Comments | jmc_bks: TBR: Twilight

jmc_bks

TBR: Twilight

May 20, 2009 21:08

I've missed the last couple of TBR Challenges, but was inspired by Beth's SBD about Twilight to pick it up for the challenge this month. First I had to find my copy of the book -- I bought it back in 2005 when the book was originally published, but never got around to reading it. So it had only been sitting on a shelf for ~4 years. Which isn't ( Read more... )

tbr, paranormal

Comments 14

Oh no no no no no anonymous May 21 2009, 03:21:44 UTC

You don't even know the meaning of Mary Sue until you get to the 4th book. It's a whole new level of juvenile wish fulfillment, the likes of which have not been seen since I was 13 and imagined an intricately detailed Perfect Day that would end in my being on the pom-pom team, discovered by an agent and given a recording contract, and winning the eternal yet unworthy adoration of one River Phoenix, all while getting straight A's and inheriting a million dollars and finding I'm the crown princess of a long lost European kingdom. And spectacularly. publicly humiliating the local meangirl by dint of my formidable wit. From my ancestral seat in suburban INDIANA.

Honestly, the fourth book makes my adolescent fantasies look downright believable. Reading such cloying wish fulfillment has left me queasy for days.

And I just watched the movie, in which one very unexpected thing happened: I discovered that something actually IS worse than the book.

Ugh barf bleh.

~beth

Re: Oh no no no no no bluejeanbaby May 21 2009, 05:51:25 UTC

uh yeah. what she said.

Re: Oh no no no no no jmc_bks May 24 2009, 14:55:51 UTC

My 13 yo Perfect Day was strikingly similar, except there was no singing involved, and Johnny Depp would've taken the place of River Phoenix ;)

menage_a_kat May 21 2009, 09:12:24 UTC

I didn't like the way Twilight was written, but for some reason I had to keep reading. I didn't think of comparing it to BDB crack, but you're so right! I just read New Moon, and I actually think it's better than Twilight.

jmc_bks May 24 2009, 15:10:54 UTC

Better how? I'm curious, but not curious enough to pick up a copy.

menage_a_kat May 26 2009, 18:48:45 UTC

Bella didn't annoy me so much, I felt the book generally was more emotionally honest than Twilight, and Edward doesn't appear until the end of the book. That said, it's by no means an excellent read, either.

jperceval May 21 2009, 11:18:35 UTC

LOVE the Kiefer pic, thanks for the link!

I have Twilight TBR, probably sitting around as long as your copy was, and the more I hear about it, the less I want to read it.

jmc_bks May 24 2009, 14:59:33 UTC

Isn't that a great pic :)

Now that I've read it, I want to be rid of it, and I'm vaguely embarrassed that I let it take up space on my shelf so long. My sister wants to read it, just to understand the fanwank, but can't bear to pay for it (even used) or waste Book Mooch credit on it. So I'm going to pass it on.

jperceval May 27 2009, 13:27:33 UTC

Just found these two as well:

( ... )

anonymous May 21 2009, 21:55:47 UTC

I don't think Edward's behaviour telegraphs abuse: I think that's reading adult values into the story that clearly aren't meant to be there. Yes, it would be inappropriate if a young girl's boyfriend broke in to watch her sleep - but I can live with the idea that the rules might be different for sparkly mind-reading vampires ( ... )

jmc_bks May 24 2009, 15:10:21 UTC

Edward breaking in to watch Bella sleep on her own would not have bothered me (much). But in conjunction with the listening to her conversations; the mysterious warnings that he wasn't going to be safe for her; and, the secret keeping/isolation from her friends, it just seemed like stereotypical abuser behavior.

Does it matter if the values aren't meant to be there by the author, if a reader sees them there? I'm just playing devil's advocate; sometimes a rose is just a rose for me, and not a symbol of anything else. But literary theorists might disagree.

anonymous May 24 2009, 23:16:36 UTC

"Does it matter if the values aren't meant to be there by the author, if a reader sees them there? I'm just playing devil's advocate; sometimes a rose is just a rose for me, and not a symbol of anything else. But literary theorists might disagree ( ... )

anonymous May 26 2009, 13:58:08 UTC

My cousins (two very very smart women) were just telling me that I HAD to read this because even though it's horrible it's too good to miss. I think they'd agree that it's crack. But I just ... can't.

jennie

jmc_bks May 26 2009, 14:09:02 UTC

My sister says the same thing, more or less.

I'm not sure that I would call it "good" in any fashion...but it had a sort of train wreck vibe -- I couldn't put it down and was fascinated by the mess. Having said that, I have no interest in picking up the next book of the series.