brit_columbia

A few days ago, I was thinking I might write some sort of essay on the topic of Mary Sues, since I'm reading not one but two vampire series in which the main character appears to be an idealized version of the author. Then I thought that maybe I was getting it wrong and perhaps I ought to go and do a little research on exactly what constitutes a Mary Sue. That's when I discovered that everything I might have conceivably wanted to say about Mary Sues has already been said many times over by people whose powers of self expression are better than mine.

 I still think it's a charge that is too lightly tossed at writers, however. It sometimes seems as though when a person is experiencing disgust or dislike for a book for whatever reason, whether on grounds of technicality or because of matters of personal taste, it's all too easy to add "AND... it's such a Mary Sue!" But are all books with a strong and/or powerful and/or lucky, good looking, popular, etc. character Mary Sues? I don't think so, but it seems like anyone can say so, and then other people who also hate the book can just agree with that statement. If it's that easy, then just about every book I've ever enjoyed has been a Mary Sue! My feeling is that if a book is well written and engaging, then I don't care if the author is writing about a much enhanced version of him or herself.  

Now on to Twilight, and my impressions, for those who are interested. I've just finished the second book of the series, which I know makes me sound like a really slow reader, but the fact is, I practically never read just one book at a time. I'm usually reading anywhere from two to nine at the same time. And I get a lot of interruptions! *Wail* (Okay, maybe I'm a little slow...) But back to the vampires!

I'm enjoying the books. They're not that badly written. I was expecting something really terrible after all the negatives I've heard about Twilight, but I've read far worse writing from other 'best-selling' authors.

I'm having a little problem relating to Edward's intense urge to kill Bella. Okay, I accept that's a major part of the premise, that Stephanie Meyer's vampires are close to the edge all the time, like junkies trying to kick heroin. But it's not working for me as something believable, since these vampires are capable of forming emotional attachments and controlling their horrible urges well enough to appear normal in public for hours at a time. After all, even Jasper spends all day in classes, where (come ON) someone must have gotten a paper cut at least once in the history of his various matriculations.
 
But, as I said, I am in fact enjoying the books. I liked New Moon more than Twilight. Jacob is really my favorite character in the series, and Carlisle is a close second. I don't have that much patience with Edward (so far he hasn't done anything to make me respect him), and sometimes not with Bella either, but I have to say that she, at least, is doing her best. Unlike him, she has only been alive for eighteen years and doesn't have a whole lot of life experience yet. I really like the setting and I like the introduction of the werewolves. It was pretty obvious where the story was going, but that never stopped me from enjoying a book or movie before. Sometimes, you know what's going to happen, but you just want to enjoy the way it plays out. Incidentally, I feel exactly the same way when I look at a hot, steaming, cheesy pizza covered in mushrooms!

Now, about my next post of Justice: I plan to put Chapter three (Lemon ahoy!) up tonight, probably around 11 pm or midnight, although it could be sooner if my husband doesn't decide that he really needs some attention from me. The chapter has been back from the betas for a few days but I haven't quite finished making changes yet.

Thanks for reading this, and feel free to either comment or ignore me.