Books Each Twilight Character Needs to Read

With hoa hoa hoa season in full swing, many fans are sure to be rewatching or rereading Stephanie Meyer’s beloved Twilight saga. Something about the series continuously draws fans back, whether it’s the nostalgia of obsessing over the books as a teen or the cringe-worthy yet entertaining melodrama of the movies.

The books are so popular that Meyer remains one of the highest-grossing authors almost two decades after the first book’s release. I remember for the longest time, the book regularly sold more copies than the Bible!

On top of fans annually flocking back to the original series, now Netflix has announced that the 2020 spinoff from Edward’s point-of-view, Midnight Sun, is currently being adapted into an animated series.

With all this excitement, I started to wonder what kind of books readers might want to discover alongside their annual Twilight binge. And what better way to curate a Twilight book list than with the eccentric characters themselves?

So in the hoa hoa hoa spirit, here are some books that each Twilight character needs to read — or likely already has.

Bella

While Bella’s the kind to spend the cozy season reading classics like Romeo & Juliet and Pride & Prejudice, for me, she gives off major The Bell Jar vibes. Sylvia Plath’s renowned masterpiece details the life of Esther Greenwood, a college student who dreams of becoming a poet, and her feelings of isolation while working in New York City. Esther’s struggles with mental illness would perfectly parallel Bella’s depressive descent at the beginning of New Moon.

For something on the lighter side — if Bella even has a lighter side? — she’d enjoy The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston, in which a disillusioned millennial ghostwriter finds her new editor’s ghost on her doorstep. I think Edward would also enjoy this one, especially if they read it together.

Edward

While Bella gives off sad girl autumn vibes, Edward’s a bit less dower — well, if you ignore the whole trying to kill himself bit. For the most part, he can be described as poetic, old-timey and sophisticated; which is why I think he’d love The Secret History by Donna Tartt. As a continual high-school graduate, Edward must have an appreciation for academic fiction — and not only does Tartt’s literary masterpiece take place at an elite New England college, but it also centers around a classics professor and a group of eccentric misfits. And if that weren’t enough, the story discusses issues of morality and obsession — sound familiar? I’d be shocked if Edward didn’t already have a first edition on his shelves.

As a fan of classic works, Edward might also enjoy T Kingfisher’s chilling retelling of Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” What Moves the Dead.

Jacob

Who else here was team Jacob as a teenager? Then grew up and realized… he’s kind of a whiney brat. I still love the boy, but boy is he the embodiment of teenage angst, just pining and pining after Bella. While I’m not sure he’d ever actually read it, Jacob definitely gives off The Catcher in the Rye vibes. J.D. Salinger’s scandalous classic novel of teenage alienation and rebellion follows the expelled Holden Caulfield on his glamorous, seedy and lonely romp through New York City.

A book I think Jacob would actually read? A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire by Sarah Hawley. This feel-good rom-com follows an angry vampire succubus trapped in a crystal and the cheerful werewolf she’s now bound to. She’d rip his heart out if she could — but she soon realizes there are some fang-tastic perks to their new relationship.

Renesmee

Now this little Loch Ness monster was hard to pin down; the movies don’t reveal much about her other than her psychic abilities and advanced intelligence. She’s also very quiet and reserved and seems like a contemplative child. In my opinion, she serves more as an extension of Bella and Edward’s love and as a future partner for the lonely Jacob than as a character all her own. Because of this, I think Renesmee would like Kiersten White’s Lucy Undying, in which one of Dracula’s first victims, Lucy Westenra, escapes the vampire’s clutches and embarks on a journey to discover who she really is and what she truly wants.

On a more satirical note, I think — as a rapidly growing child with an already fully developed mind with eternally teenage parents — Renesmee would greatly benefit from Lindsay C. Gibson’s groundbreaking Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents.

Charlie

Charlie is definitely a fan of detective and sleuth mysteries, from authors like Michael Connelly, Mark Greaney, Dean Koontz, Rhys Bowen and the like. He likes a good page-turner, but nothing too dark or sinister — he gets enough of that in his real life police work. And after discovering his daughter’s strange new child and Jacob’s shocking revelation, he’s probably gained some interest in the supernatural side of fiction. So he would absolutely adore a book like Sherlock Holmes and Count Dracula by Christian Klaver, in which the iconic detective and vampire must team up to banish a powerful enemy.

Carlisle

As a doctor who can’t help but gather poor, mangled souls, sew them back together and treat them as his own children, Carlisle is sure to be a fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He even struggles to keep them from going crazy and killing people! Aside from that though, this geezer is sure to be a fan of longwinded classics like The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway and Moby Dick by Herman Melville — as only those with the most stubborn patience, and profound thinking, can take on such readings. In fact, I’m sure he’s read most of the classic high-school required reading lists — even before the kids started attending.

Esme

Esme has a singular role in the Twilight universe, one many women historically have been allocated to — mother. She’s not only the “mother” of the Cullen children, but also Bella’s symbolic mother (ya know, since her own didn’t seem too involved). And until I started researching more about her for this list, I didn’t know she canonically had a child of her own, one she lost. Because of all this, plus her general cheery energy, I think Esme would enjoy heartwarming, tearjerking novels that center around motherhood in all its complexity, such as Hedge by Jane Delury, which explores what happens when the role of woman and mother clash, and Beloved by Toni Morrison, which follows the lives of a former-enslaved woman and her dysfunctional family after the loss of her baby.

And of course, with a little half-human (?) grandbaby running around, Esme will have an excuse to whip up more Italian cuisine thanks to Elisa and Frank Costantini’s Italian Moms: Spreading Their Art to Every Table. Hopefully, someone will actually eat it this time.

Alice

Loveable, quirky, and a bit dark, Alice would definitely be a fan of romantasy and light-hearted fantasy — which of course began with the classic children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I think now she’d enjoy any variation of the tale, especially Melanie Karsak’s Curiouser and Curiouser, a steampunk enemies-to-lovers, and Zoe Hana Mikuta’s Off With Their Heads, a sapphic Korean-inspired retelling. She’d also enjoy any mixture of romance and horror, like in My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen, or gothic romance, especially with a shadow-mommy trope, like in One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. How Alice ended up with a guy who’s sure to read almost exclusively non-fiction is beyond me.

Jasper

For the proud Civil War general, what book would be better than Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War? He undoubtedly used some of the book’s outlined skills, strategies and tactics in training for their battle against the newborn army, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had a worn-out copy as a human! As for pleasure reading, Jasper would definitely be a fan of epic stories surrounding nobility or military figures, like in The Tempest by Shakespeare (in which enchantment and treachery are at odds for a shipwrecked king and his noblemen) or I, Claudius by Robert Graves (which recounts how a bookish, limping, stammering young man fought to stay alive when he found himself next in line for the Roman throne).

I think Jasper would definitely benefit from some self-help books too, given his… questionable origins. And his unquenchable blood addiction! But sadly, he doesn’t seem modern enough to try out the genre.

Rosalie

Until Renesmee comes around, it feels like Rosalie’s sole purpose is to oppose Bella. She’s cold and standoffish and distrustful of humans and generally unliked by readers and movie-watchers alike — until we see her backstory. Wow! Because of her powerfully emotional and intense origins, I think she would absolutely love Stephen King’s timeless masterpiece, Carrie. Rosalie is sure to root for this bullied high schooler throughout her bloody, destructive rampage. But let’s be honest — Rosalie will buy the book then realize there’s a movie (two, in fact!) and immediately abandon reading to watch it instead.

Emmett

If Emmett reads at all, I doubt he reads for the plot *wink*. He’s sure to be a fan of books like Ice Planet Barbarians (and its 20 follow-ups) by Ruby Dixon or Ana Huang’s contemporary series, Kings of Sin. But I suspect he’s more of a movie buff — especially movies like the Fast & Furious franchise — so he might have something like the New York Time’s Essential 1,000 Films to See coffee table book.