Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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What Are You Reading Right Now? ( Hwæt béon ðu bocrædung?)
I think what 50 Shades teaches women is that it is romantic to be hit by men and accept being controlled by them. Being told how to dress, how to act, what you can and can't do. That book makes my stomach churn, because, I hate to say it, but so many people are unfortunately easily impressed by what is 'in' with pop culture and on tv/in the movies.
I can't view the list. "outside of the territories". Probably for the best. Might just make my blood pressure go up. lol.EDIT: and that wouldn't be easy, because I have perfect blood pressure. :]
Allie wrote: "I don’t even know some of those books!!! I didn’t see any Dickens, Austen, or Hardy....
I despise Wuthering Heights with a fierce passion but Twilight and 50 shades...***enormous eye roll***
Th..."
Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice were on there, but I didn't see any Hardy
Jane Eyre (which is also on the list) is probably a better choice for the Bronte sisters
There a lot of recent fiction (Harry Potter along with the afore mentioned 50 shades...) on there including some that I just hated (Catcher in the Rye anyone:) Because I changed schools so often I had to read in 3 times in HS and I disliked it more each time)
erg. 3 times?? erg.
To Kill A Mockingbird would HAVE to be on it, yes?A book I hated being forced to read in HS.
It's thereI thought the movie was better than the book
Allie wrote: "I don’t even know some of those books!!! I didn’t see any Dickens, Austen, or Hardy....
I despise Wuthering Heights with a fierce passion but Twilight and 50 shades...***enormous eye roll***
Th..."
Austen: Pride & Prejudice
Dickens: Great Expectations -- which I loathe. I was forced to read it in 10th grade.
Hunger Games: yuk
I regret lack of Hardy too. 1949 [?] movie of Little women was much better than the book in my opinion.
Terri wrote: "I can't view the list. "outside of the territories". Probably for the best. Might just make my blood pressure go up. lol.EDIT: and that wouldn't be easy, because I have perfect blood pressure. :]"
I did find a couple I might read that I haven't yet, but maybe in a way you're lucky you can't see it.
Terri wrote: "I think what 50 Shades teaches women is that it is romantic to be hit by men and accept being controlled by them. Being told how to dress, how to act, what you can and can't do. That book makes m..."
Thank the Lord I never read it! And don't intend to!
Terri, I agree! Found it scary that my daughters were enthralled by this series. Distressed me no end. Only good from this was the conversations it generated!!
I feel like 50 Shades gets way too much condemnation. Though I have not read it myself. It has issues, more along the lines of lack of consent than anything else. But is it really that much worse than the typical romance? It's just a story of a girl who tames her man, like 50% of the other romances on the market. It's obviously a trope that appeals to the female market, the 'he wants you so much he can't keep his hands off you'.
I haven't read the book, but I saw the movie. If 50% of the romance market (modern romance as earlier history sees attitudes towards man's ownership of his woman much more the norm) has men hitting their women at their parents place for defying him, then women are in trouble. For this shouldn't be the norm for our modern era. (Apparently it was worse in the book and they played it down in movie).I'm fine with the sexual dominance in the bedroom part. Whatever floats your boat in the bedroom, but it shouldn't leave the bedroom.
The physical, mental and social control of the woman outside of the bedroom is a whole different thing. That isn't play, that is abuse.
I'm going to guess that 50% of romance books don't have the men being abusers, unless they are in that BDSM sub genre.
May wrote: "Terri, I agree! Found it scary that my daughters were enthralled by this series. Distressed me no end. Only good from this was the conversations it generated!!"Did you and your girls have good conversations about it, May? They reassured you they will be able to differentiate between bedroom play and mental and/or physical abuse?
Oh god. A conversation with my mother and those books....***gulp***. I’m kind of a prude and my mom is out there lol. I want to take a bath with a toaster rather than just imagine that convo 😂
Haha! Awkward mother daughter moment for sure.
Hmm, I didn't watch the movie either. I just assumed it was pretty much like The Secretary. Sounds like it has way more issues than just consent.
I also do my best to avoid these kind of conversations with my mother!!I don't even want to envision how embarrassing that would be....
Yes, the conversations were a bit awkward. Basically because they couldn’t believe I had read the book in the first place!!! 😳.
Dawn wrote: "Hmm, I didn't watch the movie either. I just assumed it was pretty much like The Secretary. Sounds like it has way more issues than just consent."
Now Secretary, was that the movie with Maggie Ghyllenhal (sp?..I have just realised I can't spell their name without googling it).
I think I saw that movie, but from memory, it was just sexual play wasn't it?
Whereas 50 Shades has that, and then external to that it has him behaving like a modern day abusive boyfriend. Excessive jealousy, physical and mental abuse, controlling everything she does, always needing to know where she is. That sort of stuff. Bad stuff for the impressionable. Made me sad that women readers made this kind of relationship fashionable. :(
I 'd have been okay with my Mum talking to me about the subject when I was a teen or young adult, even though Mum isn't exactly modern in her attitudes about open speech towards sex either.I think the biggest problem she would have had talking about that sort of thing with me, is - being a moody teen - I'd probably have just thought she was trying to tell me what to do, instead of letting me make up my own mind on things. lol. I was so headstrong.
Restarting
. Had to put it down for a couple group reads and then another book that I had been dying to read. Now, back to it.
Terri wrote: "Now Secretary, was that the movie with Maggie Ghyllenhal (sp?..I have just realized I can't spell their name without googling it).I think I saw that movie, but from memory, it was just sexual play wasn't it?..."
Hmm, it was a fulltime sub/dom relationship (think that's what it would be called anyway). So, not just sex. I remember something about him telling her how many peas to eat....
But it did not come across as abusive. More that it was a relationship dynamic that worked for both of them.
What you are describing about 50 Shades is not the parts anyone writes about, nor is it in the movie trailers. Interesting that it is not the point of so many of the conversations.
Terri wrote: "Made me sad that women readers made this kind of relationship fashionable. :("Hear, hear!!! It's maddening!
Simona wrote: "Terri wrote: "Made me sad that women readers made this kind of relationship fashionable. :("Hear, hear!!! It's maddening!"
Agreed!
Dawn wrote: "Terri wrote: "Now Secretary, was that the movie with Maggie Ghyllenhal (sp?..I have just realized I can't spell their name without googling it).I think I saw that movie, but from memory, it was ju..."
It is frustrating that the scarey abusive element is never highlighted. I had seen some news articles on it, but when something is that popular they get lost.
You tend to get those who don't realise nor care about what they're actually looking at or reading, being the dominant voices. They're absorbed in the sexiness of the story and not the harmfulness of it.
Yeah, even when they're talking about the harmfulness, it's about the wrongness in regards to the kinky elements, not the rest of the story. Which is why I didn't know anything about it.
Yes, I know exactly what you mean.
Just finished Prague Winter by Madeline Albright. Very eloquent. 5 stars.
I haven't been updating my reading journey as often as I shouldLike always, I read a lot of NF history in addition to HF
Currently I'm reading Simon Sebag Montefiore's look at Stalin
Absolutely fascinating look at Stalin from the Revolution through to his death - right now, the "Great Terror" is coming to a close - He has had killed anyone who might threaten his rule. Beria come off as real psychopath - alone amoung Stalin's intimates, he personally took part in the killings during the Terror - both torture and the actually killing. Stalin was greatly involved the selection just who would be chosen for death.
On the other hand - to the children of his inner circle who lived in the Kremlin - he was almost a kindly Uncle figure. He was always ready with a treat or a funny story.
Great minds think alike. That Stalin biography is next on my list. Currently, I’m reading William Shirer’s autobiography about his experience as a CBS correspondent while stationed in Nazi Germany.
I actually enjoyed the first three - before Ms. Gabaldon moved the series to Colonial America.
I enjoyed the series even into America. However, I got to Book 6 or 7 and got tired of all the contrived, convoluted plot twists. Gave up on the rest of the series.
I think I stopped reading the series after book 5. There were too many other books to read, I just couldn't make the time for it:)
Gave up after book 5?? Crumbs... how many are there in that series?
8 with a 9th announced and titled, plus a lot filler novellasList of the Outlanders series titles
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4394...
I gave up after the first book and even then it was a struggle to finish. To me, it seemed every time she hit a snag in her writing, she’d throw in a sex scene.
Not one for romances but I did enjoy the first book. I think it had something to do with picturing Jaime in my head though...
I need to get back to the tv series as well.
This weekend I’ll start last month’s group read:
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Marilyn wrote: "I gave up after the first book and even then it was a struggle to finish. To me, it seemed every time she hit a snag in her writing, she’d throw in a sex scene."Ah yes, like authors who hit a snag and throw in a battle scene. :)
Allie wrote: "Not one for romances but I did enjoy the first book. I think it had something to do with picturing Jaime in my head though...
I need to get back to the tv series as well."
I agree completely Allie...enjoyed the first one and got about 1/2 way through #2 and that was it. Recommended it to the wee wife and she’s still hooked.
I gave up only a little ways into #1. If anyone noted the books on the Great American Read, the PBS program, Outlanders was one of the 100 best books; I don't see why it was chosen.
Terri wrote: "Gave up after book 5?? Crumbs... how many are there in that series?"I read the 8 published till now - not the spin offs. I really liked the first, the third, maybe the fifth? (I don't remember) and I agree that the last two were a bit of a telenovela, but I was happy to find my favorite characters so I thought it was still fun..
I am going to stop reading the series at the 8th book, where the various characters were riunited: the 9th title suggests the death of one of them and I prefer to keep my happy ending. I don't really need to know what happens next.
@ Allie: to me, Jaime looked a bit like Liam Neeson, and Claire like Michelle Pfeiffer. What about you?
PS: I didn't watch the TV series...can't compete with my imagination! 😊
Sounds like George RR Martin needs to get writing lessons off Diana Gabaldon. Not the writing quality, but the quantity.
Definitely...she delivers, at least!
I watched season one of the series first, Simona. Before that I had no desire to pick up the book. So Jaime was already Jaime in my head. I’ve never been attracted to redheads before but after viewing that, I’ll make an exception ;)But I’d have taken a Liam Neeson lookin’ fella too. (See what I did there?! I crack myself up 😁)
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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I didn’t see any Dickens, Austen, or Hardy....
I despise Wuthering Heights with a fierce passion but Twilight and 50 shades...***enormous eye roll***
That’s all those bored housewives voting.