Inconsequentials and Trivialities

I have mixed feelings about the sequels to Twilight. On the one hand, the writing has gotten better, there are less of the pages and pages of nothing but staring into each other’s eyes, and we’ve spent more time with characters I’m a lot more interested in than Edward and Bella; characters such as Carlisle and Alice. But each book is sort of formulaic with nothing much happening for the first 85% of the story and then a whirlwind of action for the last bit. This is both good and bad. I’ve learned that if I just endure the bulk of each book, there’s a reward coming. But then again, I do have to endure the bulk of the book.

On the down side, I’ve gotten to know three very annoying people, Edward, Jacob, and above all, Bella. I was practically screaming at her all through the third book. “Bella! You stupid idiot! Let the supernatural types go fight! Your constant whining and worrying about their safety is a real drag. You are very unpleasant to be around. Shut the hell up for God’s sake.” Honestly, the author has done a remarkably poor job of helping the reader to understand what anyone sees in her. And Jacob is a complete tool in the third book. Sheesh!

I’m about 40% of the way through the fourth book and the author may have changed things up a bit. Some of the interesting stuff has happened earlier than in the other books. It’s a departure but it has made me like this one a lot more. One section I really enjoyed is when Jacob broke from his pack to go do the right thing. I was so stunned and off balance that he was manning up, that when moments later, Seth joined him in running to warn the Cullens, I wanted to cry at the breakthrough these idiot characters were having. Way to pull your head out, Jacob!

I have hope for the conclusion of this series. The pacing could be much better but Breaking Dawn is so much better (so far) than the previous books, that it’s like a breath of fresh air. Ok, like breathing smoggy air after living near a factory, but it’s an improvement.


Full disclosure, I am overly harsh on the books. But after being told that I just HAVE to read them, I’m still trying to figure out why.

I’ve noticed that I don’t write much except to complain. That can’t be fun reading for you, but I’m guessing that it’s sort of therapeutic for me. When things are going well, I want to be fully engaged the good times. But when something annoys me, I want to vent about it. Having no actual people who care to hear me rant about stuff, I channel that into writing. Even if I had friends that were willing to listen to me, I am reluctant to subject them to my tirades. I wish I had better friends, the sort that MADE me understand that I could spout off about stuff.

I’m doing something wrong.

So my friend, Alyssa, tells me I just HAVE TO READ TWILIGHT. Well, I’m game so I tell her to lend me the book. Trouble is, she doesn’t have the book. She watched the movie then read the three sequels. Alright. So I obtain the audiobook and put it on my ipod to listen to it. It’s about a 14 hour book so it’s going to take a while as I don’t have much time for just sitting and listening. I think the story is ok but the author repeats herself far too much. I swear if I had to hear much more about the color of Edward’s eyes or how frequently his mood changed or his granite like skin, I would have had to quit the book in frustration. And by the way, why does this 100 year old vampire think and act like an adolescent? Ridiculous. The book really picked up some when the second group of vampires showed up and I devoted most of Sunday afternoon to just listening so I could finish the book.

After I finished listening, I decided to watch the movie. Big mistake! The movie made the book seem like a masterpiece work of art. I will put aside the fact that the story was very different because of how truncated it was (I mean rewrites, not just an abridgement). But this little town of 3100 people in the Pacific Northwest has to be the most ethnically diverse town in the country! Every demographic was represented. There was the token this and the token that. And because the storyline was so chopped up, the pace at which things happened made no sense at all. And one more thing I’d like to pick on; Carlisle was so chalky white that any person he ever came into contact with would take one look at him and think, “This guy’s a vampire.” Really it was unnecessarily pasty. In an effort to make it obvious to the audience, it only makes me think how unrealistic it is. Sure, vampires and such may be unrealistic to begin with. But I can accept the premise that vampires exist. What I can’t accept is that in this world, people are blind idiots who don’t blink twice at a guy who’s whiter than any albino.

So I’d say the book was ok but the movie was pathetic. I hope the sequels are better.