Twilight=no love from me. I love all books, don't get me wrong, and if Twilight is the only thing a person reads...well, I'd rather them read that then nothing at all.
It's just that I hate the near deification that some people give Twilight. They SPAZ whenever they hear a mere mention of the book. Personally, I don't think that it's worthy of all the attention it's getting. I read the first book and couldn't manage to read the rest of them. I just think some of her characters are so...plastic. They don't have much in the way of personality. And don't even get me started on the "OMG Edward!!!" He is a FICTIONAL character. I have no problem with being REALLY into a fictional character, or even having a crush on one, but...I know some girls who take it just one step too far.
Oddly enough though, as much as I dislike Twilight, I loved Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. I couldn't believe the same person had written both books! My only beef is that she's turning it into a series now, and really, The Host stands alone just fine.
I will admit, I like Twilight okay, but I'm in no way a part of the ridiculous fandom that follows the series. I also get tired of hearing people gush over the books saying, "It's the best book series ever!!!!!" Ugh, if that's true I don't want to know what other crap they have been reading. Twilight, in my opinion, does not stand up to any of my favorite books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia...not even close. I mostly read the series because I wanted to know what happened rather than reading it because I think it's great writing (it's so not). You are so correct about the characters, they are very one dimentional and Edward just...bothers me. Bella's obsession with him is more then slightly disturbing, too. All this said, the last book was okay even though the end was a bit too neat and perfect. I just hope that most of the fans reading the books will realize that it's not realistic at all and remember it's pure fantasy...but I don't know. So many people take these books way too seriously.
Anyway, I'm totally with you. I read The Host about a month ago. I was really skeptical at first, thinking it was going to be mostly mindless drivel like Twilight, but I liked it so much more. I thought it was deeper and more thought provoking. Again, the end was a tad too neat and perfect, but I really enjoyed it a lot, I'm looking forward to reading it again actually.
The "best book ever!" thing really bothers me too!! I mean, one of my favorite book series is a relatively obscure fantasy series simply titled "The Study Series," but it totally pwns Twilight (by the way, I think you might like it, the first one is called Poison Study, and the author is Maria V. Snyder. Not only is it fantasy goodness, there's plenty of romance, too :D) How can people say it's the "best book ever" when there are TONS of good books out there they've never even heard of?!?
I read Twilight just to see what all the hype was about--and I just didn't get it. As for the characters, Bella is just an empty shell (not to mention an insult of feminism! She is completely dependent on a MAN, and without him, she ceases to exist. God, Bella, grow a backbone!) I could at least understand Edward--yeah, he's a little off, but I understood his motivation. Sort of.
Yeah, the ending of The Host was a little neat and perfect, but I liked the fact that not everything was resolved--you as a reader understood that there would still be danger. And you also understood that maybe, just maybe, the human race would survive :) It left a lot to your imagination, which I really liked.
I feel all weird about Twilight sometimes because it's like a like them and hate them at the same time. I can't stop reading them yet when I do I let them bother me. :P Oh well, I don't take them seriously.
I totally agree about Bella. I liked her at first, until she became obsessed with Edward. Then it's like if he's away from her she wants to die. That just made me roll my eyes and it's way, way worse in book 2 so be glad you didn't bother with that one. The funny thing I talked to one of my friends about this and expressed my distaste for Bella's obsession and she just gushed about how romantic it is to feel that way and wondered why I didn't feel that way about my husband (this is an adult woman a bit older then me). I love my husband, but I'm not so removed from myself that I need him to survive. Then again, I'm a lot more confident in my relationship with my husband then Bella is with Edward that when he's not there I don't feel threatened or dead.
Yeah, I guess you are right about The Host, it was neat but not everything was resolved. I thought the whole premise of that book was incredibly creative and the characters were sure deeper then the Twilight bunch. I had no idea she was going to turn it into a series though, I'm with you, it's just fine as a stand alone book.
That seems to be the general consensus with people who aren't like, obsessed with the books. They love them--but they hate them at the same time. The epitome of guilty pleasure.
Being in wholly love with your husband? That's one thing. Being so dependent on him that you NEED to be around him ALL the time, that your ENTIRE LIFE revolves around him? If anyone was like that in real life, she would be a joke!
I might not read the rest of books in The Host, just because I liked it so much and I don't want it to be ruined! It kind of reminded me of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Have you ever read those?
Oh yeah, it's a guilty pleasure indeed. :P I feel for any man that has a woman in his life who is that obsessed with him. Actually, I had a boyfriend once who was sort of like that (not obsessed, but clingy). It got really annoying after a while, which is one of the many reason I broke up with him...dude, I need my space!
Thanks for the book recommendations, I always like hearing about something new that I haven't read before. So there's The Study Series and The Uglies (which I have heard of, yes, but have not read) which you recommended, thanks! Another friend also recommended a series called Fablewood or soemthing like that so now I have three to look into to. :D I love books!
It's just that I hate the near deification that some people give Twilight. They SPAZ whenever they hear a mere mention of the book. Personally, I don't think that it's worthy of all the attention it's getting. I read the first book and couldn't manage to read the rest of them. I just think some of her characters are so...plastic. They don't have much in the way of personality. And don't even get me started on the "OMG Edward!!!" He is a FICTIONAL character. I have no problem with being REALLY into a fictional character, or even having a crush on one, but...I know some girls who take it just one step too far.
Oddly enough though, as much as I dislike Twilight, I loved Stephenie Meyer's other book, The Host. I couldn't believe the same person had written both books! My only beef is that she's turning it into a series now, and really, The Host stands alone just fine.
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Anyway, I'm totally with you. I read The Host about a month ago. I was really skeptical at first, thinking it was going to be mostly mindless drivel like Twilight, but I liked it so much more. I thought it was deeper and more thought provoking. Again, the end was a tad too neat and perfect, but I really enjoyed it a lot, I'm looking forward to reading it again actually.
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I read Twilight just to see what all the hype was about--and I just didn't get it. As for the characters, Bella is just an empty shell (not to mention an insult of feminism! She is completely dependent on a MAN, and without him, she ceases to exist. God, Bella, grow a backbone!) I could at least understand Edward--yeah, he's a little off, but I understood his motivation. Sort of.
Yeah, the ending of The Host was a little neat and perfect, but I liked the fact that not everything was resolved--you as a reader understood that there would still be danger. And you also understood that maybe, just maybe, the human race would survive :) It left a lot to your imagination, which I really liked.
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I totally agree about Bella. I liked her at first, until she became obsessed with Edward. Then it's like if he's away from her she wants to die. That just made me roll my eyes and it's way, way worse in book 2 so be glad you didn't bother with that one. The funny thing I talked to one of my friends about this and expressed my distaste for Bella's obsession and she just gushed about how romantic it is to feel that way and wondered why I didn't feel that way about my husband (this is an adult woman a bit older then me). I love my husband, but I'm not so removed from myself that I need him to survive. Then again, I'm a lot more confident in my relationship with my husband then Bella is with Edward that when he's not there I don't feel threatened or dead.
Yeah, I guess you are right about The Host, it was neat but not everything was resolved. I thought the whole premise of that book was incredibly creative and the characters were sure deeper then the Twilight bunch. I had no idea she was going to turn it into a series though, I'm with you, it's just fine as a stand alone book.
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Being in wholly love with your husband? That's one thing. Being so dependent on him that you NEED to be around him ALL the time, that your ENTIRE LIFE revolves around him? If anyone was like that in real life, she would be a joke!
I might not read the rest of books in The Host, just because I liked it so much and I don't want it to be ruined! It kind of reminded me of the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld. Have you ever read those?
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Thanks for the book recommendations, I always like hearing about something new that I haven't read before. So there's The Study Series and The Uglies (which I have heard of, yes, but have not read) which you recommended, thanks! Another friend also recommended a series called Fablewood or soemthing like that so now I have three to look into to. :D I love books!
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Glad to be able to recommend something to you! I love books too, that's why I'm studying to be a librarian!
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