random rant: Twlight fans

[Lepplady]

I feel qualified to comment because I read the first ten pages of the first book. That's all I could force myself to slog through before I couldn't stand it any more. The marketing copy on the back cover was brilliant and intriguing, and it's painfully obvious that somebody besides the author came up with it.
Stephanie Meyer writes for crap. The fact that there's such a devoted following is not a testament to her talent. She doesn't have any. It means that her timing was good, and that she struck a nerve with lonely, angst-ridden teenagers. I hope she's made a lot of money because only one thing is more certain than death and taxes. It's that teenagers are fickle. They'll fight to the death to defend a cause one day, and then forget all about it the next. Some new flavor of the month will come along and all the kiddies will go running off to defend that one to the death. A few die-hards might follow Stephanie Meyers to the end, but for the most part, she'll be sifting through the dust bunnies in her inbox looking for a kind word.

[Mr Nobody]

Re: conditioning - guys are also 'conditioned' in the way they think about/see women (as both genders are capable of thought, personal insight, etc - I know it's not very PC of me to point this out. lol). Luckily, this stuff isn't aimed at guys.

"You may not agree with their opinions, and no one says you have to, but at least be open to hearing their thoughts."
And I'm maybe just playing Devil's Advocate, but is it really an opinion if you're factually wrong? I know the broad point was conceded - that's it's ridiculous to claim Meyer's been plagiarised - but even so... And am I really expected to listen to someone's 'thoughts' if they've already lost me by making an empty-headed claim?
Being fair to them - which I was being anyway - IF they listened to my correction, i.e. 'Actually, Shakey and Frost were a lot time dead before Meyer first picked up a pen, so how can they steal from her?', then I'd be inclined to listen to why they thought the books were so great because they'd probably have something interesting to say (as well as being able to reason).
I'd be more worried, though, about the apparent 'relationship norms' they might be extrapolating from the books. From what I've read and heard, it all seems to be Meyer's secret fantasy/fetish that she's sticking into her work. That might be OK for her, being an adult, and her other adult readers, but for her intended audience?

[Tery]

To be fair, most "fanatics" tend to be very proprietary about their obsession. I mean, some of us can be quite adamant about Uncle Stevie and his work. Other than the ones that attacked here recently, I haven't had much contact with Twilight fans. My daughter and her friend saw it and thought it was silly. I caught a bit of it on a PPV channel and, quite honestly, I found it banal and stupid. Well, we can't all like the same things...

As far as Twilight fanatics go, as long as they don't bother me, I won't bother them

[poisonbat]

As most teenagers my daughters age (16) She read Twilight. She was thrilled, blah blah blah... But never got through the second book Eclipse or was it New Moon? She soon lost interest and left the book to gather dust. This too will pass as my grandmother used to say.

[Todash]

I feel qualified to comment because I read the first ten pages of the first book. That's all I could force myself to slog through before I couldn't stand it any more. The marketing copy on the back cover was brilliant and intriguing, and it's painfully obvious that somebody besides the author came up with it.
Stephanie Meyer writes for crap. The fact that there's such a devoted following is not a testament to her talent. She doesn't have any. It means that her timing was good, and that she struck a nerve with lonely, angst-ridden teenagers. I hope she's made a lot of money because only one thing is more certain than death and taxes. It's that teenagers are fickle. They'll fight to the death to defend a cause one day, and then forget all about it the next. Some new flavor of the month will come along and all the kiddies will go running off to defend that one to the death. A few die-hards might follow Stephanie Meyers to the end, but for the most part, she'll be sifting through the dust bunnies in her inbox looking for a kind word.

I don't think this is entirely accurate. The bones of the story were there, and speaking strictly from a story perspective, for a first draft it wasn't bad. I mean, yes, the characters need fleshed out and the bad guys should have been introduced way before they were (IMO) to build tension ... and I could have totally done without the Mount Olympus-style baseball game. The language could stand to be revisited too. But with practice, reworks, and a good editor, Meyer has potential.

One part of the book that I did like was the sparkling. It seems silly on the face of it, but the idea of having the "can only come out in the night" idea exposed as a myth arising from a misunderstanding of vampiric inclinations was actually, I thought, quite clever. The idea of vampires not coming out in bright daylight because they could be easily visually identified was really pretty slick, as much as it gets mocked.

[Dana]

I don't know, my preteen daughter read the series, and she thought they were "just okay". She didn't go all rabid fangirl over it, maybe she's not old enough? She hasn't asked for any Edward posters or anything yet, anyway.
I have to admit, though, the other Moms I know who have become obsessed with the series get on my nerves a little bit. I keep getting behind one of them at school that has their car all blinged out with Twilight stuff and even has a huge decal that says "I drive like a Cullen" I think that's a little over the top.

[Roseasharn]

P.S. I will happily read juvenile and YA lit if it appeals to me, as will many of the members on this board, I'm sure. We were only pointing out that the reason for the impassioned defense of the Twilight books is the age of many of the readers.

Me, too! I just finished reading an oldie but goodie, Lyddie by Katherine Patterson. I'm going to read it with my stepdaughter this summer. A good book that lends itself to a history teaching moment! WIN!