Don’t Judge A Book By Its Fans
I’m talking about the Twilight Saga of course. There’s a whole lot of Twilight hate out there, but do these people hate the books themselves or is it the fans and all of the hype that they hate?
Here’s the conversation that brought about this post, a conversation I have had countless times now.
Hater: “Ahhh! I hate Twilight SO much! It’s so stupid and cheesy and blah blah blah.”
Me: “Have you even read the books or seen the movies?”
Hater: “…no…”
Personally I think that is absolutely ridiculous. How can you pass judgment on a book you have never even read? So it got me thinking, these people don’t hate the actual book, they hate all the hype and the psychotic fans that come with the book. The same thing happened when the Harry Potter novels were huge, you had loads of people hating on the books, even though they never read them. It’s completely idiotic.
I admit that I don’t like the Twilight series. I read the first book and enjoyed it, I didn’t love it, I didn’t think it was anything special, but I enjoyed it. As I continued reading though, I hated each new book more and more, in fact I hated Breaking Dawn so much that I never even finished it. My initial hatred for the series had nothing to do with the fans and the hype though, I have my own reasons for disliking them. But now I find myself hating them much more than before, and as horrible as it is to say, it’s due to ridiculous popularity of the series and its god awful fans. (Side note: I want to make clear of the fact that I don’t think ALL Twilight fans are insane. I know many perfectly sane people that love Twilight and love it in a completely normal and healthy way, not an obsessive hyperventilating at the thought of Edward kind of way.)
The difference between me and those that have never read it and hate it, is that I HAVE read them and I know Twilight’s faults and flaws. So when I see how popular it has become it makes me angry because I know damn well that there are loads of other young adult books out there that are much more deserving of all this fame. This is why Twilight’s popularity and fans annoy me so much - because I feel that Twilight doesn’t deserve it. Obviously that’s my opinion, everyone has different taste in books and movies and I don’t think less of any one for liking Twilight (but if you go all crazy on my ass then that’s a whole different issue).
My whole point is that judging a book by its fans and fans only is beyond stupid. Hating the book after reading it is perfectly understandable, but hating just because so many people like it, that just makes you a moron.
- Moonlight
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Although you may have good intentions in the post, it is largely negative. And it is very non-specific. You “hate” the series because it is popular. And you claim its fans are “god awful”.
The only real argument you put forward is that, allegedly, there are other authors and books more deserving of the fame and fortune. That’s like saying the Stones are “better” than the Beatles, or that Daughtry is “unlucky” cos they release a single or album at the same time as Black Eyed Peas.
The fantastic thing about Gutenberg was the way literature gradually became RELEASED from the stranglehold of political and religious bias. People could choose to read Dickens OR penny dreadfuls … OR BOTH.
Therefore, today, we can read Meyer AND Larsson AND Dickens AND L.J. Smith. And we can join any “tribe” (become fans) and enthuse. We can even, on occasion or even regularly, ENTHUSE OTT. Which is brilliant.
Wow, you really really need to re-read what I wrote.
1. I don’t hate Twilight because it’s popular. Did you even read this post at all? I have read the books and have my own reasons for not liking them. Their popularity does add to my hatred because I feel that there are better books that deserve the fame. But the popularity isn’t my actual reason for hating the series.
2. Not all fans are “god awful.” Which is what I said in the post. I made it clear that not all fans are insane or annoying. But there are definitely some psychotic fans that take it too far, everyone knows that.
3. I have nothing against those that like Twilight, everyone has their own taste in books, I don’t expect everyone to like what I like.
4. The WHOLE POINT was NOT to judge a book by its fans or popularity. That was my point. I was not arguing that Twilight sucks, or that there are better books, I was arguing that unless you have read Twilight, you have no reason for hating it.
Even in your reply you continue with harsh negatives:
- “Their popularity does add to my hatred”
- “there are definitely some psychotic fans …”
These “fans” you hate are straw men – imagined psychotic entities.
Similarly, the “haters” that you call morons are again straw.
Despite your intentions, the post sounds negative, aggressive and aimed at a “composite” person.
Having a rant is fine, yet I look to Vampires.com for positive recommendations, for news and reviews about worthwhile people, products, services etc.
Imagined? Really? So those fans that hyperventilated and passed out at the sight of Robert Pattinson are imagined? And the mother that tried to take her panties off in front of her kids for Taylor to sign is imagined? And these obsessed teens here are imagined? The Twilight fans in the news that attacked and nearly killed some anti-Twilight kids are imaginary? There are over the top unhealthy Twilight fans. Do you even know what “straw men” means? The fans and the haters are very real, I have met many of them personally.
Vampires.com covers everything pertaining to vampires – books, movies, folklore, opinions on vampire-related topics and more. This is not the first rant or opinion post and I doubt it will be the last from me or any of the other writers. I think people judging a book based on its fans and fans only is ridiculous, there’s no positive way to portray that opinion.
If you don’t like reading these types of posts then simply ignore them and continue reading the news and reviews.
NuGoth, there is nothing wrong with Moonlight’s post, nothing at all – although I do agree that the argumentations were a bit flat, but hey, so are yours. A site with one-sided information could not be more dull and un-inspiring: nothing is black or white, it’s the shades of grey inbetween that makes life and reading interesting!
I’ve read the first three so far (I refuse to pay to buy a hard copy of Breaking Dawn and will wait till it’s in paperback on the reduced shelves at WalMart.)
I decided to read the books because I was curious about the quality of writing (being an unpublished writer myself) and am afraid I find the writing to be lacking. Unfortunately the characters leave something to be desired as well.
Hmm… a bit curious, trying to stay in the realm of vampire young adult novels, do you think any of them are more deserving of the fame that Twilight has gotten?
Because while there is certainly better out there, I’ve also read a lot worse as well. Or is that comment extending to young adult fiction in general?
Yea, I am talking about young adult vampire novels that are better than Twilight. :)
Any particular ones in mind?
i believe that if you cared enough to read breaking dawn it could change your point of view. i admit that it does lack in the beginning for you to trail along with the book, but once you go far enough the book touches the edges of adult literature and becomes what you may be able to expect it to be.
I read about halfway or so, I thought it was ridiculous and completely predictable. I have read and seen many demon baby stories, it was boring so I stopped reading. :)
Hmm… Den of Shadows by Amelia Atwater Rhodes is a huge favorite of mine. It’s not the greatest series by any means and the writing is very simple (but then the author did write the first book when she was 13) but I still love it way more than Twilight. I guess I find the characters way more likable.
Vampirates by Justin Somper is another one I think is way better than Twilight. But then it’s also VERY different from Twilight, in the sense that it’s more fantasy (vampire pirates yay). It is a young adult vampire series I would recommend to everyone though.
The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast has the potential to be better than Twilight, it just depends on if the authors get their heads out of their asses and get the story back on track.
Those are a few of the YA vampire books I like more than Twilight, but then that’s just me, everyone has different tastes :)
I read some of Amelia Atwater Rhodes’ books when I was in high school, I remember being a bit inspired by the fact that she was published at such a young age, her writing wasn’t bad even back then.
Thank you for giving more information, it’s always nice to get suggestions of books from other people that read vampire novels (one of the reasons I come here, actually).
Yea, in high school I was somewhat obsessed with Demon In My View ;) I love count of how many times I read it. ;)
And you’re welcome :)
i hated twilight before i read or watched the movies because my friend was SO into it and kept bugging me about it too. even in my grade 9 MATH class people were talking about the books. when Twilight actually came out my best friend dragged me to see it with her, and i thought it was laughable. the same thing happened when New Moon came out, and by then i absolutly LAOTHED the obbsessive fans. finally she convinced me to read the books and i decided they werent half bad (i do love Breaking Dawn though and i want to see how the movies turn out) i still believe people shouldnt go crazy over it but i am more tolerably with those crazy fans now because i ubderstand what they have read and seen, but still moonlight is right; there are deffiantly better books out there that could use this hype instead of Twilight, but if they did i wonder how trashy the movies would turn out to be. . .