I'm almost afraid to post this because I know there are some Twilight fans, but I can't resist.
Why are people so obsessed with Twilight? I read all four books and honestly, I don't get the obsession. I didn't think they were that well written. I think Stephanie Meyer stretched her love story a little too far. Four books was kind of extensive. By the third book, I didn't even care to read it anymore. And now, she's writing it from Edward's point of view? Really? I just think she wants more money.
Maybe one of you could explain to me why Twilight is worth obsessing over. I just don't think a super hot fictional vampire that sparkles is worth all this attention.
Hi Kelsey, I'd just like to agree with you on this point. I have yet to understand the obsession over these books. I read the first and could not get myself to read the rest.
"What kind of stories will you tell your children?" I remember an Onondaga (one of the Iroquois tribes)leader saying this once at a lecture. Will they be tales which tell girls that to have an interesting life they should latch onto a boy? Or tales that tell them to live their own adventure, their own Hero Journey.
Whoo-hoo! Thank you for being intelligent, well-read and unafraid to paddle against the current. I'm old enough to be your mother, I grew up on SF/fantasy, I illustrate (slightly published) and write (not yet published) in the YA fantasy genre. When the market guide for children's (and YA) literature mentioned Twilight as an example of good YA fantasy literature (they apparently never read Tolkien, or any other real fantasy), I checked it out. I couldn't get through the first one. Gaaack; 582 pages of a girl obsessing over a (slightly dangerous)boy. ("So, Bella, how'd you do in math class?" (sighs) "Edward!"... "What kind of dog do you want?" "Edward!!!"... How're you going to save the world when you grow up?" Edward!!!!!") No one has pets in this series...perhaps the vampires ate them all. There is no sense of myth, of Faerie, of connection to the natural world and its forces (though the film had some awesome cinematography and a great sense of place, as well as several fine young actors). Several friends I consider intelligent and well read had similar opinions to mine. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and C.S. Lewis (Narnia) were men writing in a time when women stayed home and ironed sheets, but their female characters have far more strength than our Twilight "heroine".
Tolkien, Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Tamora Pierce (strong female characters), Cornelia Funke (Inkheart), Nancy Springer (Connor); these know how to write true fantasy. They know the pattern of the Hero Journey, which Joseph Campbell wrote about so thoroughly. Stephanie Meyer has written a romance with fangs. I really wish she had stayed in Harlequin Land; some people enjoy a bag of decadent potato chips now and then, but I don't want my greasy chips labeled as a fresh-caught seafood buffet.
I wondered why I was so irritated by the whole Twilight mania thing; then I realized it was as if someone had invaded a pristine island I knew well, and built a horrible condo on it. If you are going to hike through Faerie, you had better know it well, have your field guides in order, come prepared, walk softly and respectfully, and leave no trace.
First of all, obviously the books are not well written. Any drooling teenage fan that says "they're the best books ever" is merely swept up in all the hype. But that's not what these books are all about. They leave eloquence at the door and provoke real emotions out of these teenage girls through things that they already know--forbidden love and yes, lust and physicality. It's a story about a extraordinarily normal girl who ends up with the best looking guy in the school. Kudos to you for not getting swept up in the crowd, but I think you're forgetting one of the main reasons artists (including authors) thrive in this world--PEOPLE HAVE FUN READING THEIR STUFF! So please, let the poor fans (myself included) enjoy themselves. After all, what is our generation suppose to obsess over? I don't see anything even coming close to resembling The Beatles in our near future.