Vaginal Fantasy Book Club discussion
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Guilty Pleasures
Dec 2013: Guilty Pleasures
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Did any of you have any reading goals/resolutions for 2013 (and did you meet them), or are you setting any for 2014?I wanted to do for other people what VF has done for me - make me read things I wouldn't otherwise have read. I managed to get an intellectual snob to read and, to her surprise, love a romance novel (The Rosie Project) and a fantasy novel (A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent - thanks for that one Lady Belmont!). I also got a die-hard category-romance reader to broaden her horizons via the Soulless series (thank you Grand Duchess Day for the intro to the genre & the books!)
Does anybody else think she belongs with Edward? He seems to be the only one who understands her, despite being a sociopath. Not sure what that says about Anita...
What do you guys think of Anita's faith, opinions of vampires and what could be considered racism(her belief in looking after "your own" first- be it human or supernatural)? Having read on in the series, eventually Anita's vagina becomes like a time-share in Boca and really contradicts with her character in Guilty Pleasures- does that imply that her faith and prejudices change along with her sexual predalictions?
How did it feel to reread Guilty pleasure? Any impression of the book has changed?Do you think that the anita blake series had any impact on how the UF/PNR shapeshifted into what's published nowadays?
Do you think it's possible to mistrust Anita's judgement at the end of the book? The blackberries show that her taste can be changed by Jean Claude without her knowledge or consent and she gave no satisfying reason as to why he shouldn't die for his role in this, including helping to brain wash her friend permenetly. Follow up question - if her judgement can be questioned doesn't that put Jean Claude more in the role of villain as he seemed to use her not just to save his own life but also to advance his political position in the city.
@kamil no pun intended on that shapeshifting comment? :-)
Have any of you read all the Anita Blake series, and if you have do you still enjoy them? I started the series when I was 14 or 15, I'm 26 now (they should maybe card young readers, I dunno) and I still go back to Anita and Merry Gentry books like a nice soft blanket...terrible editing, cliches, and insane sex all around. It seems like many of the new readers HATED this book, so I can't tell if I'm just partial because Laurell K. Hamilton helped shape my prefrontal cortex or I have absolutely horrific taste in literature.
"Guilty Pleasures""Fangtasia"
What's the name of your vampire/undead themed nightclub?
The book makes a lot out of both the mental and the physical damage that is inflicted by vampires. In fact, it becomes a sort of fetish in a way that reminded me of the injuries suffered by people in the film Crash and how that sub-culture embraced them.What do you guys think about the sexiness of scars?
Gary wrote: ""Guilty Pleasures""Fangtasia"
What's the name of your vampire/undead themed nightclub?"
since vampires have nightclubs does that mean they can sparkle with glitter?
How do you feel the Guilty Pleasures world "stacks up" against other vampire series? Are there things you like about this world that were missing in other vampire worlds and vice versa?For instance, vampires (and other preternatural creatures) being an accepted known part of the world is a pretty interesting dynamic as most of the other vampire series I've read seem to rely on the fact that most of the human world still doesn't know they exist.
Sarah C wrote: "Does anybody else think she belongs with Edward? He seems to be the only one who understands her, despite being a sociopath. Not sure what that says about Anita..."Edward has always been my favorite character, but we still don't know very much about him. I wonder if the reason that Edward is so likeable is because he retains this air of mystery. I think if he were on her list of lovers, that would change and it might reduce his appeal.
I've always loved Jean Claude the best, but, unfortunately, it's hard to trust him.
Sarah C wrote: "Does anybody else think she belongs with Edward? He seems to be the only one who understands her, despite being a sociopath. Not sure what that says about Anita..."I love the Edward character but I prefer Anita and his I've got your back type relationship, plus I think Anita has enough LOVERS in her bed to even think about adding Edward... not to mention he really seems to love Donna
Personally I've grown to have a soft spot for Jean Claude
I really enjoyed the book. It's funny the similarities and comparisons with Charlaine Harris's novels and True Blood. It's set in a similar world where humans and vampires as well as 'others' coexist.
Man I'm really curious as to what you guys thought about Anita's habit of bashing other women (body-shaming, slut-shaming, etc)
I second that question, about the body shaming.
Sorry, ladies. Next time I pose a question like that I'll send y'all some show notes....Some possible vampire/undead themed club names:
Oh! Positive
Sanguinistas
Up All Night
The More-gue
Rednecks
Grave-ita-tas
The Dancing Dead
Demon-stration
The Big Throbbing (Member's Only)
Vaginal Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The Rosie Project (other topics)A Natural History of Dragons (other topics)
Soulless (other topics)
Post your comments/questions you want us to address about Guilty Pleasures and our alt book here!