Anti-Twilight

[xcoronaangel]

I have always been a bookworm. Even in Middle school and High school you could pretty much bet on the fact I would have 1-2 romance books in my backpack. My dad literally drove me to Barnes and Noble every 3-4 days!

I think books like Harry Potter, Twilight, House of Night, The Mortal Instruments Series (MIS) and Chronicles of Narnia are all great. I am all for a series of books that get kids to read. I see way to many young people who can’t read or would rather sit playing video games.

My 17 year old brother text me a few months ago saying he was reading twilight. I was blown away. He has never really shown much interest in books. He read a couple Harry Potters but that’s it. If Twilight is what it takes to get him into reading… Bring It On!
I personally love romance books. When people ask why… I tell them because it’s not like I get enough in real life! I liked Twilight. It was a quick read, very basic writing. I have since looked into the teen sections instead of the adult section for my reading. I like the fact that there is action, drama and such in the teen books… and hey I’m all for the every once and a while steamy scene but it’s nice not to have it jammed down my throat every 30 pages like in some books.

Tami Hoag and Julie Garwood will always be my favorites but I have room on my shelves for Stephanie Meyer and Charlaine Harris (not teen but vamps).

 

[Spoof]

Don't know how I missed this thread, but I'm definitely on the anti-bandwagon. For no reason other than I just don't like the style of writing. Personal preference I suppose.

Maybe someday I'll get through them...

btw, Those links were hilarious.

 

[Siren]

I am on the fence.

I don't like the writing style. The journal feel is very off putting to me. I like to know what else is going on other than what's in the mind of a weak little teenage girl. She drives me nuts. Bella can be such an idiot. And the writing style means, you miss a lot. Stupid girl gets knocked out at the fight between James and Edward, way to go! It felt more like an excuse to not write an action sequence because Meyer didn't know how to. I can't say I am on the Edward groupie wagon either. But Jacob...adding him and the other shape shifters gave it a better dynamic. But at the end of the day, I still felt like I was reading fan fiction.

Twilight was okay. Got me interested enough to read New Moon.
New Moon was the best of the series, IMO. I find Jacob and his tribe far more interesting than Edward and his family.
Eclipse was not as good as New Moon, but it was tolerable.
Breaking Dawn...total complete crap and waste of time. It was just too much of Bella laying down complaining about her pregnancy.

I still enjoyed the first book and movie. I think I will like New Moon too. But it does not deserve all the attention it gets.

 

[Nemo369]

I like them, but they aren't my favorites. I honestly don't think "Real men sparkle" though. LOl

 

[EveningChin]

I honestly don't think "Real men sparkle" though. LOl

Lol! Its so true!

I think the most interesting thing about this topic is that most people have been saying "Anything that gets people reading." Does this go for erotica as well? I'm sure we can get more people to read if we offer erotica to 13 year olds. Yeah its great to get kids to read, but if what they are reading is not any better then a video game plot (btw, some of those are awesome) or average tv show or movie then what is the point?

I firmly believe that this series was based on some good ideas and if it had been written by a more capable writer would have been quite good. But the pages upon pages of, "Oh I love you!" "No I love you." "No I love you more!", then,"oh no you are gone from my life I shall now die", over and over again just hurts and makes me want to throw up. :vomit:

 

[Siren]

I'm one of those....it gets people to read....Say for instance a teenage girl starts reading Twilight. She never cared to read much before till now. She loves Twilight, but of course, its done now. So she moves on to better vampire books, like Interview With a Vampire. The beauty of "it gets kids to read" is they in most cases, they don't stop reading.

TV shows and video games can have great stories too. But its laid out for you. No need to visualize anything. With a book, you are working your imagination more to visualize what you read.

 

[EveningChin]

I seem to remember that the girls around me in junior high and high school reading fad books and just read more of the same junk or not at all because the other books were too hard or , heaven help us, made them actually self evaluate and not just reinforce their point of view and beliefs. But as long as they are reading, hurrah!

This is an argument that really has no end. And I can't think of a way to continue the discussion with out getting really snarky... ok more snarky. So as long as it gets them reading hand out the Playboys!!! :dance3:

 

[Siren]

Even if they aren't reading the classics, reading is still reading. It doesn't matter if you are reading Of Mice and Men or Twilight. It still generally takes more brain power to read than watch a movie or tv show. I see a lot of elderly people do word searches and stuff...why? To keep their brains active. The same can be said for anyone, any age. Reading keeps the brain healthy and young.

 

[Rebecca]

Say for instance a teenage girl starts reading Twilight. She never cared to read much before till now. She loves Twilight, but of course, its done now. So she moves on to better vampire books, like Interview With a Vampire.

That's a beautiful hypothetical scenario you've got there, too bad I've never seen it come to fruition. Ever.

 

[Siren]

That's a beautiful hypothetical scenario you've got there, too bad I've never seen it come to fruition. Ever.

I have. My cousin did. And when I was a teen, I didn't care for Shakespeare till I read a book that dealt a bit with it, and then it got me interested in reading the real thing. And I know it happens fairly often. I work with kids enough to see how one thing they read, can inspire them to read more. My daughter read one storybook about Bigfoot, and now she has quite a library of cryptids. All are books far above her grade level. Sorry, I can't be so cynical, its only because I know what I said DOES happen, because I do see it.

 

[EveningChin]

Fabulous for you. Reading does infact work a different part of the brain. Its good to exercise it even if it is with junk. I'm glad that kids read and that you have seen the fruits of fad writers come to fruition. But I really didn't start this thread to bicker about how great twilight is and how its super awesome for getting teens to start reading, there already seemed to be a thread for that. Just a thought...

 

[Siren]

If you read my first post, I am not a Twilight fangirl. Its okay. I don't like the form its written in and find the writing to be a mediocre written fan fiction. The author took a lot of shortcuts in the form she wrote in. And I find many of the characters two dimensional and weak. I'd like the beat the living crap out of Bella half the time. Which made the series at time, painful to read. But its her mediocre writing that I use to inspire kids to write themselves. If she got that crap published and its world famous, then anyone can get their work published and be famous...and hopefully with a lot more talent deserving of that attention. I point out how some of it is very weak written how see how it could have been strengthened. I don't care if kids are reading Harry Potter, Twilight, the Bible, New York Times, or Idiots Guide to Palm Reading, if kids are reading, its great.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I honestly don't think that kids should be reading Twilight at all. I think it sends horrible messages about relationships. Bella and Edward should NOT be an example of a perfect love for ANYONE. Edward stalks Bella, tries to control her (Doesn't allow her to see Jacob,) completely abandons her with no good reason but says it's "for her own good." I could give you a million reasons, but to save some typing time just read this facebook group: Edward Cullen: Abusive Boyfriend

Also, why does Edward fall in love with Bella? Not because she's smart, funny, has a good personality, or is kind. Because her blood smells really good. Enough said.

And don't even get me started on Bella (but I will anyway)! What is this, the 1930's?! Ever heard of a thing called feminism? I don't think girls should be admiring someone who waits around for an oh-so-heartbreakingly attractive and dangerous man, then forget any type of future without him in it, then completely fall apart when he leaves her? My sister-in-law's argument is "Oh, he takes such good care of her!" Psh, I don't need a man to take care of me! Nobody else does either. Why should you encourage girls to be a damsel in distress? Try reading books with real heroines!

Disclaimer: I don't think there's anything wrong with people who read Twilight. I read the Gossip Girl series. Both series are equally entertaining and there's nothing wrong with that. What I do have a problem with is people calling these piles of crap "great literature," and young girls longing to have a man just like Edward to sweep them off their feet. If you let your kids (hopefully not ones under the age of 13) read this series, please stress to them how these books are fiction. Explain to them that, despite what they will probably think, Edward and Bella do not have an ideal relationship. Then, when they're finished reading it, give them some good literature to read.

 

[Siren]

I honestly don't think that kids should be reading Twilight at all. I think it sends horrible messages about relationships. Bella and Edward should NOT be an example of a perfect love for ANYONE. Edward stalks Bella, tries to control her (Doesn't allow her to see Jacob,) completely abandons her with no good reason but says it's "for her own good." I could give you a million reasons, but to save some typing time just read this facebook group: Edward Cullen: Abusive Boyfriend

Also, why does Edward fall in love with Bella? Not because she's smart, funny, has a good personality, or is kind. Because her blood smells really good. Enough said.

And don't even get me started on Bella (but I will anyway)! What is this, the 1930's?! Ever heard of a thing called feminism? I don't think girls should be admiring someone who waits around for an oh-so-heartbreakingly attractive and dangerous man, then forget any type of future without him in it, then completely fall apart when he leaves her? My sister-in-law's argument is "Oh, he takes such good care of her!" Psh, I don't need a man to take care of me! Nobody else does either. Why should you encourage girls to be a damsel in distress? Try reading books with real heroines!

Disclaimer: I don't think there's anything wrong with people who read Twilight. I read the Gossip Girl series. Both series are equally entertaining and there's nothing wrong with that. What I do have a problem with is people calling these piles of crap "great literature," and young girls longing to have a man just like Edward to sweep them off their feet. If you let your kids (hopefully not ones under the age of 13) read this series, please stress to them how these books are fiction. Explain to them that, despite what they will probably think, Edward and Bella do not have an ideal relationship. Then, when they're finished reading it, give them some good literature to read.

I agree on a majority of points about Edward and Bella. Just to add to it, Edward doesn't just love Bella because of her smell, but also because, he can't read her mind, which intrigues him. Which of course isn't a good enough reason either. I can't stand either one of them. I read the first book and I think waited about 8 months before I read New Moon and I ONLY read New Moon when people told me about Jacob in it. I've always been a fan of werewolves. As well as Native American culture. Only to discover they weren't werewolves at all, but skinwalkers/shapeshifters. Which are very different from werewolves. Skinwalkers and shapeshifters generally can control their transformations. And they can control themselves while in that transformation. Where as werewolves tend to have animalistic tendencies. So I only stuck around in the series till the end because of Jacob and the other wolves. Jacob is the ideal boyfriend. He is there for Bella when no one else is. He loves her for who she is, not how she smells. Jacob has always loved Bella. He would have made a far better choice and of course Eclipse made it clear, it wasn't gonna happen. I read Breaking Dawn because I figured I read all three, might as well finish the **** thing...wish I never did. That was a terrible terrible book. Just ridiculous and boring. I don't care how Meyer wants to write it, the imprinting on children is disturbing.

Edward always reminded me of a rip off of Angel from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. And I never liked Angel either. I just get really sick of the emo, depressed vampire. I roll my eyes and beg them to just stake themselves. That's why I always liked Spike better on Buffy. Except a few moments, he enjoyed being a vampire. He could fight on the good side, but still enjoyed being a vampire.

I really wouldn't worry about girls swooning for Edward though. For centuries girls have swoon for "bad boys". Dangerous, sexy men who drive motorcycles, wear leather, smoke, etc...and yet most those girls end up in normal relationships with average joes. It can be totally healthy for a girl to swoon over an idiot like Edward, so long as hopefully, her parents have instilled realistic expectations and self esteem in their child to know she deserves a lot better than that. I love me a bad boy, but I'm too grounded, a mother, I haven't time or patience for a real bad boy, but hey, I can swoon.

 

[Isabella Whateva]

I don't care how Meyer wants to write it, the imprinting on children is disturbing.

Edward always reminded me of a rip off of Angel from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. And I never liked Angel either. I just get really sick of the emo, depressed vampire. I roll my eyes and beg them to just stake themselves. That's why I always liked Spike better on Buffy. Except a few moments, he enjoyed being a vampire. He could fight on the good side, but still enjoyed being a vampire.

I totally AGREE with the imprinting thing. It is just f***** up.
Just the whole thing about them having sex and later having the baby, is so laughably bizarre. Your half-vampire baby breaks your bones when you give birth, then ages super fast but pauses forever at seventeen? Also, was Smeyers so uncretive as to just combine the names of the kid's granparents to create the kid's name? Yawn. And laugh. When I read the plot synopsis (no, I didn't waste my time on reading anything but the first book) for the last book (the one with the pregnancy) I literally read it out loud to my roommate and we fell on the floor laughing.
Sometimes I wonder if Smeyers just decided, "I wonder how ridiculous I have to make this book for people to stop reading it..."

Your Buffy comment reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM

 

[Siren]

LMAO! I'm the Slayer...Ummm...Slay-er...*Edward looks painfully confused*...LMAO!

Don't leave...*Buffy leaves*

That was pure genius!

 

[Laurie]

I'm one of those....it gets people to read....Say for instance a teenage girl starts reading Twilight. She never cared to read much before till now. She loves Twilight, but of course, its done now. So she moves on to better vampire books, like Interview With a Vampire.

Are you kidding me? Interview with a Vampire is a HORRID book. Anne Rice is a horrid vampire author! If you want real vampires read J R Ward and her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Vampires are all ALPHA. They aren't girlie men who dress in ruffles and have little girls living with them!

 

[Siren]

I'll take the ruffly vampires over the sparklie ones anyday

 

[EveningChin]

Your Buffy comment reminded me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM

OMG! I may have peeped myself I was laughing so hard!

 

[brittiny]

so I saw Anne Rice's Interview when I was like...4? and it's still better than twilight. I read all 4 books and was mistaken into thinking book 1 was ok, but 2 was the worst and 3&4 proves that all you that think it's "nice and chaste" for your 12yr daughters are wrong. all bella wants in 3&4 is to jump edward-who's like "no, i don't want to eat you until after we're married" anyone who lets their young girls read these books are not only giving them bad reading material, but are also setting them up for bad or unrealistic outlooks on relationships.
Also, meyer made her characters as deep as a wet paper towel, and we're not talking brawny here..