This is going to be harder than I thought.

I just read the preface and chapter one of Twilight.

Ugh.

The first bad sign was when, on page 10, I looked ahead to see how many more pages there were before I could claim victory over the first chapter, and I still had 19 to go. I let out a heavy sigh, and trudged on.

In this chapter, Bella Swan moved from Phoenix to Forks, Washington. She doesn't like it there. The school is boring and she is much too good for it. The impossibly beautiful boy, Edward Cullen, seems to hate her. She wants to cry. At least she has a new truck! And despite how much it hurt, I did make it through without any major psychological damage being done. Our score so far...

Banality Index: 6 (+6)
Sure, the plot is pretty boring so far. I know I skipped sentences, and possibly whole paragraphs at points, but it's the opening chapter -- these things are sometimes boring, even in excellent novels. I have to give Twilight the benefit of the doubt for the most part and not move the BI too high, too early.

Writing Quality: 47 (-3)
There are a lot of awkward phrases/sentences, and the book clearly isn't written at a very high level, but just like in the BI, we're just getting started -- I can't get too dramatic about such a small sample of Meyer's writing. It's certainly not offensively bad yet, though I'm not sure I believe this is exactly what the thoughts of a teenage girl would sound like.

Will To Continue: 98 (-2)
I thought this one would actually stay at 100 for a little while, but it was much harder to get through one chapter than I expected. If every chapter for four books is like this, I have a lot of work ahead of me. Still, I don't feel like I can't do it, just that it may not be very enjoyable. As of now, my resolve is strong and my dedication to the task remains firm. Stay tuned for the next update!