Someone needs to get a GRIP

Nothing beats drama, unless of course it's good internet drama, or better still, good internet drama by rabid Twilight fans.

So here's the deal, after Breaking Dawn's release one week ago the camps have been split in two:

The Breaking Fails v/s The OMGBreakingDawnisthebomb!

Basically, you either love it or hate it. Sure there is middle ground but it's pretty sparse in comparison. I've been browsing (and partaking) in some heated debates on the Amazon.com threads and it gets as hot as a june bride bareback on a hot stove. Many people are passionate about the books, stating (as I have):

Twilight is a Trilogy

Many wish Breaking Down, excuse me, Breaking Dawn never existed. And then it got ugly. The Twilight Lexicon which is a base for fans to meet and discuss the books has rewritten it's "manifesto". It contains juicy nuggets like this:

1. The Twilight Saga is comprised of four books. It is not a trilogy. You may have wished that the books stopped at three, but they didn’t, and this site is a fan site for all the books in the Twilight Saga. We firmly stand by the canon as established in all four books. It all really happened. If you want to pretend Breaking Dawn never happened, that’s fine, but on this website there are no banners, avatars, sigs to that effect, and discussion acknowledges and concedes that all events contained in the four volume series exists. Denial of canon has no place on this website.

It's would be idiotic if it weren't so damned funny.

Here's a thread about it: Fails So Bad

Breaking Dawn Pt. 2

Since Tania posted, I think it's safe to review why I disliked the book so much. Warning, it does contain spoilers!!!

Initially, I thought I'd enjoy the read very much. The wedding scene is sweet, still in tune with the previous novels. They go onto their honeymoon, still the same. I expected any type of love scene to be faded to black so that didn't bother me. But I noticed immediately in the concerns of bruises from their love making her talk of "hunger" and "fatigue". Oh no, I said to myself. Please god don't go there with this book. Don't make it a cliche...and then it happened and I boarded the Breaking Dawn express train to hell.

There are several things I dislike about the book. The major problem being it's not written the same, doesn't feel the same and doesn't treat the characters the same as it's predecessors. Jasper gets a new nickname, as does Rosalie. You never hear anything from the Cullen's other than random observations or chuckles. There are no believable romantic elements between the protagonists (endless "talks" of sex is not romance) and the story warped after the birth, switching to a Mary Jane-esk scifi/paranormal story I couldn't believe I was reading.

There were the plot holes (how did she get pregnant? and how did Alice know exactly where to find more of Renesmee's kind?), lazy writing (why didn't Carlisle just insert that blood into her started IV?), and various other things a person thinks of after they've closed the book.

The baby was an easy way to zip this book up. It gave Stephenie the chance to end the book neatly.

Nessie - Bella has to be transformed by Edward, he can't cop out or she will die.
Nessie - Her pregnancy forces Jacob to break from his pack so he can be around to tell his
portion of the story.
Nessie - Imprints with Jacob - neatly finishing out his story.
Nessie - Threatens the Volturi - got to have angst, even if nothing comes from it.

And that's what it all comes back to, convenience. Because after all is said and done, we never even get a bitch slap. Instead Bella throws out her super "love" shield and saves the day. Everyone goes home happy, Huzzah!!

I have to ask, where the hell was that "love shield" on their honeymoon, it might have saved the series! LOL

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn. Bought it at 12:00am this morning. Stayed up all night reading it.

.

I don't know what Steph was a smoking but she totally ruined the series with this book so do yourself a favor, stop at Eclipse and make up your own ending. You'll be much happier - trust me.

Twilight Popularity

As I've written before, I'm in love with a book series. It started innocently enough, I was intrigued by the cover of the book (two hands, holding a red apple, signifying eating of the forbidden fruit) and decided to give it a shot. I brought it home and a love affair began.

I've read Twilight at least 7-8 times now, New Moon (my least favorite) 3-4 and Eclipse 7-8 times as well. There is something about the characters that pull you in and make you care about them so much so you simply cannot stop thinking about them, even when you've closed the book.

So I was speaking to my husband about a few controversies with the books.

The first being the Mom's who say they refuse to allow their daughter's to read them because it portrays girls as worthless unless they have the love of a beautiful boy - valid I suppose. And they claim it is a negative example that Bella is willing to forsake everything, her life, her family, her mortality, all for the sake of this boy she loves - also valid.

Which brings me to the other thing Jimbo asked - why are these books so insanely popular??

I really thought about that. Why is it "I" love the books so much. Basically the story is a romance novel about Bella and Edward.

Then it hit me.

I think the reason so many people relate to this story, especially girls and women, is because Edward isn't around anymore. We live in a society today where men teach their boys to be "manly". Where it's acceptable to call girls and women "bitches and ho's" and to ask a girl out by saying "hey baby, can I dip those digits?"

Gone is the guy who holds opens the door, brings you flowers on the first date or tells you how amazingly beautiful you are in his eyes. The romance has faded and in it's place are men who think we're lucky they will give us the time of day and there are girls convinced enough to buy it.

I'm fortunate that my husband was raised by a woman who taught him early on how to treat a woman like a lady - with respect and kindness. The sad thing is that most women wouldn't want a man like mine because he didn't fit the description girls are brought up believing will make them happy. A huge 6' plus guy with bulging abs and a temper.

An Update

I just wanted to check in, quickly, while the kids are behaving (for once!)

Things have been absolute hell here the last couple of weeks. Logan and Vincent fight constantly, Annabel refuses to let me put her down (or move out of her line of sight), and Arwen is as mouthy as ever.

At the start of the summer I could slip away for a little private internet love but not so much now. I learned two weeks ago that my boys will merely use the opportunity to ransack the house, breaking anything and everything in their path.

On a positive note, I've finished school clothes shopping and I'm counting the days until I can read all of your blogs without interruption, while sipping a hot cup of coffee. And Annabel celebrated her 1st birthday Sunday, I took pictures and will try to put them up this weekend. I can't believe it's been a year already.

Hope you all are well! And Tania, I've marked my caledar, I'll be getting Breaking Dawn at midnight, reading it from start to finish in one sitting. Jimbo has been advised!

Sharp Teeth

It's 1am and I'm still awake. It's not because the children are up and it's not because I don't need to sleep. It's because I picked up a book I've heard some raves about and I cannot put it down.

Sharp Teeth, written by Toby Barlow, is a modern day werewolf tale with a twist. It's written in verse aka it's written as in the form of a free flowing poem. I thought it would be difficult to follow or that I might have issues escaping into the story. Obviously I was wrong as I found myself immersed by the second page.

I will go to bed soon...I cannot stay up all night to finish this book...

Twilight

I've been a huge fan of this series ever since I read the first book (before it became big). Stephanie Meyer is amazing and has developed characters I care for and want to read about over and over again.

I'm so delighted they are making a movie and thankfully it looks awesome (and true to the book). The poster has me counting down until December 12th when it's released.

From Head to Toe

I ordered this from Scholastic for the kids. I have to say, this is the most amazing book and Arwen LOVES it. She is really curious about the body. She loves to read about blood, arteries, veins, bones and such. When I take her to the doctor she'll ask as many questions as she can about the various maps and diagrams.

The book has large maps of the body inside as well as little experiments. If you have a child that likes this sort of thing, it's definitely worth the investment!

Tending and Reading

Just a quick update in case anyone is wondering if I'm MIA for a couple of days. My husband has been ill since Friday with the Flu and boy has it been a bitch. He has a fever, cough, and weakness. I've been trying to keep the children (and myself) away from him as much as possible. It's not been fun.

Salvation delivered herself to me however because Kim Harrison's new book The Outlaw Demon Wails came out today! So I plan on immersing myself into her world as much as possible when I'm not tending the sick here at home.