The question is why have I been putting it off? I've slowly introduced myself to vampire fiction and I've enjoyed what I've read so far (Evernight, Vampire Academy) so why have I shied away from Twilight? In this post I'll attempt to explain why I'm yet to jump on the Twilight bandwagon.
The first reason, and a pretty big one I guess, is that I already know what happens. Twilight has woven itself into popular culture in a similar way to Harry Potter and so people drop Twilight references left, right and centre. Unfortunately when the rest of the world has read the entire series, they don't really care about those of us who haven't. I know there's probably a lot more to the books than what I know already but that lack of curiosity about the plot has put me off a tad.Secondly, I'll admit I've been judgemental. You hear bad things about a series and it does put you off. I never slag off Twilight, though. I don't believe in judging a book before you've read it, so I do my best to keep away from bashing Twilight, regardless of what I've heard about it. In the Harry Potter fandom there's a lot of anti-Twilight energy which I try and stay away from. I know there are plenty of people who have read and enjoyed both series! And I have respect for any book series that gets people reading - something I know a lot of people owe to Twlight. But I like to check reviews and average ratings of books before I read them on sites like Goodreads, and if it doesn't have a positive reaction then I take that into account when deciding what to read next. There are plenty of books I've looked up on Goodreads when considering adding them to my TBR, before reading the reviews and deciding it's probably not for me.
Despite trying to remain neutral on the subject of the Twilight series, some of the things I've read about do make me think it's maybe not for me. I don't like relationships in books that promote unhealthy behaviour, either from the guy or the girl. The amount that gets raised around the series worries me slightly. I've also seen down snippets of the writing which maybe thinks I'd have some niggles with it. (I blame Tumblr for that one). The problem with book series that gain so much hype is that it can either make you want to go out and grab it right away (like The Hunger Games) or it can put you off it based on the wealth of info provided by the media (50 shades...). I think with Twilight I've ended up going with the latter option.
As for why I haven't seen the films - I like to read the book first whenever possible. There's still a part of me that doesn't want to watch the films first, just because it feels like the wrong order to do things. If I do ever read Twilight then I'm sure I'd watch the films to compare the two. (The other reason is that I don't find either RPatz or Taylor Lautner attractive which seems to be a big draw!)
Nowadays it's become a sort of challenge to myself - how long can I avoid Twilight? It seems like it's a book that everyone has read or everyone has seen at least one of the films. So when people ask me if I've read it and I say no, I imagine they're thinking "how can you possibly have managed to avoid it?". I haven't ruled out reading Twilight indefinitely. My friend has offered to lend me the books, and I'm sure there will come a time where plain curiosity will get the better of me! It seems like a bit of a gap in my reading/blogging repertoire and I'm sure that will be something that starts to bother me eventually.The reason I decided to write this blog post was because I always feel like I need to explain the reasons I haven't read the series. I hope it doesn't make me come across as a bad person. At the end of the day, so far I have yet to be convinced that I'll really enjoy it, but then there are plenty of books I've read and not enjoyed so maybe it's time to put that excuse to bed.
I've had so many people suggest the Twilight series to me, from friends to hairdressers (the topic of books always comes up at the hairdressers...). So now I turn to you dear blog friends! Should I read Twilight?!
First of all, congratulations on not having read them so far. I read the whole series about four years ago and I went through a Twilight phase.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, I enjoyed them. I was young, other than Harry Potter they were my first YA series and I found them interesting. I never thought they were well written and most of the characters grated on my nerves but I did really enjoy them.
I would say read them. They're not well written and it's not a particularly good book but if you're curious about the books then I say read them. You might feel like you've wasted a couple of days reading them but they are worth it for a laugh.
From what I remember, the last book was the best because something actually happened other than the characters whining.
But, that's just my opinion.
Heather. x
Thanks for your comment Heather! :D I think I may end up reading them when I'm looking for a light read - which happens every so often, so they sound like they might be good books for that! :) Thanks so much for your thoughts!
DeleteI read and actually enjoyed the series about 5/6 years ago. (well, all but the last one). But then the first film came out and everything changed. Slowly but surely people everywhere seemed to be going crazy over it. The amount of arguments I got into about it and Harry Potter when people would compare it was in all honesty ridiculous. And sadly for me it was the obsessive crazy fans out there that made me dislike the books. I haven't re-read them since and they have just changed it for me, all because most of the Twilight fans are really rude.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the guys are good looking either. In fact I think the whole casting for those films is wrong, and even though they kept really true to the books, unfortunately the acting was beyond poor.
That's a really good point - I hadn't really thought about how the films have affected people's opinions but I first heard about Twilight when the first film come out so I guess that says a lot. I think that's one of the downsides of fandom, that a large group of people with a strong opinion on something can come across as pretty scary! Thanks so much for your comment :D
DeleteI really enjoyed them when I read them - before the first movie released. Then the movie released and I felt, like Stacie above, that the acting was poor and it wasn't true to the book. I didn't watch the rest of them. But if you are interested at all in the details that make up the plot, you should read the books. The movies you could forgo. They're an easy read, and should keep you interested enough to read fairly quickly, unless all the hoopla surrounding them has ruined it. Try really hard not to picture the actors when you read it... that would ruin it for sure. :)
ReplyDeleteBrandy @ A Little of the Book Life
I'm sorry you were so disappointed with the film. Like I said above, I hadn't really thought about how much they changed people's perceptions of the series as a whole but it's a really good point. If I had to choose between checking out the books or the movies then I'd definitely go with the books, and I guess I can decide based on those whether I think it's worth watching the films. Thanks so much for your comment!
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