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To Twilight or not to Twilight
Posted by Susan in Book Blog Entertainment and Pop Culture.
O my. Stephenie Meyer has started a mania. Throngs of screaming fans choking malls across the country. That kind of mania.
I’m behind, I admit. And due to peer pressure, I’ve reneged my own order of things… I saw the movie before reading the book. Hate that. But all friends were set on that movie Saturday night. So I caved.
My thoughts? The two teenaged leads annoyed. Bella more so than Edward. Please see below for my definition of “Bella.”
Main Entry: Bella
Function: noun
Etymology: French & Late Latin; French insipide, from Late Latin insipidus
1 : lacking taste or savor : TASTELESS <insipid food>
2 : lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge : DULL, FLAT <insipid prose>
But Bella aside, it’s a super story. Racing. Absolutely lovely tale, hinged on the timeless “we can’t have each other.” Great imagination. Vampires as you’ve never seen them. And I know. I did my thesis on them. Weird, I know… Meyer’s vampires are without fangs, have snake-like venomous bites, and the ability to day walk. Interesting, no?
Two more thoughts. 1) The scene most panned by every critic is the one I loved most. Turbo-vampire-baseball. Loved it. Charming and ridiculous; and 2) Meyer doesn’t get ample credit. The actors, director and screenwriter, even, are praised in every review. But Meyer is given a paltry phrase - if anything at all.
As for the future fate of Meyer’s Twilight series? Summit Entertainment announced Meyer’s second book, New Moon, would likewise be movie-fied.
Meyer recently stated, “I don’t think any other author has had a more positive experience with the makers of her movie adaptation than I had.” I’m calmed. If she’s happy…
I’m reading Twilight over Thanksgiving, and will report back once finished.
Have you seen it? Have you read it? What are your plans and where do you stand in this craze? Leave a comment and let me know!
Book Blog, Entertainment and Pop Culture |9 Responses to “To Twilight or not to Twilight”
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Have to admit at first when I heard all my friends rushing off to see the movie Twilight not only once but again the second night I was stood a couple feet back and hide. There was no way I would engage myself in watching it.
I do love the title….
My vivid imagination unfortunately stays with me days after the movie is over. Although 10 years ago my girlfriends and I were all about Buffy the Vampire Slayer the movie Interview with The Vampire.
After reading your comments this might be a good movie to watch say during the day for a person like me. I find myself more interested in reading the book then seeing the movie. If I get myself motivated enough I will be reading this book this holidays.
Thank you for your writings Susan!
Thank you, Kelly! You’re the first person I’ve heard to comment on the title, too!
I would venture to say if you’ve liked Vampire stories in the past, you’d probably enjoy the book. The plot is great. And you’d miss all the teenaged snivelings present on film. Of course, when a reader is imagining everything to their liking, that also makes the story more tailor-made!
Let me know if you venture to read it!
I am also intrigued by your blog. But I’m still wondering- Where did this craze come from?? Seems like overnight hundreds of people started talking about it. I hardly heard about the book before I heard about the movie. I might investigate book over the holidays too, but movie might end up being a Netflix-er. Just wondering- does the “teenage love” aspect of the movie make it more for young adults, or will adults enjoy it just the same?
Susan, I’m totally with you on the commandment “Thou shalt not see the movie before reading the book.” But I, too, caved in to peer pressure and saw the movie this past weekend…and LOVED it. OK, I agree with you, the whole thing with Bella being 17 kinda pissed me off. I would have liked it more if the romantic leads were 20 or 30-something year olds. But it does make a kind of crazy sense. Think of it this way - what type of person could match the creepy, intense, can’t live without you throw-myself-in-front-of-traffic-to-save-your-life kind of over the top love that pours out of Edward the whole movie? Who else but a hormornal, hysterical, teenage girl. It was all very Romeo & Juliet, and while part of me wanted to slink down in my seat at the theatre for fear of being seen by someone my own age, I fell hard for the dark fantasy portrayed in the movie. I just put Stephenie Meyer’s entire 4-book series on my Christmas list (only $50.00 on amazon.com!)…and I’ll probably go see the next movie too! Thanks for sharing your perspective with us!
Emily, thanks for writing, and seems like the teenaged characters aren’t keeping away the adults so far. YA is pretty accessible… as even us crotchety adults don’t have to stretch more than a decade or two to relate… : )
And Rebecca, point taken. This “throw-myself-in-front-of-traffic-to-save-your-life” IS a perfect sliver of teenaged drama. Very, very funny. I will cross my fingers that you get those books!
I have to say, i am obsessed with Meyer and her series. She is a great writer, and i own all of the books. I plan on going to see Twilight this Saturday, I’m soo stoked. I love the message of the books how if you love somebody you should let nothing stop you and take the chances you need to continue with loving that person. Not sure who else thinks so but I think that the books are much better than the movie is, even though i haven’t seen it yet. But trust me you will be reading the series over and over again.
Vanessa,
Thanks so much for your response…
I am about 2/3 of the way through Twilight at this point. I cannot stop. Seriously. I was up until THREE am last night! I’m bumbling around like a zombie today, and as I write the book is just to my left.
I must say, I do like the book much more than the movie. But to me, that’s half the fun!!
Stop by again!
Susan
my teenage girls, ages 14 & 15, love the books but didn’t like the movie. Oh, well…
N, I would say that’s my same view in a basic nutshell! Thanks for dropping by, and check back again!