The point that I was making in my post, more so maybe than in the comments, is that the reason these sorts of stories are so wildly popular (and extremely highly rated) is because they directly appeal to a fundamental desire within (nearly) all girls.

That’s just science.

In The Lovely Bones the reader follows a girl who will spend an eternity as a teenager, stalking and humping some exotic boy she barely knows. Same thing in Twilight. Different versions of the same basic story.

It’s ridiculous in my mind to say that so many people read and enjoy these books because, while they don’t actually identify with Bella at all, they just really like vampires and x-men battles. I have to believe that the percentage of the readership to which you apparently belong, Jim, is extremely small.

Admittedly, I read the books and felt no connection with Bella at all. For me it was meant to be just a mindless, fun read. My point is not that people can’t like the books without identifying with the character, but rather, if it weren’t for the primal connection girls seem to have with annoying teenage girls / annoying older boys / sex / marriage / babies there is no chance these particular books would be so highly rated and so widely read.

Also, quit trying to pick up girls outside of Hot Topic and Paramore concerts.

(ps. paramore is sweet)

Jim, you probably liked it because she finally chooses dreamboat Edward.

But seriously, Breaking Dawn is nothing but the culmination and realization (in my own opinion) of all the girlish obsessions and fantasies that make me gag in real life.

Still in high school, Bella is obsessed with getting married.

Bella is obsessed with being with Edward forever… until he leaves, then she totally loves Jacob… until Edward comes back, then Bella wants to be with him forever again.

Bella becomes obsessed with having sex with Edward.

Bella becomes obsessed with having a baby.

In Breaking Dawn she (finally? it’s been maybe two years since they first met) marries Edward, becomes a vampire (thus allowing for the whole ‘forever’ thing), has lots and lots of sex (turns out that’s all vampires really do with eternity), gets preggers, and then has a baby.

This is the complete realization of nearly every woman’s apparent concept of true happiness. A man and babies, forever and ever.

That’s why I say that these books are the reason I don’t have a girlfriend. It’s because for everything else that’s great about most girls, I can’t yet bring myself to happily accept or even casually ignore the fundamental pieces of their psyche that I find ridiculous.

Lizzie, Jason linked to his source within his last comment. So I doubt he actually remembered all that stuff on his own.

For me, I think the reason I liked these books boils down to how I read / watch movies. For whatever reason, I’m one of those people that lets the stories come to me. Perfect example: Lizzie and I will be watching CSI. I’ll just sit there and watch the episode and I’ll let the story unfold / come to me. This way I’m kind of always surprised / intrigued by the outcome. On the other hand, Lizzie sits there and tries to figure out exactly what is going to happen during the whole episode (which she does 99% of the time). Neither way of watching is bad — just different styles. The reason I bring this up is because I feel like a lot of times, I’ll enjoy some movies / tv shows / books more than other people simply because I let the stories “come to me”. I’m not really sure if I’m describing my point all that well. Here’s a really stupid explanation that basically self-burns me. It’s like I’m a little kid who just sits in front of the movie with a smile on his face and watches without critiquing. Maybe that’s a good way to explain it.

Anyway, I think that’s why the last book didn’t bother me. I wasn’t reading it thinking, “This is ridiculous”. I was reading it thinking, “Cool, everything is coming to an end and everything’s coming together for a final battle”.

But yeah, no one’s saying the vampires were as cool as the X-Men (one of the nerdier debates ever, btw)–I just thought the different/competing powers were fun and “X-Men style” seemed like an easy way to reference that part of the story.

(reference via this link)

Edward – reads people’s minds

Alice – sees the future… sometimes

Jasper – influences people’s feelings

Maggie- can tell when people lie.

Eleazar- he can pick out the people who has potential powers when they turn.

Aro- he can touch you and see everything that you ever thought of or said.

Demetri- is a very good tracker

chelsea- can break the connection between partners

oh man, those powers make for such a crazy awesome battle!! Who needs laser beams coming out of your eyes or adamantium claws? These badasses can make somebody a little bit sad or figure out if they are telling the truth!

Then, worst of all was the big reveal of Bella’s super dumb power… of which everyone else was inexplicably in massive awe. Her uber power is… defense! She makes an invisible vampire blanket that she can throw over people near her. It won’t block laser beams or bullets, of course, but if that extremely dangerous lie-detecting vampire girl tries to detect any of Bella’s lies… it totally won’t work.

Yes… it’s exactly like X-men.