Twilight

[Annamariah]

Okay so I was really bored and found this thread and decided to give it a shot since i have read all of the twilight books many many times, love Eclipse and Twilight the most, and own the movie, while looking forward to New Moon coming out, and I realized something...
People have so much...tension, I think is the word i want to use...built up that they completely go off topic.
This thread was started because someone wanted to discuss the book Twilight. Simple as that. They wanted to know what others thought, what they felt, which is their favorite, and so on while being respectful to others and not spoiling everything.
After reading the 1st page I decided that I'll just skip to the very end and see where this has ended up.
I was shocked... you all became so carried away with deciding if you could or could not take something away from reading twilight or harry potter books, or if you read twilight books then you are just stuck with reading trashy/romance novels, and I even saw a comment made about if you read books like Twilight then you could never succeed in reading anything more enhanced such as Shakespeare. Then someone followed that with this generation not being that ideal to gain such knowledge.
really???? Then you try to give this generation sympathy for realizing that people who read books like Twilight get picked on for reading it which is why they don't read anything else.
how dare you all??

(...)

I want to end this on a little note.

I am apart of this simple-trashy-reading-can't-read-anything-advanced-peer-pressured-generation, I read and completely understand Shakespeare, while being different from everyone else and doing what I want to do because it makes me happy. Doesn't that contradict your assumption?

You are absolutely right. I love Twilight books too, I have them all on my bookshelf (I also happen to love Harry Potters which I own both in English and Finnish) and I'm not ashamed of it. I also do like many books that even the people here who call Twilight trash would approve of. I don't want to read books simply because someone tells me that this is something a sophisticated person should read - I want to read books because I enjoy reading them.

I know I probably shouldn't admit I am a twentysomething who enjoys reading books targeted for children and teenagers (L. M. Montgomery is one of my all-time-favourite authors), but why should I pretend not to simply to make myself look better in the eyes of those who can't understand why anyone in their right minds should like such literature? (Or was it wrong to call it "literature" at all?) The reason why I do so is that I happen to like the world they describe more than the one that is in many "real" books, especially the contemporary ones. I prefer a world more innocent like that in Jane Austen's work - though it's far from perfect, there's still something that is missing in our world today. So I guess I'm an escapist - but if I read to escape from this depressing reality, does it mean that I read for all the wrong reasons and thus my reading is worthless?

I don't think so, and I hope you don't either

P.S. Just yesterday I went and bought four books as a late birthday present for myself - I've had such a crappy week. They're all from the young adults' section

[higley]

I don't read Twilight but I have enjoyed other books that wouldn't necessarily fall into the realm of respected literature--most recently, World War Z, actually very thoughtful and well written--and I do think it's important to allow oneself to have fun reading what they like regardless of how it might be looked at by literature aficionados. Sure, I kind of snorted when the tween girls in front of me at Target began going crazy over a magazine with the Twilight guy on it, but I remember the pre-teen/early teen I once was and it's not like I was devouring Poe or Dickens or anything.

[Annamariah]

Sure, I kind of snorted when the tween girls in front of me at Target began going crazy over a magazine with the Twilight guy on it, but I remember the pre-teen/early teen I once was and it's not like I was devouring Poe or Dickens or anything.

Well, drooling after Robert Pattinson doesn't necessarily have anything to do with loving the Twilight books... I know several girls (of my age and older, not teenagers anymore) who do that, and not all of them have even read the series

[Three Sparrows]

I loved Twilight the first five times I read it, then grew sick of it. I'll still go see New Moon though. Even though I do read Twilight, I also read Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe, etc. and its not like I'm really old, either. Twilight is a book easy to criticize, but even the most devout classic fans need a little break. Heck, I don't even care if you read Brown or bad sci-fi as your 'break book', we all need a little nonsense entertainment sometimes. Be happy, even if it means reading Best Sellers.

[higley]

Well, drooling after Robert Pattinson doesn't necessarily have anything to do with loving the Twilight books... I know several girls (of my age and older, not teenagers anymore) who do that, and not all of them have even read the series

I suppose you're right!

[LilyPan]

And I wouldn't trust Twilight for writing your essays.

Kelby, I have read your threads too and I am just appalled with some of the things you say. Why not trust the Twilight books to write essays? The Twilight books are very detailed and when writing essays you have to be well detailed to make a point.

It wouldn't be fair to say that everyone who reads Twilight has no brain or anything.

You say comments like this then go to your own threads and say the complete opposite! You are so contradicting and rude with some of the things you say.

[kelby_lake]

Kelby, I have read your threads too and I am just appalled with some of the things you say. Why not trust the Twilight books to write essays? The Twilight books are very detailed and when writing essays you have to be well detailed to make a point.



You say comments like this then go to your own threads and say the complete opposite! You are so contradicting and rude with some of the things you say.

? I don't believe I've said that reading Twilight makes you stupid. Perhaps you could give some quotes? I probably do contradict myself- I am human.

You entirely miss the point with the essay thing. Whilst you might be able to make an essay out of Twilight, the fact that the description is detailed has nothing to do with essays. A lot of the detail isn't even needed in the novel, it's just self-indulgent.

In essays, you do need to be detailed but you also need to be selective. You can make a lot out of a tiny quote. Essays also call for an awareness of background, which Twilight does not show.

But hell, you might write a good informative essay on Twilight and prove me wrong.

[Nietzsche]

I just finished a book called Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It was her first book and although it started out poorly written, it evolved into something magnificent.

If you read the synopsis, it sounds like one of those terrible ridiculous teenage books that are all written the same and have proposterous plot lines that make you want to throw up.

But it isn't.

500 and something pages and I made it through in two days. It's not that the writing is so advanced, rather that the author pulls you so deeply into the story that it's impossible not to experience the emotions of all of the characters. I don't think I've ever been so involved in a story.

Afterwards, I was emotionally drained and unresponsive/antisocial because it somehow took so much out of me. You will find yourself wanting desperately to go back into that world.

I've never bothered to read Twilight and don't really care to. My sister likes it though, and thankfully she ISN'T one of those vampire obsessed hot topic dwelling teeny boppers.

I'd have to say the same thing of Dan Brown, his writing is cliché filled and there is some redundancy, but the story itself pulls you into the books' world. Literary criticism aside, some books just pull you in.

[Aoife]

''Afterwards, I was emotionally drained and unresponsive/antisocial because it somehow took so much out of me. You will find yourself wanting desperately to go back into that world.''

I felt completely the same. The contrast between how well-written the first and last book is very different. They have the capacity to draw you in and get you hooked .. thus explains the ''vampire obsessed hot topic dwelling teeny boppers'' (hahaha).

Also the film does no justice for the book. What is that about!?

[Bakiryu]

I just feel that Twilight it's very anti-feminist and reinforcing of traditional, patriarchal societal values.

[LilyPan]

? I don't believe I've said that reading Twilight makes you stupid.

I never said that you did but you have made comments that people who do read the books or try to put themselves in bella's shoes are in your words "pathetic".

If ordinary people are that pathetic, I worry for them. I did try to fit myself into her shoes but then I realised I'd have to re-write the book.

And just an fyi I would never write an essay on Twilight, im not that obsessed. My point was that in essays no matter what style it is you need to have details and detailed support. Twilight is detailed. It paints a great picture in the readers mind which helps the reader to escape into the book which is also why it seems like such an easy read, not just because there is a lack of great vocabulary.

[Homers_child]

I just feel that Twilight it's very anti-feminist and reinforcing of traditional, patriarchal societal values.

I could never understand this view. Twilight is a fantasy, a romantic fantasy, targeted at women. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a fantasy of a strong, in-control man taking care of the weak little damsel-in-distress has always been a popular fantasy with the women. It doesn't necessarily mean it's 'anti-feminist'... it means its a woman's fantasy world.

[Annamariah]

I could never understand this view. Twilight is a fantasy, a romantic fantasy, targeted at women. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a fantasy of a strong, in-control man taking care of the weak little damsel-in-distress has always been a popular fantasy with the women. It doesn't necessarily mean it's 'anti-feminist'... it means its a woman's fantasy world.

Besides, Bella is rather headstrong and makes her own decisions, and in the last book she's not such a weak little damsel anymore anyway

[kelby_lake]

I could never understand this view. Twilight is a fantasy, a romantic fantasy, targeted at women. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but a fantasy of a strong, in-control man taking care of the weak little damsel-in-distress has always been a popular fantasy with the women. It doesn't necessarily mean it's 'anti-feminist'... it means its a woman's fantasy world.

That's a bit sexist. Yes, it's a popular view, but that is not the sole purpose of every woman's life. At times the book can come across as 'You are only complete once you've got married'. At least 'New Moon' embraced the swooning melodrama and didn't try to make Bella sound like your 'average' teen girl.

And I felt like a bit of a voyeur reading it- especially Breaking Dawn.

[KryStaLitsa]

Oh,I've read the whole Twilight series and I simply loved it.!!!
If you liked twilight,the first book,try reading Midnight Sun,too.It's the exact same story with Twilight by it's now Edward narrating...It's just wonderful...You can find the first ten chapters in Stephenie Meyer's page.