Sometime in the three years since the first installment was published, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga gained a cult following to rival that of the Harry Potter series. Meyer has been heralded as the next JK Rowling, and all four Twilight novels were No. 1 New York Times Bestsellers. With all the hype surrounding the series, I gave in to curiosity and started reading "Twilight," expecting the same pleasant surprise as Harry Potter provided.
I was thoroughly disappointed.
I have several problems with Meyer's 500-page debut. First, she should have done a little research on vampires before writing a four-book series about them. I'm still not convinced they sparkle in the sun. One of her main characters, Edward Cullen, dismisses many well-known facts about vampires (i.e., they burn to dust in the sunlight) as "myth." I know it's fiction, but it's like she didn't want to put in the effort to do any research, so she just made things up.
Most of my criticism is aimed at Meyer's writing style. Her characters have no personality, and the storyline is flat. There is no suspense; all mysteries are too quickly revealed, and all problems are too easily solved.
Meyer has a huge problem with redundancy. It seemed as if every page contained a description of beautiful, perfect, angelic Edward with his bronze hair, topaz eyes and godlike body. I found a Facebook group titled "Stephenie Meyer Needs a Thesaurus" that lists the number of times Meyer used certain words in the series. "Chagrin" was used 15 times in the novels, "marble" 30 times and "perfect" 282 times. The final book alone saw "beautiful" used 61 times.
If I could give Meyer a piece of advice, it would be "Show, don't tell." All she does is tell. "Bella is intelligent. Carlisle is compassionate," Meyer tells her readers, but she offers no proof. The book reads like a play-by-play: "I went to the kitchen and ate a bowl of cereal. Then I got in my truck and drove to school." (These are not actual sentences from the novel; I'm just trying to give examples.)
If all the redundant and boring information was cut, "Twilight" would probably be less than 200 pages and a much better read. The editor in me was tempted to go through the whole novel with a red pen, cutting unnecessary adjectives and replacing weak verbs. But that would mean I'd have to read it again.
To give Meyer a fair chance, I'm reading the second book in the series, "New Moon." I haven't seen much improvement. I haven't decided yet if I want to waste my time on "Eclipse" or "Breaking Dawn."
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Hell Yeah, We're Ready
It's been a long time coming.
This time last year, when the Ole Miss Rebels were sitting discontentedly with a 3-9 record (0-8 SEC), no one could have imagined a bowl game in the near future. Yet here we are, No. 22 in the AP poll with a record of 8-4 and a list of victims that includes Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn and Arkansas.
Fresh off the LSU victory, the Rebels destroyed the Bulldogs in the 2008 Egg Bowl with a final score of 45-0. Ole Miss had school records of 11 sacks and minus 51 yards rushing allowed. The Bulldogs only crossed into Rebel territory twice and scored just 37 total yards. Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom resigned the next day.
Statistics, however, can never portray the mood inside the stadium when Ole Miss stormed to victory. Pom-poms flew furiously as the crowd screamed "Hotty Toddy" and chanted head coach Houston Nutt's name. One player held the Golden Egg aloft as Jamarca Sanford waved a flag emblazoned with the Ole Miss "M." Rebel yells echoed through Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the crowd reluctantly left the celebration.
Now, Rebel fans wait eagerly to learn which bowl their Cinderella team will play in. Wherever they go, Ole Miss will certainly bring a winning attitude and a hunger for victory.
This season, there has only been one answer to the age-old question, "Are you ready?": Hell yeah!
This time last year, when the Ole Miss Rebels were sitting discontentedly with a 3-9 record (0-8 SEC), no one could have imagined a bowl game in the near future. Yet here we are, No. 22 in the AP poll with a record of 8-4 and a list of victims that includes Florida, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn and Arkansas.
Fresh off the LSU victory, the Rebels destroyed the Bulldogs in the 2008 Egg Bowl with a final score of 45-0. Ole Miss had school records of 11 sacks and minus 51 yards rushing allowed. The Bulldogs only crossed into Rebel territory twice and scored just 37 total yards. Mississippi State head coach Sylvester Croom resigned the next day.
Statistics, however, can never portray the mood inside the stadium when Ole Miss stormed to victory. Pom-poms flew furiously as the crowd screamed "Hotty Toddy" and chanted head coach Houston Nutt's name. One player held the Golden Egg aloft as Jamarca Sanford waved a flag emblazoned with the Ole Miss "M." Rebel yells echoed through Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the crowd reluctantly left the celebration.
Now, Rebel fans wait eagerly to learn which bowl their Cinderella team will play in. Wherever they go, Ole Miss will certainly bring a winning attitude and a hunger for victory.
This season, there has only been one answer to the age-old question, "Are you ready?": Hell yeah!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Always Be Selling
Roger Stolle is every bit the promoter.
The Dayton, Ohio, native and longtime blues fan left a corporate marketing job to open Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art Inc. in Clarkesdale, Miss. Stolle's mission is "Promote from within," a strategy he uses to market his store, blues music and Mississippi. He said he doubts his venture would have been successful were it not for his 13 years of marketing experience.
Stolle's experience didn't go to waste. His Journalism Week presentation was informative and entertaining, but afterward I started wondering if he had been trying to sell us something. He played video clips from the documentary on blues musician Big George Brock and the new blues-pilgrimage movie "M for Mississippi," which was filmed in the Mississippi Delta this spring. Yes, they were perfect examples of the culture that Cat Head is trying to preserve, but was there another motive behind showing those clips?
I just wonder what Stolle thought when an audience member asked where he could buy "M for Mississippi."
The Dayton, Ohio, native and longtime blues fan left a corporate marketing job to open Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art Inc. in Clarkesdale, Miss. Stolle's mission is "Promote from within," a strategy he uses to market his store, blues music and Mississippi. He said he doubts his venture would have been successful were it not for his 13 years of marketing experience.
Stolle's experience didn't go to waste. His Journalism Week presentation was informative and entertaining, but afterward I started wondering if he had been trying to sell us something. He played video clips from the documentary on blues musician Big George Brock and the new blues-pilgrimage movie "M for Mississippi," which was filmed in the Mississippi Delta this spring. Yes, they were perfect examples of the culture that Cat Head is trying to preserve, but was there another motive behind showing those clips?
I just wonder what Stolle thought when an audience member asked where he could buy "M for Mississippi."
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