Renee Rose's Blog - Posts Tagged "blushing-books"
Attitudes: A Collection of Real LIfe Spanking Stories
Book Review
It seems only logical if my blog is about spanking fiction that I review some books. The only thing is, as an author myself, I feel like criticizing other's writing just opens me up to have holes poked in my own writing. In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron talks about "Shadow Artists" who sit around and criticize everyone else's work but never create their own. It's been a long time since I read it, but I think her point was that if you find yourself feeling overly critical of other's work, it could be about your jealousy, and you should look at your own fears of creating work (afraid of finding a critic as harsh as yourself?!)
Anyway, I also find that writing a review for other readers is totally different from giving feedback to an author in a writer's workshop. I would be way more constructive. I would never talk about what I didn't see (what I wanted) and only give feedback about what is actually there. So that said, this is a review for other readers. If I were talking directly to an author I would tell them that I loved it because I believe the act of creation is a sacred act that should always be celebrated. If you happen to be an author, let me know and I will give feedback in a way that hopefully leaves you feeling expanded and not contracted. :) With that big lead-up, you'd think I'm giving a scathing review, but I'm not. It's just that I CAN be kinda snarky and it might come out in the future.
So I bought and read this book this week. I had not purchased it previously because I didn't love the cover (well, books do get judged by covers!) and because I was not at all intrigued by the free chapter Blushing Books posted. It is a an essay in the collection by Bethany Burke, the owner of Blushing Books. It is just a funny story about why she got spanked. Call me crazy, but as a spanko I want to read about the actual spanking. The lead up should be good, and this was an entertaining one, but the spanking happened in a single sentence. Seriously. I have an active imagination, but I can use that for my own fantasies. If I've purchased a story I want the full juicy details of the spanking. You know, for things I might not have imagined myself. Okay, I've beat that dead horse enough. (please, PETA peeps, don't comment about how I need a new metaphor. I don't actually beat horses!).
Anyway, I ended up buying the book because I got curious about some of the other authors, and I wasn't disappointed. On one hand, you can get all this stuff from the DD blogs, but it was nice to have so many full descriptive stories all in one place. Also, the authors picked their most memorable stories-- either their first spanking, their worst spanking, their favorite most fantasy-fulfilling spanking, etc., so it's like a "best of" kind of read.
My favorite essays in the book are by James Johnson (there are two) and one by his wife Kacey Mae Johnson. I like getting both the husband and wife perspective. I also particularly enjoy reading the male perspective, especially from a male spanko. There are a lot of women blogging about spanking but not so many men.
There's also a beautiful essay called ">Unraveling" By Tommy Edwards. It has more of a D/s flavor to it than straight DD. Another great male perspective. I wished for more from it, although on second read it did satisfy. The entire essay is real time of the punishment, so that part is deliciously indulgent, but I actually wanted a little more of the back story-- he drops hints about how hard this is for her as a feminist and how he had first turned her over his knee to end a long string of arguments and they discovered it worked. I was intrigued by that and would've liked to hear more of that in the essay as well. If anyone knows who he is, I'd be curious to be pointed to more of his writing.
I think anthologies can make a tricky read because the flavor and style of each writer is so different. Like any anthology, I liked some better than others. Overall, though, I think this is a collection worth reading. Did it get me off? Yes. Sometimes books get me off but also disturb me (too harsh,or the men are chauvinistic). Some of the spankings were too harsh for my comfort level, but there's also enough love in these stories to carry them through.
Attitudes can be purchased on my favorite spanking fiction site: www.blushingbooks.com.
It seems only logical if my blog is about spanking fiction that I review some books. The only thing is, as an author myself, I feel like criticizing other's writing just opens me up to have holes poked in my own writing. In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron talks about "Shadow Artists" who sit around and criticize everyone else's work but never create their own. It's been a long time since I read it, but I think her point was that if you find yourself feeling overly critical of other's work, it could be about your jealousy, and you should look at your own fears of creating work (afraid of finding a critic as harsh as yourself?!)
Anyway, I also find that writing a review for other readers is totally different from giving feedback to an author in a writer's workshop. I would be way more constructive. I would never talk about what I didn't see (what I wanted) and only give feedback about what is actually there. So that said, this is a review for other readers. If I were talking directly to an author I would tell them that I loved it because I believe the act of creation is a sacred act that should always be celebrated. If you happen to be an author, let me know and I will give feedback in a way that hopefully leaves you feeling expanded and not contracted. :) With that big lead-up, you'd think I'm giving a scathing review, but I'm not. It's just that I CAN be kinda snarky and it might come out in the future.
So I bought and read this book this week. I had not purchased it previously because I didn't love the cover (well, books do get judged by covers!) and because I was not at all intrigued by the free chapter Blushing Books posted. It is a an essay in the collection by Bethany Burke, the owner of Blushing Books. It is just a funny story about why she got spanked. Call me crazy, but as a spanko I want to read about the actual spanking. The lead up should be good, and this was an entertaining one, but the spanking happened in a single sentence. Seriously. I have an active imagination, but I can use that for my own fantasies. If I've purchased a story I want the full juicy details of the spanking. You know, for things I might not have imagined myself. Okay, I've beat that dead horse enough. (please, PETA peeps, don't comment about how I need a new metaphor. I don't actually beat horses!).
Anyway, I ended up buying the book because I got curious about some of the other authors, and I wasn't disappointed. On one hand, you can get all this stuff from the DD blogs, but it was nice to have so many full descriptive stories all in one place. Also, the authors picked their most memorable stories-- either their first spanking, their worst spanking, their favorite most fantasy-fulfilling spanking, etc., so it's like a "best of" kind of read.
My favorite essays in the book are by James Johnson (there are two) and one by his wife Kacey Mae Johnson. I like getting both the husband and wife perspective. I also particularly enjoy reading the male perspective, especially from a male spanko. There are a lot of women blogging about spanking but not so many men.
There's also a beautiful essay called ">Unraveling" By Tommy Edwards. It has more of a D/s flavor to it than straight DD. Another great male perspective. I wished for more from it, although on second read it did satisfy. The entire essay is real time of the punishment, so that part is deliciously indulgent, but I actually wanted a little more of the back story-- he drops hints about how hard this is for her as a feminist and how he had first turned her over his knee to end a long string of arguments and they discovered it worked. I was intrigued by that and would've liked to hear more of that in the essay as well. If anyone knows who he is, I'd be curious to be pointed to more of his writing.
I think anthologies can make a tricky read because the flavor and style of each writer is so different. Like any anthology, I liked some better than others. Overall, though, I think this is a collection worth reading. Did it get me off? Yes. Sometimes books get me off but also disturb me (too harsh,or the men are chauvinistic). Some of the spankings were too harsh for my comfort level, but there's also enough love in these stories to carry them through.
Attitudes can be purchased on my favorite spanking fiction site: www.blushingbooks.com.
