A year of Stephenie Meyer, Stephen King and more
Last week marked the first anniversary of Read Street, a significant milestone considering that Nancy and I were novices to blogging and barely knew each other when we started. Over the past year, which included about 850 blog posts, I’ve come to have a better appreciation for her literary tastes, which run to supernatural killers and strong female protagonists, or any combination of the two such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I’ve also enjoyed getting to know the Baltimore area’s fellow book lovers, who joined discussions on topics ranging from favorite reads to faked memoirs to shelving strategies (by author, genre or color-coded?).
The hottest exchange continues over Stephen King’s criticism of Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series. More than 450 comments have been made on that issue, some defending King, others blasting him (in oft-fractured grammar usually reserved for text-messages). My favorite: stephan ur a gerk!
And I’ve enjoyed experimenting with the combo of a print column and online blog. The blog provides the freedom to publish news and opinion every day, without worrying about deadlines and space restraints. We’ve developed quizzes, an events calendar and a U.S. map of favorite bookstores. And we can call on authors and others to write about topics such as the 200th anniversary of Poe’s birth — for which author Marilynne Robinson did a poetic post. An excerpt: “Poe made me think about words. Which is the loveliest word, the loveliest letter? I believe I may have known that these are the kinds of almost idle questions one poses to oneself when a night seems to be unending, when the weight of sorrow is so great as to be dangerous.”
Over the year, I’ve also watched my literary tastes evolve. I was once a monogamous reader, limiting myself to a relationship with one book. Nancy and other Read Streeters have pushed me toward literary polygamy, so I now read two or three books at a time. I sought to understand the King-Meyer storm by reading Twilight, a YA book that I normally would have shunned. (And, to Nancy’s horror, I liked it.). I also stretched into poetry.
Thanks to all of you who made this a memorable year.
Comments
Congratulations on the anniversary, I am a regular reader and always appreciate the reviews and literary insights,
Posted by: david | May 17, 2009 9:58 AM
I have tried to read Stephen King books and I didn't like them. But i did fall in love with the Twilight series by Stephenie ! SO IT'S UP THE PERSON WHO READS THE BOOKS and Stephen King had no right to say that but Im not surprised he's A DEPRESSED CRITICAL little man.
Posted by: sia | May 17, 2009 3:20 PM
This seems like the right place to tell this story:
This Saturday, while making my rounds of yard sales, plant sales and church flea markets, I ran into two young women who'd gone to school with one of my kids. One of the women was wearing a tee shirt that read, I ♥ Sparkly Boys. I am so far, as we used to say, Out Of It that I was thinking, Well, her husband is nice enough, but he doesn't exactly set the room on fire... when the one not wearing that shirt said, We love Twilight!
(Of course, I knew that!)
These two women are early-to mid-thirties, with houses, husbands, kids and fulltime outside employment. Where they find the time to read anything confounds me. Stephenie Meyer has clearly found her niche.
Posted by: Eve | May 18, 2009 2:43 PM
Happy Anniversary! As a YA writer I'm happy to hear you enjoyed venturing into the genre. So what's next? Graphic novels? Or maybe a little romance?
Posted by: Darlene | May 18, 2009 2:50 PM
re: S. King's comments on S. Meyer
King's comments were highly inappropriate and unprofessional. I was shocked to see an author of his stature say something like this.
A good writer understands his or her intended audience. I can't think of anything that is more appropriate for its target audience (young adult females) than the "Twilight" series; although, its appeal is much wider. Therefore, by definition, Ms. Meyer is (at least) a good writer.
Any other comparisons are apples to oranges, and therefore, IMO, moot.
Posted by: George | May 18, 2009 3:50 PM
Congrats on a wonderful year!
Posted by: Heather J. | May 18, 2009 10:18 PM
Don't even try to compare Meyer to the KING. To the twilight fans:
King has written over 70 books, 200 short story, collection of novellas, comic-books, non-fictions and screenplays. Oh and by the way he has sold more than 350 million copies of his books.
Posted by: Roland | June 2, 2009 7:18 PM