Twilight: book & film talk, news, etc.- Page 2

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/6/08 at 10:15pm

Hmmm. Sadly, could go either way. I've been avoiding the books after having read an interview with the author when I had never heard of the series before. She seemed way too wholesome. I'll see if they're at the library, though.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 10:09pm

I'm about halfway through the first book. It's a page-turner, but I AM bothered by the misogyny of the whole concept, and by Bella's Mary Sue-ness. I'm really enjoying it, while simultaneously being bothered by it.

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 11:28pm

I don't think Bella's a mary-sue exactly, she's just dull. She's too boring to be too perfect. Edward on the other hand...

[Craww]

Posted: 6/21/08 at 11:38pm

Mary Sue doesn't have to be perfect, she just has to be an idealized self-insert of some sort. Her ordinariness is just another overplayed facet to make her more extraordinarily relatable.

Bella is the truest and basest form of a Mary Sue. The prototype, before the author adds crimson or raven locks, violet or multicolored eyes, and super awesome katana skills.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/22/08 at 3:55am

Mary Sue doesn't have to be perfect, she just has to be an idealized self-insert of some sort. Her ordinariness is just another overplayed facet to make her more extraordinarily relatable.

Exactly. "I'm just so ordinary! How could this beautiful, stunningly perfect, immortal person ever want me?" With the constant reassurances that she is so much better than ordinary, when, as readers, we don't see many reasons why, and the eternal damsel in distress setup, Bella is the ideal Mary Sue.

Which, I guess, isn't necessarily a bad thing given that that's the most appealing aspect of this sort of story. It doesn't make for a strong protagonist, but half of the fun is imagining yourself into it. From a feminist perspective it's kind of horrible, but I almost don't care.

I liked the book, though. It really is a romance novel minus the smutty parts plus some (not too edgy) vampire-related angst. Updated On: 6/22/08 at 03:55 AM

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/22/08 at 8:16pm

I love these books. As a bookseller I was turned onto reading them by a mom who told me they were the sexiest books she'd ever read without any sex in them. So I had to check it out... and got completely hooked. Since then I've been selling Twilight to any teen girl or adult woman I can get my hands on. I had one mom buy copies for all her kids' nursery school teachers.

[sweetestsiren]

Posted: 6/24/08 at 7:18pm

Not that anyone cares about my progress through the series, but 200 pages into New Moon, I'm thinking about throwing in the towel. Could Bella be anymore irritating or unhealthily obsessed? I think that problem is that we're supposed to accept that Bella and Edward's love is EPIC and their estrangement is a truly horrible thing when there's really no foundation to it in the first place (except that he's hot, and she's "endearingly" hapless and saveable). The result is that it seems like Bella's suicidally depressed and wallowing in ridiculous amounts of angst for months because her high school boyfriend broke up with her.

[Renthead#1]

Posted: 6/24/08 at 7:45pm

Prediction for Breaking Dawn:

"Bella and Edward sittin in a tree H-U-N-T-I-N-G"

[Craww]

Posted: 6/24/08 at 7:55pm

New Moon is so maddening. Especially how Meyer actually builds a believable relationship between Bella and Jacob, and builds Jacob into the only likable character, so she essentially has to engage in character assassination to knock him down enough to salvage Edward/Bella.

[Weez]

Posted: 6/24/08 at 8:22pm

New Moon is so maddening. Especially how Meyer actually builds a believable relationship between Bella and Jacob, and builds Jacob into the only likable character, so she essentially has to engage in character assassination to knock him down enough to salvage Edward/Bella.

This.

I always liked Jacob better. It's difficult not to like the one character who actually has *gasp!* character! The only basis we have for Bella/Edward is "zomg chemistry destiny zomg!", whereas Bella and Jacob are actually friends and interact and stuff. Jacob > Edward.

Does anyone here know 'Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'? I saw a brilliant LiveJournal userpic the other day that was a kind of Meyer/Marenghi crossover, and I just laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed.

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 12:21am

How does everyone feel about the cover art for Breaking Dawn?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/12/08 at 3:12am

DAMMIT! I caved. I started Twilight on the plane last Friday. I am now halfway through New Moon. Pretty fast considering the monumental golf tournament I have been planning this week. They are like damn chocolate. There are just SO many unintentional spoilers out there. I see buttons on facebook that give half the plot away. I am trying to avoid them. Yeah, I am a fan.

I dig Alice. I knew what was going to be up with Jacob in the first book, but I haven't gotten to the reveal in New Moon yet. I hope she wasn't trying to mask that.

I saw a facebook button that said, "Not even Alice Cullen know Dumbledore was gay" today. It made me giggle.

[mauriposa]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 1:55pm

After excessive badgering by my librarian best friend, I finally agreed to read Twilight. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down. When I finished last night and realized that I had no other books in the series in my house, I actually tried to read it online at Amazon. Definitely addicting. I'm going out tonight to buy the rest. It's amazing how quickly these books suck you in.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:10pm

Finished New Moon today. Moving on to Eclipse. Sigh. I suck.

[hermionejuliet]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 2:56pm

Alright - as a fan of both series, I love that Dumbledore/Alice saying.

[withoutlovewithoutU]

Posted: 7/13/08 at 3:07pm

My best friend forced me to buy the 1st one about month ago and I devoured them! I got through all three books within a week and then gave the 1st one to my mom to read and now she's obsessed too!
I have to say I am on team Jacob.... idk, I love Edward but I just feel for Jake.
Glad their are other crazy Twilight people on here

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 2:50pm

Noooooo! No team Jacob!

[broadwayboy101]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 2:59pm

I don't get what everyone sees in Jacob. I melt on the floor at anything Edward says lol

[midnghtdolphin]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 3:35pm

ok, i'm like 50 pages away from finishing eclipse. and they're good... but... they're not spectacular. like, give me laurell k. hamilton any day. or kim harrison. or kelley armstrong. they were good... but yeah. i still don't get what ALL the obsessing is about.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 5:11pm

Are they REALLY that good? I mean, I know the answer is YES, THEY'RE THAT GOOD! But I'm apprehensive. SOOOO many people I know love love love them and they are covering every inch of Borders and B&N. But something about a modern-day vampire love trilogy puts me off.

[Weez]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 5:23pm

Haven't you been reading this trhead? They're not good at all. But they are compulsive. Are you a Harry Potter fan? 'Cos we're looking at a similar thing here - literarily = kinda pants, fanwise = ridiculously popular, emphasis on ridiculous. If you like the idea of vampire/school-girl romance and you're not above reading fluff, then pick up the first one from the library. Because if you like vampire/school-girl romance and fluff, then this will be RIGHT up your alley!

I don't get how anyone could love Edward. :/

Hey, anyone here read Sarah Dessen books? 'Just Listen' is probably my favourite book aimed at teenage girls since EVER, and Owen Armstrong... now *there's* a book character totally worth getting a dorky crush on! *sigh* :)

Updated On: 7/16/08 at 05:23 PM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 7:23pm

Hell no, they're not that great. Someone said they were basically long fanfiction with original characters. Nothing spectacular. They are just addictive. You see most everything coming.

[mauriposa]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 8:02pm

They're not good at all. But they are compulsive.

Weez, you've got it exactly right. I'm not a big fan of the genre or even the writing of this series, yet I can't put these books down. I just need to know what happens. Odd how it works like that.

[fanpires]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 8:57pm

edward and bella need to die slow and painful deaths.

jacob ftw.

[DG]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 9:20pm

So, this 'fanpires' person shows up very recently, and wants to critique other artistic endeavors with phrases like 'majorly sucks' - but embraces THIS schlocky junk?!?

Duly noted.

I love it when the idiots are easily identified from the get-go.