More book-wankery. Whee.
Still putting myself through the mental and emotional ordeal of reading the Twilight series. I'm about six chapters into New Moon, and already thoroughly disgusted. The first book was just bad, but this one's actually making me angry.
Becoming so dependent on a man that you lose all sense of yourself (at one point Bella says she can't remember what kind of movies she likes) and basically become catatonic, emotionally numb and suicidal when he leaves you? IS FUCKED UP. It's not romantic, it's not "true love," it's not a sign that you're soulmates... it's unhealthy and obsessive and it can destroy you psychologically. (There are reasons I feel strongly about this, needless to say. And I think part of the reason I'm so horrified by this series is because I know full well that if I'd read it about two years ago I would have identified with every word. *shudders* That was a bad place and I'm glad I'm not there anymore.)
Also, on a lighter note, I am cracking up at Bella's elaborate plan to endanger her life by... talking to mildly creepy guys outside of bars and riding a motorcycle? It's just hilariously contrived (especially the motorcycle part, because it's such a convenient setup for her relationship with Jacob), and she (and Meyer) take it so seriously... I guess that's what passes for fast living within the confines of good Mormon values. Kinda like the cough medicine thing in the first book. OOOH, EDGY. (Seriously, to compare this series to something vastly better than it, it's like when Buffy's "going bad" consisted of... dancing kinda skanky at the Bronze. If our little emo lamb really cared as little about her own safety as she claims, I'm sure she could come up with more effective, quicker ways to be self-destructive... but those don't come with the potential of getting some hot werewolf ass, so.)
...I actually like Jacob so far, though! See, I am capable of giving credit where it's due-- he's a warm, funny, down-to-earth character who almost makes Bella likable in his interactions with her. It's refreshing to see our protagonist interact with a guy who she's not either totally contemptuous of (seriously, poor Mike... I'd probably date Mike, he seems like a good guy by any standards that aren't "ugh, you have a normal body temperature and I can't compare you to a geological formation") or obsessively lusting after with paragraph-long odes to the beauty of his right elbow or whatever. So I'll just try to enjoy these shocking moments of realism and remotely healthy friendship/attraction while they last, and pretend that Jacob isn't going to turn into a crazy rapist. LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
Oh, one more Twilight note and then I'll shut up for a bit (yes, I realize I'm obsessing just as much as the fangirls, but OH GOD THE BEAUTIFUL TRAINWRECK): I love Robert Pattinson. So much. Every time I hear something new about him I love him more. (Not included in the above link is the epic awesomeness of his method of dealing with a stalker: he took her out to dinner and whined about his problems the whole time, and, the illusion shattered, she lost interest and left him alone. I LOVE THIS MAN.)
Yeah, anyway, I need a break from the All You Never Wanted To Know About Stephenie Meyer's Creepy Repressed Mormon Lust Show, so I'm gonna read something else for a while. I'm giving Iain M. Banks a shot, even though I am only slightly better at reading space opera than I am at reading high fantasy-- in that the summary will sound interesting and I will actually try to read it, but I'll get confused and distracted about three pages in and wander off to do something else. Literary ADD for the win?
...also I'm bored and I miss my boy. This has been my moment of emo for the day. Thank you.
Becoming so dependent on a man that you lose all sense of yourself (at one point Bella says she can't remember what kind of movies she likes) and basically become catatonic, emotionally numb and suicidal when he leaves you? IS FUCKED UP. It's not romantic, it's not "true love," it's not a sign that you're soulmates... it's unhealthy and obsessive and it can destroy you psychologically. (There are reasons I feel strongly about this, needless to say. And I think part of the reason I'm so horrified by this series is because I know full well that if I'd read it about two years ago I would have identified with every word. *shudders* That was a bad place and I'm glad I'm not there anymore.)
Also, on a lighter note, I am cracking up at Bella's elaborate plan to endanger her life by... talking to mildly creepy guys outside of bars and riding a motorcycle? It's just hilariously contrived (especially the motorcycle part, because it's such a convenient setup for her relationship with Jacob), and she (and Meyer) take it so seriously... I guess that's what passes for fast living within the confines of good Mormon values. Kinda like the cough medicine thing in the first book. OOOH, EDGY. (Seriously, to compare this series to something vastly better than it, it's like when Buffy's "going bad" consisted of... dancing kinda skanky at the Bronze. If our little emo lamb really cared as little about her own safety as she claims, I'm sure she could come up with more effective, quicker ways to be self-destructive... but those don't come with the potential of getting some hot werewolf ass, so.)
...I actually like Jacob so far, though! See, I am capable of giving credit where it's due-- he's a warm, funny, down-to-earth character who almost makes Bella likable in his interactions with her. It's refreshing to see our protagonist interact with a guy who she's not either totally contemptuous of (seriously, poor Mike... I'd probably date Mike, he seems like a good guy by any standards that aren't "ugh, you have a normal body temperature and I can't compare you to a geological formation") or obsessively lusting after with paragraph-long odes to the beauty of his right elbow or whatever. So I'll just try to enjoy these shocking moments of realism and remotely healthy friendship/attraction while they last, and pretend that Jacob isn't going to turn into a crazy rapist. LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
Oh, one more Twilight note and then I'll shut up for a bit (yes, I realize I'm obsessing just as much as the fangirls, but OH GOD THE BEAUTIFUL TRAINWRECK): I love Robert Pattinson. So much. Every time I hear something new about him I love him more. (Not included in the above link is the epic awesomeness of his method of dealing with a stalker: he took her out to dinner and whined about his problems the whole time, and, the illusion shattered, she lost interest and left him alone. I LOVE THIS MAN.)
Yeah, anyway, I need a break from the All You Never Wanted To Know About Stephenie Meyer's Creepy Repressed Mormon Lust Show, so I'm gonna read something else for a while. I'm giving Iain M. Banks a shot, even though I am only slightly better at reading space opera than I am at reading high fantasy-- in that the summary will sound interesting and I will actually try to read it, but I'll get confused and distracted about three pages in and wander off to do something else. Literary ADD for the win?
...also I'm bored and I miss my boy. This has been my moment of emo for the day. Thank you.