Harry vs. Twilight

Before I begin this post you should know a couple of things:

1) I have read each and every one of the Harry Potter books multiple times -- Books 1-4 probably 4-5 times each. Books 5-7 two times each. I have read all four Twlight books twice.

2) I obviously enjoyed both series or I would not commit to reading them multiple times. I plan to read them all again.

3) I am not promising a spoiler free post. If you are afraid you may be spoiled about either series, don't read any further. You have been warned.

So, with that said, here they are:

Thirteen Reasons why Harry Potter kicks Twilight's Tail

(in no particular order)

1) Quidditch vs. Thunderstorm Baseball. No contest. Baseball is still baseball even if the players are ridiculously fast, strong, and bang into each other loudly. Quidditch -- flying brooms, bludgers trying to kill you, quaffles soaring through hoops, the golden snitch fluttering all around the pitch -- seriously good stuff!! Plus Joanne Rowling developed it all herself. Impressive. (sidenote: have you seen these people trying to play quidditch on broomsticks on the ground? Seriously hilarious and a bit ridiculous to me. But you gotta admire their committment. Check out this link: Vassar Quidditch Team

2) Immortal life would suck. Seriously. Who would want to just roam earth forever, leading the same basic section of life over and over and over and over... Wizards have a normal life expectancy (unless you get a hold of a sorceror's stone of course...) and don't have to live high school forever. Blech. And knowing the only way you will ever die is to be ripped apart and burned... yikes. Give me Avada Kedavra any day.

3) Wizards eat and sleep! I think Lee put it best when she said something to the effect of "Sleeping and eating are two of my favorite things to do. I don't want to live a life where I don't get to do either!" Amen Sister!

4) The good guys are the majority. Sure you have that pesky Death Eater thing going on at times, but all in all, wizards are happy just living their life and letting muggles live theirs. But vampires -- we know that Dr. Cullen and his family of "vegetarians" are the minority. No peaceful coexistence for vampires and humans.

5) The Ministry of Magic beats the Volturi anyday. Sure, they are not perfect and turn a blind eye to evil, but still much better than an underground group of blood thirsty vampires who pretend to govern by certain rules and guidelines for vampire living.

6) Beloved characters die. Yes, this is reason why I think Harry wins. After all the conflicts and dangerous situations those Cullens get themselves into, you would think SOMEONE would bite it. Or really leave the family. But no. Happy little family. And if you've read even as far as book 4 you know that in HP, good guys die. And if you've read up through 5 you know that really good guys die. And if you've read 6 you know that REALLY good guys die... you get the picture. This is just more realistic. It sucks, but it's real.

7) No one is impossibly handsome. We've got some studs in Harry Potter, but no one so breathtakingly perfect that it has to be discussed every other page. Again, real.

8) Sparkly skin? Really? I do enjoy the books, but this is one stupid detail. As if leading a vampire vegetarian life isn't secluded enough, let's just add "you can't go out in the sunlight" to the mix. And why can't you? Because your skin would blister? No. Because you are concerned about skin cancer? No. Because your skin looks like diamonds? Oh of course.

I feel the need to stop here and reiterate, I really do like Twilight! But stack it up beside Harry... and you get this list... continuing now...

9) Harry Potter isn't girl porn. Yeah, I said it. Twilight is the girl equivalent to porn. It's chock full of all that mushy emotional romantic crap that we girls go ga-ga over. Edward makes 40 year old housewives swoon as well as 12 year old girls. Women and girls alike completely lose themselves in this fantasy world and begin building up these ridiculous standards in their head of how they want their boyfriends/husbands/various men in their lives to be. I don't know about you, but this is my main argument against tweens and even most teens reading the books -- relationships are already hard, why do we need to complicate it further for girls by muddling up their minds with unrealistic mush?

10) Love develops. You get to watch romance develop between beloved characters in a very real (there's that darn word again!) way. None of this "unconditionally and irrevocably in love" nonsense.

11) Wizards are born wizards. No one has to be bitten. Heck, you don't even have to be born to wizard parents. It just happens and everyday I wish it had "just happened" to me. :)

12) Hogwarts or Forks High. Again, really? Undoubtedly, Hogwarts is the place to be! Classes like Potions, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts OR Biology, English, and PE. Tough one!

13) Magic vs Vampire abilities. So vampires are strong and fast. And some of them have one additional power like mind reading or future telling. But with a wand and some potions, wizards can do freakin' magic! Endless possibilities!!

I could probably go on... but I think my point is made. I think I'll go read another chapter from Order of the Phoenix...