The Cauldron

I have to agree with you, AE, about Twilight being great and Breaking Dawn being not-so-decent. My sister bought the books recently, and I swore I would never read them because all the teeny-boppers at school were obsessed with them. But the truth is I was secretly intrigued, and a chapter into Twilight I was hooked. I love the characters and the storyline. I think this is where we differ in our opinions, AE.

I just find the whole 'true love' concept really interesting. There aren't many stories that I have read that use it so well. In fact, I can only think of two, those being Twilight and Rhapsody. The fact that, even after everything they'd been through, Bella and Edward were still soulmates is fascinating; it's also the same for the Rhapsody series. The characters in Twilight are so full of life (In a certain respect. Of course, vampires aren't really living, are they?) and so... well, not realistic, so to speak, but almost believable, and very entertaining.

I do think that some 'fanbases' go a bit overboard with the whole Edward/Jacob thing. But the same can be said for Achmed/Ashe, can't it? Twilight has recieved a lot more publicity than Ms Haydon's books, yes, but the concept of fans going overboard with character conflicts is relatively the same. It will always happen. I'm just glad I saw past the irritating teenage obsession most kids have with Twilight and saw what an amazing series it is.

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Avatar Art © Rhapsody - Yargh, that would be Thesa, the fiery Pirate Captain! =]

Can it be said that Achmed/Ashe fans are as obsessed as Edward/Jacob fans? Yes, probably, and it is a bit silly, no matter how you look at it. It was the same with Potter fans and undoubtedly will be the same with some other future characters. However, the Twilight fans have assured the fact that I will not read the books, regardless of what they are actually like. Too many completely obsessed fans over the whole thing. I mean, yes, we talk about SoA too, but I swear we don't act like this. Facebook is loaded with "Team Edward/Team Jacob" stuff. Maybe they just need an outlet or something as a way to escape from reality (which can, after all, be pretty bleak at times). The Harry Potter thing was annoying, too, even though I did in fact read those (and even really liked them). What really, really kills me is not when teenagers claim to be "in love with" this character or that character, but when grown women claim it. Just a little too strange for me, particularly when it isn't just the one or two here and there but a lot of them!

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

Khaibit wrote:

One thing I found particularly interesting in Twilight was the lack of a goal/conflict for, oh around 2/3rds of the book. As in to say for that part of the book, there was no staightforward goal/objective/problem that she was facing. Unlike most fiction books that say 'Goal is this, problems are this' and the book is describing their overcomings of the obstacles on their way to their goal, this one didn't even really have a conflict until Bella came to watch the game of vampire baseball, or even really a objective. She was never like "This is what I'm going to do and this is how I'm gonna do it" until then.

I don't know, but I, an avid reader and writer of fiction, found that lack-of-goal interesting. And not interesting in a bad way. One more thing that was even more interesting was that there was still suspense and concern before then--it didn't ruin the book, but perhaps made it even better.

That's what life's like. I'm pretty sure there was a goal, though, just not a really stereotypical one...(but I can't think of it now)

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Avatar by me.

"And then upsp'ke the Fairy Queen,
'Tam Lin, if I had known,
I would have pulled out both your eyes,
To give you eyes of stone.'"

I do agree with what AEsahætter said about it not being a fine piece of literature. It was an entertaining read, but nothing incredible. Not compared to some of the books I've read.

eternal light wrote:

I'm pretty sure there was a goal, though, just not a really stereotypical one...(but I can't think of it now)

Hmm I guess this debate could go both ways... the conflict could be her trying to get to know Edward when he seemingly hated her? But still, that wasn't really introduced until some time later in the book, so... I don't know. I guess it's just a very subtle goal.

eternal light wrote:

You sound like me in the middle of writing poems. It's torture. I ramble on about stuff for...a huge amount of screen-space...

Yeah, I know, it's terrible what writing can do. I'll stop myself from rambling right now.

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"Let's assume that those idiots in the basilica are innocent dupes. They seem too stupid to be evil."

Guess who makes me smile.

I swore I would never read the books, but the day before Halloween I bought Twilight.  I finished it that night and rushed out and bought book 2.  Read that the same night and on Halloween I went out and bought books 3 and 4 and finished book 4 while passing out candy to kids.  I usually hate vampire books, but I do read romance in addition to fantasy.  I love the series.  I have read the whole series a total of 3 times now and enjoy every time I read it.

And I think grown women fall in love with the characters because we all want that romance and everlasting love.  It is a well-written romance story.

And of course, I will be one of the crazies at the midnight showing of the movie tonight.

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I have never read the books, but I REALLY want to see the movie.  For one thing, (kind of ashamed to admit this but) there is a movie called Catch That Kid which is one of my favorite movies of all-time.  LOL.  I know it was for kids and stuff, but it was just so darn cool with all the high-tech thievery and go-karting.  (SIA loves go-karts that have nothing to do with Mario (lol)...  and thievery of any kind.)  Kristen Stewart was in that movie and I was wondering when she would eventually show up in a leading role in something else.

And second, that vampire dude in the trailer looks so unbelievable cool.  LOL.  I mean it's like 90% hair that makes him look cool, but still...  cool is cool.  LOL.

Seek_Me, I think you hit on the #1 reason that I wouldn't like the Twilight series: That as a rule, I don't like romance. There are a few exceptions. The Notebook comes to mind at once, but they are very few and very far between for me. I am not exactly a fan of vampire novels either (though I have enjoyed a few books like that) so I probably won't like these.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

I read the series due to pressure from my g/f. And as a teen series goes the writing was pretty good. Nothing on par with Potter, but at the same time it was interesting getting a good teen book here in the states, with vocabulary I don't have to look up on the internet to understand. I liked all 4 books, and I went to the midnight showing of the film (I'm a big Jacob fan, because no vampire could be like Edward). The film could have been better in my eyes, they cut alot of cool stuff out (Jacobs car). But I hope the other 3 books get turned into films, it gives people who don't like to read a chance to see what there missing, Just like with Potter and Lord of the Rings. As a pushy needy person I think you should read at least one book Vale, it'll be an experiment! And if you hate it I won't make you keep it in your treasure trove.

(wow, reading over what i wrote, i ramble alot... but it is 1 am here... and I'm tired. I think my spelling is ok though)

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Avi drawn for my by my g/f!

Perhaps one day...in the far off future. However, atm I have so very many books that I really want to read and I haven't got time for them because I am stuck reading Business Law I, Fundamentals of Supervision, Principles of Selling, Management Decisions Making, and my *favorite* (<<sarcasm here) Algebra 101. 

(Roll on May!! And hurry!!) I just keep reminding myself that it is just a bit over one more sememster..that's all. Not much.

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Avie pic by me.
Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Jake: Hit it. ~ The Blues Brothers (1980)

EWW! Yeah, reading for college, or school at all really does put a dampener on reading for fun. And unless you've read the book don't see the movie.

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Avi drawn for my by my g/f!

I started reading the Twilight books my senior year of high school, and I got Eclipse the day it came out with two of my best friends, who I got hooked on the series. I got Breaking Dawn for my birthday last year, and I loved all of them. They're an addicting read. I don't think there's one in the series that I didn't finish within two days.

I definitely agree that the Jacob/Edward rivalry is crazy, and many people take it so seriously as to call each other names and bash others' opinions. Thankfully I haven't seen that kind of thing here over Achmed and Ashe. I myself prefer Edward any day, but one of my best friends likes Jacob better. She says it's partly because she's a dog person.

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"Well, 'allo, Duchess! Oi was 'opin you'd drop in! Care for a spot o' tea?" -Grunthor, Rhapsody:Child of Blood, Chap. 8, pg. 126
Avatar from sample pictures that came with my computer