he will be able to resist the temptation to kill her or not, she erases all leads that may make people to blame Edward of her likely murder, and then goes happily with him. “I'd rather be dead than without you.”

This is a very unnatural idea for a Christian story, the commandment is you will love your neighbor as you will love yourself.

But there is no love to give others if you don't love yourself, and obviously Bella doesn't. Her character is that of the person who lives to lose herself in her mate and loses all self identity in the final act. She wants to be broken and taken. (See Dominique in the Fountainhead for a similar approach to feminine sexuality and victory/self-completition.)

However her, let us call it what it is, perversion, is so extreme that she will happily take him in the ride. She cares just as little how his killing her will affect him, and probably destroy him. Just in this we can see that Bella is the real antagonist of the story.

The third reading comes naturally from this, Bella is a direct affront to the feminist society. A slap in the face to the current concept that a woman doesn't need a man, laughing at the self-empowerment of women and also being clearly masochist, it sort of avocates consensual violence.

If I was a censor I would take this book out of the shelves, as it is being read exactly by whom it shouldn't. Immature girls who won't be able to understand and put all this in perspective. Note that I am not a feminist.

Just think that these decisions shouldn't be making unconsciously and the book immoral invitations while delightful to me as a broad minded reader, bored with cliches, may not be so easy to digest to younger minds.

However, returning to the book itself, this is a clear opposition of themes, on one hand sainthood on the other hand perversion, the temptress, fighting to damnate a soul. One hundred percent Gothic, just in a modern familiar setting.

Why people hate Twilight? They fail to see the melodramatic themes that correspond to Gothic stories. The extreme horror setting, the immortal, ghost, spiritual themes, the superpowers, all this correspond to a perfectly defined genre of literature that was extinct by the 19th century. For a clear example of this, which may be even more ludicrous to the untested reader, take a look at the amazing “The Monk”.

The text of Twilight, that seems badly written, in this simple analysis is just sincere and logic. This is how people think and react, especially the young ones. I don't expect a sonata by Homer coming out of the mouth of a 17 year old of the US. They will say some expletives over and over, and when meeting a handsome boy they will think to themselves Greek God until the cows go home.

I appreciate it and laugh at it after I get over it. This book is written in first person by a 17 year old. I fail to see any lack of logic in the way it is phrased, especially if we understand that it is written by Bella who is an extremely flawed character, if not the real villain of the story.

Twilight is a great exercise in psychology of sin and anti-feminist sexuality. I love it. It is written in a trite way, but the underlaying themes are unusual and shocking, two counterpoints that makes the triteness seem like a joke that must be laughed at those who didn't get it.

-----------------------------------------------------------
(c) karina v.

[Prunesquallor]

A) There are good horror stories. The gothic has a long tradition, and there is nothing particularly original about any of what you described in Twilight.. Have you read Melmoth the Wanderer, for example? It's a much, much better example of alienation.

B) And if you think religion's dumb....damn, maybe that's why I hate the book. Actually, no, it's because it's fluff. But I still don't like the religion part anyway.

C) There are books about young girls that are not badly written. There are books that have bad writing (e.g. Flowers for Algernon) that are still very very good. Because the poor writing serves a real purpose, not because 'well, hey, the narrators dumb, so why would you expect the book to be intelligent?'

[floramacivor]

I read it, liked it - I didn't love it, although I enjoyed having something to talk about with my kids' friends.

[Ramiel]

I have tried reading Twilight. Had to put it down at page one-hundred-and-something out of disgust. Maybe one day I'll pick it up again, but probably not. So from my experience here go the pros and cons of the book.

PROS:

Lightweight. Easily read.
Good story and concept, although poorly developed.
Pushes all the buttons of the intended audience of teenage girls. Especially the sexual buttons. Clever move on Meyer's part.
Proves to be enjoyable for other audiences
The descriptions of the town of Forks can be quite beautiful.



CONS:
My main complaints are about Bella. Possibly the worst character I have ever encountered in fiction.

As to not flood the page, details are provided here.

Whiny: She is always and constantly complaining about something. Mostly the weather in Forks. Her internal speech can be effectively summed up to "the weather sucks" to which later is added "Edward is so pretty"

Bitchy: That's right. She is a complete, utter, unredeemable bitch to anyone who is not Edward. She complains about how she's never had any real friends. Yet, every time someone tries to be nice to her, she looks down upon them. Mike is a creepy stalker to be avoided, Jessica is a gossipy bitch, Jacob is hot.... BUT not as hot as Edward, so it's okay to break his heart to get to Ed.
With an attitude like this, it's no wonder she's never made any friends, is it?

Charlie, her father, is possibly the nicest person ever. Why on earth does she hate him so much? ... Why?

Self-contradictory to a ridicule (or just EMO): The moment she sets foot in Forks everyone tries to be her friend, all the boys have the hots for her, she is invited to every party, outdoor escapade, road trip and whatnot. But, as said, she is always complaining about how she feels isolated and lonely and friendless.

(very) Unhealthy obsession about Edward: while this might be also a personal pet peeve of mine, it must be said that Bella's attraction for Edward is half of what is wrong with the book. Edward wants to eat her, so his own attraction already has a handle to get by.
But what about Bella? She's seen this pretty boy. He treats her like shit, he laughs at her, he removes the friggin engine from her car, he is controlling, domineering, arrogant and abusive.... But he's so pretty (and Hot). How can other people not be his friends? Oh, right, they are jealous of his beauty (and Hotness)! It's not at all because he and his gang are a bunch of cliquish snobs.



What the hell was S.Meyer thinking when she said Bella is "mature"? She is a horrible person: snotty, melodramatic, snobbish, obsessive, malevolent, shallow... that's bad even going by teenager standards. Bella is supposed to be good-natured, intelligent, mature; but then her own actions and thoughts say the opposite. Did Meyer really think that it was a good idea to create such a bad character and then justify everything with "oh but she's a unique and special flower!"?

Besides my personal dislike for Bella, what bothers me the most is that she is the heroine of the story, she's depicted as a role model for girls, while she represents everything that a teenager should NOT be. I don't believe in sugar-coating reality; controversial characters are the life and juice of many a good stories. But we all know young kids are very impressionable, and I don't feel comfortable that so many teenagers are adopting such negative role models. (no, I'm not a parent, but I wouldn't let my children read Twilight until they were grown up enough to tell good from bad on their own)

Whew... sorry people, had to get this off my chest, lol.

As for what concerns the rest of the book, there are many other flaws. The plot is full of holes, the chronology is faulty, facts presented at some points in the book are faulty. Statements are often contradictory, unnecessarily verbose, with frequent misuse of various terms. The editor was probably on crack when he let Twilight go to publishing.


SUMMING IT UP: If Twilight had been written by someone who actually knew how to write, and aimed at a more mature audience, it could have been a really good book.

[floramacivor]

SUMMING IT UP: If Twilight had been written by someone who actually knew how to write, and aimed at a more mature audience, it could have been a really good book.

I think so. I think it was a mistake writing it in the first person.

[Cocoa]

Anyone watch the True Blood series on HBO?
I am reading the book it's based on, and it's much better then twilight.
The writing is better, the situations more probable (vampires are dangerous afterall not shiny caring, hugging, school going people).

The characters are not lovable per say, but the story like is intresting, and I am enjoying it.
The book is called "dead until dark" by Charlaine Harris.

[Night Runner]

Oh, wow - what a great thread...

I too was briefly caught in the inexplicable whirlwind of the public's obsession with Twilight. In fact, I came dangerously close to actually *gasp* buying the entire series because my local library's copies were reserved. Fortunately, sanity prevailed. I borrowed the first book from a friend of a friend and, well, I agree with every last word in Ramiel's review. :)

Prunesquallor - I thank you for holding the fort and being the sole defender of quality literature. :book:

Darynthe - I have read your review, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into composing it. Personally, I don't think the symbolism and multi-level socio-theological complexity was intended. I understand your thesis but, like other have already said, bad writing is bad writing. Saying that it was intentional later on reminds me of an old programmers' saying: "It's not bug - it's a feature." Is Meyer a genius who intentionally laced her book's plot with a multitude historical, sociological, philosophical, religious, etc. references? Maybe. Could she have done a much better job writing her book? Most definitely.

[Gabrielle]

I can tell you EXACTLY why people hate Twilight. Twilight is basically a literary spin-off of Shoujo Manga.

What the hell does that mean? Let me explain.

Let us now introduce Edward Cullen - the beautiful, immortal vampire (dunno, that immortality thing is kind of a turn-off for me) who is basically good at EVERYTHING. Literally. Sports, academics, e.t.c. Any quality you may want from your boyfriend (superficial, I mean... if the dude took my engine from my car, that guy will be dead in less than two seconds), he has it.

Let us now focus on Bella. She is not pretty. She does not have an IQ of 200. Nor is she athletic, or is a Mother Theresa. She doesn't seem to be a supermodel, or can cook Cordon Bleu cuisine, or knit well enough to sell it to Prada... what kind of a good thing does she have? As far as I remember, none. Nada. None whatsoever.

This is what irks people.

Let's apply it to real life. This is basically the same as saying "I am a head-turner, I am athletic, I am a straight-A student, e.t.c. e.t.c. But despite the fact, I will go out with this nameless guy/girl who has none of these qualities whatsoever." I mean, COME ON. How unrealistic is that?! That's a pure charity case.

Second. Mr. Cullen was a virgin for what? 106 years? High school is 4 years, let's say he started attending high school when he was 14 or 15 like a normal kid. This means he has been in high school for about 90 years. So that's 18 high schools. A high school would average about 200 girls a year. So that's 3600 girls that he has encountered throughout his high school life. So out of those 3600, he could not find ONE girl that tweaked his fancy. There's either something wrong or he's just damn picky (which is something wrong).

I bet there were prettier girls than Bella. More talented girls than Bella. So why Bella? This baffles me. For this question Meyers responds as "she smells good". I'm sorry, but since when was body odour such a turn-on? To me that screams "appetite". No, not even lust. Appetite. This is spiraling into the carnal world of food. So not romantic.

This book is written for girls who is neither talented, pretty, or popular - basically girls who have nothing to sell to their opposite gender and those who are unwilling to work at it. Just like the shojo mangas from Japan. Sure, it's a good escapism, but let's present a premise that the principles of the book are actually true (as many of the fans believe, believe it or not) - then what about the women who have worked their tails off to be both successful and beautiful? They're just getting short ends of the stick.

I know I'm going to get beaten up for this criticism, and frankly, I don't care. If the professors at BYU (where Meyers graduated) hates it, I think it warrants a major crappage in the writing. As for the Meyers' "My stock went up when I went to university" - she went to BYU. Where basically everyone asks everyone out, because it's such a secluded community and so strictly Mormon.

Sorry, Meyers. Better luck next time. How about giving Bella some virtue for once? Oh, and thanks for mentioning that she's clumsy on every single page of the book. Just in case we didn't get it after page 20...

[auriga vega]

I like Twilight. Hate it after the second book, New Moon, when Bella becomes submissive and dependent, when the book starts to lose its mystery, when the author just starts mixing everything into the pot. The series basically goes downhill after that, for me anyways. The last book is crap by the way.

[Cocoa]

^ lol, my high school had a 1000 girls a year!! :P

I understand what you mean about Bella being plain... maybe he just likes her name? Bella? like Belle (Beautiful in french)?? Maybe Edward lied to all these girls for 106 years!! ehehehehe

Joking aside, it's basically a chick lit for girls. In Chick lit the heroine is usually plain and downtrodden in her life. And then she meets a super handsome nice guy and gets a career. Same here minus the career part.

The girl in True Blood, Sookie is not much more likable but at least:
1) the writing is better
2) There is some mystery to the story
3) The vampires are actual predators, which makes bloody sense to me!

I donno if I will continue reading Twilight series... prolly not. But I will Continue with True Blood. Disgusting and gross and corrupt it may be, but at least it makes sense to me :)

[Ramiel]

Gabrielle's analogy with shoujo manga is actually quite interesting and spot-on. I'm surprised nobody had suggested this before.

[DewFuel]

Good book

Good series if you want to see vampire on werewolf action but not resort to sadomasochism and lycanthropic sex (looking at you Anite Blake series...)

[Night Runner]

Good book

Good series if you want to see vampire on werewolf action but not resort to sadomasochism and lycanthropic sex (looking at you Anite Blake series...)

The Anita Blake series was pretty good at first - the first three or so books were not as Mary Sue as others...

[Feral]

I've been kind of afraid to watch it or read the book.


When I was in high school, I was writing a book. I was about halfway done with it.
From what I hear, it's the same premise. Same basic story. Even the same goddamn setting!

My teachers loved it, but even reading it now, it was certainly crap. But the kind of crap you expect eloquent, angsty teenagers to write, and also want to read.

Perhaps I'll post what is complete someday and let you all point and laugh :p

[Mech Engineer]

I read the whole series because my wife loved them. I used to think of Twilight as about a whiny and selfish girl who just can't seem to be happy with anything she is given (as well as about her frequently tendency to invent dooms day scenarios and worry about them). Not really my kind of book. But I think darynthe's analysis makes a very interesting observation:


However her, let us call it what it is, perversion, is so extreme that she will happily take him in the ride. She cares just as little how his killing her will affect him, and probably destroy him. Just in this we can see that Bella is the real antagonist of the story.


If I ever am in a position where I have time and interest to read them again, this would be an interesting lens to read them through.

I also think you may find it interesting that the vampire Edward is believed (by some) to be an INTJ.

Does he prefer to be left in a small group of friends/family or alone? Yes. Does he seem to perceive the world as a whole rather than in immediate bites? Mostly. Thinking rather than feeling? Without a doubt. Judging? In as far as him wanting a decision to be made rather than trying to keep his options open, it certainly seems so.

(About this last point: I don't believe he is trying to keep his options open with Bella. The two decisions of killing Bella or turning her into a vampire both have consequences that he is greatly opposed to and he tries to force a third option in the second book, just to have a decision made.)

For those who have read it I would be curious what your thoughts are about Edwards MBTI personality type.

[DewFuel]

The Anita Blake series was pretty good at first - the first three or so books were not as Mary Sue as others...


:thumbsup:

[Musahi13]

Hating Twilight is like hating junk food.





Musahi13 added to this post, 12 minutes and 16 seconds later...

or whip cream

[darynthe]

What the hell was S.Meyer thinking when she said Bella is "mature"? She is a horrible person: snotty, melodramatic, snobbish, obsessive, malevolent, shallow... that's bad even going by teenager standards. Bella is supposed to be good-natured, intelligent, mature; but then her own actions and thoughts say the opposite. Did Meyer really think that it was a good idea to create such a bad character and then justify everything with "oh but she's a unique and special flower!"?

Besides my personal dislike for Bella, what bothers me the most is that she is the heroine of the story, she's depicted as a role model for girls, while she represents everything that a teenager should NOT be. I don't believe in sugar-coating reality; controversial characters are the life and juice of many a good stories. But we all know young kids are very impressionable, and I don't feel comfortable that so many teenagers are adopting such negative role models. (no, I'm not a parent, but I wouldn't let my children read Twilight until they were grown up enough to tell good from bad on their own)

Whew... sorry people, had to get this off my chest, lol.

As for what concerns the rest of the book, there are many other flaws. The plot is full of holes, the chronology is faulty, facts presented at some points in the book are faulty. Statements are often contradictory, unnecessarily verbose, with frequent misuse of various terms. The editor was probably on crack when he let Twilight go to publishing.


SUMMING IT UP: If Twilight had been written by someone who actually knew how to write, and aimed at a more mature audience, it could have been a really good book.


Excellent review *tips hat*.

I love that you touch about the way Bella sees her friends. Months after reading the book the only thing I have recurrently thought about is the treatment of Mike. The way Bella sees him and treat him and how all the followers do is very funny, trynig to make him a jerk, despicable, stupid, etc. He seems like a pretty normal guy to me, even agreable. And I find Jessica ultra interesting. In Midnight Sun we can see her thoughts, she has such low mean hypocritical thoughts that I adore her as character. See I don't are of all virtous characters. Mean and low are more fun. Take Caroline Bingly for instance, she is amazing and lots of fun to hate. Jessica and Mike are underused and I find Jacob a total not existant character.

I have a question though, I seem to think that the car intervention was in book three? How did you find it in the first pages of book one?

Anyway, despite my love for Twilight, I don't recomment at all reading the other books.

Of course I agree with it being forbidden for anyone under 24 at least.

About Bella, I fear I may agree with all the things you say. I think Edward falls for her because he cannot read her mind which makes her a puzzle for him. This trait may lead us to his MTBI personality. Maybe he is indeed an INTJ or INFP as both types are intrigued by finding the answer to questions.

However, I find that Meyer and the whole Twiilght universe is 100% INFP because of its gothic extreme fantasy setting and the romanticism.





darynthe added to this post, 3 minutes and 0 seconds later...


(About this last point: I don't believe he is trying to keep his options open with Bella. The two decisions of killing Bella or turning her into a vampire both have consequences that he is greatly opposed to and he tries to force a third option in the second book, just to have a decision made.)

For those who have read it I would be curious what your thoughts are about Edwards MBTI personality type.

I think whatever decision he took and stood by was based on his values. He sticks most conscitiously to them. He had the making of saints or monks in that regard. See, his not giving in to his cravings of blood and sex with the sole hope of that despite his being a damned soul, he may still find redemption in a Christian way. It is totally idealistic.





darynthe added to this post, 3 minutes and 24 seconds later...


Darynthe - I have read your review, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into composing it. Personally, I don't think the symbolism and multi-level socio-theological complexity was intended. I understand your thesis but, like other have already said, bad writing is bad writing. Saying that it was intentional later on reminds me of an old programmers' saying: "It's not bug - it's a feature." Is Meyer a genius who intentionally laced her book's plot with a multitude historical, sociological, philosophical, religious, etc. references? Maybe. Could she have done a much better job writing her book? Most definitely.

Well I don't know if she intended or not. In all likelihood I don't think she did. However, it doesn't matter at all. What matters is what is written. If you can read it in the book, it is there. And quite clearly. That is all that matters from a literary POV.

I think Meyer has a chance to become a better writter if she devotes some time to actually crafting the thing. For what I know she writes her books in matter of weeks which do not allow for much adequate structuring and quality.

[Lucid]

Are there seriously adults posting positive things about a teenage vampire book in this thread?

Ok, I have some friends who are all about this series and they're still good people. Kind of. I read maybe the first few chapters of the first book and couldn't get any further.

This is like a bunch of grown people talking about how awesome the movie High School Musical is.

Well, for those who do like it I'd also suggest the Goosebumps series. :thumbsup:

(And for those of you who can't take a joke I'd suggest Good Night Moon.)

[auriga vega]

I also think you may find it interesting that the vampire Edward is believed (by some) to be an INTJ.

Does he prefer to be left in a small group of friends/family or alone? Yes. Does he seem to perceive the world as a whole rather than in immediate bites? Mostly. Thinking rather than feeling? Without a doubt. Judging? In as far as him wanting a decision to be made rather than trying to keep his options open, it certainly seems so.

I think he's more like an ISTJ. Or maybe a messed up INTJ. I hate him with passion, although he's only a fictional character.

And, I'm guessing Bella is an ISFJ?

[dandylion]

I read this book to see what the hype was all about. The bottom line: It bites. For several of the reasons already mentioned here.

However, one thing I really must complain about that no one ever seems to bring up when bashing this book is that Edward never truly admitted to being a vampire. If I remember correctly, he and Bella were in a car and he asked her how she would react if he was a vampire; it was all supposed to be purely hypothetical, but the rest of the story seems to draw this out without them making anything official. Does anyone understand what I'm saying? Or perhaps he did admit it, and I just missed that part. I doubt I did, though.

Also, I hate how most of the action is implied or told through dialog by other characters rather than just being "played out." ZzzzzZzZ.





dandylion added to this post, 2 minutes and 3 seconds later...

Are there seriously adults posting positive things about a teenage vampire book in this thread?


My 23-year-old house mate is obsessed, so poor me always has to hear about it. She even bought the movie on DVD. :/ $17 for that piece of shit? Bleh.

[floramacivor]

See, his not giving in to his cravings of blood and sex with the sole hope of that despite his being a damned soul, he may still find redemption in a Christian way. It is totally idealistic.


I thought so, too - actually, I thought there'd be a way for Edward to become human again so that he and Bella would have a normal, human life together and he would be redeemed in that way. Kind of like in Narnia, where a willing victim who had committed no offense could undo the deep magic. I thought the author would give us some kind of a surprise twist like that.

[darynthe]

I thought so, too - actually, I thought there'd be a way for Edward to become human again so that he and Bella would have a normal, human life together and he would be redeemed in that way. Kind of like in Narnia, where a willing victim who had committed no offense could undo the deep magic. I thought the author would give us some kind of a surprise twist like that.

What a good idea. His dying in the end and being shown that he was right about his soul would have been great.

I think at least she should have killed Carslile. The mentor is supposed to die before the end. I feel cheated.

[Marius]

i have not had the chance to read the book. The movie on the other hand was mildly entertaining at best. I kind of lost the sight of its purpose I guess and for the majority of the film I thought i was watching two prepubescent bipolar teens trying to mate. I mean i get it, its a love story, forbidden fruit, vampire daing a human, etc... but come on; do we really have to concentrate so much on one aspect of a story, I mean was the book really like that? Someone please tell me because I dont wanna go waste my time reading a half-baked story about two prepubescent bipolar teens and their mating season.

[floramacivor]

come on; do we really have to concentrate so much on one aspect of a story, I mean was the book really like that? Someone please tell me because I dont wanna go waste my time reading a half-baked story about two prepubescent bipolar teens and their mating season.

You probably won't like the book, then - there was way too much focus on Bella thinking about him touching her hair, and it was written in first person, so it got old. I mean, there was suspense that kept it interesting - but there were some annoyances to have to wade through, too.

[Marius]

Is the writing anything like the Anne Rice books? I mean i dont mind reading from a females first person perspective. What I like in a book is deapth, back stories, side stories that overall contribute to the main plot line. If the twilight books are anything like that then I wouldnt mind picking it up and giving it a good 'ole readthrough. :)

[Hitorijime]

Twilight is definitely fluff, but didn't stop me from having a brief love affair with it. Looking back now, I still kind of wonder why I liked it so much, and regret buying the first two books, because I know that after having thought about it so much that I'll never read them again. Part of the appeal was definitely the stuff of shoujo manga: handsome high school prince comes to carry away the poor, under-appreciated, plain girl. I mean, what girl hasn't dreamt of being protected by a hot guy who also happens to be madly in love with them? Shoujo manga aside, what about all of the happy ending-laden Disney films that we all have grown up with? Meeting a man, "falling in love," and getting married within three days? Not entirely practical. Nor believable. Equally unbelievable is the "love" between Bella and Edward, who, by the time they declare themselves, have known each other for what, a month? During which time Edward skipped a lot of school and Bella stared at him more than she talked to him. Not what I would consider a good relationship.

The movie was so much of a joke that I won't even go there. My friends and I actually got shouted at in the theater because we kept laughing so much.

So, in short, if you're looking for quality literature, with a less predictable but more believable plot, then Twilight is not for you. I never recommend it without this warning.

[Antar]

What I hate of Twilight is all this girls going crazy over Edward or (insert any other romantic novel character here): "Will i ever find someone like him?"

Sure we have Mr Perfects in real life, oh wait Brad Pitt is already taken... o well

What i liked of the movie was that it was filmed in Oregon (yea i know its Washington but the weather is the same hehe) and the woods look beautiful.

[Stratego]

Let me first apologize to any Twilight fans...this is not directed at you personally.

But I have to ask, what the f**k? Because I'm just bewildered by all the hype and attention this series is getting...

I'm most definitely not a fan, as you may have gathered. I read the first book only, so I'm not acquainted with the "entire" plot, so I might be missing something here, but I was very frustrated by Bella's characterization in particular. To me she was incredibly and stupidly passive and very, very annoying. Everything happened to her and around her and it was like she was simply standing in it's way. She is not a very active "heroine" at all, and her fascination with losing her "immortality" with an undead hottie is just disturbing...

And that leads us to Edward, the love interest--he's little more than a pretty corpse. What personality does he have? What dimension? Practically zero. He's all flash and no substance, and when I began to read how his skin glittered like rainbow-spiked marble in the sunlight I wanted to throw the book against the wall, and had I a full stomach, the contents would have painted the very wall that just missed a book-lashing.

Seriously, what is so great about this wretched series?

[aranae]

here is something I wrote a few months ago after seeing the movie:

I notice odd little discrepancies and thought I would share them.

1. the main girl in the movie spends alot of time looking confused.
2. the main girl in the movie spends alot of time with her mouth hanging open.
3. if you want to trust the good vampires, go ahead, but just don't trust the bad ones.
4. what do they have in common besides the fact that he can't read her mind and wants to kill her? sounds like love to me.
5. calling someone spidermonkey is just wierd.
6. if he doesn't make her a vampire too, then he's going to stay 17 and she will turn 20...then 30...then 40,...then 50..I think that's a criminal offense in most states, not to mention creepy.
7. If I was 17, I wouldn't keep repeating high school. I would get a job at McDonalds and at least make some money. or work the night shift somewhere.
8. baseball outfits? really?
9. she acted a little too psycho in the hospital bed when Edward told her to leave- I think her abandonment issues with her father need to be addressed before she gets into a relationship, otherwise...oops too late.
10. only if you can't have sex, should you sit there and talk to each other. great message to all the teenage girls out there :/

[Maayan]

I read this argument on Television Without Pity (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) this morning and thought that it was pretty funny and valid:

I don't get the Edward Cullen/Jonas Brothers thing at all, I don't like it. I don't get it and I don't like it. I grew up with George Michael literally taking his dick out for us, and I thought he was adorable. Even the NKOTB guys weren't constellated around virginity as the ideal, it was just part of the package. Half of them looked like they were in their thirties anyway. But this new crew? Ugh, so creepy. What's sexier than a boy who will never, ever fuck you? Waiting five years until your parts work, and then having sex like a normal goddamn person.

I get that they're like, sex methadone, but it seems like a dangerous precedent to teach your kids to sublimate their sexuality in that way, like, the downside to abstinence porn is that you're basically being asked to fetishize not having sex, paraphilically focusing how on not fucking is the new fucking, which... Why bring a little kid into that mess? That's so gross.

It solves the problem now, but in the most twisted, confusing way where you hyperfocus on stuff that's not even that interesting when you're that age anyway, and then instead of just going, "Yeah, that's normal, you'll get there later" you take this bizarre left turn and say, "It's natural, but it's not natural, so let's talk about how natural it is, but act totally unnatural about it, and instead you can focus those natural feelings you weren't even thinking about on some weird absent void of sexuality."

To review: "There is not an elephant in this room." "Do not think about the elephant in this room." "Over there is a monkey. Monkeys are the opposite of elephants. Instead of thinking about the elephant in the room, think about this monkey. Think about the monkey!" "Your favorite thing about this monkey is how much he hates peanuts! You like peanuts? So do elephants. Which don't exist! You hate peanuts! Look at that monkey hating peanuts! Covered in peanuts, but just hating them. Are you hungry for peanuts one day? Don't be bad! You're a bad girl! Stop thinking about the elephant!"

[Seriously]

I read the books because of all the hype. I found the premise promising but writing and actual fleshing out of the idea poorly done. The movie was badly cast and just plain boring.

Disappointing.

[Lineplunger]

It was horrid watched it with a friend. She refused to turn it off. I went home. Torture and death to all you who liked it!





Lineplunger added to this post, 1 minutes and 20 seconds later...

I'd suck seriously but I think shed kick me or stab me with a stake

[floramacivor]

Seriously, what is so great about this wretched series?

Does it have to be either great or wretched? I'd say it's okay - I read it, enjoyed it, and will probably see the movie now that it's out on DVD. If it wasn't for the hype, both pro and con, I think I would have forgotten about it by now. Actually, I think I enjoy the hype surrounding the series more than the series itself.

[Storm]

Well, I've slightly changed my opinion of this book. Previously, I thought it was just your standard pop literature with vampires thrown in the mix for fun. Now I think it's dangerous. I read a summary of it and watched about 20 minutes of the movie, and found it so completely misogynistic and twisted that I couldn't believe it was written by a woman, let alone approved by a large number of families for their daughters to read. There is nothing okay, and everything wrong, with a scene in which a woman is beaten during sex because he "loves" her.

Note: I'm okay with adults reading it whom presumably can read it for what it's worth and find it nothing more than mindless entertainment. I am not okay with allowing impressionable young girls to read it, unless an adult informs them of its themes.

[Night Runner]

found it so completely misogynistic and twisted that I couldn't believe it was written by a woman, let alone approved by a large number of families for their daughters to read.

At the risk of starting a flame war - Stephenie Meyer is a Mormon...

[darynthe]

Well, I've slightly changed my opinion of this book. Previously, I thought it was just your standard pop literature with vampires thrown in the mix for fun. Now I think it's dangerous. I read a summary of it and watched about 20 minutes of the movie, and found it so completely misogynistic and twisted that I couldn't believe it was written by a woman, let alone approved by a large number of families for their daughters to read. There is nothing okay, and everything wrong, with a scene in which a woman is beaten during sex because he "loves" her.


Storm, sorry but what are you talking about? There is no sex in Twilight. There is no sex in the movie either.

Ergo, there is no beating women during sex. Are you talking of Twilight? (Sound like you are talking of Story of O)

[DewFuel]

Yeah I don't remember any BDSM.

I liked her writing for some odd reason. It wasn't breath taking, but it fit the type of book Twilight was.

The Host is another good book by her. The language and the way it is communicated fits the book perfectly.

She reminds me of a young Christopher Pike. She seems to be able to switch writing styles and still deliver the plot.

[Tsukasa]

People just like to read about vampires and about humans falling in love with them. It's one of those taboo things I guess. Not much substance to it at all.

[Seriously]

I think it was the 2nd or 3rd in the series where they finally have sex. After they get married. It's a little rough to say the least.

[Storm]

I think it was the 2nd or 3rd in the series where they finally have sex. After they get married. It's a little rough to say the least.

Yes, this what I heard too. I didn't read the book, so perhaps the summary I read was incorrect. But don't they have a baby? I mean, you have to have sex to have a baby.

[Seriously]

Yea they have a baby. Don't even get me started on that.

[Storm]

Storm, sorry but what are you talking about? There is no sex in Twilight. There is no sex in the movie either.

Ergo, there is no beating women during sex. Are you talking of Twilight? (Sound like you are talking of Story of O)

Ok, so I found another summary link (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. henie_Meyer)

And it appears in the 4th book Breaking Dawn they do have sex on their honeymoon which leaves the girl "bruised all over." I'm sorry, that's getting beaten in my book and is sick.

[Seriously]

Interesting take on it. My thought process was different I guess. He is extremely strong and loses control due to the intensity of the moment. Course I also like rough sex so maybe that has something to do with it as well. But I wasn't disturbed by that. Now the stupid name they gave the baby, that disturbed me.

[zief]

Heh, ive never seen it, but i dislike it because i'm in my final year of high school and i see twilight shirts, posters, and other stuff way too much.

[WyohKnott]

And it appears in the 4th book Breaking Dawn they do have sex on their honeymoon which leaves the girl "bruised all over." I'm sorry, that's getting beaten in my book and is sick.

Eh, yeah, she's left "bruised all over", but the implication was that it was just because Edward is superhuman, unnaturally strong, etc. - they actually have an argument about it later, because Edward doesn't want to hurt her again, but Bella just wants more sex, whether or not she gets hurt:rolleyes:. So, I wouldn't say that that part of the series is particularly dangerous for young girls to read, but there are certainly plenty of other themes that I object to.

First, let me say that I read all four books, and have seen the movie (though I was more-or-less dragged to the movie by several obsessed friends). I found them mildly amusing - decent enough for summer reading, and certainly easy to read - but nothing special. Certainly they don't deserve all the hype, or suggestions that they're "new classics" or any of that BS. I don't find Edward terribly attractive, either... I think he would bore me, in real life, and I never did understand how girls can be so obsessed with him. (I find Jacob much more interesting, to be honest)

I do have strong objections to Bella's character, for the reasons already mentioned. She's passive, indecisive, whiny, and kind of a bitch to everyone except Edward. Not likable at all, to me. (Also, it bothers me to no end that Edward supposedly fell in love with her "selflessness", and willingness to take care of others, but we never really see her being like that).

[Storm]

Interesting take on it. My thought process was different I guess. He is extremely strong and loses control due to the intensity of the moment. Course I also like rough sex so maybe that has something to do with it as well. But I wasn't disturbed by that. Now the stupid name they gave the baby, that disturbed me.

I draw a line between "rough sex" and sex which leaves one physically maimed. (I suppose it also depends on your interpretation of what "bruises all over" means and how she's supposed to have acquired them).

But, the fact that he's "extremely strong" and "loses control" and, thus, it's okay for him to bruise her is not a lesson I would want a young girl to learn. What is that saying exactly? That it's okay if he hurts you if it's because he loves you?

Edit: I also read that she could have prevented becoming bruised if she would have agreed to become a vampire. Can someone explain why she doesn't want to do that?

[Seriously]

No the lesson is that you probably should abstain from sex with vampires.

[spiritdetectivegirl]

Ok, so I found another summary link (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. henie_Meyer)

And it appears in the 4th book Breaking Dawn they do have sex on their honeymoon which leaves the girl "bruised all over." I'm sorry, that's getting beaten in my book and is sick.

Ha, I'd take Vulcan Pon Farr over that tripe anyday.

I neither loved nor hated it--as a whole; and I honestly can't say what has'nt already been said, and at the risk of killing this thread with this post I'll say I had these problems with the books.

I just could not stand the way she made the vampires so powerful--and far to unconventional. All she really did was stripe away every known thing about vampires and threw it out the window. I drew the line when I found out the vampires did'nt have fangs. Without fangs or weaknesses, Stephanie's vampires are little more than young models with uber god-like-powers that have a thing for blood.

Honestly, who would put themselves in high school more times than necessary?

Edward was also to much of a bishounen type character for me to like. He was the one that made me put the books down for good. He's just to flawless--and I hate that most girls who will read the series fail to see this.

All in all I sum it up in this:

Good media is like using the food catch in the kitchen sink at my house--It won't get used unless it's demanded to be used. Otherwise, if no one says a peep, every slimey peice of food will pass on by.

[Seriously]

Edit: I also read that she could have prevented becoming bruised if she would have agreed to become a vampire. Can someone explain why she doesn't want to do that?

She wanted to be a vampire, Edward didn't want to make her one. Something about losing your soul, blah blah.

[Storm]

Honestly, who would put themselves in high school more times than necessary?

This boggled me to. It's poor story telling is what it is. If I was an immortal with the body of a 17 year old, I can tell you that I could find more interesting things to do than sit through biology class and eat cafeteria fare food.

She wanted to be a vampire, Edward didn't want to make her one. Something about losing your soul, blah blah.

Ok, so we all know that "becoming a vampire" is a euphemism for losing your virginity in the book. So, Maher has created the ultimate virgin fetish fantasy: have sex while retaining your virginity. :uneasy:

[spiritdetectivegirl]

This boggled me to. It's poor story telling is what it is. If I was an immortal with the body of a 17 year old, I can tell you that I could find more interesting things to do than sit through biology class and eat cafeteria fare food.

The funny thing about that is, they don't eat the food. Oh, sure they'll get plates of the stuff for show, but it'll just sit there and rot untill everyone else is done.

Redundent to say the least.

[darynthe]

Ok, so I found another summary link (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. henie_Meyer)

And it appears in the 4th book Breaking Dawn they do have sex on their honeymoon which leaves the girl "bruised all over." I'm sorry, that's getting beaten in my book and is sick.

I am afraid you reached the wrong conclusions. Bruises were caused in this particular case by something other than rough sex (as someone explained before). It is highly recommended that you read a book before trashing it. *shakes head*

BTW, it is also good you never worked in the Spanish Inquisition.

[Rudy]

From what I've read of it, the part that bothers me the most (out of many bad things,) is Bella pretending to kill herself in order to get Edward to pay attention to her. That is not a lesson I want taught to young girls. Also, the thing where she strings the other fellow along (Jason, I think,) and then immediately dumps him without qualm once Edward is paying her attention again. Likewise, not a morally healthy lesson.

[darynthe]

From what I've read of it, the part that bothers me the most (out of many bad things,) is Bella pretending to kill herself in order to get Edward to pay attention to her. That is not a lesson I want taught to young girls. Also, the thing where she strings the other fellow along (Jason, I think,) and then immediately dumps him without qualm once Edward is paying her attention again. Likewise, not a morally healthy lesson.

Rudy, I don't remember Bella trying to kill herself to get Edward to pay attention to her. In fact she never tried to kill herself purposefully. When did this happen?

No, the name is Jacob. Mmm, I am afraid I will have to refer you to my last post.

Bella doesn't dump Jacob as they are never a couple.

Mmm, there are real moral objections to the series but these are not some of them.

Sorry guys but a peeve of mine is to see people get on the bandwagon without making their own opinions based at least in reading the book by themselves.

This thread was about the first book, but if you ask me for the real disgusting part of the whole series it is the imprinting on the baby. I would happily banish this book from libraries just for this reason as that is very sick.

[Rudy]

Rudy, I don't remember Bella trying to kill herself to get Edward to pay attention to her. In fact she never tried to kill herself purposefully. When did this happen?
The motorcycle/cliff-diving thing? What is that, then?

Bella doesn't dump Jacob as they are never a couple.Didn't say they were a couple, said that she led him on.

[spiritdetectivegirl]

This thread was about the first book, but if you ask me for the real disgusting part of the whole series it is the imprinting on the baby. I would happily banish this book from libraries just for this reason as that is very sick.


I never read the last book. Are you talking about when Jacob's friend imprints the two year old, or does Jacob imprint Bella and Edward's child?

[blckprljinju]

How long has it been since I last read a book that didn't have to do with school...?

Well, I don't think I'd be starting back with Twilight for one thing... I'm just not into vampires that "glitter". I like the vampires that die when the sun's up.

[spiritdetectivegirl]

How long has it been since I last read a book that didn't have to do with school...?

Well, I don't think I'd be starting back with Twilight for one thing... I'm just not into vampires that "glitter". I like the vampires that die when the sun's up.

Yeah, same here.

[echo]

I read the first three books of the twilight series. The writing was at a level that it was a very easy and fast read. I enjoyed it because i didn't have to think very hard. I also liked that it was soooo easy to make fun of.

I thought that the series deteriorated after the first book which can be summarized by edward saying "i'm dangerous" in various ways constantly. The second book was just bella whining about how alone she was so i lost patience. The third book was a little too obvious, it wasn't rocket science figuring out who was committing murders in Seattle.

My overall judgement of the books are they are easy to read and easy to forget.

[Seriously]

I never read the last book. Are you talking about when Jacob's friend imprints the two year old, or does Jacob imprint Bella and Edward's child?

Jacob imprints with Bella & Edward's child.

The fact I know so much about this makes me cry a little inside.

[Stratego]

Does it have to be either great or wretched? I'd say it's okay - I read it, enjoyed it, and will probably see the movie now that it's out on DVD. If it wasn't for the hype, both pro and con, I think I would have forgotten about it by now. Actually, I think I enjoy the hype surrounding the series more than the series itself.

You're absolutely right, of course. It doesn't have to be either. I apologize if you are a fan, because I am not so arrogant or hateful as to lash out against someone who enjoys it. If you do, then you do, and who am I to say anything against it? I'm sure I like certain authors and novels that others don't--we're all different. So, please, excuse me if I offended you.

I just feel, personally, a great deal of disgust towards the series because of the themes and messages that come through. I even missed the broader implications of those same messages until reading this thread. Several posters pointed out some interesting interpretations and similarities, too. Gabrielle compared it to the selfish, wishfullfilment fantasies often found in shojou manga, and Ramiel's and darynthe's analysis and critic were also very well done, pointing out a lot of the same issues that have lead to my disgust.

But that's mine alone. So again, please forgive me.

[Night Runner]

I don't think anybody's mentioned this yet: here (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)is a brilliant cartoon - Twilight in 30 seconds, reenacted by bunnies. :thumbsup:

[dmarie95822]

Because I have a tweenage daughter who wanted to read the Twilight Series I decided to read it first. Her version of vampires is very off, I always thought they were dead, so exactly how did a eighty year dead being impregnate a living person. I don't think sperm have that long of shelf life. Sparkly diamond skin? Brutal baby delivery scene, I think it was a little to graphic. Werewolf pervert having a connection with a infant.

I do have a problem with the way the author prtrays Bella, a girl that all these young girls look up to, as whiny, depressed and suicidal. It gives the impression that she is made whole after meeting Edward, then after he leaves her, life is no longer worth living. Then he comes back the world is made right again and the only thing she can think of doing, not even graduating is as important, is dying (vampire). I think it gives impressionable children a warped view of life and love, and sadly i don't believe many parents are going to explain that to their children.

[Tocsin]

I've never read the book, and considering what I heard about it, never will.

But every time I hear someone explaining it, it just sounds like the book is nothing more than an epochal fantasy version of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man." (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

[Saturnine]

I have strong disliking for these books and the movie. I really thought Stephenie Meyer should have left it at the 1st book. 1st book was slightly tolerable, 2nd book depressing, 3rd book some big fat huge monologue and the 4th book FAILURE.

I think I go on for ages in terms of what I don't like about it. But of the main things, I don't like how Bella seems like the biggest Mary Sue, I don't like the anti-feminist connotations associated, I don't like how she's used my favourite band as an inspiration (:P) and I think she's defamed vampire fiction (I'm a big fan of vampire novels)

That's my two cents

[floramacivor]

I don't think anybody's mentioned this yet: here (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)is a brilliant cartoon - Twilight in 30 seconds, reenacted by bunnies. :thumbsup:

:laugh: Cute! Now I don't have to see the movie!





floramacivor added to this post, 5 minutes and 7 seconds later...

I apologize if you are a fan, because I am not so arrogant or hateful as to lash out against someone who enjoys it. If you do, then you do, and who am I to say anything against it? I'm sure I like certain authors and novels that others don't--we're all different. So, please, excuse me if I offended you.

I wouldn't say I'm a fan, and you didn't offend me - I'm just surprised by all the attention given to the series. If it wasn't for all the discussion both pro and con, I think everyone would have forgotten about it because it isn't that memorable and doesn't warrant all the attention given to it.

[Josephine1012]

I think the franchise is getting to the point of being ridiculous. I think that's my main issue with all of this. I've never seen the movie, but I heard the book on CD while i was on the road trip with one of my girlfriends.

I can't call it masterpiece. I wouldn't really take the time to read it, but "hate" seems to be too strong of a word. It just seems too time consuming for what you get out of it. There were several passages where I associated with the main character quite well (not her Edward obsession, but the way she perceived all those around her). I very often feel that same way, plus I find that I deal with excessive attention in the same manner.

What really bugs me are the interviews with the actors. Why is the actor who plays Edward so full of himself? His claim to fame are his looks (he is not really a supernatural being, though I think he isn't so sure) so I find his attitude quite baffling and nauseating.

[tntblaster]

The movie.. meh. The books weren't ALL terrible. I do agree the 4th one dragged on quite a bit. The big buildup for essentially nothing. The four books could be edited down to two IMO.

[Hitorijime]

The four books could be edited down to two IMO.

+1 on that. It felt like so much material kept being reused, to the point where it was almost like reading the same book 4 times, with slight variations. There's only so many ways you can describe Bella as having a "hole" inside herself in New Moon. Yet it dragged on for most the book. And was brought up again and again for the next two. Most readers would have gotten the point the first time around.

[LaoTzu]

I went in to a local bookstore the other day, and asked if they had anything in AudioBook format...

The girl behind the counter said "we do, but I assure you that you don't want anything to do with it"... "oh, you think so do you?" I said , waiting to pounce on her for misjudging me.... "what is it, I'll decide that myself"

"The Twilight series" she says....



"Fancy that, you're right!" I laughed. "I think I'm a little to old, and a little too male..."


Good times.... :)

[Pseudonimum]

Hate it.

End of talking.

[SongofSeptember]

I could go on for hours about how much the series irritates me, but I won't.

Oh, I have my reasons. I've read the first book and I have no intention of going beyond that.

The book is poorly written, to say the least. It is cliche to the extreme. The main characters are Mary Sue. Bella is clearly Meyer's self-insertion, and Edward the result of her repressed sexual fantasies, or something. I don't understand the fangirl thing over him, either. He's A CENTURY OLD, and therefore a pedophile. He has mood swings worthy of my Aunt's PMSing--and is most likely bipolar. At the same time he manages to be unbelievably sexy and "unbearably sweet" and multitalented and... I was groaning internally through the entire thing! I've never been a fan of vampire romances, but there are a million ways Twilight could be rewritten into something decent. (Of course, that would require an entire plot change and whole new characters.) Frankly, I'm astounded at the ridiculous amount of attention it's been receiving. Or I'm not. Trash sells.

[Ali]

I adore the whole series. I cann't agree that it is badly written. Meyers style is casual, conversational even and even though the sentence structure is not textbook, it is a smooth read.

I also find it very satisfying that she elaborates and explains every aspect of her fictional world, slightly nerdy of me I admit but this is an INTJ forum after all.

I have considered at length why it is so fascinating to me. It is beautifully explained on many levels by Jungs archetypes of the collective conciousness and we all love a bit of the big man's psychobabble.

[coffeeholic]

I thought it was written poorly, but it had a great story line. the book was great; the movie was a disgrace!

[Antares]

Twilight just sucks on so many levels.

First off: Bad writing. Purple prose, anyone? It seems like Meyer was writing about her sexual fantasies than anything else.

Meyer said this of Bella's appearance:

"very fair-skinned, with long, straight, dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. Her face is heart-shaped—a wide forehead with a widow's peak, large, wide-spaced eyes, prominent cheekbones, and then a thin nose and a narrow jaw with a pointed chin. Her lips are a little out of proportion, a bit too full for her jaw line. Her eyebrows are darker than her hair and more straight than they are arched. She's five foot four inches tall, slender but not at all muscular, and weighs about 115 pounds. She has stubby fingernails because she has a nervous habit of biting them."

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Looks similar? I'll bet. Not sure about the widow's peak or height, but hey, everything else fits (except slender, I s'pose).

Secondly, the PURPLE PROSE. I don't believe I need to post any examples, because open your personal copy of "Twilight" and you'd be bombarded with them. I borrowed the book from a friend; it wasn't worth paying for it. Below is an example that I wrote in my preteen years (I'm disgusted at myself for confusing purple prose with good writing, however, but it gets to us sometimes).

The sun was vanishing evenly beneath the distant horizon, the last of its warm, translucent rays illuminating the silver linings of the progressively greying clouds. A warm breeze gently kissed the crystalline surface of a nearby pond, illustrating smooth, elegant ripples. The immediate skyward vicinity was invaded by a commercial jet; the soft humming of its engines seemed to leave a legacy of lingering echoes. Painting a streak of cloud as it went, the miniscule white figure dissolved into the misty skyline joining the departing Helios in the distance.

There. Purple prose in all its infamous glory. I wasn't even descibing anybody; and you can cringe from reading it (twas actually part of a vignette. I thought it was good at the time. Shame on me). Let me try at describing SOMEBODY.

Glancing tentatively into his electrifying topaz orbs, I felt my heart melt at the sight of him. How did God ever create something so perfect? He can claim to be Adonis, with his hair of spun gold; or Apollo; God of the Sun, and no one would voice a shred of doubt. His perfectly sculpted torso of the finest white marble... .(This is where it gets graphic. I'd rather not complete this sentence)

OR, I can describe a girl.

A shadow spun into the room, and a collective gasp was heard among the men. She was a beauty of such perfection; her shining emerald iris captured their wildest imaginations; her cascading golden hair shone like the sun's golden corona. Her flowing, white dress accentuated her every curve; she was simply a creature beyond their wildest fantasies. Could such magnificence exist?

You get the idea. It can get horribly graphic. Anyone can do purple prose; no, it's not just reserved for the masters. All you need is a thesaurus, some imagination, and lots of self-insert fantasies. Meyer could come up with thousands of ways to describe how hot Edward is, yet she never grows out of it. The lead characters are Sues; there's no denying it.

"Before you Bella my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars - points of light and reason. .... And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliance, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn't see the stars anymore. And there was no reason for anything." - New Moon

It's more than CRINGE worthy. I'd have to steal Young Hannibal's line here; do you compose verse, Mr. Cullen, and keep it under your pillow?

When someone overuses purple prose, for instance, Meyer, you KNOW the character is a little more than just that to the author. It's blatant self-insert. I have a hard time imagining her NOT thinking of herself as Bella as she wrote this "epic".

Onto the characterization of Bella and Edward.

Bella Swan: Sue at her finest
A beautiful, shy new girl with lots of admirers. Let's list them. Mike, Tyler, (the dude she first meets; forgot the name. ERIC. Oh yes. Eric), Cullen and Jacob. Sure, some people are just that attractive, but in a book, you KNOW it rings Sue bells. She's savvy academically, and her only flaw? Clumsy. No, she doesn't have too many character (as in personality) flaws, if any. She's the only one whose mind Edward can't read. Her name means beautiful in Italian. Beautiful Swan. Who'd have thought? She becomes so smitten with Edward, even after discovering his freaky stalkerish tendencies. Again, horrible characterization. Her character just doesn't have any aspect of reality to it. She'd give up everything to be with him. College? Sure. Family and Friendships? Perfectly expendable. She's like a leech (well, to be fair, he is too). In New Moon, she does hardly anything for months just because her shiny boyfriend's away. She jumps off a cliff just to hear his voice in her head. What this girl needs isn't a boyfriend; she needs therapy. Urgently. She has no self respect nor a sense of identity, or else she wouldn't give it (her identity) away like extra change. It's worse than most fanfiction. I swear it.

I've decided I won't rail about Edward and his bipolar self; I'd just come up with more and more that is wrong with Twilight. Best leave it here.

For the record, I never went beyond New Moon (and the titles have nothing to do with the plot); I've decided to treat myself with some readable materials, like Les Miserables. My conclusion? EPIC FAIL. I won't talk about the movie; here's my already written IMDB review.

It wasn't the worst movie I've ever watched, but below average is definitely what I'd give it. I've read the first two books, and I almost resent how teenage girls usually come to mind whenever one thinks of Twilight fan; I'm a girl of 16 yet I scorn the book and the film.

I had waited a long time to see the film; after reading the book, I just wanted to know that someone did a better job at it than SMeyer. I'm not disappointed, really. It really does it for me that I don't have to hear Bella adulate Edward 24/7. Enough about the book/film business, I'm going to focus on the film now.

There are some good shots, although the whole movie seems more or less grey. If that's their intended effect, then I have nothing to say to that. The acting, especially that of Stewart, is impossibly horrible. Her first lines, which, I suppose, were supposed to sound insightful and reflective, was monotonous and flat (as are the rest of her lines in the movie). It might be due to the fact that I just saw the Shining again and witnessed the performance of my favourite actor, Nicholson, but all I thought about when I watched it was how mediocre an actress Kristen Stewart is. I actually thought the supporting actors and actresses (Nikki Reed, Peter Facinelli and Michael Welch, for example) gave a more convincing performance.

The lines were cheesy and at times lame, but could have been pulled off with a little more emotion from both parties (Pattinson and Stewart). Most memorable was the scene where Edward talks to Bella for the first time in Biology, where he talks about raining. When Bella asks if he's talking to her about the weather, the least Stewart could do is act a little more incredulous, but no, it's monotone; her usual. Some scenes, to me at least, are just embarrassing to watch; and some things from the book I wish they'd left out. The first scene Edward appears, to me, was just cartoonish. Jessica was describing how gorgeous he is, yet all I saw was a very awkward grin of his that suggested anything but gorgeous. Another cartoonish segment was the part where he sparkles in the sun (complete with jingling, which was, the most comical above all), after which Bella says "You're beautiful". That's the part I wish they'd left out, because to me at least, it's the most childish part of the book. Among other bad lines are the part where Bella says (again, with something like monotone), "you're impossibly fast...". Who actually speaks like that in real life? It's been a while since I've read Twilight, and because it's not very memorable, I don't remember all the lines from the book, but I sincerely hope this is lifted from SMeyer, because otherwise it speaks of horrible script writing.

The romance between Bella and Edward is extremely unrealistic; after barely getting to know him (at most a month, I think), she wants to spend all of eternity with him, even leaving behind her humanity to achieve that. She has friends; she has family, yet she'd trade it all to be with a controlling and intrusive boyfriend (he watches her sleep. now that's something), who, as far as I can discern, needs therapy regarding his mood swings (even Bella acknowledges his emotional versatility). The most enjoyable part of the movie, sadly, is not the romance, but their fiasco with James. During the last part of the movie, I'd forgotten it was a romance at all (because their sad rendition of star-crossed lovers is just not memorable); James was what kept me on my seat and I could moderately enjoy that segment of the movie.

Overall (with five being average)? Lead Acting: 4/10 (Pattinson was slightly better, but not enough to salvage that of Stewart) Plot: 2/10 Character Development and Depth: I'd give it a zero. Dialogue: 3/10 Re-Watch: Not worth it, but I'm glad I watched it.

[Sxq]

I read all of them. Not entirely sure why. I just like to read really, and I also can't stand not finishing something I start.

They weren't terrible, but the writing is quite awful at times, and her descriptions of Edward are sickening.

[Mozzes]

Because I have a tweenage daughter who wanted to read the Twilight Series I decided to read it first. Her version of vampires is very off, I always thought they were dead, so exactly how did a eighty year dead being impregnate a living person.

They're already magically dead beings with supernatural superhuman abilities that subsist entirely on blood. Is magic sperm where you draw the line...?

[Antares]

They're already magically dead beings with supernatural superhuman abilities that subsist entirely on blood. Is magic sperm where you draw the line...?

Isn't their daughter magically a werewolf too? Something about vampire + human = werewolf? Everything in Twilight defies reason and science. To be honest, I won't fret about sperm.

[Prunesquallor]

They're already magically dead beings with supernatural superhuman abilities that subsist entirely on blood. Is magic sperm where you draw the line...?

I'm just not sure how he gets an erection, since he has no bloodflow, heartbeat,,,
Maayan suggested nitrous oxide, I think, but I dunno...

[Cincinnatus]

I was at a dinner party four months ago with my volunteer group, and one of the group coordinators brought along a few of her friends from Richmond. Now, I was waiting for the group to arrive, so I brought Siddhartha to read while I waited. The dinner guests arrived and one of the ladies asked me about the book. After I gave her a short summary, asked if she was currently reading anything and she said she was. When I asked for the title, she gave me a sheepish look and said "Twilight". Now, I've never read it, and probably won't but I looked her straight in the eye and said "At least your reading."

She understood what I meant (a very rare ocassion, indeed). Yeah, I could read one chapter of it and toss it aside as garbage, but she was reading. That's the position I take on any popular series. I'm not going to look down on you for reading anything.

[Mozzes]

I'm just not sure how he gets an erection, since he has no bloodflow, heartbeat,,,
Maayan suggested nitrous oxide, I think, but I dunno...

Maybe he doesn't even need an erection. Maybe it's like milking an udder...?

[songofcalamity]

I don't like Twilight, the franchise has made teenage girls like us look like idiots.

[Freedom Geek]

From everything I've heard about it I would hate it.

[Tara]

I tried to read the Twilight series and made it to the 3rd chapter. I'm too much of a Anne Rice's Lestat fan to get into Edward. I watched the movie with my teenage daughter, and kept making comments how wimpy Edward was. I like my vampires doing what they do best....killing!

[Deliberator]

I haven't even read it/seen it and I already hate it.

[spiritdetectivegirl]

Everyone here should try out The Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris--the books the HBO show TrueBlood is based from. It's a breath of fresh air after living threw the nightmare that is Stephenie Meyer. It has REAL vampires with fangs and a heroine that's actually heroic. It's involving, and fun to read, a bit adult but that's how it should be in the world of vamps if you ask me.

There are seven books in all, the first is Dead Until Dark--it has a slew of supernatural creatures in it too. Everything from werewolves to Meanads.

Check it out sometime.

[squishee]

I really liked the first book, and then I ran out and bought the other three, with every intention of reading them all. But somewhere in the second book, something happened. I started to really dislike the Bella character. I don't like how she seems to use Jacob, and seems so helpless, etc. She really just got on my nerves, to the point that I stopped reading. I'm not sure why. Although it may have to do with I am an adult woman, and really can't relate to that type of character any more. I find myself exasperated by her.

Also, it takes a LOT for me to give up on a book too. Even if it's bad, I usually try to force myself through it...but I gave up. Every so often, I say I'll try to pick it up again, and I might.

I do like the over all story though, I like vampire stuff...I guess when I bought the book at first, I didn't know much except it was about vampires, and I was thinking, "cool, I really liked the Anne Rice vampire stuff..."

[Snowdragon]

meh.

[Blissful]

The storyline sounded interesting - with the entire 'falling in love with a vampire' thing - but i soon realised it was a complete waste of time. Meyer's writing style was terrible. In my opinion, there was nothing about Edward's character that made him something to drool over. He was 'hot' only because Meyers said so. I could go on forever.

[Night Runner]

Just to brighten things up a bit, here is a pretty funny cartoon about Stephenie Myers. :)

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[deicruxified]

(split from the 100 Books List (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)thread)



C'mon, it's crap.
I hate plenty of other things too..

twilight is your ordinary teen movie wherein the leading lady is desperate to get her first kiss and first bang... but with vampires...

if there's one show i can compare it with that is the anime, fushigi yuugi.





deicruxified added to this post, 8 minutes and 54 seconds later...

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer 'can't write worth a darn', says Stephen King (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)

Alison Flood
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 February 2009 12.15 GMT
Article history

Stephenie Meyer dreamed up Edward Cullen, a vegetarian vampire who sports a beige jacket and poloneck, while Stephen King gave us Kurt Barlow, the ancient master vampire who wreaks havoc on the town of 'Salem's Lot. The two bestselling authors were never going to see eye to eye over their portrayal of bloodsuckers, but this week King went so far as to rubbish Meyer's writing abilities in an interview.

King compared the Mormon author to JK Rowling, saying that both authors were "speaking directly to young people". "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good," he told an interviewer from USA Weekend.

King also drew a comparison between Meyer and Perry Mason mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner. "He was a terrible writer, too, but he was very successful," he said, going on to criticise prolific thriller author James Patterson - "a terrible writer but he's very successful" - and fellow horror author Dean Koontz, who although he "can write like hell", is sometimes "just awful".

Meyer's quartet of books - Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn - trace the love story between ordinary girl Bella and vampire Edward, throwing in a pack of werewolves, a coven of vampire royalty and a vampire baby for good measure. They have sold millions of copies worldwide, with sales receiving a huge boost from the film of the first book, Twilight, which was released late last year.

King went on to say that it was "very clear" Meyer was "opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books". He told USA Weekend: "It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because they're not overtly sexual. A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that's a shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet."

Meyer's fans have rushed to her defence. "Steven [sic] King doesn't know what a real book was if it hit him in the face. He's just a bloody guy who is jealous of Edward's good looks," wrote poster Kiki Alice Cullen. "King is no Gabriel Garcia Marquez so I don't understand why he gets to say who is a good writer and who is not," agreed another, while a third, who wished she could "just hit this guy", suggested that "we twilighters should send him tons of hate mail ... just to show him how many twilight fans he just pissed off."





deicruxified added to this post, 4 minutes and 20 seconds later...

reading the last paragraph made me laugh like hell... the mere fact that she can't even spell the stephen king means that he doesn't know who stephen king is. king is already a canon of thriller novels...





deicruxified added to this post, 10 minutes and 54 seconds later...

I can tell you EXACTLY why people hate Twilight. Twilight is basically a literary spin-off of Shoujo Manga.


if you are familiar with fushigi yuugi, it's much similar with twilight... dumb ass girl meets, old hunk of the past... wants to have sex but they can't...

[Tocsin]

'Twilight' takes a bite out of MTV Movie Awards (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. gw2s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTFrYWxwMWt0BHBvcwMxNjgEc2VjA2Fj Y29yZGlvbl9lbnRlcnRhaW5tZW50BHNsawN0d2lsaWdodHRha2 U-)

LOS ANGELES – The MTV Movie Awards were a blood bath Sunday night with "Twilight" taking five trophies, including best movie. But it was Sacha Baron Cohen who gave the show its trademark bizarro moment when he landed upside-down on the lap of Eminem, who may or may not have been deeply offended.

"Twilight," the popular vampire drama starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, sucked up golden popcorn trophies for best movie, best fight, best kiss, breakthrough male performance and female performance during Sunday's freewheeling and often-bleeped ceremony at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, Calif.

****

Other winners included "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" star Zac Efron for male performance and his co-star Ashley Tisdale for female breakthrough performance. Miley Cyrus accepted the best song from a movie prize for "The Climb" from "Hannah Montana: The Movie," preventing "Twilight" from sweeping all six nominated categories.

Okay.

Well... that gives me an idea of the mentality attacted to the Twilight Series... adolescents with no brains or taste.

[porousshield]

I can't build up the courage to read the books. They're so bloody popular I feel I have to NOT read them to bring somekind of cosmic balance...which is just as stupid as reading the books just because everyone else is.

[squishee]

I can't build up the courage to read the books. They're so bloody popular I feel I have to NOT read them to bring somekind of cosmic balance...which is just as stupid as reading the books just because everyone else is.

Well, at least you didn't buy all four books and not read them? I guess I canceled myself out?

Regarding Stephen King, I have been a fan since "Carrie" came out and I've read almost everything he's written. And when I was more of an uberfan of his work probably about 10 years ago, King was getting plenty of criticism for his writing skills too. I always liked his writing style and didn't care what the critics said about it. He wasn't thought of as a "real" author worthy of critiquing other's work for a long time and was considered a hack by many. I never believed it - even though I've kind of gotten away from reading his books...

[Prunesquallor]

Check it out (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)
It makes it look almost as stupid as it is.

[darynthe]

Check it out (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)
It makes it look almost as stupid as it is.

Laughed so hard that I spluttered my burrito over the screen.
Yuck. You clean it now. :furious:

[lucyinthefknsky]

Hate it.

[Kris]

I hate this movie so much.


If 'Twilight' Was 10 Times Shorter And 100 Times More Honest (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.) :laugh:

[Athene]

I don't quite hate it because I couldn't get past the 2nd chapter and tuned out and started reading about 20 minutes into the movie.

It's all so calculating and rehearsed, it seemed to be lacking humanity... which I guess is the point.

Highly dislike.

[Alex]

Yeah, I really can't point any fingers, as my "mental bubblegum" is fanfiction.

I'm all about some (well-done) fanfic. Embarrassingly enough.

But yeah. Can't stomach Twilight.

[LPM]

My wife is obsessed with it like every other Mormon MILF/soccer mom. She watched the movie with a friend, so I was able to escape that.

[miya]

read the 1st book. hated it. decided to give it another chance, so I read the 2nd book. I hated it. and once again, I decided to give it ANOTHER chance, so I read the 3rd and 4th book's plot on wiki. Hated it.

Stephanie Meyer can't write literature. It's just an easy read book that you read on vacation when you don't want to think. Everytime something really, REALLY bad happens, within the span of around 5 pages, it instantly becomes really, REALLY good. it's like she was jotting down her daydreams about her and "edward" (I read she based bella on herself, and edward on her husband). Bella is the more annoying, dependant, stereotypical, weak teenage girl while Edward is obsessive, possessive, creepy, and angsty.

Absolutely can't stand Twilight. Don't get whats so good about it.

[mrStevens]

I did read the whole first book. I actually enjoyed the first half or so of it. Interesting characters, had potential, then they go nowhere. Nothing, nada. Very shallow surface stuff. She likes him. He likes her. He is a vegetarian. She is the irresistible food. Her father is a cop. You would think they would set up some interesting tension. Nope. The ending was a supreme disappointment too with the cliche

he has to suck out the "venom" without killing her with his uncontrollable thirst for blood. Oh brother. I would have liked it more if she actually died. And what about the whining about becoming a vampire??

I was told the second book wasn't as good as the first so I didn't even bother. I did think the movie was much better suited for the shallow plot though. It's a good thing the book was a short read.

[stacyr201]

Hated it, I tried to read it, got through about 40 pages before I couldn't bear to read it any longer and gave up. Which is unusual as I tend to finish books I start to read...

[XFire35]

I cannot be bothered to read the prior pages, but I shall contribute nonetheless.

I would never go as far to say that the book is a masterpiece by any standard, the author uses the same adjectives through-out and does lack imagination at times. She also has a habit of creating really, really bad endings, see the first and fourth books. However, I enjoyed reading the books for the following reasons: it is completely different to what I have previously read in any shape of form; there were little jokes or humour comments which I liked; I found the lack of character to help in the case of Bella for association; I liked the sound of Forks and a few others things which I cannot define. So for me, it wasn't the literary quality, it was more what it made me feel in a way.

[mrStevens]

I like your review XFire35. I agree that the atmosphere in the book felt very comfortable. The school didn't have any overt bullying or extreme drama with fights and stuff. The Culliens, despite their strangeness, seem to be accepted in the quiet town. Even the confrontation on the docks was quite mild.

[crux]

Hate it, however it is such a weak word in the context of this Twlight series. I absolutely despise the series for reasons stated already as well just being (in my opinion) not very well written compared to some other works already out there.

[Alia]

I only read it because I grew up reading Harry Potter (I started reading Harry since book 1, before all the hype) and people were saying Twilight was the "next Harry Potter". I hated the books. Meyer was very repetitive with little originality. Both the story and the characters were underdeveloped. Also, I found the main characters annoying.

[GaryFan]

I don't hate it, but I don't like it either.
I watched the movie on a flight and it was an ok way to pass the time.

[Musing]

The writing is just so eh. The characters, maybe not Alice, all seem rather flat. S. Meyer admitted to writing Bella as a perfect S. Meyer which is a mortal sin in fiction. The setting is awesome - love to see the lesser known parts of Washington portrayed.

I don't hate the books, I appreciate that Meyer was winging it. I read all four and thought the movie was decent. I just would like to see the enthusiasm die down a bit. Twilight is no Harry Potter.

[mrStevens]

Heh. Harry Potter is no Harry Potter. I was a little disappointed in the last couple of books. It felt like Rowling was forcing the plot a bit to make things come to a close. I thought the series peaked in the Order of the Phoenix and went downhill from there. I rushed through the last couple of books just to complete the series. IMO the series was hyped up beyond reasonable expectations.

[XFire35]

Heh. Harry Potter is no Harry Potter. I was a little disappointed in the last couple of books. It felt like Rowling was forcing the plot a bit to make things come to a close. I thought the series peaked in the Order of the Phoenix and went downhill from there. I rushed through the last couple of books just to complete the series. IMO the series was hyped up beyond reasonable expectations.

I agree that the books peaked at the OOTP. I found the very end of the series to be rather naff.

[Anhedonic Lake]

Twilight...the movie that spawned a million wannabe teenage vampires...I think that's reason enough for me to dislike,apart from that I thought it was incrediably pretentious and devoid of artistic merit.

[sadf]

hate it.

[Arminius]

As the guy with the Vlad Tepes avatar, I am going to say it. Vampires. Should. Not. Sparkle. Ever.

Go for it Blade.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[socal]

Have not read it or seen the movies to say that I "hate" it... I just choose to ignore the whole trend.

[Synapse]

Don't have enough information to "hate" nor "love" the entire "Twilight" culture/enterprise, but I do believe that if I were to read it, I would end up disliking it. It just doesn't seem like the kind of book I would find interesting for numerous reasons, including the genre. As socal said, I choose to ignore the trend entirely.

By the way, just because people you find "annoying" read it, that doesn't automatically justify your rejection of it if you have no evidence, subjective or otherwise, to make a judgment call if you've never even read the book..

[Goat]

I enjoyed it, but it wasn't awesome.

I've never really read "good" writing, so that's probably why the crappy writing of Twilight didn't bother me too much.

[DanteFalling]

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[t3hrubikscube]

I've read all the books and I've seen the first movie.

I think that the series is incredibly poorly written and utterly cliche. The books are boring and so poorly written that they're just absolutely laughable, which is a large part of why I continued to read them -- they provided me with some good laughs.

The only character I can tolerate is the werewolf, Jacob Black, because he isn't creepy or self-obsessed or boring. Bella Swan is the most boring literary character I've had to deal with in a really long time, and I can't even BEGIN to comprehend why Edward Cullen, a vampire who's been alive for a couple hundred years, hadn't found a girl interesting enough until Bella. Please! She's boring, obnoxious, whiny, smug, and just trite. I can't stand her. As bad as Bella is, though, Edward might be even worse. He's an overprotective freak, and I don't understand why girls are falling all over themselves for him.

I read the books to see what all the hype was about. I continued because they were so bad that they were funny and because I sort of cared about Jacob Black.

[annaelizabeth]

I've read all the books and I've seen the first movie.

I think that the series is incredibly poorly written and utterly cliche. The books are boring and so poorly written that they're just absolutely laughable, which is a large part of why I continued to read them -- they provided me with some good laughs.

The only character I can tolerate is the werewolf, Jacob Black, because he isn't creepy or self-obsessed or boring. Bella Swan is the most boring literary character I've had to deal with in a really long time, and I can't even BEGIN to comprehend why Edward Cullen, a vampire who's been alive for a couple hundred years, hadn't found a girl interesting enough until Bella. Please! She's boring, obnoxious, whiny, smug, and just trite. I can't stand her. As bad as Bella is, though, Edward might be even worse. He's an overprotective freak, and I don't understand why girls are falling all over themselves for him.

I read the books to see what all the hype was about. I continued because they were so bad that they were funny and because I sort of cared about Jacob Black.

I pretty much could have written all of this. Jacob, with his faults, seemed like the only character which I felt was developed. I could imagine him as a real person (or werewolf). I felt really bad for that Leah? chick (the other werewolf), and was hoping she and Jacob would hook up. Of course she had a really good storyline which went basically nowhere. Jacob got the short end in this story and the imprinting thing was beyond creepy.

I thought Bella was a whiny, ungrateful, spoiled, snob and had absolutely no interest in her whatsoever. Why everyone was falling all over her was the big question. For crying out loud, she had a super expensive car, a new wardrobe, all the money she'd ever need, and she still rolls her eyes. Awful. I was actually hoping all the vampires would kill her off in the end after she becomes one, because she'd be so wild and violent that they would have no choice. Of course, she gets the perfect ending, which is disgustingly predictable, because she can control her desires, unlike any other new vampire. She is so SPECIAL. Puke.

I also found a disturbing obsession with beauty and outward appearances in the books. It seems like that's all Bella cares about. I think it would have been awesome if after she became a vampire, she saw the other vampires in a new light, and they were just average looking, not as beautiful as she imagined. Of course, it's the opposite.

I could go on and on. I feel badly girls are looking up to her as a role model, and I think it promotes unhealthy relationships. Edward is a control freak, whether people admit it or not. Bella is nothing without him. That is really sick.

[dead]

Haven't read or seen it. I think Kristen Stewart is pretty cute. </opinion on Twilight>

[blckprljinju]

I tried very hard to read it; in fact, after being bored out of my mind for the first 20 pages and giving up, I gave it another try, went to something like page 40, and then gave up again.

I instead re-read the Harry Potter series.

I read better fanfic, and they didn't get paid millions to write that. She did write about vampires after she got a dream about it... it's definitely a housewife's wet dream on paper... and unfortunately, having unprotected sex with a dead vampire who is way too old and getting pregnant with a baby that wants to kill me while inside me doesn't sound very sexy.

I liked Rob Pattinson as Cedric Diggory more.

[Shauru]

I just watched the Riff Trax version. That was good. Does that count?

I still can't tell if Rob Pattinson is cute or creepy. Taylor Lautner though...especially in New Moon. That stupid girl picked wrong.

[LogicLady]

I feel that is was alright if you didn't expect too much. The books could have been a lot shorter if they were written more concisely. Or, at least they could have had more interesting stuff added. At times I felt the author was just filling up space.

What bothered me was the hype. I don't feel like the books live up to such high expectations as one might have looking at the number of rabid fans, but then I find that a lot of popular books fall short of that.

What scares me is the way that girls and even adult women seem to truly want to be Bella or find "their Edward". While I am one that does enjoy fantasy, I understand that fantasy men usually aren't the sort of guys that make for great husbands. Frankly, if Edward were real, I should hope we'd all recognize him as an abusive sicko. So, I find it worrisome that so many women seem oblivious -- though it does explain how so many abusive sickos seem to have so many women lining up to be their next victim. (I think, personally, it's a result of that sort of passionate confidence they tend to have along with a sort of one-track "you're my world" mind -- understandably sexy, perhaps, but a lot sexier to me when it comes from a more well-balanced individual.)

[linux3214]

Its not that i hate the book.
Its that i hate the stereotypical Twilight fans, and the whole vamp fad.

[Night Runner]

I saw this anti-Twilight T-shirt at work today and I just have to share it. ;)

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[Zsych]

Don't like or hate it. The movie was mildly amusing.

[schizophrenia]

Despise.
I prefer the original Dracula, thank you very much.

[Rohsiph]

What I like: the next time anyone does anything sterotypically vampiric, I can ask them "Wow, are you Twilight?"

[Merle]

The books are atrocious, but no-one's claiming they're great literature. I've only read about two chapters of the first book - I knew from that they weren't my kind of crap (although I do like plenty of crap)... but shitting on them for being bad is kind of silly... of course they're bad - they're books about American teenagers and vampires written by a Mormon!

If that's the way people want to take their light-relief, I really don't care.

[Theaetetus]

I don't like Twilight because it's a name for a manifestation of things that I don't like in modern culture. The book and the movie are just more dreck that happens to be popular with mindless teenage female flesh-sacks.

[AtheneNoctua]

I have read all four books and seen both two movies. I am also a teenage girl.

Fortunately, I also have brain cells.

Stephanie Meyer cannot write to save her life, but the physical prose is only the start of what is wrong with Twilight. Many teenage girls fail to notice the poor quality of writing because they have never experienced anything better. The characters are seemingly non-existant - mainly because Meyer clearly has not yet grasped the concept of characterisation. Perhaps no one's informed her of the golden rule when writing 'show, don't tell'.
The themes behind the story and dangerously mysoginistic, there are racist undertones and it has very Mormon messages. Almost everything about it is inherently wrong.

The only redeeming feature can be found in the film of New Moon in the form of Taylor Lautner. :)

If you have nothing better to do, or want to work out exactly why you hate Twilight, please read this:
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
It is pure brilliance.

[TechnicolorWeasel]

I saw this anti-Twilight T-shirt at work today and I just have to share it. ;)

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Hey..I wore that shirt yesterday..

[baal]

It must die!! To restore the vampire to its rightful status as a monster and true creature of the night. Not a ghastly horrid sparkling unscrupulous ......words can do not give justice to what twilight has done to the once majestic vampire. that which once was a INTJ now has become something to horrible to name*shivers*

---------- Post added 02-22-2010 at 06:48 PM ----------

Thankfully though the books have not won any awards.
However the twilight saga disturbs me as it is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the culture of the united states. Think about how much attention this saga takes away from global matters.

[wongfoo]

Read all the books and wasn't impressed with the quality or level of writing. The music and score of the movies have been better than I expected. Nonetheless, I believe that there is something seriously wrong with the pop culture worship of vampires.

[INTJfemale]

Anne Rice for 8th graders.

[Crazyblue]

I read the first book and I understand why they're so popular, even if the characters are flat. It's because of the low reading level and the author tells you how the characters are feeling directly. It's a book that you can read and let your mind wander, pretty much the equivalent of a tv show that just fills time. It had a few funny parts, but for the most part I didn't find it that interesting. The overall writing level was poor and some of the word choices were awkward, like someone just thumbed through a thesaurus. I remember one speech that edward had where you could switch out drink blood for rape and it worked just as well... not to mention all the times that he told her that he was dangerous, ugh.

You're my brand of heroine was hilarious at least.

[Bene Gesserit]

Love it

[Stratego]

For those that hate it--I found this MS3TK riff on youtube:
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

[rahdam]

Me HATES IT!

[Quett]

I haven't read the books, but I've seen both movies that are out, and they were awful. I also read up some on the story, since I figured if I'm going to hate something I should know why. I'll be generous and assume that the books were better than the movies, since that's usually the case.

Since I can't speak of the writing, the one thing I noticed about the story was the characters. Both of the main characters are remarkably unlikable. Bella is perhaps all of the self-centeredness and uncontrolled emotionalism of every teenaged girl accumulated into a person. She is supposedly not that attractive, and she has no personality to speak of, and yet she seems to be a magnet for supernatural teen idols.

Personality-wise, Edward is basically the same, but instead of being obsessed with himself, he's obsessed with Bella. Of course, Edward is given just about the perfect set of powers to make him the fine line between superman and vampire, so it's actually understandable why Bella likes him.

The movies themselves were entertaining enough, I guess. The second movie I actually liked better than the first, mostly because Edward was only in it for like 20 minutes total. That actually made up for the emotional/psychological breakdown that Bella goes through, and we're all forced to watch. As for Jacob, he was actually somewhat likable. It's just too bad Bella had to be a giant bitch and play him for the whole movie.

Anyway, enough of that.

[clio]

Can't stand twilight. Stephanie Mayer cannot write a good book. The first movie was awful so i never bothered to see the second. I don't understand the hype but teenage girls seem to love the fact that Edward sparkles. Maybe girls just really love glitter?

---------- Post added 06-15-2010 at 06:40 PM ----------

Despise.
I prefer the original Dracula, thank you very much

I'm reading Dracula right now. It's good so far.

[Distance]

The Twilight serious is mind-numbing, both books and movies. This is why I read the entire series in four days. ;D

Come on. It's bubblegum entertainment, teenage romance with a vampire twist. It brought back the intensity of teenage angst, which was fun since it's fantasy. In real life, not a phase of life I'd ever want to go back to.

As for the movies, only one phrase will describe them. Eye candy for the ladies. :nice:

[Rationality]

Hate it. I watched the first movie expecting I'd like it, but it's not sexy at all even though it's a romance. It's such a lame story.

[Leg]

I've never watched the movie or read the book

[LydianAlchemist]

I don't like it for many reasons.

1 big reason is how it affects teenage girls psychologically and what it is telling them to accept. I mean IRL girls are dumping their flesh and bone boyfriends for a fictional character. It has become a religion to some and the obsession with it is troubling.

Supposedly he(Edward) is 100s of years old (Bella is 17, still a minor IIRC... thats pedophilia), he ISN'T human (bestiality), and he stalks Bella (eww.)

Plus it doesn't realistically depict what vampires truly are, instead it turns them into sparkly twitterpated young men.

[JulietCapulet]

I am such a romantic person that I can be emotionally affected by almost any romantic story. So, I thought the Twilight movies were really cute but I didn't get a chance to read all the books.

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's a story and I like to see so many people moved by books. To be honest I'm sort of confused by why people are so negative about it. I hope Stephanie Meyer keeps writing. :-)

[MortalWombat]

I read the books, which were mediocre at best. The movies weren't much better.
What I really dislike about the whole thing, is the fans.

[Calica]

I read the books and thought they were okay. Saw the first movie, decided against watching the second one. But god, the screaming teen fan girls were too much for me to take.

[SuperSmart101]

I thought the books were barely average, the movies sucked. But the worst part are the twilight fans/vampire culture.

[propionaldehyde]

I tried reading the first chapter of Twilight, and I could barely get through the first page. It was terrible.

[Quett]

What scary is, when the vampires rise up, all those screaming teenage girls will happily sell out the rest us for promises of vampire boyfriends.

[Zsych]

I haven't read the books. I did watch the first movie - nothing special, mildly entertaining... one of the girls was cute.

I ignored the sequel, although the trailers for the third one don't seem so bad.

[lupinskitten]

Don't like it. At all.

First, the anti-feminist slant offends me. Bella is so co-dependent and obsessed with the PERFECT Edward that she drives me nuts -- especially in "New Moon" when she starts acting like a zombie, going around doing stupid things in order to see the "ghost" of her beloved boyfriend.

Second, there's no payoff. Bella gets everything she wants, without having to sacrifice anything. She doesn't even have to give up her parents! Contrast that with Harry Potter, in which people actually DIE fighting for the right cause. Bella has no cause. It's just her. And Edward. No one else matters. It's all about them, all the time. She even gets to keep Jacob, in a really creepy super-pedophile kind of way, since he's now in love with her toddler.

Third, Mormonism gone wild. I don't mind people injecting their beliefs into books, in fact I love it -- but how can people be so comfortable with the underlining themes in these novels that they fail even to acknowledge them? It reads like the Mormon handbook of brainwashed females! Personalityless girl marries much older man, and suddenly her life is fulfilled through giving him children. Plus, the Jacob and Nessie thing... *skin crawls*

Fourth, there are too many fans. Obnoxious fans. Fans who wear Edward underwear and scream like banshees at even a glimpse of Robert Pattinson.

Best thing about the movies are:
a) ripping on them
b) the painfully bad acting
c) Aro. Three whole minutes of Michael Sheen being awesome.

[thirtiesgirl]

Ugh. I hate this whole new teen fic phenomenon. All of a sudden, everything is vampires. Not that I mind vampire fandom/fetishism in general; I love True Blood, but it's not just about vampires... well, it is, but if I'm going to get into a comparative reading of the show, True Blood's vampirism has nothing to do with teen angst, but is used more as a metaphor for life. I find it far more relatable than all the teen angst stuff.

I have to admit that I saw the first Twilight movie. I was curious about all the hoopla. The movie cemented my hatred of the series. I found it extremely hard to believe that the almost unearthly gorgeous actors who played the vampires in the movie were seen as the 'unpopular,' 'socially awkward' kids at their high school. I mean, those kids made the popular kids in The Breakfast Club look homely.

...And anyway, if I'm gonna read a vampire novel, I'll stick with the original, Bram Stoker's Dracula.

[PRBori]

Anything non-educational doesn't mean much to me... that said non-educational books are outside my interest... I only read educational books, but that's because my emphasis is my job. For fun I like to read about personality, finances, and personal improvement books.

That said Twighlight is not one of those I care for. I've heard of it, have never watched the show nor read the books.

[katrin]

I dislike Twilight because it is poorly written. Also, it has spawned this huge vamp trend that is becoming annoying. It's annoying because most of the books are not well-written.

I like paranormal/supernatural fiction, though. I'm trying to think if I've read any--adult or teen--that are of particularly good quality for popular fiction IMO...hmmm.

Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (plus the 3 succeeding books)
Blood and Chocolate* by Annette Curtis Klause (werewolves)
Tithe by Holly Black (faeries)
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (werewolves)
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead



*This book is one that I'd call "literature". It's a teen book but with some deep theme-age going on.

[Megalomania]

I haven't read any of the books and I don't intend to, but from what I understand isn't Edward supposed to be hundreds of years old and Bella is in high school? Am I the only one who finds that strange?

[katrin]

I haven't read any of the books and I don't intend to, but from what I understand isn't Edward supposed to be hundreds of years old and Bella is in high school? Am I the only one who finds that strange?

No. Many people find it strange. Also, he comes into her room at night to watch her sleep unbeknownst to her. So, he's also a creepy, obsessed stalker.

[LifesEcstasy]

I never read the book because the movie was so lacking in plot and features the most wooden acting I've ever seen. Admittedly it was the best comedy I've seen in ages. :laugh:

The vegan vampire who appeared permanently and acutely constipated. Hey if that's what being a vegetarian does for you, no thanks.
Edward Cullen a teenage vampire who looks about 30 but so far no-one in the school faculty has twigged onto that small fact.
The werewolf who seemingly had no character plot and no point to being in the movie. And yeah, native American's are totally all werewolves! Amazing they didn't get sued over that.
The plot, something about a high school, a baseball game and running away from home. So gripping I clearly can't remember it.

Don't think I will bother with the books, unless of course I find abandoned on a park bench or something. Then I might read the first paragraph before losing interest.

[lupinskitten]

I would agree that Interview with the Vampire far outshines Meyer's tween vampire-lite series. It's a terrific book, impacting, creepy, and psychologically interesting when you consider its emphasis on life, death, and searching for meaning in life.

Native American Indians have always been associated with skinwalker legends (skinwalkers are basically werewolves), so I'm not surprised it came up in the book. That's actually one of Meyer's cooler ideas. :)

[gabbya]

*vomits* Yes, I read the first book, so I am entitled to do so. *Spews all over thread*. The first movie was even worse. *Spews some more*. The trailer playing in the local shopping centre was so disgusting that it could almost turn me off men. You get the picture.

[zimtgeschmack]

To keep the balance here: no love- no hate.

Yes, and there are people who are just not interested in it.
(same with harry potter)

[tactian]

twilight= crap

[Noirc]

best series of books i've ever not read. brilliant original story with no cliches at all. very well done movies that keep my mind working the entire time like "where did they get those werewolves, how much did they get paid. i wonder if it hurts to be so glittery."

[Booko]

Hate it. Will have to go with my daughter to see it anyway. At least Jacob looks good with no shirt. Yeah, well, the old bat can still dream. :D

I'm generally not interested in any sort of anything having to do with high school angst. I couldn't wait to leave that crap behind me and don't see a reason to pay to observe any more of it.

Also, I find it absurd that some guy that's lived a couple of centuries would waste his time attending a high school. What kind of 200-year-old mature guy would be interested in a teenager? There is no answer to that that is any good, and the best one is "insecure in his manhood." Not a pleasant prospect, eh?

I can't find any willing suspension of disbelief when it comes to that. Ditto "Vampire Diaries."

[deicruxified]

in all fairness to stephnie meyer, she started her own literature movement....

CLIT LIT

[delilah]

Clit Lit by Mormons?

I read a page of twilight, and even as a teen I couldn't stomach the idea of reading on.

[deicruxified]

Clit Lit by Mormons?

I read a page of twilight, and even as a teen I couldn't stomach the idea of reading on.

uh huh... mormons with repressed sexual desires.

---------- Post added 07-04-2010 at 10:17 PM ----------

as for the 'vampire' thing. i've read anne rice and bram stoker so i know what a vampire is like - a brooding and pale creature, which disintegrates to dust when exposed to sunlight and seeks refuge in his/her coffin in a cloister somewhere; puts on heavy banana boat sweat and water resistant sun block creams to protect them from the sun's rays as what the modern vampire characters in "blade" movies and anne rice's novels are doing; and lastly, easily killed by silver. as for being seen in mirrors, probably the only thing meyer researched on, as mirror manufacturers nowadays do not add silver, which we all know are giving health issues to vampires for centuries and counting. therefore (quoting a friend on this), a creature who lives in the woods, does not feed on human blood, and sparkles when the sun shines on it is a fairy not a vampire.

[Skele Drew]

I've read all 4 books (5 if you consider Midnight Sun, which is an unfinished alternate to Twilight, but from Edward's POV) and consider them ALL a great read (except for the "godification" of vampires; that broke my spirit somewhat). Based on my experience of movie versions of great books and the opinions of friends who watched it AND read the movie, I'm afraid to watch the movie.

I haven't read any of the books and I don't intend to, but from what I understand isn't Edward supposed to be hundreds of years old and Bella is in high school? Am I the only one who finds that strange?

Actually, Edward is about 100 years old, and was changed by Carlisle when he was dying (Spanish fever or something) at the age of 16/17. He's 80+ years a vampire.

[HAL 9000]

Going by what I've seen (Eclipse), I love the Twilight series!

Why? The movie was downright hilarious. Combine crappy dialog with poor direction, poor acting, and even (I'm guessing) poorer source material, and you have a movie worthy of Mike Nelson (or Joel if you prefer) and his robot pals.

[Talli]

Hated it. I read the first, second, and half the third book (because I am a masochist, apparently) when everyone I worked with was. The movies were good for the lulz, and were slightly less heinous than the books, but only because I didn't have Bella whining in my head the whole time. Ugh.

[Kricket]

I find pirated versions of the movies (the more sneezing, coughing, and bathroom-run-silhouettes the better) specifically so my friend and I can watch them over a bottle of wine. We die laughing every time. But it also gives us the chance to talk about how Twilight is something we really would have enjoyed about ten years ago, and we discuss the psychological triggers which might have caused this.

So... I have a sort of affection for the movies, because they've given me some good times with my friend. Nothing quite like a late night psychology discussion while under the influence.

[InfiniteLoop]

Got through three chapters before I got sick of it and put it down. I *rarely*, if *ever*, put a book down. I peeked ahead to see if it got better. It didn't.

I kinda get the appeal of the whole vampire werewolf romance thing, but in reality, weren't the Pre-Twilight vampires more, you know, more seductive and romantic? Twilight vampires are just... sparkly. I don't want to be seduced by a guy who sparkles.

And apparently Meyer's alienated her own fanbase. Ever since the release of Breaking Dawn, many fans have apparently *left* the fandom simply because they can't stand how it ends. I'll take their word for it, I think, when they say it *sucks*.

[Lucan]

I'm not into Twilight at all. I can't get the mental image of Taylor as Shark Boy in Shark Boy and Lava Girl out of my mind. And now he is this werewolf too... And I can still hear him sing that stupid song in the movie :irked: ( "find my happy place, find my happy place ") Hello , that's a nice white coat. What??? No , I'm not insane. (HELP!!!!) ;)

[albi92]

Well basically, the whole story is about a girl choosing between Necrophilia or Bestality... XD
The question is, which is more ethical?

[Booko]

OK, I'm still trying to figure out why someone as old as Edward would actually
WANT to waste time in a bloody HS.

I've seen the movies with my daughter, who likes them. I don't. I wish she would see movies on her own or try to dig up a friend to go with her.

This last one was better than the others, but meh, I'd take Kate Bekinsale over any of the Twilight crew any day. LOL and I'm as straight as they come. Go figure.

Twilight still has a "chick flick" feel to it. And that would explain why I don't care for it.

[InfiniteLoop]

The books themselves scream "teenage cheesy Harlequin Romance novel". And you are surprised, why?

[Marcus Septim]

The books themselves scream "teenage cheesy Harlequin Romance novel". And you are surprised, why?

There you go,you said it !!

[Mr Mediocre]

Twilight - haven't seen them, haven't read them, never will - I will, however, pass judgement on them. Lol. Mainly because I am inundated with it on the radio and TV and I am pretty sure I have the gist.

Teen angst/romancy crap...boys fight over girl (or girls?), everyone is super-beautiful, supernatural and super-retarded to varying degrees of severity, and have all the depth of personality of that tennis sock I lost a while back. Does the job it is meant to I guess. Sell lots of stuff to teenaged girls *insert dismissive and maybe a little arrogant INTJ laugh here*.

I guess this would put me in the "hate it" box. :laugh: Sorry to those who like it - each to their own. I expect people would be able to spew similar vitriol about some of the things I like :). I should finish by saying with outright and complete honesty that I have absolutely nothing against people who do like it. ;D

[dichotomy14138]

I read all the Twilight books and mostly the only reason I like them is because the main character always faces some kind of violent crisis in each book. Other than that it just talks about how beautiful Edward is for about 50 pages and I don't find that entertaining. I only like it when the violent scenes come up but no one important ever really dies. That's why I hated the second book so much. I really wanted some action and I was crossing my fingers for Bella or Edward to die, but alas, main characters rarely die off. The movie just made it a whole lot worse.

Apparently, from what I've heard from a friend of mine, they actually sell a Twilight dildo for $40 that sparkles and you can put it in the freezer for that "authentic feel". I have no idea who the hell is going to invest their money on that, but good luck to the Twitard who gets that stuck up there ¬¬