Eclipse, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and Pure Imagination's Twilight Takeover got me thinking about Twilight.Ah Twilight. One of the most loved and hated books of my generation. They've been turned int wildly popular movies, you see merchandise from it just about everywhere, so basically, if you haven't heard of it, welcome to Earth!
What do I think of it? When I first read these books, I absolutely loved them. I wasn't even a very avid reader but I was hooked. I finished Twilight in about 3 days (a great accomplishment at the time) and was begging my mom to take me to the bookstore so I could get New Moon. I was in love.
Twilight introduced me to a completely new genre and made me love reading in a way that I never had before. Now that I've read more, I've realized that there are better books and writing out there, but I will always be grateful to Stephenie Meyer and her series for giving me the love of reading, and I know that I'm not the only one. I'd love to go back and re-read the series just to know what my opinion of them now would be now.
So, what about you? Are you a Twi-hard or a Twilight hater?
I am neither a Twi-hard or a Twi-Hater. I am in the middle somewhere. I love the books, but the movies (beside the fact of Taylor Lautner) and merchandise, robret pattinson,etc, I hate that.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Twilight brought me into the fold of reading, showed me a new genera and well I fell in love, however now that I am reading more, there's alot out there, with better plots, perhaps better writing as well, though Stephanie will always be able to draw me in I think, but...she's always going to hold a place in my heart...and though Twilight is no longer my "most fav. book ever" it's got a special place in my heart, always.
ReplyDeleteI'm a hater, I guess.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a reader, so Twilight didn't really do much except provide a mildly entertaining diversion. I thought the first book was just okay. They got worse as the series went on, IMO. Breaking Dawn turned me into the anti-Twilight person I am today.
On the bright side, I think these books could be used in schools as a great example of how not to write a story. As for getting teens to read... well, I think there are a lot of similar (and better) books that could do that.
I'm somewhat of a Twi-hard, I guess. I love the books and the movies and all that. No, it's not epic literature, and I find Edward much too controlling and the discussion of teen sexuality a little glossed over, but I'm not looking for life lessons from these books. It worries me that some girls want to emulate Bella, who has some serious self-confidence issues, but if the books get them reading (and they have), well, I'm okay with that.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a Twi-hard. I KNOW that it's not the best book series. I KNOW that there are better written and structured YA books being released. But does that make me love it any less? No. The Twilight series pulled me in and got a huge reaction out of me. And any book, no matter how much it gets torn down, that can evoke those kinds of emotions is incredible to me. Obviously, I'm not one of those people who freaks out because Edward is an abusive stalker and Bella is a whiny loser with low self-esteem & no back-bone (because I say this a lot. It's FICTION with VAMPIRES. Why are you trying to look for appropriate character personalities and morals?) But yeah, I love it a lot. I'm obsessed with it- the books and the movies. I'm not ashamed of it, I'm just ashamed of the people who try to beat up (figuratively) those of us who enjoy the series as much as we do.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm done. Sorry for the rant, but as you can see, I've got a lot of love for Twilight. :)
Like La Coccinelle, I was always a reader, and I read Twilight at its rising popularity, and did not understand the hype at all. I don't hate the series as much as I hate its hyped promotions, and the fact that I see it everywhere (the books are also translated in Arabic, so there's no escaping it).
ReplyDeleteTwilight isn't what got me into reading completely, Ellen Hopkins is. But Twilight got me into being an AVID reader. I love Twilight and I always will. I love other books as well though. Twilight will always have a spot in my heart and I never really thought the writing was bad. I don't understand why people say that lol. I just never thought of her writing to have anything really wrong with it.
ReplyDelete-Briana
(continued from above) I probably don't see anything wrong with her writing though, because I'm not a really good writer lol.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly how I feel about Twilight. Although I was already a big read prior to having read this series, I'd never ever read paranormal, fantasy, dystopia, vampires etc. For the longest time I kept putting Twilight back down at the bookstore because I though "how the heck can anyone fall in love with a vampire?" Reading the Twilight series really opened up my eyes to all the great genres out there that I'd been passing on.
ReplyDeleteI really did enjoy the Twilight series at first, especially Twilight and New Moon. Eclipse was just okay for me and Breaking Dawn I wanted to throw across my room lol. Still, Stephenie Meyer may not be the best writer but she's a great story teller and fantastic with plot. Every writer has their weak points.
I'm somewhere in the middle too, neither a die-hard fan nor a die-hard hater. But I've to admit that the books are good. They have the ability to capture the reader's attention right up from page one. Now that's an important factor, isn't it, for a book to be wildly popular?
ReplyDeleteAs for the movies, they kinda suck. It's fortunate that they have a good-looking cast. Pattinson is hot. :)
But still, I can't wait for Eclipse to come out!
I take the movie and the book for what they are. I don't understand the hatred. I think it's extreme LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm like most, somewhere in the middle. I think writing that can make you feel anything has done its job. Ambivalence is the worst reaction. I recently started a book, forced myself to finish, and at the end felt absolutely nothing. Didn't love it, certainly didn't hate it; I just didn't care. Now THAT'S a sign of a bad story line.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Meyer never claimed to be Shakespeare. A story came to her and she wrote it as best she could. Isn't that all we can ask? To me, it seems that most of the hatred comes from the saturated market of Twilight paraphernalia, which may cause a backlash with future books.
I LOVE Twilight!
ReplyDeleteI love that it reintroduced me to YA (a genre that has changed drastically since I was a teen).
I love the simple clear writing style.
I love the characters.
I'm a huge fan basically.
I'm just like you with this series. Twilight got me into paranormal books, and now I am hooked.
ReplyDeleteLove this blog, Following! :)
I completely AGREE! I loved them once I finished all of them (which was only in a week) and it was what kick started my love for reading!
ReplyDeleteSee, that's exactly how it was for me!
ReplyDeleteI'd stopped reading completely for a while and I hated it, but then Twilight made me realize how amazing it is when a good book can draw you in the second you open it. I was in love.
Now that I've read all different varieties of books now, it's not my number one favorite book or series, but Twilight will always have a special place in my heart.