Here they are:

I love this topic! Reading is so important, and there are so many wonderful books out there.

Like some people have already mentioned, read together as a family. My children are both very small still, but love reading time. I want to ensure that as they grow older, they'll keep their interest in good books.

I love reading. I keep very tasteful books in my home. I want to be the example to my children. As my children grow, I'll be all over the books they are "required" to read. I'll read them first and if I feel they shouldn't read them, then we'll find another book to read.

I'm going to be very involved with their reading. My mother was for me. At times, I was so embarrassed, but very proud at the same time that Mom and Dad cared about what I was reading. This was even in high school that they would not allow me to read a certain novel.

Some could even argue that the classics have issues of immoral ideas in them. It's how they are written and how they are dwelt with that make the book. I'm appalled, though, at the themes that are in "little" kids books, but I guess it also goes with what they're allowed to watch on TV. It's the same material that they show on TV. that's in the books. Just because someone says the book is wonderful, doesn't mean it is. Everyone has different tastes and as a parent, it's up to us to research for our own good and our children's good if the book is really good. 

I enjoyed your rant about the Twilight series. I actually loved the Twilight series. I thought it was a good read, but not until I read the books for the second and third time did I start picking up on a lot of things that you did. I like the things that you ranted about, because if my daughter wants to the read the books, those are things I'll be talking to her about.

Yes, it's a fun modern-day romance, and somewhat tasteful (in my opinion) series. I liked that the fact there wasn't sex in the book, but talks about it. It only talked about few times throughout the three books. The fact that her boyfriend told her they would be married before they had sex, said a lot to me. While a lot of what the book is about is mythology, it leaves the door open for parent/young adult discussions as you said, for real life topics. I like reading up on other people's opinions on books, because it allows me to see things about the book that I may not have seen. Thank you for rant on this series, because I'm seeing it through different eyes and that's a good thing!

I do like the idea that someone said about getting a list of great books to read from our Prophet. I wonder if the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve would make a list of books that they loved to read growing up. I know I'd read the books they liked.

A reader in Austin, Texas

Thanks for writing, A. Reader. I do like the idea of reading together as a family, and I wish more families would abandon the practice of gathering around the little blue light in favor of gathering around the family library and discussing the week's book. It could happen!

Thanks so much for your thoughts about the "Twilight" series. I read them too, for about the same reasons you did (and because Deseret Book was selling them and I know they care about the content of their books in a gospel context) and came to a lot of the same conclusions you did. Your "letter" about the series was word-perfect, and I hope it helps other youth leaders cope with the growing awareness in the young women of the Church of this series.

It's great that you mention that positives can come from the negatives in the series because of course you're right; many girls have already read the books and we need to be able to help them process some of the implications of the more unbelievable plot devices they contain.

How is it that so many people can buy the love story aspect of the plot? For me, that's the most important talking point; you don't "have" to love someone; no one forces our emotions and love isn't an addiction. I think women have suffered from that delusion for a very long time and it's good to dispel that fallacy and give our young women a better appreciation for their own divinely-given agency.

But that's not why I wrote! I wanted to tell you about a boy I had in a 14-year-old Sunday School class from several years back. We were studying the Old Testament and he solemnly reported (right around the part in Genesis where Judah and his daughter-in-law were getting acquainted) that if the Old Testament was a movie his mom would never let him see it! It really cracked me up, and I have had many occasions to remember it. He's now a returned missionary and father of two little babies, so I guess it didn't warp him too much.

Jackie Mitchell
Gig Harbor, Washington

Thanks for writing, Jackie. Although I laughed at the Sunday School story, I was especially glad you wrote because of what you said about not “having” to love someone. Love is indeed a choice, although it doesn't seem that way when women are in love.

It seems as though when women are in love, we turn off our brains. We need to decide ahead of time what our standards will be — and where we will draw the line — before love clouds our better judgment. And that doesn't just apply to sex (although sex is a huge issue!), but also to what kind of men we're going to choose to be the heads of our families and the fathers of our children.

I just wanted you to personally know that I agree with you!

My 17-year-old and many of her friends (and their mothers!) love the series. I read the first book and felt uncomfortable with the sensualness of it. My 14-year-old read the book and hated it! No one else she's spoken to hates it, but in you she's found a soulmate. I'm going to show her your comments, and she'll feel much better.

Neither she nor I have read any of the other books. There's so much more out there to read instead. I homeschool my eight children here in Idaho (we used to live in Virginia and South Carolina) and we cling to many of the classics as well. But there are also great newer books.

One author I've read only briefly but find hilarious is Terry Pratchett and his fantasy series based on Discworld. Think Monty Python, but not as risqué and with more philosophy. I prefer humor to romance any day.

Trish Mercer
Idaho Falls

Thanks for recommending the Terry Pratchett series, Trish. I've already ordered one book from Amazon, and I'll give it a look. I tried to order the first book, but apparently there is nobody alive — including the author — who can figure out which book that would be. Discworld is a big universe! I'm hoping this is the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship because I'd like to get the Young Women in our ward hooked on something that doesn't feature obsessive infatuation.

Here's a letter from yet another reader who brought up something that hadn't occurred to me:

Kathy, thank you for this article and particularly your review of the Stephenie Meyers books. I read the first on a recommendation from a trusted friend and an avid reader. She loves the books. I was just as disappointed as you are with them, except I only read the first. After Elder Oaks' recent conference address on Good, Better, Best, I realized that I could not continue reading the series. I knew what I, as an individual, would choose, but feel validated in reading your article and it has renewed my faith in others. I seriously wondered if anyone felt the same I did about this series. Again, thank you!

Ginny Hale
Wasilla, Alaska

Ginny, even though the Good-Better-Best conference address has been a big focus of conversation in our house during the past two months, it never occurred to me to apply the thoughts to what books I should be reading. I have a whole lot of books in my house that wouldn't pass the good-better-best test!

Here's yet another reader who makes an excellent point:

Thank you a thousand times for the Twilight review.  I was beginning to wonder if something was wrong with me because the books bothered me so much when everyone else was singing their praises.  Okay — I've only had time to read the first so far.  Like you, I will be reading the others to see how the author handles the outcome of the story — if it glorifies dangerous and predatory relationships. 

I was deeply troubled by the justification of a fundamentally dangerous relationship in the name of "love."  Additionally, I was concerned with the age difference of the primary characters.  Bella is a teenager, a minor child in the eyes of the law.  Edward, meanwhile, though in a 17-year-old body, is a much, much older man.  How is this any different from a 16-year-old girl who falls "in love" with a 35-year-old man?  It happens far too often and our daughters absolutely must be warned of the dangers of these predators.  It seems so dangerous for our teenage (and even younger!) girls to be reading these books that seem to glorify a dangerous relationship between a teenager and an adult man.    

Thank you for pointing out that Bella endangers not only herself, but those around her whom she (ostensibly) cares about.  That is not true love.  

I can hope that the final installments will resolve my concerns, but in the meantime I wonder how many girls out there will flirt with these dangerous and predatory relationships before the years pass and the story is finally resolved (if it indeed is resolved).

I cannot tell you how grateful I was for your soapbox lecture!  

A former high school teacher and YW leader

Thanks for writing, Former. It's definitely worth pointing out that the age difference between the star-crossed lovers in this series should be a cause for concern. It never occurred to me to consider the predatory nature of a much older man pursuing a teenager. What I did wonder about, however, was why this man who is nearly a hundred years old by his birth certificate (even if he does look like a teenager) would fall in love with someone who is not only underage, but who is also very emotionally immature.

What in the world do they have as a common ground? And why are his family members, who are even older than he is, treating Bella's hare-brained ideas as though they have actual merit? When Bella hatches one of her kindergarten schemes (“Let's use me as bait for the bad guys!”), why is nobody saying to her, “What kind of idiot are you, anyway?” Instead they treat her as though she is on an emotional and intellectual par with the rest of them — which is definitely far from being the case.

Lest any of you think I hired my friends to write and say how right I was in last week's rant, our last letter is someone who thinks I am full of beans. For you who are still on the fence about whether your teens or pre-teens should be reading edgy literature, here is another opinion:

With regard to the [vampire] series, I have a few thoughts.  While I find Bella's constant desire to force Edward into having sex annoying, I think it's great to have a hot-looking guy stand up for what is best for Bella, even though he'd love to give in.  Whenever Bella is trying to seduce him, he reminds her that it isn't in her best interest; he wants to marry her and do things "right."  

This is a huge part of the attraction the readers have to this guy!  Not only is he totally hot, but he's a gentleman as well! To compare Edward with a child predator is absurd; he is totally respectful of Bella's feelings and wants to make her happy, unlike Jacob Black who wants to force Bella to love him (talk about selfish!).

Bella also isn't being carefree about her selfishness towards her family and friends; she is constantly grappling with guilt and isn't just being blatantly rebellious like a lot of teens out there.  What bothers me the most about the series was in the last book when it got very grisly and violent; it was a sharp contrast to the rest of the story, and I thought the fight could have been written better; I loved the story until that part, which ruined for me.  I hope the movie won't be like that.

Anonymous from Oregon

Thanks, Anonymous, for bringing some balance to the discussion. I was glad to see a letter this week from someone on the other side of the fence.

(All you people who supported my rant, your checks are in the mail.)

Okay, this time I'm serious. Next time there will be a new topic, and if I may give a hint I'll just say it's of “Primary” importance to a lot of teachers in the Church. Tune in here for a question on how to deal with a very sticky situation.

If you'd like to write in, send your thoughts to meridianmagazine@aol.com . Put something in the subject line that will let me know your letter isn't spam. And when you write, be sure to include your full name, city and state or province. (If you'd rather be semi-anonymous, sign your name as “A Reader from Michigan” or “Sandy from Timbuktu.” The important thing is that we hear from you.)

Until next time — Kathy

Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how
to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals.
It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishings.

Anais Nin