Let me just start by answering the question - Edward or Jacob? I am definitely an Edward gal. It is the romantic in me. Love Edward! Jacob was a little too rough around the edges for me (I'm not much of a dog lover), but he was a good guy, he's just no Edward (Who is?) Let me just say that Alice rocks! She is my kind of gal. She has great taste, and knows how to throw a classy shindig.
I read the first book pretty quick. I was almost done with it by the time we got to Utah. We happened to be in Wal- Mart late on the night that Breaking Dawn was going to be released. I didn't realize it. I couldn't figure out why that Wal-Mart was crawling with freaky people in strange prom dresses, wedding dresses, etc. - it wasn't even close to Halloween yet. Maybe that was normal in Utah, after all. But I figured it out when I saw the long line of customers, mostly pre-teen girls sitting on the floor waiting for the books to go on sale in only 2 more hours. I figured I'd better buy books 2 and 3 while there, but I wasn't waiting around until midnight to buy #4.
TWILIGHT I loved it! It was a fast, fun read, and I found it intriguing. I really think that Meyers has helped vampires come into the 21st century. Vampires are cool. I was enthralled with the idea of falling in love with someone who was so perfect and still so dangerous at the same time. Just a fun, fast read.
NEW MOON I liked it over-all. Of course the beginning was such a downer, but that was exactly the point. I like the whole werewolf angle and of course I loved the whole Italy part. I love Italy and when I say the cover page with a picture of an Italian plaza, I knew I was going to like it. I did get mad at Bella. She was being completely idiotic, but I guess it was forgivable, considering her state of mind. I was reading this while on our road trip. Dennis asked me what I was reading so I started to explain the plot to him. He must have been intrigued because about every 30 minutes he asked me what was happening now. Dennis isn't much of a reader, so he just had me fill him in.
ECLIPSE Nope. Didn't like it at all. "Tedious" is the only word for it. Bella: Make me into a vampire. Edward: No. Bella: Make me into a vampire. Edward: No - repeated for hundreds of pages. I couldn't stand Bella by book 3. It was just time for Edward, and Jacob for that matter, to move on. She was just torturing everyone she claimed to love. Book 3 also got a bit too steamy. I would definitely NOT let a daughter of mine (hypothetically speaking, obviously) read 3 or 4. Period. I get that Meyers was good enough to push the whole, not-until-we're-married thing, which is noble, I guess, but still, married or not, there are just some things that I think pre-teen girls should not be reading about. Maybe I am prude. So be it. But I was disturbed that this series is being promoted to teenage girls.
BREAKING DAWN Whoa! I was frankly amazed how one book can be so tedious and wild at the same time. A bit too freaky for my taste. I realized that while Meyers has and amazing mind and wild twists and turns in her plot, she is not a good writer. Maybe I am spoiled by reading the classics and the beautiful artful language of the great authors. I was a literature major, and love the beauty and power of the written word. She has most certainly NOT mastered this skill. She is no Jane Austin. Her dialog is just bad. I don't know why I didn't notice so much before. I think it is because I was too enthralled with the story to care, but the more books I read, the more it bugged me. It got to the point, about halfway through the last book that I just put it down and couldn't read any more. Too tedious. I wasn't enjoying it anymore. The book sat on my desk for two weeks before I finally had a day that wasn't busy (relatively. All my days are busy!) and just sat down to finish and get it off my back. (I just couldn't read 3 1/2 books and stop!) Here are just a few of the things that bugged me about book 4, besides the tediousness. Renesmee? What kind of name is that? It distracted me. Every time I read it it pulled me right out of the zone because I thought "stupid name," and I couldn't figure out how the pronounce it. I was much too uncomfortable with the imprinting thing, too. I thought Bella's talent to not have to deal with the newborn vampire thing was a cop-out. Didn't we all want to see her have to struggle with craving blood a bit more? And the whole "don't ask don't tell" thing with Charlie was another huge cop-out. She spent 4 books worrying what Charlie would do, only to have it be a non-issue. I just think part of the genius of a good writer is not just in creating twists and turns in the plot, but also in tying them all up neatly in the end. She tried, but not masterfully. I must admit, I did like the end. Go Alice! (oops, did I say too much?) I was satisfied, and I was glad I talked myself into finishing the book. It was just getting there that was hard. Meyer could have said what she said in half the pages and it would have been better, I think. Sometimes I read a series and I don't want it to be over, but in this case, I am fine with coming to THE END.
So those are my thoughts, if anybody cares. I hope some of you Twilight fans don't hate me too bad. I did give it a try though, and now I am going back to the classics. I'm thinking Mansfield Park next.
8 comments:
Ah... not a huge Twilight fan here. I had written a HUGE comment about this... but it was getting too long and I still had more to say. I guess what it boils down to for me is this - I like my girl characters stronger, I like my guy characters a little less manipulative, and I like my plot to look a little less like swiss cheese!
I did read the Host... it was good. There were still some parts that bothered me, but I would pick it up again.
You'll have to let me know what you think of Mansfield Park...
See, I'm completely opposite. I am an Jacob fan. I guess I like the roughness that he had. I Loved Twilight and New Moon, Eclipse was good but I was very disappointed with Braking Dawn.
I just finished the series this week, too, and had some not so great things to say about it. I have been debating about whether to post all my thoughts or not. We'll see.
I did read The Host (first) and couldn't put it down. I'd say give that a try, if you like science fiction.
I totally agree with you. I loved the first book and got more and more dissapointed with each book. I thought bella was way too weak. Also, I didn't like the baby's name, I didn't like Jocob imprinting on her. I wanted to see more of a struggle when she became a vampire. Instead she turned into a superhero with a perfect life. I felt I couldn't identify with her at all. Of course I never really felt like I could identify with her. She just isn't strong enough. I agree with you about the writing. She seems to use the same words over and over and over and after having read all of her books it kind of drives me crazy. She uses the word unfathomable entirely too often.
My problem with the whole series is simply that I didn't like Bella. All the time I was reading, I was expecting to turn a page and find something that would convince me to like her--never happened.
"The Host" was better, but bothered me because the heroine was always being tortured, either by exposure to extreme elements or at the hands of angry humans. It got very tiring.
I've just started book 3 (just 2 chapters). I loved the first two books. So we'll see what happens....
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :)
Yea! I love reading reviews that more match my own of this book. I hear so much, "oh, it was so great!" when I thought it was just bad writing. I'm frustrated that Meyers created her own rules for this vampire world and then just conveniently broke them all for her whinebag main character so that she (Meyers) wouldn't have to follow through with some sacrifice. Wouldn't want to do anything to make Bella whine even more!!! Ugh. I'm with you, though. Twilight was fun, so I now tell those who've never dabbled in the series to read the first one, then stop there. Anyway, I'm still struggling through Gone with the Wind, and my next venture is Tale of Two Cities at your recommendation! Enjoy Mansfield Park... that's another one still on my "to read" list.
Okay, I can finally read your post about this since I just finished book 1 - Twilight. I liked that Meyers kept me intrigued the whole time. I haven't read a book that big in a short amount of time for a LONG time. But, I will not be continuing on in the series. I didn't love it that much. Although I enjoyed it, I really would rather spend my time reading something else or doing something else. I usually don't like the books that are trendy (still haven't read the Harry Potter books but I'll get around to it) but I'm glad I did. It's kind of fun to know what everyone is talking about and have an opinion regarding the topic. Next book I'll be reading - The Last Lecture. Am I too serious or what?
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