I didn't respect Twilight, but I read it in one afternoon and didn't not enjoy it. It was sort of like mediocre candy. Also, I know how many teenagers are Really Not Readers, and there's a lot to be said for it on that front (that is, easy and not complex).

I will say I never even finished the fourth book. Once they got to the colonies, she lost me a little. But those first three books still kill me,

Amy is me in this. It's funny, she wrote the first one never having been to Scotland, and personally I think it evokes the Scotland in my mind stronger than later, after she had visited. She lost me when Jamie and Claire got to a region I know very well--and she obviously did not. But I really lost interest when her focus shifted to the younger couple. I'm invested in Claire and Jamie, and don't care much about extended storylines of those I consider secondary characters taking center stage.

The first books, though--especially the first two--on my shelf, in hardcover. I gave away the companion guide to someone who's a staunch fan of Gabaldon's every word.

Also, I know how many teenagers are Really Not Readers, and there's a lot to be said for it on that front (that is, easy and not complex).

There's a lot to be said for it encouraging them to go out and find more books, too. When I briefly worked at a bookstore two years ago, the teen girls who came in couldn't get enough -- Twilight had whetted their appetite, and they were eager for anything even remotely like it.

See, I absolutely adored Roger but conversely, loathed Bree. Don't know why, except it was as if Gabaldon took the worst aspects of Jamie and Claire's personalities and put them in Bree, making her a difficult character for me to like. But I loved seeing another male character stand up to Jamie at that point in the series—he'd become so Super Jamie that he needed a counter who was as strong as he was, but in a different way.

I also confess my unabashed love for the beta hero over the alpha every single time, so there's that, too.

I am glad Roger and Bree and mostly gone; I agree that I read for Jamie and Claire, and it got a little sidetracked.

I am oh-so-happy when students read anything; if they are reading Twilight, I am down with that, but I always talk about the issues I have with Bella and recommend similar books with stronger female protags.

unabashed love for the beta hero over the alpha every single time

F'nor not F'lar
Boromir not Aragorn
Shaggy not Fr--no, never mind.

But yes, I usually share your preference. And Jamie's super-ness may have been a contributing factor to my falling out of love with the series. I just...the reading of it became too hard work for the reward of pleasure gained. Too many books, too little time.

Shaggy not Fr--no, never mind.

that should read, "Velma, not Daphne"

Boromir not Aragorn

Cranky Elf (can never, ever remember his name) not Legolas
Chuck not Casey
Edward not Brandon

There's a lot to be said for it encouraging them to go out and find more books, too. When I briefly worked at a bookstore two years ago, the teen girls who came in couldn't get enough -- Twilight had whetted their appetite, and they were eager for anything even remotely like it.

When I worked at the bookstore it was the Harry Potter series that was doing this. The kids had read everything that had been written in the series up to that point, and they wanted anything they could get that was similar.

I think Harry Potter was responsible for a broader sample of people of all ages reading again, though. Twilight was pretty strictly teen girls (and their moms, although I think those moms were probably already romance readers).