Some thoughts on many things, including my review of the worst book I've read this decade
I have finally finished Twilight. I think that I can honestly say that this is going to the top of my "most hated books ever" list. So that dedicated Twilight lovers don't need to see my comments, I'm putting the review under the cut.
I don’t think that I’ve ever actively loathed a book quite so much in my life. So much has been written about these books that I felt that it was time to finally find out what all the furore was about. After all, Harry Potter has come in for just as much criticism and I love the HP books so I wanted to see for myself rather than taking other peoples’ comments as my own. On that front, I am glad that I read this and stuck with it through all 498 painful pages. I now know that all the criticisms that I’ve read are sadly true.
Bella is whiny, self-absorbed and shallow. I struggled to find any redeeming features to her. Even her extreme clumsiness quickly went from adorable to unbelievable - she makes me look graceful and I’ve got medical reasons for being a huge klutz! More importantly, Edward is a manipulative stalker and I honestly could not understand Bella’s obsession with him beyond the unearthly beauty that the author rams home with every other sentence. In fact, the author’s repetitive descriptions of Edward’s amazing beauty were an element that made me increasingly frustrated.
The portrayal of Bella and Edward’s relationship as the great love of the century grated on me the further I read. The first three-quarters of the book had no discernible plot beyond the constant theme of Edward rescuing Bella from her improbable clumsiness and how amazing it is that he’s a vampire. The revelation that he had been creeping into her room to watch her sleep is treated as the height of romance but I found it disturbing: it’s the behaviour of a stalker and that combined with his manipulative treatment of her would have most adults reaching for the phone to call the police. When a plot eventually emerged its only purpose seemed to be to cement Bella and Edward’s love (which I would call obsession on Bella’s part rather than love) and give Edward more opportunities to manipulate and ‘protect’ her.
Nothing about the book enchanted me but I can easily see why it appeals so much to the teen crowd. That is unfortunate because the messages it sends out about the nature of love and the kind of behaviour that is acceptable are worrying to say the least. I read the book with growing horror and I cannot see myself ever picking up any of the other books in the series. My brain now feels faintly violated.
Now I need to find something to be my non-Kindle book that will take the vague feeling of ick out of my brain. Any suggestions from this lot? My current unread book pile.
It would be nice to get Mount TBR down to under 130 books before I go away. I know that a lot of books are going to come back from England with me.
I've been checking my local cinema and Avengers tickets are now available to order. Squee! However, I need to call the theatre. The only tickets available are 3D (no, thank you, don't need the headache that will give me) or "Empire Extra Experience". As this extra thing is a possibility for both 2D and 3D (cinema doesn't specify) I need to call the theatre and ask. If the extra thing is also 3D, there is a distinct possibility that I might not be able to go. Watch me gnash my teeth and roar with rage if this is the case.
There's a possibility that I'm going to need to make a big decision in the coming weeks. My department is introducing some more flexible work options including the option to work a condensed week - an extra fifty minutes each day and get every second Friday or Monday off. Part of me thinks this would be excellent - yay days off! - another part of me isn't sure whether I can manage the earlier start time it entails. Hopefully we'll be getting an HR presentation on all the options next week with actual details about how it will work out (we've all got questions about vacations, public holidays etc.) and that will help me to decide. One of the other options would be a dedicated work from home day each week and it's another tempting one, particularly when Mum and I share the car during her extended visits.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/432594.html. There are currently
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I don’t think that I’ve ever actively loathed a book quite so much in my life. So much has been written about these books that I felt that it was time to finally find out what all the furore was about. After all, Harry Potter has come in for just as much criticism and I love the HP books so I wanted to see for myself rather than taking other peoples’ comments as my own. On that front, I am glad that I read this and stuck with it through all 498 painful pages. I now know that all the criticisms that I’ve read are sadly true.
Bella is whiny, self-absorbed and shallow. I struggled to find any redeeming features to her. Even her extreme clumsiness quickly went from adorable to unbelievable - she makes me look graceful and I’ve got medical reasons for being a huge klutz! More importantly, Edward is a manipulative stalker and I honestly could not understand Bella’s obsession with him beyond the unearthly beauty that the author rams home with every other sentence. In fact, the author’s repetitive descriptions of Edward’s amazing beauty were an element that made me increasingly frustrated.
The portrayal of Bella and Edward’s relationship as the great love of the century grated on me the further I read. The first three-quarters of the book had no discernible plot beyond the constant theme of Edward rescuing Bella from her improbable clumsiness and how amazing it is that he’s a vampire. The revelation that he had been creeping into her room to watch her sleep is treated as the height of romance but I found it disturbing: it’s the behaviour of a stalker and that combined with his manipulative treatment of her would have most adults reaching for the phone to call the police. When a plot eventually emerged its only purpose seemed to be to cement Bella and Edward’s love (which I would call obsession on Bella’s part rather than love) and give Edward more opportunities to manipulate and ‘protect’ her.
Nothing about the book enchanted me but I can easily see why it appeals so much to the teen crowd. That is unfortunate because the messages it sends out about the nature of love and the kind of behaviour that is acceptable are worrying to say the least. I read the book with growing horror and I cannot see myself ever picking up any of the other books in the series. My brain now feels faintly violated.
Now I need to find something to be my non-Kindle book that will take the vague feeling of ick out of my brain. Any suggestions from this lot? My current unread book pile.
It would be nice to get Mount TBR down to under 130 books before I go away. I know that a lot of books are going to come back from England with me.
I've been checking my local cinema and Avengers tickets are now available to order. Squee! However, I need to call the theatre. The only tickets available are 3D (no, thank you, don't need the headache that will give me) or "Empire Extra Experience". As this extra thing is a possibility for both 2D and 3D (cinema doesn't specify) I need to call the theatre and ask. If the extra thing is also 3D, there is a distinct possibility that I might not be able to go. Watch me gnash my teeth and roar with rage if this is the case.
There's a possibility that I'm going to need to make a big decision in the coming weeks. My department is introducing some more flexible work options including the option to work a condensed week - an extra fifty minutes each day and get every second Friday or Monday off. Part of me thinks this would be excellent - yay days off! - another part of me isn't sure whether I can manage the earlier start time it entails. Hopefully we'll be getting an HR presentation on all the options next week with actual details about how it will work out (we've all got questions about vacations, public holidays etc.) and that will help me to decide. One of the other options would be a dedicated work from home day each week and it's another tempting one, particularly when Mum and I share the car during her extended visits.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenay.dreamwidth.org/432594.html. There are currently
babbles on the entry on Dreamwidth