my sister and i split the cost of buying breaking dawn last night and i ended up with it first. i actually wasn't that interested in reading the 4th book, but i wanted my opinion to change of stephanie meyer. right now, i don't think very highly of her as an author. i started reading today and she could only wait one chapter before someone is sucking face. maybe, when i finish the book, she will have redeemed herself and i will take off this post.
but for now, this fellow blogger put my thoughts onto paper perfectly. please read and put in your two bits:
"And I'm saddened by what people will read in order to get a quick buzz out of literature. No thinking, analysis, introspection, or even grammar to worry about. Just a sexy, recast Victorian novel... Because it's got vampires...but it's safe vampires. Because there's no (overt) sexuality, no (explicit) nudity, no (really) naughty words, no meaning... just safe entertainment.
Meyer is content with--and perhaps succeeds in--titillating her readers with action, overly gorgeous characters, and superficial, safely non-sexual foreplay at the expense of character development, depth, and good writing."
i know all of you really love them, ( i did for a small period too). and i do think it's great that these are getting lots of girls to read books at all. but the author herself summed up these books in her own writing, " sex was the key all along..." (p 111). and let's face it, sex sells.
i hope you aren't offended if you are an avid fan, this is just my nerdy opinion.
8 comments:
You asked for my opinion, you got it. First of all I refuse to read it. Why? Because it is the new "trend." I refused to read Harry Potter for the same reason. I kind of have a motto of "Just because everyone else is doesn't mean I do." So you may ask "what about all the other 'classics' out there?" First of all those have been tried and tested for years. Second, some of them are crap too!!! (I guess i have a stronger opinion about this than I thought) Good for you for actually reading a book and forming your own opinion on it. PS do you want to be my Good reads buddy?
I just got the book tonight so I haven't read it yet, but I'll let you know what I think once I'm done.
I think it's interesting to hear what everyone has to say. I haven't finished the book yet, but I was disappointed with the part in the beginning. I have never thought these were really appropriate for teen readers and that clinched it for me.
That being said, I don't think there is anything wrong with a purely entertaining read sometimes. I have read lots of the classics and greats and enjoyed them. I also enjoyed Harry Potter.
I think it's like movies. Not all movies are Oscar winners, but does that mean all of the non-Oscar winners are bad? I don't think so. We've all got favorite movies that didn't win any awards.
I think it's unrealistic to expect every author to be a great author like Charles Dickens or CS Lewis. Sometimes we want to read something really great. Something well written that will change us and make a difference in our lives. Sometimes we just want a fun story.
When we watch movies, sometimes we watch an Oscar winner and sometimes we don't. I recently finished "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. I thought it was very well written and even the arguments I didn't agree with were well thought out and explained. It gave me a lot to think about. Now that I've finished that though, it's kind of nice to take a break and read something fast and easy before I pick up another "classic."
Do I think Stephanie Meyer (or JK Rowling) are great authors? Nope. Not even close to CS Lewis, Charlotte Bronte and many others. But they're entertaining, and sometimes that's really all any of us wants.
Just my humble opinion. :)
i have to agree with all of you so far. mel, i know that this series is for young adults, so definitely not expecting great things. i think what bothers me is that everyone has their daughters reading this because she is a "BYU graduate". Yes, it is fun to read a book that doesn't have you think, i totally need that after a hard book. But, I think Meyer's is using the steamy scenes to sell her books (think New York Times Bestsellers) and that pisses me right off.
and chandra is totally right about classics, I bore through Wuthering Heights because it's on my classics list, only to hate it more in the end.. Funny, that's Stephenie Meyer's favorite book. go figure.
The fact that some moms are letting their girls read this because the author is from BYU is irresponsible if you ask me. That's like telling your 13 year-old they can watch any PG-13 movie. Stupid.
And I'm not at all trying to make excuses for the author but sometimes I wonder about the politics involved and how much control she has over the final product. Was she intensely persuaded or forced to change things? I'm sure she has some sort of contract. I don't know. I never thought dentistry and it's specialties were at all political but I'm learning all too well that they are highly political so I can't help but think there is a ton of that in the book industry too. I guess, in the end, I don't want to jump to conclusions. I haven't tried to write a book.
I don't think those scenes are necessary though and I didn't enjoy them.
Wuthering Heights was a hard book for me to read too. :)
Hi Annie :) I just wanted to jump in here and say I could not agree with you more! I made it all the way through the first book and then quit, so obviously I'm not an expert on the Twilight series. But what I did read, I didn't like. I hate how Edward is controlling/overbearing...Not exactly what I would want glorified if I had a teenage daughter reading it!
Anyway, just wanted to add my too cents, ha! :)
Uh, TWO cents that is! Speaking of bad writers...he he.
I AM SO SICK OF TWILIGHT!!!! I am so glad that there are so many like-minded people out there!!!
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