Inkbirds Book Club Nikki Settelmeyer

This week is nothing but dark turns: a dark turn in the novel and a dark turn in Tom. Edward assaults and abducts Bella. Stephanie Meyer's treatment of the event has all the urgency of a new parent taking a rowdy toddler to daycare. Tom has gone gaga for Stephanie Meyer and struggles to differentiate the writing from the writer. He can't seem to get past what a nice lady she is and struggles to critique the work outside his new crush for Stephanie. Oh god. Nikki points to more evidence supporting her theory that Twilight is a marketing tool for older, overbearing men, targeting young, submissive, and unbalanced (literally and figuratively) girls. We forge ahead hoping that Tom will snap out of his Stephanie Meyer pink cloud syndrome, and that Nikki will stop drawing from her own memoir to support the Twilight abuser theory.

This week, Tom and Nikki delve deeper into the YA best seller, TWILIGHT. In Chapter 4, "Blood Type," we pass the 100 page mark, but have we learned anything more? Have we learned anything at all? Is there more to Bella Swan than pessimism and clumsiness? Can Edward stop himself from laughing at exactly the wrong time? Do any of the boys in Forks understand "Girls Choice?" We will discuss these topics and more in this riveting episode.

A 52-week book analysis in book club format should focus attention on a literary great, or at the very least, a New York Times Best Seller. But we've selected Twilight instead. Will Tom admit that that Twilight has little to no literary merit? Will Nikki let go of the notion that Edward and Bella are trapped in a miserable codependent tango? Only time will tell.