# Should I be dissing a book I never read?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 27, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591 "2009-02-27T00:56:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/1 "2009-02-27T00:56:46Z")
One thing I’ve gathered from perusing CF is that the majority of people here think _Twilight_ is Very Very Bad. Just about everything on Stephanie Meyers here is about how sparkly vampires are stupid, Bella and Edward’s relationship is unhealthy, the plot is horrible, sparkly vampires are stupid, etc.
Thus, I’ve come to the natural conclusion that _Twilight_ must be as bad as they say.
So I come across people, IRL and on other message boards who have discuss _Twilight_. And I feel an urge to go on about how it’s such a terrible book, and they shouldn’t read it. (Especially on the Barnes&Noble message board, _Twilight_ is considered a Great Book, and is often compared to _Harry Potter_).
Thing is, I haven’t actually read _Twilight_ myself. I’m just not into vampires.
Another thing is that some books I’ve liked have just a thoroughly been dissed in cyberspace. I think one or two people here actually defended _Twilight_, which is more than I can say for _Eragon_. My point is, I liked _Eragon_ and _The DaVinci Code_, so who am I to tell others that _Twilight_ is bad?
On the other hand, the plot summeries I’ve seen do sound truely awful.
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### Author:  [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/2 "2009-02-27T00:59:42Z")
I knew this was going to be about Twilight just based on the thread title! I haven’t read it either, so I can’t add anything except that I’m jealous of the mania and absolute fealty of her fans.
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/3 "2009-02-27T01:08:05Z")
I’d say it’s best to restrain yourself when it comes to going on about how awful something is that you’ve never read. You’re certainly free to say that _Twilight_ SOUNDS awful, that people who’ve read it have told you it’s awful, and that specific details you’ve heard sound awful as well, but if you haven’t read it then your opinion isn’t worth much. It’s pretty pretentious to make a big deal about how terrible a book is based solely on what you’ve heard. And what if one of the book’s fans asks if you’ve actually read it? She might (reasonably) argue that you’re just prejudiced against the book, and (less reasonably) that no one who’d really read the book would say it was bad.
As for me, I’ve read about half of _Twilight_ and I’ll admit that was largely out of spite – I WANTED to be able to say with authority that it was really as bad as it sounds. It was a borrowed copy and I didn’t have time to finish the whole thing, otherwise I probably would have forced through to the end. Maybe I’ll do it someday, but I’m not in a hurry. It really IS that bad, the first half at least, and since the existence of sequels indicates that it doesn’t conclude in the same way as _Bonnie & Clyde_ then I know there’s no way the ending could redeem it in my mind.
Anyway, if you want to denounce _Twilight_, you’ve got to pay the price the same as I did. 😃
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### Author:  [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/4 "2009-02-27T01:24:10Z")
To be really honest, I can’t comprehend why you would even want to. Why do you care what other people enjoy and what makes you believe your opinion is important enough to make fun of someone else’s taste?
Is it a feeling of superiority? Just wanting to be combative? Do you believe it makes you seem more intelligent? Help me understand the need to be so critical of something that brings other people pleasure.
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### Author:  [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/5 "2009-02-27T01:27:46Z")
I think **Lamia** is right on this; you have to read the book before you express a negative opinion.
That said, I read it - well, sort of, I got bored and just skimmed through quickly figuring out what happened. Then I hit up my daughter, who’s read all of the series so far and loves them, to find out what happened in the rest of the series.
I thought the plot was intriguing, though extremely far-fetched (not so much the vampires part as much as the idea that the human girl wouldn’t run fast and far, to name just part of what I found hard to swallow). But the reason I got bored is that there are only so many breathless descriptions of how beautiful, how gorgeous, how wonderful-smelling each finds the other that I could stand to read. Although it did create a new family joke when I did a dinnertime performance of the book to satisfy my son’s curiosity (he heard it was bad, too).
I was curious enough to want to know how it ends, but not enough to read every single word. Or page.
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### Author:  [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/6 "2009-02-27T01:38:13Z")
> [@Suse](#):
>
> But the reason I got bored is that there are only so many breathless descriptions of how beautiful, how gorgeous, how wonderful-smelling each finds the other that I could stand to read.
I’d have had _plenty_ of time to finish it if Meyer had left out all the descriptions of how perfect and wonderful Edward was. It probably would have been more a short story than a novel!
I also found the protagonist totally unsympathetic. I have never read a book with a main character that I found less likable than Bella, and I’ve read _Crime and Punishment_, _A Clockwork Orange_, and even _Mansfield Park_. I was totally rooting for the truck.
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### Author:  [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/7 "2009-02-27T01:39:19Z")
It’s fine to say that you haven’t read it because you think it is a horrible book and unlikely to be to your taste. And it’s fine to preach the virtues of classic literature. But to denounce a book on a message board at length because you believe it to be horrible and there are websites filled with fans–don’t. What’s the point? The true believers won’t be dissuaded or persuaded to try your suggestions of better pieces of work. The not so true believers already know about the flaws. But what do you want to accomplish by dissing a book you’ve never read?
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### Author:  [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/8 "2009-02-27T02:03:03Z")
I read every word of Atlas Shrugged and every page of The Da Vinci Code so I could pronounce with authority that they were absolute shit. Maybe you should do the same, or maybe I just didn’t see the shortcut.
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### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/9 "2009-02-27T03:08:22Z")
Okay, thanks or your opinions. I want to let you know that I have not, in fact, dissed Twilight to anyone yet. and I guess I won’t be doing so now.
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### Author:  [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)
#### Post date: [February 27, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-be-dissing-a-book-i-never-read/487591/10 "2009-02-27T03:14:24Z")
> [@cricetus](#):
>
> I knew this was going to be about Twilight just based on the thread title! I haven’t read it either, so I can’t add anything except that I’m jealous of the mania and absolute fealty of her fans.
I thought it might have been about _The Secret_.