[HPFGU-OTChatter] Twilight v Harry Potter WAS: Re: Torrents

[P. Alexis Nguyen]

Kristin:
> I have read the Sword of Truth series and let me tell you ... The
> Legend of The Seeker is a decent series but does not do the books
> justice ... trust me and give them a try.

Ali:
I'll be honest in that I wasn't ever going to give these books a try.
I don't so much enjoy reading stuff like this (hence my comment that I
wouldn't be reading despite knowing Goodkind to be a good writer).
Straight fantasy epic isn't something that has appealed since I was a
kind and read Journey to the West and all that stuff.  Something about
a TV show and how it's broken up into manageable portions (not how I
read) makes fantasy work for me.  It's probably why I still think Lord
of the Rings is the greatest epic I'll never read.


Kristin:
> One thing I have noticed that really annoys me and I see my students
> doing this too is comparing Harry Potter to Twilight. I have read both
> series ( Harry Potter so many times I can practically quote the books
> word for word) , but in my mind there is no comparison. Forgive the
> terms I use ( I got my degree in Mathematics and not English) , but
> Harry Potter is so well written where Twilight is not.

Ali:
That's a matter of opinion, don't you think?

Is JKR a better writer?  Well, I think the later HP books are very
well-written, but I enjoyed the rougher first few much, much more - in
my opinion, as her writing got better, JKR seemed less in touch with
her story, resulting in my connecting less with it.  Meyers (of the
Twilight series) has a nice flare and balance to her writing that I
think JKR doesn't have - it's that balance between earnest writing and
well-composed writing.

I haven't re-read any of the HP books since I finished book 7.  Do I
regret reading the books?  No.  Think I could live without them?  I
know it's sacrilegious around here, but yes.  I've re-read the Young
Wizards series more times than I can count, and even though I've
stalled at the 2nd book Twilight (that's Breaking Dawn, I think), I
enjoyed the first book immensely and will probably finish the books
this weekend.  Better writing technically?  Meh.  JKR probably does
edge out some of my usual suspects.  But would she make the list of my
usual reads?  Not by a long shot.  There's something about the later
writings of hers that I think is a bit overwrought, a bit too
unwilling to self-edit.  But I will be honest in that many of my often
re-read books aren't about good writing (though none of it is bad) so
much as good characters - it's about connecting with me in a way where
I know what's in the character's head and thus accept the rules of
their world.

Some of my best writing have all been for creative writing classes,
where I know I'll be critiqued and pulled apart and graded.  If you
judge on mere technical merits, it's a great starting point, but is it
where I'd judge writing that I would personally prefer to read.  Not
by a long shot.


Kristin:
> I know there is no such thing as magic, but the way JKR wrote Harry
> Potter really makes a hidden magical community seem plausible.
> The way she wrote the series
> is exactly how I fantasized about magic as a kid. I would much rather
> be a witch on my way to a magical education at Hogarts than an average
> girl in a relationship with an immortal adonis. Anyone agree with me?

Ali:
It's about perspective.  Harry lives in an immersive world with very
little to connect him to the young minds who read the books - you
sound like you teach at an American school, so you should understand
the slight disconnect (in comparison, that is) *your* students would
feel about a kid who goes away to a magical boarding school for most
of the year, whereas Bella and Edward live in the real world - they go
to high school and the prom and play baseball.  I'd rather be the
average girl; at least I have some idea of what I'm heading into
there.  (Besides, the immortal Adonis plays into another cliche most
girls that age can identify with on some level - dating the
bad/popular/unattainable boy and taking a walk on the wild side,
having someone like that be obsessed about you.)

In any case, though, you mentioned something very telling.  HP is how
*you* fantasized about magic as a kid.  It would naturally appeal to
you.  Twilight, however, appeals to a different crowd, a crowd that
grew up with sexy vampires who saves the world and gets the girl - I
call it the Anne Rice phenomena.  :)  It isn't about age so much as
reading choices and what was popular, and while I never read Anne
Rice, I did grow up with the idea of the cool vampire and that was my
introduction to fantasy and magic.

How was magic for me growing up?  Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's
Court and Dracula.  HP was a reading fluke, for me - both Twilight and
Young Wizards are more my speed.  :)

~Ali, who did not meant to write a dissertation but is bored at work

PS  Immersive isn't a real word?!?