I am spending a lot of mental energy planning for the few weeks in which I will be between jobs and thus a lady of leisure. One big dilemma is: should I read the Twilight books, or not?
Apparently they are very hot right now, which leads me to feel left out of a big pop culture phenomenon, and also I understand they are a big guilty pleasure. (A 13-year-old girl who went to the Inauguration with us was reading one of them the ENTIRE DAY, and she seemed quite engrossed, which was a good ad for them.)
On the other hand, I kind of think I will not like them as much as all the teen girls do, because, hey! I am 32. Also, the book series I get obsessed with tend to be the younger children, whole-fantasy-world variety (Harry Potter, obvs.; His Dark Materials; The Dark is Rising; Narnia) and not the young luv type. And what I understand to be the concept -- that this high school girl falls in lurve with a vampire but they have a very chaste relationship because METAPHOR ALERT he might kill her if they messed around -- sounds fairly heinous.
On the other hand, maybe I am sort of patting myself on the back for not liking the books even though I haven't read them, so I don't know if I would actually not like them, and so avoiding reading them is kind of a cowardly way to make myself feel superior, based on no information. So I should just read them and deal with it if I do like them.
On the other hand, as my friend Amy said, I would be contributing to the dumb-ification of the world if I read them. But I already watch a whole lotta reality TV, so it's pretty much too late for that.
What think you, reader(s)? (And, if you have them already, can I borrow them?)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Mrs. Captain Indignant really wishes she hadn't read them, which she did in the very early days of baby exhaustion. She says they are really bad. She likes the Sookie Stackhouse books much more.
As a librarian, I rarely advise someone not to read something. DO NOT read these crappy books. They will make you angry at your female friends who enjoy (and are obsessed by) them. They will make you question what women must think of themselves, to idealize a character whose every sense of worth is based on not just one, but three other males who have unhealthy possessive/creepy behaviors. I did read three of the books, then escaped reading the final one by becoming a librarian to little kids v. teens. I also wish I had not read them, and if there were a "Down with Bella!" campaign I might join.
Very convincing, you two. I shall avoid them like the plague!
I read the first one at the beach. It was just as bad as you think it's going to be, and for all the reasons you think. On the other hand, it did keep me entertained for the better part of an afternoon.
-Lucy
NO! BAD!
ps My word verification test to post this comment is "sublursp." Is that a real word? If not, it should be.
Post a Comment