Why Fundies don't read Twilight

[Loveday]

Won't read Half Blood Prince?! That was my very favourite of the series until the last one came out (because speculating on the material in HBP was way more fun than the book Rowling wound up releasing). But, if she's 11, could be all the relationship and general angst stuff in Phoenix is a turn off for her. Maybe in a couple years, she'll pick up the last two? Or she knows there are more character deaths and she's not prepared to lose some of them? I can see not feeling ready for the last two.

Maybe it's also that she loves the books so much she doesn't want the series to end? If she doesn't read the last two books, it's not over for her. It was all over with too quickly for me, even though it was 8 years (I came into the HP phenomenon around the time Goblet of Fire was published); sometimes I wish I could just begin again with them, one at a time, every other year or so, as if I'd never read them before. I can't imagine how it is for someone who gets to read them all at once. :cry:

Oh, and wasn't the HBP speculation just epic? Well, from OoTP on, really. So much fun! :)

[No Cure for Stupid]

You think that's bad? My 11yo read the first five Harry Potters and doesn't want to read the last two. Who does that?!

I do that. I can't remember how many times I read the first five books, but I read The Half-Blood Prince twice...mostly, because I didn't understand exactly what had happened at the end. I read The Deathly Hallows once. It may be considered blasphemy, but I really couldn't stand the last two books. They just felt underwhelming and disappointing compared to The Order of the Phoenix.

[SpeakNow]

I do that. I can't remember how many times I read the first five books, but I read The Half-Blood Prince twice...mostly, because I didn't understand exactly what had happened at the end. I read The Deathly Hallows once. It may be considered blasphemy, but I really couldn't stand the last two books. They just felt underwhelming and disappointing compared to The Order of the Phoenix.

That's funny...because I hated Order of the Phoenix and loved the last 2.

[Lainey]

Is this woman even fundie? I just read the post linked here, but she doesn't sound fundie at all. Religious does not equal fundie.

[formergothardite]

Which is the Harry Potter book where they spend half the book wandering around camping in the snow and being miserable? I wasn't a fan of that one.

[miffy]

Really, I agree with her that there are better books than Twilight. But anyway, I liked reading it *duck* ...

Still I can NEVER understand parents that don't allow their children to read certain books (as long as they are age-appropriate). Anything they read is good, as long as they are reading!

When I was a child RL Stine books were very popular. I always wanted one when mum took me book shopping but she refused because she thought they were rubbish. However I needed no encouragement when it came to reading, so I don't think my mum was wrong to steer me away from trashy serial books & towards things with less predictable plots & better writing.

[littlemommy]

Ha, I grew up with the RL Stine also! My parents didn't care what I read, and I read voraciously. Of course as I grew up I wanted books a little "meatier" and moved to quality books. But I do admit that I still read trashy books. I LOVE them. I also like trashy movies. It's like sitting and eating a whole pint of ice cream...which I've also done while reading or watching trash!!!

[No Cure for Stupid]

Which is the Harry Potter book where they spend half the book wandering around camping in the snow and being miserable? I wasn't a fan of that one.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yeah, one of the reasons I don't like it very much. Most of it was just camping and then the last third just rushed through everything.

[singsingsing]

My mum used to read 'Goosebumps' to my sister and I every night (it wasn't the only thing she read to us, by far, but it was a favourite). We used to beg her to read more, and she'd say, "Just two chapters!" I still have fond memories of those books.

As for Deathly Hallows, I loved the camping! I'm weird. ;)

[BlondeAgent007]

I can understand not reading the last 2 books. I still won't watch the last episode of My So-Called Life because I don't want it to end :(

I don't think I would buy Twilight books for my children, but I wouldn't tell them they can't read them. I thought they were trash, but I don't think I would limit my child's reading material. I would just explain the things in the book I didn't like. Reading a book about abusive relationships doesn't necessarily mean they will love the relationship idea and run with it. I've read books about serial murderers and I still have yet to kill anything but flies and houseplants.

[debrand]

Twilight is a shitty story with a ton of disturbing things in it(how did she think having an adult fall in love with a baby was a good idea?!), but I won't ban my kids from reading it. Banning books just makes them more desirable. Sometimes it is just fun to read a fluffy book with a terrible plot so her point about them being a waste of time is stupid, IMO.

I hated Twilight. The only reason that I made it through all the books was because of a promise to a friend. Oddly enough, I hate the series so much I almost love them. No, I don't like the horrible books but they are really fun snark material.

Like you, I wouldn't ban the books but I would discuss some of the issue with my daughters.

Besides, I don't expect my kids to always read good books. Part of the fun of reading is finding a trashy novel and loving/hating it or even just putting your brain on autopilot for a little while. As long as your kids understand that Edward is abusive and Bella is a narcissistic nut who doesn't appreciate her friends, I think that most kids will come away from reading Twilight without any long lasting harm.

By the way, I could start a forum devoted to my hatred of Bella-yeah, I know she isn't real, leave me alone. :embarrassed:

[BlondeAgent007]

I hated Twilight. The only reason that I made it through all the books was because of a promise to a friend. Oddly enough, I hate the series so much I almost love them. No, I don't like the horrible books but they are really fun snark material.

Like you, I wouldn't ban the books but I would discuss some of the issue with my daughters.

Besides, I don't expect my kids to always read good books. Part of the fun of reading is finding a trashy novel and loving/hating it or even just putting your brain on autopilot for a little while. As long as your kids understand that Edward is abusive and Bella is a narcissistic nut who doesn't appreciate her friends, I think that most kids will come away from reading Twilight without any long lasting harm.

By the way, I could start a forum devoted to my hatred of Bella-yeah, I know she isn't real, leave me alone. :embarrassed:

I fuckin hate Bella too. The only reason I finished the series was because I too, loved to hate it. Bella was boring and ANNOYING. All she did was whine and complain, then talk about how Edward was romantic even though he was being creepy (breaking in to watch her sleep? Breaking her car so she can't see her friends? encouraging her to marry him and leave all her friends and family behind forever?). The second book was a waste of time, and the fourth book went so apeshit it didn't even sound like the same series. How convenient that Renesmee was half human half vampire, would grow to 18 years old, and then stay that way forever. Good thing Stefanie Meyer got to write all the rules for that mythical beast.

[nelliebelle1197]

This woman is not a "fundie" but more of a religious Catholic, and Twilight is crap. Looking over her blog and her entertainment choices, I seriously doubt the Maxwells or the Duggars or the Tool clan would hang with her. Sorry, happyatheist.

[RandomTrivia]

I can understand not reading the last 2 books. I still won't watch the last episode of My So-Called Life because I don't want it to end :(

I don't think I would buy Twilight books for my children, but I wouldn't tell them they can't read them. I thought they were trash, but I don't think I would limit my child's reading material. I would just explain the things in the book I didn't like. Reading a book about abusive relationships doesn't necessarily mean they will love the relationship idea and run with it. I've read books about serial murderers and I still have yet to kill anything but flies and houseplants.

I still haven't watched the last episode of Chuck, and we've got 5 hours of Merlin sitting on the DVR. Should we start a club? (Or would it be a support group for denial?)

I tried to read Twilight, and 50 Shades, but I ended up skimming everything after the first chapter or so. Most annoying main characters ever, I think; Bella and Ana are both whiny little people and I wanted to reach in and shake them both. But, if people want to read them, go ahead. (I'm more saddened/disappointed by the fact that such badly-written tripe got published, and apparently now a lot of fan-fiction works are being optioned for publication.) My kid's only 7, and with any luck he won't ever want to read Twilight. We let him read almost anything, including "girly" books like Junie B Jones. I did steer him away from Junie B. for a while during school; he was imitating some of her behavior in class and losing a bit of recess time over it, but we had a couple of talks and read other books (Magic Tree House, the Boxcar Children, etc) for a while, and it got better.

[formergothardite]

They will waste your time. In short, they’re simply mindless books. There are other books to read, my dear. Books that you will carry with you in your heart and soul till the day you die. I think far too much of you. I think far too much of your mind to let you waste it on something like Twilight.

This part is really the only part that irritates me. There really is nothing wrong with mindless reading. It can be really relaxing. And if her daughter wants to read Twilight and enjoys it, her mother doesn't need to think less of her mind. I've actually read the series twice :embarrassed: because it is an easy read and I really find the books so horrible that they are entertaining. It is like watching the Real House Wives, it is trash TV, but amusing trash TV. Sure I could go watch an educational PBS documentary instead, but sometimes you just feel like some mindless entertainment.

[Mudball]

I didn't like that article at all.

I want my daughter to read everything that she's interested in reading, whether it is well written or poorly written. I want her to learn and decide for herself which characters are brilliant and inspiring and which are silly and vapid. I don't want her to just take my word for it, I want her to figure it out for herself. I want her to be challenged, and annoyed. I even want her to dip her toes in the waters of (somewhat)"inappropriate reading" at times, knowing that I am there to support her and answer questions and that she can put the book down if it gets too heavy or uncomfortable for her.

Granted, she's only 9 and I think we have awhile before her tastes go towards Twilight but already she's chosen books I'd never have chosen for her. Some she loved, some she hated, but they've all been her choice.

Anyway, I think I have rather good taste in books now but man did I read some vapid crap when I was a teen. (And you know what? I read some vapid crap now, too!) Who cares? Why is that not allowed?

[formergothardite]

I really hated Junie B. Jones. I think the writing sucks, Junie is a horrible role model, and the adults just give into her. But my daughter went through this stage where she wanted to read every single one of them. And then tell me the plot. :angry-banghead: If I had said no, I think too much of your mind to let you read this, we would have missed out on some great conversations about why Junie's behavior isn't appropriate. And eventually she got bored with them and has moved on to other books.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I really hated Junie B. Jones. I think the writing sucks, Junie is a horrible role model, and the adults just give into her. But my daughter went through this stage where she wanted to read every single one of them. And then tell me the plot. :angry-banghead: If I had said no, I think too much of your mind to let you read this, we would have missed out on some great conversations about why Junie's behavior isn't appropriate. And eventually she got bored with them and has moved on to other books.

If there were ever any books to censor, it's the Junie B. Jones books!

[formergothardite]

If there were ever any books to censor, it's the Junie B. Jones books!

She is worse than Bella. There is nothing likable about her. It is like the writer took all the bad, annoying parts of childhood and left out all the great parts when creating Junie. And all the adults just sort of sigh and shrug when she does horrible thing or is mean to others.

[Shoes Grace]

Junie B, Judy Moody, Fudge (from Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and several others), even Encyclopedia Brown to a certain extent, they're all kids who do terrible things while their parents look on, powerless. A lot of those books strike me as copies of Beverly Cleary's Ramona books, but she understood something the other authors don't: consequences. When Ramona or Beezus screw up or act like hideous brats, they don't get away with it, either events follow their natural course to total disaster or their parents intervene.

[BlondeAgent007]

She is worse than Bella. There is nothing likable about her. It is like the writer took all the bad, annoying parts of childhood and left out all the great parts when creating Junie. And all the adults just sort of sigh and shrug when she does horrible thing or is mean to others.

That's sad to hear about that series. I loved Barbara Parks books for middle graders as a kid (Kid in the Red Jacket, Skinnybones). Maybe she was just better off writing for older kids who can think more critically? I found her books hysterically, laugh out loud funny. I recommended Kid in the Red Jacket to my boyfriend's 9 year old, and she had already read it and liked it.

[Rescinded and Mended]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Yeah, one of the reasons I don't like it very much. Most of it was just camping and then the last third just rushed through everything.

Definitely this. A couple of people weren't accounted for in the end, including Lavendar Brown, and then the people who made the last movie actually worked Lavendar's death into the script. J. K. Rowling admitted that her movie death was canon a little while later.

[Loveday]

Definitely this. A couple of people weren't accounted for in the end, including Lavendar Brown, and then the people who made the last movie actually worked Lavendar's death into the script. J. K. Rowling admitted that her movie death was canon a little while later.

Wait...I thought I read in the book that Lavender had died. :shock: Did I read something that wasn't actually there (highly likely as I've only read DH all the way through once, and that was on the day of release after picking up my book at midnight! :lol: )

[FreeJosie]

I do that. I can't remember how many times I read the first five books, but I read The Half-Blood Prince twice...mostly, because I didn't understand exactly what had happened at the end. I read The Deathly Hallows once. It may be considered blasphemy, but I really couldn't stand the last two books. They just felt underwhelming and disappointing compared to The Order of the Phoenix.

I liked Half-Blood Prince a lot but didn't like Deathly Hallows at all.

[sheltonLE]

I didn't like that article at all.

I want my daughter to read everything that she's interested in reading, whether it is well written or poorly written. I want her to learn and decide for herself which characters are brilliant and inspiring and which are silly and vapid. I don't want her to just take my word for it, I want her to figure it out for herself. I want her to be challenged, and annoyed. I even want her to dip her toes in the waters of (somewhat)"inappropriate reading" at times, knowing that I am there to support her and answer questions and that she can put the book down if it gets too heavy or uncomfortable for her.

Thank you! Exactly my point. I would have been deeply disappointed in my mother, if she had ever tried to withhold certain books from me. I was very proud, that I could choose whatever I wanted to read ( went to the public library every other week, and I picked like 5-10 books each time...I was a reading machine between 7 and 14 8-) ) And I am sure I read a lot of good stuff - and a lot of crap. And that's totally okay.