Life, Books, Cats

No, seriously.

I understand completely that the books kind of suck.  They do.  Edward is NOT a romantic figure, Bella is a hideous role model, and while there are parts of them that are excellent, most of it's kind of drawn down into a sea of mediocrety ruined by the aforementioned problem of the lead couple.

<s>Also they make me warm and fuzzy inside.</s>

But whenever I see distinct hate, not for the books but for the phenomenon, for the very idea that someone could like the books- I feel a little leery about joining in.

Why?

Let's go back to Portal To Conformity High School, NC.  A science classroom, home of the teacher who not only has at home a python named Padme, but who brought his bearded dragon to class.  Home of the fish I am in charge of feeding, who I am as afraid to get attached to as everything else because they keep dying just after I name them.  But they recognize me now, and swim to the top of the tank for food.

I sit at my desk.  I share it with someone whose name I can never remember.  Across from me are a few pretty, popular, fashionable girls who have it all together but who I can't really hate because they're nice people in spite of the the fatal flaw of being everything I've given up on. 

One of them is reading New Moon, or maybe Eclipse.  "This is SO good," she says. 

I agree.

So does every other girl within earshot.  The girl reading and her friend smile at me.  "Aren't they GREAT?"

"I LOVE them," I say, because at that point I do.

"I mean," she says, "I haven't enjoyed a book since I was like, two, and I CANNOT put these down."

So there you have it.  I can't hate anything that does that.  I care too passionately about literacy.

That being said, if any of y'all out there want a GOOD vampire story- no boarding schools, no sparkling, and a heroine who's actually flawed and relatable, I recommend Robin McKinley's Sunshine.  I can barely look at vampires anymore since they've taken over everything (House of Night, you I can actively dislike), but I still love this novel.  It influenced a lot of my loves in writing- dystopias, fantasy, even the little characters being interesting- and yeah.  READ IT.