lol    

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

OK...I'll give you my absolute candid opinion on it (I've only read the first two books...won't be able to tell you about the other two until this weekend, as they're arriving today).

I have always been a fan of YA Fiction...the good stuff, mind you, not that random Sweet Valley High crap. I'm talking more of like Judy Blume (Forever is still one of the most brilliant YA books I've ever read) and her lot. But I've managed to read a huge variety of teen fiction books, so I have a pretty good idea of the range of quality going on in the market. That being said, I found Twilight and New Moon to both be very well-written. Wonderfully so, even. I found myself actually slowing down my reading speed so I could appreciate the author's writing style rather than just whipping through the story itself. (I tend to do that when I'm not fond of a writing style and just want to get through the book as fast as possible) To be honest, I found that Twilight moved a lot more fluidly than New Moon, but that may have had to do with the fact that I didn't care for the middle section of the story as much as I did the rest of it. Meyer's story arc style is a bit different than what you typically see...rather than that long climb to the climax and then the short descent to the end, you get a bit more of a gradual tapering off after the climax. I rather like that, as I didn't want the stories to end so soon after the climaxes. I like to have a bit more cuddle time afterwards. :D

I wouldn't say the book is specifically for a younger audience. I mean, you don't read it and immediately think of TEEN BOOK or anything. The author herself admits that she didn't really set out to write a teen novel, since that's not the genre she typically enjoys. But she, like myself, finds the concept of high school and all the stuff that goes on during that time to be so interesting, she used it as the launching pad for her book and subsequent quadrilogy. Fortunately the whole high school thing really is just a base for everything else...you don't constantly have teen conflict or drama going on in classrooms or at school dances. It's more a catalyst for fueling Bella and Edward's budding relationship. The second book moves a bit further away from even involving high school as much, and you sometimes forget that the main character is still just a teenager.

As far as the books being girly. Well. The books are almost entirely told in 1st person limited, from the POV of Bella herself (the exception being a section of the fourth book, told from a male character's POV). So...hm. I wouldn't say they're girly...but they're definitely more appealing to the feminine contingency. A lot of the emotion that drives the book is very feminine in nature, as you're experiencing Bella's growing feelings for Edward and knowing situations strictly from her perspective. I can't see that appealing to very many male readers. However, I think that regardless of gender or sexual preference, a lot of the situations and emotions in the book are universally relatable. So that helps to ease the female voice a bit.

I do have to admit, by partway through the second book, I found myself wondering if Bella isn't a bit of a nutter, as she is abnormally obsessed with Edward, but then again I think the point of the series is that Bella and Edward are very Romeo & Juliet in nature...two people from opposite worlds who really have all the cards stacked against them but feel such a deep, strong connection to one another that they're willing to put up with a lot of crap to be together or die trying.

Personally...I would recommend seeking out a used copy of the first book and checking it out for yourself. I think it's worth it just to see for yourself what all the fuss is about. Kind of like why I read Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Which I'm glad I did because now I can extoll the virtues of just how crap that book really is.

I will definitely give you an update as I read the remaining two books. From what I understand, fans are heavily divided over the fourth book, which is refreshing because at least they're not hailing everything the author does as being absolute brilliance, like some fan bases tend to do. I've read more negative reviews on it than I have positive ones, and they sound a bit like how I felt when reading the last book in the Harry Potter series (too bad I'm in the very teensy minority on that one...Rowling really did put out a rank piece of crap as her last HP book; HP fanbois were too busy stroking Rowling's e-peen to see it for what it is). But I'm still going to go into it with an open mind, so I should be able to give you a fairly straightforward review. Really, I just want to finish the series. It's been fun so far.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

In an interview I read, the author admitted that she'd never watched Buffy. But her sister was a huge Buffy fan, and she had her sister read each chapter as it was finished to give her opinion on it. So it at least passes the muster of a Buffy fan. LOL

I didn't find the books to be very mushy. I hate mushy shit...makes me feel dirty. I can solidly say this book would never qualify for Fabio on the cover. :) Granted the female lead isn't strong like Buffy was...I would say, think of Buffy during her "in love with Angel" phase if you want an approximation. She was still able to be relatively strong, but her judgment was frequently compromised by her love for Angel. That kind of thing.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

LOL I just finally got a chance to read the thread behind this link. Well, I must say, SomethingAwful comes through again with yet another load of dogshit. Remind me again why I even bother to give that site another chance?

I cannot believe they spread a thread out to five pages to bash a book series that most of them admit to never having read. The fact that they compared the Twilight series to Anne Rice is amusing...I have never found Anne Rice to really be much of a yardstick against which to measure vampire fiction novels. Many good ones came before her and many good ones will follow. It's a bad habit of Anne Rice fanbois to claim that anything written after Interview With a Vampire is a ripoff fanfic of Anne Rice's novels. Psh.

To be fair, the Twilight saga has to be judged on its own merits. I knew going into reading them that the author is Mormon and therefore I expected a crapload of Mormon stuff to spring up. And it didn't. The things she's written can of course be construed as being very Mormon (the whole concept of family being extended to other "covens" in a sort of interwoven connection) but are also generic concepts that I've seen appear in more than one book or film. So to colour her entire series as being laden with Mormonisms simply because people are viewing things that way is just really fucking unfair. It rather pisses me off, actually. And once again reminds me of why I avoid SomethingAwful. Folks there are generally angry, bitter, sad rejects who just look for the next opportunity to bash shit to pieces that other people enjoy, and then ridicule those people on top of it.

Anyway. I've finished the remaining two books in the quadrilogy and I must say, I didn't find the fourth book to be as offensive as people made it out to be. I think perhaps the year that elapsed between the third and fourth books gave the rabid fans too much time to get their hopes and expectations up, and the book just didn't deliver what they felt it should have. Reading them one right after the other, I can see how well the fourth book fits in with the other three. Granted some of the subplots were a bit clunky, but I respect that they were put there to help bridge the gaps between some of the more major plot points. The only thing that irritated me was that the two main characters spend a lot of time having sex in this book. A lot. It's very tastefully written into the story so you aren't just slammed in the face with gratuitous copulation, but it's still there often enough to become irritating. I'm like "OK, look, your life is in danger. I'm glad you've discovered sex and all, but really? Can't you find other hobbies right now? Like maybe TRYING NOT TO DIE"

At any rate, I'm not going to slam these books in anyone's face and say that they HAVE to read them. If you're not a fan of YA fiction, you most likely will find something to whine about with these books, and if that is the case, stay away. Just like with crap TV shows or shitty films, if you don't like it, don't engage yourself in it. Walk away. If you're OK with reading YA fiction, then I think you should definitely check at least the first book out. Just to sate your curiosity and see if it's anything that you might want to continue with. These books are tons better than some of the shit that's been published in the YA fiction genre over the last ten years, that's for damn sure.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

LOL That's funny. :) I wasn't really that mad...more irritated. I just dislike it when people slam things without really taking the time to understand them within their own context (trust me, I tried to appreciate and understand the hell out of The DaVinci Code before I ripped it to shreds on the forum...).

But yeah, so. Laugh away at my irritation. :D I don't mind at all. Sometimes mini-rants are my most favorite thing to post. :P

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

I loved Twilight.  I slowed down my reading as well, fighting to savour the book, when normally I plow through larger novels.  Was surprised at how quickly the book had me hooked.  Stayed up til' 3 in the morning to finish it last night.  Going to be perfect reading weather tonight. Dark and rainy. Pour me some wine, get nice and comfy, and delve into book two.

EDIT Was curious as to what guy's reactions to the book were and came across this. SO FUNNY! http://mormonhusbands.blogspot.com/2008/02/twilight-series-for-dummies-and-totally.html

Give the first book a go--if not to just find out what the fuss is about.

The current bane of used booksellers everywhere (ok, it's my current bane but isn't my experience reflective of everyone's?) ala The Da Vinci Code before the movie/paperback came out.  Three to five times a day someone will walk in looking for one of the books and three to five times a day I have to tell someone that they are going to have to cough up full price.

In three to five years they will be thirty to fifty of them on our three to five dollar racks, adjusting for inflation.

rb

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

lol

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Better to get in touch with your inner 12 year old goth girl than to try to touch one outside, for everyone concerned.

We have our first Twilights in stock, eclipse and breaking dawn.  They've been here for over three hours and still haven't sold, wtf?

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

lol

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

"It's not so bad as long as you can keep the fear from your mind." - D. Cooper

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind killer." - P. Atreides

"Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe" - L. tzu

Meh. It's not written for children; it's aimed squarely for teenagers. Adult females just get caught in the blast radius because it has a teen romance element to it that still manages to appeal to women. I know entirely too many intelligent well-read women who have fallen head-over-heels for these books. There comes a time when we just cast off the good stuff and go straight for the brain candy.

Tried to reread the first book a few weeks ago; found myself considerably less enamored this time through. I think it's because I went back and reread some LJ Smith in between the first and second go-round and saw the clear distinction between well-written and moderately meh. Definitely helps when your author has actually boned up on vampire lore instead of trying to create her own from scratch. Had Meyers bothered to do the former instead of the latter, she wouldn't have needed to pad out so much of her novels with fluffy girl things and...as J pointed out..."smoldering eyes". (J, your comment stuck in my brain and every instance of that phrase just STOOD OUT to me this time around...made me laugh something fierce)

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

yeah i'm not damning anyone for liking them (if i did i'd probably be divorced by now), i just think its weird that the only books that get any press any more are harry potters, twilights, da vinci codes, etc. it's pobably just a symptom of the majority of people not reading any more

edit: haha "blast radius." i usually use plague analogies. as in my cousin was patient zero, and now all my friends have it

Plague analogies = TEH AWSUM.

You're absolutely spot-on though...it's these fluffier books that are being fawned over these days and you never hear about anything truly meaty. I blame Oprah's book club. :)

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

 you cant even fully blame her though (fond as i am of going so), she recommends meaty stuff like toni morrison novels, i don't know WHAT goes so wrong with people

i guess i don't have too much room to talk i'm on an asimov kick :P

True, she has recommended some good shit. But then she pulls crazy shit out of her ass and you just go "Zuh? Um ok..." To be fair, I guess people are at least reading, right? That's what I keep telling myself. I would rather people read something meh than not read at all. That whole subset of the population that loves to say "If it's good they'll just make a movie out of it anyway" makes my butt pucker.

Still. No excuse for DaVinci Code. I don't care how you slice it. To hear people call that piece of garbage "genius" is just...GAH!

Asimov is just fine. :) Shit, I'm reading those Dresden Files books right now (at the behest of a coworker. I swapped him some Piers Anthony. So far I think he won in the deal).

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Jordan .