With the Nov. 18 release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” I am extremely annoyed with the flock of people rushing to theaters to see the latest installment. It made me think, “What is so special about this series?”

Let me start off by saying I actually have read the “Twilight” series. My friend practically shoved the novels down my throat, so I simply consider my reading them an exploration of the popular, modern-day novel. I read all four of the books in their entirety, and I also read “The Host” by Meyer, mostly to figure out what the hype surrounding the author was about.

My point is I have the authority to talk and insult.

The novels are average at best. The plot? It was decent — far from a page-turner and nothing close to a book that I couldn’t put down but not completely horrible. It seemed as though the entire series could have been compacted into a single book without missing a beat.

The characters were predictable and somewhat flat. I can’t say I didn’t see the Cullen family being vampires coming because the summary on the back of the first book spoiled that.

None of Meyer’s characters were endearing or lovable. Instead, I was just annoyed with them. Bella is weak, and as a female myself, I’m quite ashamed of her. It’s the 21st century. Isn’t this supposed to be the age of independent and strong women? Yet, Bella will “die” without Edward in her life? Meyer, as a woman, should empower Bella, yet she belittles her.

And it’s not like Edward helps the case. He scorns her for her friendship with Jacob and immediately comes off as stalker-ish. Since when do people know they’ve found their soulmate after a single high school chemistry class?

Call me an old soul, but what ever happened to classic love stories, such as “Pride and Prejudice?” This book grasped readers with a complicated and compelling story line instead of a four-book series working out a love triangle between a vampire, human and werewolf.

It’s quite disturbing that teens today will place the “Twilight” series above Jane Austen’s masterpiece on a list of their favorite books. I think Mr. Darcy is far more charming and memorable than Edward ever will be. Mr. Darcy is described as fine, tall and handsome while Edward is pale, ice-cold and has bruised eyes. Am I just missing something in this new fad? Humanity? Are you out there?

All-in-all, the books were nothing worth lining up outside bookstores awaiting their midnight releases. They were OK, nothing more.

Now I’m going to get started on the movies, and let me warn you: I have even fewer nice things to say about them than I do about the books. The extent of my interest barely went further than the sight of the neat cliffs in “New Moon.”

The acting was hardly believable, and if anyone thinks it was, then they need to expand their cinematic viewings and give their head a shake. It seems as if Kristen Stewart just showed up for work and pretended to be Bella Swan for a few hours — there was no emotion involved in her acting.

An entertainment review on abc4.com referred to the first movie as a “90-minute perfume commercial.” Every scene was drawn out, over-dramatic and too cheesy to watch without grimacing.

Yet some tell me the acting and credibility of the movies — or lack thereof — is not the main appeal. It’s not what draws in millions of blood-sucking fans and generates billions of dollars. It’s not the decent soundtrack or pretty cliffs, either.

It’s Taylor Lautner’s abs.

Which, I might add, are quite delicious and add a few points to the “Twilight” saga in my book. I do understand this point; but seriously, if that’s the only reason you drool over the movies, save yourself the $12 ticket and Google shirtless pictures of him instead — preferably in the privacy of your own home.

As if there isn’t enough to tear apart, there recently have been reports that the birth scene in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” has caused epileptics to have seizures in reaction to flashing lights during the scene. Ah, because the horrendous acting and yawn-worthy fight scenes weren’t enough to make me hate it.

Basically, I’ve come to the conclusion that Twilight is to the books-turned-movie world as Taylor Swift is to the music industry: overrated. Each installment is nothing spectacular and leaves you wondering what’s different than the last release.

Alyssa Girardi is a State News reporter. She can be reached at girardi5@msu.edu.