TWILIGHT...best book?

Question

A lot of Twilight fans say that this is the best book they have ever read. Just wondering what you are basing this decision on, and how old are you. The whole thing seems juvenile. Have any of you read the works of the true Great authors of the past and present? Gogol, Dostoevsky, Joyce, Sinclair, Kafka, Vonnegut, Wolfe, Proust, Dorothy Parker, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Austen, Tolstoy, Norman Mailer, Mary Wollstonecraft's (Whose rolling over in her grave as I write this) 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'!

Answer 1

You seem like a mature reader, probably an adult. I hate it when adults read young adult books and then bash it. Of course it's juvenile, because you've read literature from more experienced authors. I'm 13, and I love the series, and so far, it's my favorite series. But once I get older, then it will probably become less appealing. The authors you've named are very experienced, and of course, wonderful authors. Stephanie Meyer is somewhat of a new writer. I don't know what it is about the books...I probably would have liked any book with a character like Edward Cullen in it. I know that sounds shallow, but its true. I like sophisticated men. Sorry for being female.  

Answer 2

As someone so justly said it's a matter of personal preference! I'm in my teens and i think twilight is ONE OF the best books I have read but ppl think differently and we should respect that. no one is saying that twilight books are better literature than the ones you named only that they PREFERRED them that they were more enjoyable in THEIR POINT OF VIEW. Because everyone thinks differently and likes different things.

Also it IS a YOUNG ADULT book so obviously it may seem a little childish to older people! i mean i wouldn't expect my grandma to read it but stephenie meyer knew who she was trying to appeal to when she wrote the book and she knew how to write it so that this age group would be interested. And she obviously succeeded.

I like the classics but it is possible to like jane austen's books and stephenie meyer's the same amount but in different ways and for different reasons! I will admit that Edward is an added reward for reading twilight but i also think the plot was interesting.

So we're not trying to compare twilight to your classics in terms of spectacular writing style but saying that you should understand why it is more enjoyable to the majority of the population.

Also lara the women in my family are strong too and i consider myself to be an independent young woman who believes that men and women are equal and i do not think that edward is controlling! he is slightly over protective because he thinks that it's his fault bella is in danger all the time- according to him he's bringing her into a nightmare/horror- but it's because he loves her and saves her life repeatedly

Answer 3

I definitely agree with you.  My sixteen-year-old cousin is obsessed with the Twilight series, and although I've read them and to some extent enjoyed them (with the exception of Breaking Dawn, which is a horrible excuse for a novel), I recognize that they are of little literary value.  Granted, I'm a twenty-year-old English major, but even if I had read this series when I was fourteen or fifteen I would have realized what little relevance they have in the literary spectrum.  Quite honestly, the books themselves seem like giant fillers with little in the way of plot or character development, and end in complete wish fulfillment.  Meyer cared only about pleasing every single one of her fans, which just ended in bathos.  

When I was fifteen and a Sophomore in high school, my favorite book was Huxley's "Brave New World".  I read Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Mishima's "The Sound of Waves", Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray"...  I read Twilight this summer for easy summer reading, and ended up being disappointed.  Some will argue: "It's a Young Adult book; it's supposed to be like that".  Please, I've read plenty of Young Adult books that have literary value; just pick up anything by L'Engle or Lowry.

Answer 4

I completely agree with you. Women like Austen, Browning, Wollstonecraft and Parker have contributed great works even when women were not all ways taken seriously. They gave women of all ages strong female characters and told us that we can be and do more than what society expects of us. Meyer is a boil on the face of great literature. It makes me wonder why parents are allowing their kids to read this trash while they got all bent out of shape about the well written and multidimensional characters of Harry Potter.

Answer 5

Lol. nice mini rant. I'm 15. twilight is a very good book. the best? that is up for discussion. have you tried it? maybe you should?

Answer 6

im not going to say other then my range teen, but older then 14. lol. Yes i have read them all. and i still prefer Twilight Series i dnt know why. But i love it1 i think its cuz of how romantic it is, and thts its not the usual romance story. u know? lol

i just love Twilight Series!!!!

Answer 7

Twilight is not the best book. It is under developed and unoriginal. Not even Stephenie Meyer's writing is good, it all reads like a bad teenage fanfiction.

Um. I'm 15 and I absolutely hate the Twilight series, I only read it for the lulz. These books are nothing compared to others.

Answer 8

Mmm Twilight was good but not the best book. I am 13, and I have read a ton of the classics, including Shakespeare, so yeah. (Shakespeare was a tad confusing, but I had a dictionary ready and near!)

The best modern book I have ever read... The Gemma Doyle series. They are the most amazing things ever, with amazing descriptions, and the books start out good and get better! The third one (and last one) is simply amazing, and probably one of  the best books I've ever read!

He may be a bit obssessive, but Bella never listens to him and is strong enough to make decisions on her own. That is why they make a good match.

And don't even try to put your knowledge against mine. It's immature, and I don't know if you realize this but most of the authors you put down, well, we are forced to read them in school. In seventh grade. Which means 12 year olds, and certain 13 year olds as well. Not incredibly impressive... no offense ;) Average.

How about Edgar Allen Poe? He's not too hard but still a favorite.

Saying that I read the classics in school has nothing to do with my school encouraging children to make their own decisions. Also, I didn't say I disliked them, for I liked most of them, probably about 98%, therefore you were incorrect to say I "trudged" through them. Please don't make assumptions.

And if you believe this book is so horrible, why are you making such a big deal about it?

And if you are to ask me why I am responding, well, this was your question and I answered... like I was supposed to. I agreed with some of your points but disagreed with others. I simply wrote about me reading several of the classics because I feared that you would judge my knowledge of books by my age...

Answer 9

I do not believe it is the best book I have ever read, but I do believe it falls under the category of best books I have ever read. I'm nineteen and have read plenty of non "juvenile" (as you so maturely put it). And again, of course it is juvenile. It's YOUNG ADULT for goodness sake. What more would you expect. Of course it's not going to be something like Shakespeare. Also, it's all based on personal preference. Don't forget that. It's just like music. So don't be so rude just because other people out there like something which you do not.  

Answer 10

I honestly don't see how anyone can say they are the BEST books. Sure, they're great and deserve a lot of the praise they're receiving, but for anyone to go as far as to say any book is "the best book" is seriously needing a visit to the library. There's more books in the world than people, so how can anyone be able to say which is the best and which isn't?

I do believe the Twilight Saga is excellent and recommend it to almost any of my friends, but I will not become obsessed like many girls who have read the series. I've read the books, and have moved on to other books by authors who are getting lost in the shadows of the spotlight that has been shining on Twilight since it was published. There are other books out there, people!!! Come on!

.....And I LOVED the Gemma Doyle trilogy too!

Answer 11

It is juvenile.

it is a YA book, but read by preteens.

My friends read it in 9th and 10th grade though

On top of that, the writing is horrible. They like it because they all want to find a guy like Edward. You cant blame them, can you?