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Old 08-03-2010, 04:45 PM   #51
Lethe
 
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Meyer did a good job of writing a book while looking after three kids, one which wasn't sleeping through the night. I admire her for that.
Having three children is no excuse for a lack of creative prowess.
Also, Saya, I know her books aren't War and Peace or Brave New World, but I was able to relieve stress through it and I actually enjoyed it a bit.
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Old 08-03-2010, 05:24 PM   #52
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All Twilight.
And the Bible.
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Old 08-03-2010, 06:35 PM   #53
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Having three children is no excuse for a lack of creative prowess.
Also, Saya, I know her books aren't War and Peace or Brave New World, but I was able to relieve stress through it and I actually enjoyed it a bit.
The three kids aren't the problem, it's the sleep deprivation that goes with them that is.
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Old 08-03-2010, 06:40 PM   #54
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Having three children is no excuse for a lack of creative prowess.
Also, Saya, I know her books aren't War and Peace or Brave New World, but I was able to relieve stress through it and I actually enjoyed it a bit.
Hahahaha, I downloaded Dark Hunter last night and got halfway through in an hour. I must have been viewing Dark Gold with nostalgia goggles because it was pretty bad XD Still entertaining though, and at least in that one she actually said "penis" instead of "shaft" and didn't refer to the vagina as a "velvety sheath".

I guess with modern romance novels there is that leeway with it because basically all it is, is erotica that is dressed up in such a way that you don't feel like a pervert for reading it on the bus or in front of your kids. The story is very secondary to the sex, I felt like she was really rushing to get to the point where they got to have sex and then pages later it was like "oh yeah! The plot!" Don't take that as me saying you have bad taste, because like I said it was entertaining. I get it, I might read another one sometime and I just like criticizing things.

Oh, Fruitbat, did you ever read anything by Laurie Halse Anderson?
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Old 08-03-2010, 06:50 PM   #55
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Hahahaha, I downloaded Dark Hunter last night and got halfway through in an hour. I must have been viewing Dark Gold with nostalgia goggles because it was pretty bad XD Still entertaining though, and at least in that one she actually said "penis" instead of "shaft" and didn't refer to the vagina as a "velvety sheath".

I guess with modern romance novels there is that leeway with it because basically all it is, is erotica that is dressed up in such a way that you don't feel like a pervert for reading it on the bus or in front of your kids. The story is very secondary to the sex, I felt like she was really rushing to get to the point where they got to have sex and then pages later it was like "oh yeah! The plot!" Don't take that as me saying you have bad taste, because like I said it was entertaining. I get it, I might read another one sometime and I just like criticizing things.

Oh, Fruitbat, did you ever read anything by Laurie Halse Anderson?
I haven't read any of Laurie's work.

I did buy a book like Dark Hunter - it was Maggie Shane's Forsaken. Hubby was wondering why i kept bursting out with laughter while reading it.

I think the use of the anatomically correct terms flicks a censorship switch, so they can say things like throbbing shaft instead of erection or penis, without it falling into r/x-rated category.
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Old 08-03-2010, 07:00 PM   #56
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I dunno, its really not much better than erotica, if the alternative was cock I guess so but penis isn't bad. Better than 'shaft'. I wonder if they have it in their heads that women like that kind of flowery talk?

I think I started a thread last year about romance novels and what I hate about them, so I'm probably repeating myself again but I think the worst thing is the trope where the woman is a virigin but the man is much older and sexually experienced, and the whole thing kinda reads like the man is teaching her what the hell sex is. I found an old book in my aunt's attic once, don't remember the name but it was about this cowboy screwing a native chick and she didn't even know what a kiss was, apparently. In Dark Hunter she wasn't a virgin but apparently that was an issue. What a charmer!

Anyway, I really recommend Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson if you're reading YA novels, it was my absolute favourite in high school. I've been meaning to buy it again, lent it to someone and they never gave it back, story of my life. I didn't like her other novels much, not particularly bad but not as good as Speak.
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Old 08-03-2010, 07:26 PM   #57
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I dunno, its really not much better than erotica, if the alternative was cock I guess so but penis isn't bad. Better than 'shaft'. I wonder if they have it in their heads that women like that kind of flowery talk?

I think I started a thread last year about romance novels and what I hate about them, so I'm probably repeating myself again but I think the worst thing is the trope where the woman is a virigin but the man is much older and sexually experienced, and the whole thing kinda reads like the man is teaching her what the hell sex is. I found an old book in my aunt's attic once, don't remember the name but it was about this cowboy screwing a native chick and she didn't even know what a kiss was, apparently. In Dark Hunter she wasn't a virgin but apparently that was an issue. What a charmer!

Anyway, I really recommend Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson if you're reading YA novels, it was my absolute favourite in high school. I've been meaning to buy it again, lent it to someone and they never gave it back, story of my life. I didn't like her other novels much, not particularly bad but not as good as Speak.
Thanks for the recommendation. *nods head in agreement* with what you wrote about the romance novels - why is it okay for the guys to be more experienced than the girls in these books? because it makes the girls out to be sluts?
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Old 08-03-2010, 07:41 PM   #58
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I guess because its their first time its supposed to be more romantic? I dunno, in Dark Hunter he was all like "what, you're not a virgin? I want to rip out the heart of any man who touched you! I'm very possessive." which also goes into the overused scenario where its not a healthy relationship at all but its supposed to be romantic. Although the chick was like "what, no, you're being a dick" which I guess was what constitutes character development, she might not DTMFA but dammit she'll talk back! Tough woman XD I think she has another book where the woman is older and a widow so thats progress I guess. But I think if the man was a virgin too it probably wouldn't be so hot in sex scenes. And older women aren't considered hot by the writers? But older men are? And yeah, there's the whole "purity" thing too.

Once me and a friend tried to write a romance novel for laughs (it was for a competition, we never finished), this gives me the itch to do it again for shits and giggles XD maybe for the NaNoWriMo, it'll be easy.
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Old 08-03-2010, 08:32 PM   #59
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I'd agree with the humandeathdoll. Vampire Diaries disgust me. I like Twilight, but despise the movies.
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Old 08-03-2010, 10:07 PM   #60
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Saya - you should write a novel.
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Old 08-04-2010, 02:25 AM   #61
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My librarian laughed herself into snorting convulsions when she tried to tell me about the baby being born in Twilight.
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Old 08-04-2010, 10:30 AM   #62
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The Stranger by Albert Camus. The main character was so obnoxius, he was so cold and unemotional and so not-there. He didn't give a damn about anything. I just wanted to punch him in the face so that he could feel something, anything. The story ended bad for him and I was so happy.
....That was kind of the point.
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Old 08-04-2010, 10:40 AM   #63
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I'd have to say both the "Malleus Maleficarum" and "Mein Kampf" since each of these works can be directly related to so much needless humiliation, torture, pain and death. I'm certain there are other works which would compare, but these are two I have read and for which I can claim some familiarity.
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Old 08-05-2010, 01:19 PM   #64
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Cry, The Beloved Country

Had to read it for summer reading back in 9th grade, but I just hated the whole writing style. The worst part was that the movie had James Earl Jones, and I still didn't like it!
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Old 08-05-2010, 04:17 PM   #65
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Hahahaha, I downloaded Dark Hunter last night and got halfway through in an hour. I must have been viewing Dark Gold with nostalgia goggles because it was pretty bad XD Still entertaining though, and at least in that one she actually said "penis" instead of "shaft" and didn't refer to the vagina as a "velvety sheath".

I guess with modern romance novels there is that leeway with it because basically all it is, is erotica that is dressed up in such a way that you don't feel like a pervert for reading it on the bus or in front of your kids. The story is very secondary to the sex, I felt like she was really rushing to get to the point where they got to have sex and then pages later it was like "oh yeah! The plot!" Don't take that as me saying you have bad taste, because like I said it was entertaining. I get it, I might read another one sometime and I just like criticizing things.

Oh, Fruitbat, did you ever read anything by Laurie Halse Anderson?
Eh, maybe I'm remembering Dark Prince with nostalgia goggles too. That was one of three of her books that I've read, and all of those were years ago, so I probably don't have as much of a feel for her style as I thought I did.
I remember laughing about the whole romance novel lingo too, but I also remember that the stoyline caught me up away from reality for the whole three hours that I spent reading the book. I think I really related to the main male character because of his near suicide attempt.
Also, Fruitbat, plenty of women have done extraordinary things while raising children. I just don't think that Meyers fits into thiat catagory. When I read Twilight, it felt like she didn't put effort into it. I felt as if there could be so much more done to and for these books, yet she just didn't do it.
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Old 08-05-2010, 04:29 PM   #66
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Its not so bad when its a crazy fast read anyway, it was bad but I don't feel like I totally wasted time that could've been spent reading something better.

But yeah, it still makes me think of it as Twilight With Sex. In Dark Hunter she keeps describing the woman's eyes as turquoise, for example XD
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Old 08-06-2010, 02:26 AM   #67
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On the Road. There are Kerouac novels overflowing with lines beautiful enough to make your scalp creep.... then there are the others. Oh, the others...... yeah, Satori in Paris, I'm looking at you too.
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Old 08-06-2010, 09:07 AM   #68
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On the Road. There are Kerouac novels overflowing with lines beautiful enough to make your scalp creep.... then there are the others. Oh, the others...... yeah, Satori in Paris, I'm looking at you too.
So you hate it for doing that? I love it.

I think Jacks the man. But then again I'm still in the first few chapters.
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Old 08-06-2010, 09:20 AM   #69
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No, no - I was saying that's how I find K at his best, but OtR didn't do that for me as a whole. I find it totally up its own ass compared to Big Sur, Visions of Cody, or Doctor Sax, each of which is a masterpiece (although Sax is a little more patchy than the others). I guess what I hate the most is that that's the book everyone associates K with, when I think it's one of his weakest. K himself wrote in a letter to Ginsberg that he had always thought little of it and had never been inclined to change his mind, and I think he got that right when you look at his other shit.

And a good biography is mandatory if you're a Kerouac fan. I recommend Memory Babe - you get all the dirt.
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Old 08-06-2010, 01:51 PM   #70
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I haven't read all of those, but the beats changed everything I thought language was. After starting from Jack and getting an understanding of the people and mentality of that era I domino'd my list in reading the beats and moved onto Cassidy, Ginsberg, and my newfound favorite Will. His language, especially in his keypeice that I'm still kinda struggling to get through due how overwhelming the slang and transitions are.

And as much as I love the raging brilliance of Kerouac, Burroughs is by far my favorite beat.
No wait.
Author, actually.
Your sig is an old favorite quote of mine, more browniepoints.
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Old 08-06-2010, 04:48 PM   #71
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I hate Exquisite Corpse (Poppy Z Shite) and I hate pretty anything Dan Brown has ever done.
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Old 08-11-2010, 08:41 AM   #72
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I haven't read all of those, but the beats changed everything I thought language was. After starting from Jack and getting an understanding of the people and mentality of that era I domino'd my list in reading the beats and moved onto Cassidy, Ginsberg, and my newfound favorite Will. His language, especially in his keypeice that I'm still kinda struggling to get through due how overwhelming the slang and transitions are.

And as much as I love the raging brilliance of Kerouac, Burroughs is by far my favorite beat.
No wait.
Author, actually.
Your sig is an old favorite quote of mine, more browniepoints.
See, I find Burroughs hella patchy - Naked Lunch is IMO a perfect novel, but a lot of his stuff just doesn't do it for me. I haven't read everything yet, though, so there's more to come. Same with Kerouac, really, although i think he produced a higher volume of ingenius work than Burroughs, even if nothing quite touches Naked Lunch for me. Actually, that's probably not true - I might give a slightly different answer on another day, mood depending. But the essential feelings about the guys stand.

I also think Big Sur turned me off of Road somewhat - the searing honesty makes Road seem self-conscious and pretentious in comparison, IMO. Big Sur maintains that experimental style but manages to kick you right inside the guts as well as just making the hairs on your arm stand up. It's one of my favorite novels ever written.

Also highly rec Ferlenghetti's poetry, if you haven't already read. There's some wonderful stuff in there.
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Old 08-11-2010, 09:06 AM   #73
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I'll definitely check out the Big Sur when I'm done with that and all the books I'm in the process of getting through now. I don't even think I've heard of Ferlenghetti beforehand. Looks pretty rad.
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Old 08-11-2010, 09:45 AM   #74
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I'll read pretty much anything, so me finding a book i hate is pretty rare although I do fall into the category with the people who hate twilight. And as I've said in other posts on the topic, it's not just because of her portrayals of vampires, i have honest literary issues with it, from the storytelling to her use of words and the ideas laced through the whole book that she seems to be stating are OK.
I'm also not a fan of the Laurel K Hamilton vampire series. tried to read it got mad and threw it away.

Saya: I love what you had to say about the Feehan Carpathian series. I've read the entire thing and while I won't say I loved it, I kept reading, but it did read like a slightly better Harlequin romance.
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Old 08-14-2010, 09:23 PM   #75
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...Wow you guys make me feel young. I haven't even heard of many of those books. Dx
I'm like Azareal, in that there are few books I hate. I don't mind Twilight, though its not up in my top 300. The worst thing about Twilight, beyond the atrocious movies, are the fans. Especially those that haven't even read the books, only seen said atrocious movies.
But as far as hated books, those are mostly just ones I don't care about. Wuthering Heights is a prime example, though it may not be a popular opinion. I just thought the whole story pointless. Rather sad, but still pointless.
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