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MrsJoseph's 2012 Reading Challenge(s)
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Soooo....I said that I wasn't going to buy books anymore for the month of April......but I really want to finish the Highlander series: http://www.goodreads.com/series/65562...
What do you think?
...this is your conscience speaking...no.:)
Updated more tickers!!
OH. *sad face* That would be so nice. *sigh* I hate Agency6.
Updated tickers
Updated tickers
Yeah, I am. I can't say that I've really been happy with any of my new reads lately. With some small exclusions: Stacia Kane's Personal Demons is good but I haven't finished it. I'm having...strangely enough some religious issues with it. The style of writing is great and very readable. It's one of those books that you look up and see that you've read 200 pages. The content is not offensive...and after a bit of thought I realize what's so off putting to me right now.
I'm not a very religious person. I'm pretty open to darn near everything...but the current trend in the "demonic" loves is starting to bother me a bit. The heroine in Personal Demons starts having sex with a demon and it kinda squicks me out. It's not just this book, a lot of the romance trends are associated with hell and the devil and demon sex and the like. The first couple of ones I thought were rather different and did not bother me too much. But now it's gotten to be a lot of books and sometimes I feel...strange. It's hard to put into words but *shrug* I'm not offended or something but...its weird. I'm not sure what to make of how I feel. :-(
I'm also reading Goblin Quest. It's pretty good so far.
YOu know, I think you're right! I've never really thought of it as a boundary issue but that's probably what it is. I do want to finish this book. I really like Stacia Kane as a person and want to support her. Plus, I already bought two of her books (the first in two series). I've heard the other one - Unholy Ghosts is pretty good, too. But now I'm all hesitant due to this one.
I don't have a problem with demons at all, but I'm wary of anything that becomes a trend for every second writer and it seems like we're just travelling along the spiral now. Starts with vampires, moves on to werewolves, then fairies (or should I write faeries), then angels - then demons. And all have romance and/or sex.Maybe the other trends are just as bad: cyberpunk, steampunk etc.. However, maybe I also liked the basis of those sub-genres more so the repetition didn't bother me as much.
Caleb wrote: "I don't have a problem with demons at all, but I'm wary of anything that becomes a trend for every second writer and it seems like we're just travelling along the spiral now. Starts with vampires, ..."We're certianly there in the trend section.
So far I've seen so many demon romance/sex books that I'm waiting for the Twilight version of it. Seriously. O_o And as each book comes out...most of the time I'm sure they're getting worse.
I can at least say that Personal Demons is well written and its been out for a while. Maybe she's the trend starter? *shakes fist at author*
Ok. Confession time.In the last 30 days I've purchased:
To Ride Hell's Chasm
The Summer Tree (replacement)
The Professor & the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Wee Free Men: the Beginning (omnibus)
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Goblin Hero
Goblin War
Ready Player One
Personal Demons
Unholy Ghosts
To Ride Hell's Chasm is a great book. I love Janny Wurts. I just wish she'd stop writing endless series and write more standalones like this one.
^^I think I need to look through your list. I loved the Tiffany Aching series sub-series from Pratchett and really enjoyed Valente's title there.
Caleb wrote: "To Ride Hell's Chasm is a great book. I love Janny Wurts. I just wish she'd stop writing endless series and write more standalones like this one."Maybe you should PM her and ask her if any of her WIP are standalones. She's a regular in my fantasy group here. And pretty cool.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "^^I think I need to look through your list. I loved the Tiffany Aching series sub-series from Pratchett and really enjoyed Valente's title there."I picked up Wee Free Men because i couldn't get into the Colour of Magic. I've heard only raves about The Girl Who as well.
To be honest, I'm most excited about getting my grubby little paws on the OED history books. I read The Professor and the Madman years ago and loved it. I can't wait to how it stands up to a reread.
The next one I'm eying is A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books to round out the collection. *happy nerd sigh*
MrsJoseph wrote: "Caleb wrote: "To Ride Hell's Chasm is a great book. I love Janny Wurts. I just wish she'd stop writing endless series and write more standalones like this one."Maybe you should PM her and ask her..."
Which fantasy group is that?
MrsJoseph wrote: "I'm not a very religious person. I'm pretty open to darn near everything...but the current trend in the "demonic" loves is starting to bother me a bit. The heroine in Personal Demons starts having sex with a demon and it kinda squicks me out. It's not just this book, a lot of the romance trends are associated with hell and the devil and demon sex and the like."
Yeah, I'm waaay behind in this conversation but I wanted to comment on this. For me, a good book places me within the world of the book so my reactions are in the context of that world. If a story about demon sex takes place in a context of demons being the worst thing a person could have sex with, it doesn't feel right to me. But in a story where where demons can seek (and find) redemption or something along those lines, I can go with it.
I'm not Christian, so I'm not offended by demonic sex because it doesn't factor in to my real-world context, but if you write a story in a world in which the act would be BEYOND offensive yet treat it like "it's gonna be A-OK" it usually doesn't work for me. It comes off as cheap, honestly. And if it's part of a "demon finds redemption" there better be more to his redemption than hot sex. Hot sex can't get you off the hook for EVERYTHING. His character should be complex enough to warrant the good/evil struggle for his very existence. He needs to be worth redeeming.
Of course, it also depends on whether the story is a romance novel or an erotic short. From the former, I want the story to work. For the latter, I just want my word porn.
Yeah, I'm waaay behind in this conversation but I wanted to comment on this. For me, a good book places me within the world of the book so my reactions are in the context of that world. If a story about demon sex takes place in a context of demons being the worst thing a person could have sex with, it doesn't feel right to me. But in a story where where demons can seek (and find) redemption or something along those lines, I can go with it.
I'm not Christian, so I'm not offended by demonic sex because it doesn't factor in to my real-world context, but if you write a story in a world in which the act would be BEYOND offensive yet treat it like "it's gonna be A-OK" it usually doesn't work for me. It comes off as cheap, honestly. And if it's part of a "demon finds redemption" there better be more to his redemption than hot sex. Hot sex can't get you off the hook for EVERYTHING. His character should be complex enough to warrant the good/evil struggle for his very existence. He needs to be worth redeeming.
Of course, it also depends on whether the story is a romance novel or an erotic short. From the former, I want the story to work. For the latter, I just want my word porn.
In Personal Demons the demons are regular world demons with the associated issues. It's UF. So, what helped me really put my finger on the squick factor was the fact that one of the characters took the MC to task about said demon sex. The book brought up Christianity.
I haven't finished it so I don't know if redemption is brought into the book later, but currently its just a demon, no relation to human or redemption. In fact, one of the things (i found it kinda funny) the demon did was to represent himself like a lawyer (hahahahahaha!!! Demon lawyers...sounds like RL) and he sent a belligerent drunk woman to go start a fight with some strangers.
I kinda agree with the story/world submersion. I normally react this way...but this book sorta put everything in spotlight.
I might have to check this book out just out of curiosity. Not that I can justify it, considering my backlog of over 2000.
I'm trying not to buy anything until the next Dresden Files is released. We'll see how that works out.
I'm trying not to buy anything until the next Dresden Files is released. We'll see how that works out.
Loosheesh wrote: "
Not gonna happen ... *whistling*"
LOL! It could, though! See, being away from my ebooks for a few months caused me to forget a large portion of what I've got. So firing up calibre last night was like getting all new books in a way. Rediscovering my collection should be enough to keep me entranced for a while. :)
Not gonna happen ... *whistling*"
LOL! It could, though! See, being away from my ebooks for a few months caused me to forget a large portion of what I've got. So firing up calibre last night was like getting all new books in a way. Rediscovering my collection should be enough to keep me entranced for a while. :)
Loosheesh wrote: "I can see why it would be an issue - I'm thinking when Christianity was brought in it seemed too close to our world for comfort?"In thinking about it, I think I was always a little concerned because of how normal the world was. It's totally present day US. The MC is psychic and that's about it. She didn't even know that there was a such thing as demons before the start of the book. The character is written so that the reader learns along with her. So...it would be as if me and you were hanging out and I find out you were getting into a sexual relationship with a demon. That you (and I) just found out existed.
Yeah, that would be weird. "Hey, guess what? Demons are real! And I'm bangin' one!"
That sort of thing just rarely goes over well.
That sort of thing just rarely goes over well.
So...I;ve been avoiding this thread as yall can tell......cause my book buying has been OUT OF CONTROL.
O_o
:-DYeah, my reading has picked up a bit! :-D Which makes me sooooo happy. I've also taken to just putting down books that don't interest me. I have this tome on my table: The War of the Flowers. It's a BotM for FA. I so don't want to read it. But I will...pick it up and thumb through it! lol ;-)
But since I've been doing good so far...I've refused to read War of the Flowers. But I need to, its a library book.
MrsJoseph wrote: ":-DYeah, my reading has picked up a bit! :-D Which makes me sooooo happy. I've also taken to just putting down books that don't interest me. I have this tome on my table: The War of the Flowe..."
I haven't read it myself, but I've heard that it's a great book - just quite big. :)
DNF-ing is hard for me, too. I stay with about 10 books in my currently reading list because I don't want to say that I'm not going to read them...Re: War of the Flowers
yeah, everyone says that it is good. Bu...
I think I only DNF'd one book last year. None this year. I've been lucky in that there's been few I was inclined to quit, but even those, it's like I think I'm going to miss something if I quit them.
I read everything. Even if it's atrocious. I do do a lot of research up front on books I read so there's probably a good reason I choose it which may include: I love the author; I love the subject matter; I think it's a book I should read; it's been recommended by people I trust; it'll make me a better person; it'll make me look more intelligent; it'll make me feel like a better person...I'm not shallow, you just suck at skipping rocks...
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "I read everything. Even if it's atrocious. I do do a lot of research up front on books I read so there's probably a good reason I choose it which may include: I love the author; I love the subject ..."hahahahaha!
I used to be that way...but as I've gotten older but my TBR has gotten bigger...
...I have to cull the wheat from the chaff.
CULL!!! CULL THEM ALL!!
*oops! Sorry about that*
MrsJoseph wrote:I used to be that way...but as I've gotten older but my TBR has gotten bigger...I solved that problem. TBR is what I've purchased, everything else is PR (potential read) list and I just don't buy anything anymore. My TBR list stands at 0 right now. I order my PR list in 1s, 10s and 100s and 1000s for how interesting they seem at the moment and I continually cull my PR list which is less than 100 right now. Hundreds of thousands of books are published every year. I'll read maybe 2% of one year it's not like I won't find something to read out there.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "I solved that problem. TBR is what I've purchased, everything else is PR (potential read) list and I just don't buy anything anymore. My TBR list stands at 0 right now. "*bashful face*
My "TBR Owned" list is about 230. And I haven't cataloged 100% of my books...
...or even 10% of my freebies...
...I'm hopeless.
*crawls into a hole...with Magic Burns*
It's all about the accounting. Have you tried writing off purchases against future reading?
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "It's all about the accounting. Have you tried writing off purchases against future reading?"ROTF!
You mean using a cost/use based system where I depreciate my current books against books I will read in the future? (trying to remember cost accounting...it's been quite a few years ^.^)
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Books mentioned in this topic
Magic Burns (other topics)The War of the Flowers (other topics)
A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books (other topics)
To Ride Hell's Chasm (other topics)
Personal Demons (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Stacia Kane (other topics)David Eddings (other topics)
Jennifer Crusie (other topics)
:-D