As a huge NOT FAN of Twilight, this book was still pretty interesting. ( )

This book was very difficult to read - not due to the writing style, but the reasoning. Many of their arguments were made in convoluted, over-complicated ways when they could have been stated simply and succinctly. There was also a fair bit of repetition between chapters. I was left with the impression that the authors were trying to stretch a short essay into a full book so as to make some money. If you really want to read this book, try to locate a lend-able copy. Don't spend your own dollars on it. ( )

This book is part of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, which includes South Park and Philosophy, Lost and Philosophy, and House and Philosophy. The contributing writers are mainly Philosophy teaching staff at universities. Consequently, this book is an examination of some of the big philosophical questions seen through the lense of the Twilight saga books.

I did not receive any "blurb" with my eBook of Twilight and Philosophy, so I came with my own expectations of what it would be about and what it would be like. I had never heard of the Blackwell series, and so thought of this book as a kind of "companion piece" to the Twilight books. I was very wrong.

Although there is plenty in this book to delight Twilight fans, it is by no means a light, fluffy take on the philosophy of the books. Instead, it investigates issues such as the ethics of vegetarianism, the definition of a person (what makes us human), and the question of theodicy (why God, if he exists, does not eliminate evil from the world). See - not exactly light and fluffy!

Now I'm the type of reader who would pick up a book about philosophy. Something billed as "a beginner's guide to the philosophy of feminism, Taoism, and the nature of space and time" would be of interest to me. And that's exactly what Twilight and Philosophy is - an accessible look into some of the problems that philosophers wrestle with.

I found this book interesting, and recommend it to readers wanting a primer on philosophy. I don't recommend that you read it just on the strength of the word Twilight in the title! ( )

I've always been interested in philosophy, not in an academic way, but the broad ethics and ideas involved; so this book certainly looked of interest.

Part of a series of philosophy and popular culture books, this volume draws together 18 articles from leading academics around the world to look at the philosophical themes within the Twilight series of books.

The articles are short and easy to read, and they certainly added depth to my reading of the Twilight series and their characters.

Themes such as whether immortality is something to be desired, what can the books tell us about god, is Carlisle really compassionate and the morality of Edward.

A number of the articles explore the theme of feminism in the Twilight books, even going so far as to discuss the similiarities between Bella Swan and Sarah Palin!

Actually when I stop to think about it Bella is very much not an empowered young woman; she moves to Forks so that her mother's new husband can move in, she has few interests or hobbies (other than Edward), she is able to walk away from her life both in Pheonix and Forks with no-one appearing to be bothered (friends?), and the only things she seems capable of doing are the laundry and cooking for her father - for everything else she asks a man (vampire or werewolf). It is as if Bella has no purpose or meaning except for that bestowed on her by the men who surround her.

As the article points out; her mother on seeing Bella and Edward together comments - 'the way you move - you orient yourself around him without even thinking about it ..... You're like a .... Satellite'.

I've never really been one to read 'notes' about books, or to study the stories in much depth, but these articles were really interesting and in my opinion added to my enjoyment and understanding of the series. I certainly came away from this book with a changed view of the characters that Stephanie Meyer's book - many of them not very flattering!

There are a number of philosophy and pop culture books available, I will be ordering some more (House, Alice in Wonderland, and possibly The Simpsons!).