Second Rate
I do a lot of Xmas shopping at Borders and the biggest drawback is avoiding the impulse buy. Well, I never actually avoid it, but I do try to keep it at a minimum. The impulse buy is always something for me, which is not the point of Xmas shopping, so I already feel guilty about that. It is also truly an impulse buy -- the type of thing I wouldn't normally buy myself on a planned trip to Borders.
This year's impulse buy was particularly bad. Borders had a huge display for the Twilight series. I'd been thinking of reading the first book just to stay in the cultural loop and to keep up with the tweens in the family, but instead I bought the entire four-book series. Book 1 was entertaining. I could certainly see the appeal for the young-uns, but it was also interesting enough to get me through the whole thing. Well, it was a downhill slope after that. Of course, since I bought the series I am forcing myself to read the whole thing. I finished book 3 in Croatia with the help of two 10-hour flights. I have been reading book 4 for a month now -- a month! I have about 100 pages left and it is almost torture to finish it. I refuse to let it go because this is obviously punishment for the impulse buy.
Aside from my stupid decision to buy the entire series, I'm even more annoyed by the comparisons between this author, Stephanie Meyers, and J.K. Rowling. Meyers has sold a gazillion copies of these books (thanks, in part, to me) so she's being hailed as the new queen of tweens. But the comparison is so unfair! Sales aside, Meyers isn't nearly the accomplished writer that Rowling is. Her character development is weak. Her plot development is trite. And, frankly, much of her writing is boring. Most irritating is the fact that I feel very "old" reading Twilight. Aside from the first Harry Potter book, I didn't feel that way reading the rest of that series. One of Rowling's gifts is her ability to write a series for children and tweens that can also be enjoyed by adults. There are layers to her stories and complexity in her writing that make her books hard to put down. With Meyers, I can't wait to be done with them! Speaking of which, after reading my rave review, if you'd like my books let me know and I'll be happy to send them along to you.
This year's impulse buy was particularly bad. Borders had a huge display for the Twilight series. I'd been thinking of reading the first book just to stay in the cultural loop and to keep up with the tweens in the family, but instead I bought the entire four-book series. Book 1 was entertaining. I could certainly see the appeal for the young-uns, but it was also interesting enough to get me through the whole thing. Well, it was a downhill slope after that. Of course, since I bought the series I am forcing myself to read the whole thing. I finished book 3 in Croatia with the help of two 10-hour flights. I have been reading book 4 for a month now -- a month! I have about 100 pages left and it is almost torture to finish it. I refuse to let it go because this is obviously punishment for the impulse buy.
Aside from my stupid decision to buy the entire series, I'm even more annoyed by the comparisons between this author, Stephanie Meyers, and J.K. Rowling. Meyers has sold a gazillion copies of these books (thanks, in part, to me) so she's being hailed as the new queen of tweens. But the comparison is so unfair! Sales aside, Meyers isn't nearly the accomplished writer that Rowling is. Her character development is weak. Her plot development is trite. And, frankly, much of her writing is boring. Most irritating is the fact that I feel very "old" reading Twilight. Aside from the first Harry Potter book, I didn't feel that way reading the rest of that series. One of Rowling's gifts is her ability to write a series for children and tweens that can also be enjoyed by adults. There are layers to her stories and complexity in her writing that make her books hard to put down. With Meyers, I can't wait to be done with them! Speaking of which, after reading my rave review, if you'd like my books let me know and I'll be happy to send them along to you.
posted by Janet | 12:06 PM
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