So like I’ve not updated this in like 2 weeks… not that it matters. I’m in a weird mood. A VERY weird mood and have been for some time. Dunno why… and I can’t put my finger on it.
- 25:If you could be a character from a book for just one day who would you be and why? (Bonus: any specific day in the story?) – Hmmm… Serena from The Doms with the Golden Cuffs. I know, I’m bad.
- 26:If you could be a character from a book for their entire life who would you be and why? You know, I don’t know. I’ve not read anybody where I wish I were them completely.
- 27:If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? (i.e. more diversity, better writing, better plot etc.) That we would stop celebrating badly researched and poor writing. I’ve not met ANYONE who liked 50 Shades of Shit and yet, the woman is a millionaire and has delusions of grandeur. The Twilight Books – gag me, I was so bored, I put it down! I had to.
- 1: What book did you last finish? When was that?
- 2:What are you currently reading?
- 3:What book are you planning to read next?
- 4:What was the last book you added to your tbr?
- 5:Which book did you last re-read?
- 6:Which book was the last one you really, really loved?
- 7:What was/were the last book/books you bought?
- 8:Paperback or hardcover? Why?
- 9:YA, NA or Adult? Why?
- 10:Sci-Fi or fantasy? Why?
- 11:Classic or modern? Why?
- 12:Political memoirs or comedic memoirs?
- 13:Name a book with a really bad movie/tv adaption
- 14:Name a book where the movie/tv adaption actually was better than the original
- 15:What book changed your life?
- 16:If you could bring three books to a deserted island which would you bring and why?
- 17:If you owned a bookshop what would you call it?
- 18:Which character from a book is the most like you?
- 19:Which character from a book is the least like you?
- 20:Best summer read?
- 21:Best winter read?
- 22:Pro or anti e-readers? Why?
- 23:Bookdepository or Amazon?
- 24:Do you prefer to buy books online or in a bookshop?
- 25:If you could be a character from a book for just one day who would you be and why? (Bonus: any specific day in the story?)
- 26:If you could be a character from a book for their entire life who would you be and why?
- 27:If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? (i.e. more diversity, better writing, better plot etc.)
- 28:How many books have you read so far this year?
- 29:How do you sort your shelves? (i.e. by color, author, title etc.)
- 30:Who’s your favorite author?
- 31:Who’s your favorite contemporary author?
- 32:Who’s your favorite fantasy author?
- 33:Who’s your favorite Sci-Fi author?
- 34:List five OTPs
- 35:Name a book you consider to be terribly underrated
- 36:Name a book you consider to be terribly overrated
- 37:How many books are actually in your bookshelf/shelves right now?
- 38:What language do you (most often) read in?
- 39:Name one of your favorite childhood books
- 40:Name one of your favorite books from your teenage years
- 41:Do you own a library card? How often do you use it?
- 42:Which was the best book you had to read in school?
- 43:Are you the kind of person who reads several books at once or the kind of person who can only read one book at a time?
- 44:Do you like to listen to music when you read?
- 45:What is your favorite thing to eat when you read?
- 46:What is your favorite thing to drink when you read?
- 47:What do you do to get out of a reading slump?
- 48:Where is your favorite place to read?
- 49:When is your favorite time to read?
- 50:Why do you love to read?
zee's muse 
I don’t know that EL James was really celebrated. She became notorious and a lot of people bought the books. But it wasn’t like she got a starred review in the Times or won the Nobel Prize or something.
I’m in a few book forums and groups. She is CELEBRATED! I know one woman who let her 10 year old read them and was upset that HER mother (child’s grandmother) took the book from her when she was visiting and threw it away.
I know. Stranger things.
We move in totally different circles, then — i am the only adult I know in real life who has even read them. (I know a lot of people virtually who have, though.) But that doesn’t really meet my definition of “celebrated,” even so. Serious writers and critics thought it was trash and were unabashed in saying so.
I’ve made no bones how I felt about it. I was told to shut up in one forum. We’re not there to ‘tear writers down’.
I don’t consider her a writer…
There is also the movie deal on top of it and now her husband is writing the 2nd screen play for the 2nd book.
I read the first one for that challenge I did last year. The awful writing, all of it. That book shouldn’t have been picked up at ALL, much less sold a single copy!
Well, there’s a difference between “what people will read” and “what is good” (and parallel in film). I read all three. I have no shame about that but also no pride. I thought it was interesting b/c I had read the first two Twilight novels in service of “being able to make cultural references students understand” so I thought the adaptation was interesting on some level. I also thought there were a few hot moments here and there (although not every sex scene by any means).
I think what has upset me most about the 50 Shades books is of all the fabulous fanfic writers out there, they pick that piece of drivel The first time I tried to read it, I had to quit because – a) who really talks to their inner goddess that much, b) what human in college doesn’t have a computer or an email address? and c) as a member of the lifestyle, it was just wrong. The fet community I’m a part of was completely up in arms. Poorly written, the whole 9 yards and yet it gets a movie deal and is published in every language known to man. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. Kill me now.
yeah, I can understand that different communities will have different perspectives on a particular piece of work. I didn’t think it was world literature, either.
It didn’t deserve any of the brohaha it received. It should have been left to gather dust on some fanfic website.
But that’s just me.
Different strokes for different folks, IMO.
I am feeling that very much right now.
Look — this is the thing. I don’t find the work admirable, and I don’t find the person behind it admirable (I haven’t followed the whole story but a friend send me some backstory on how she moved the whole thing from fanfic to book and it is certainly beyond troubling, not something I would do, and not something I would respect if someone I knew did it). At the same time, she published three books and apparently people like them well enough to watch movie adaptations.
In the end, in my own life, I’ve discovered this: there are a lot of people who sit in the back row and take potshots at people who do or create things. It’s easy to do that, and I’ve done it myself sometimes (by which I don’t mean criticism or commentary, but just potshots. “She shouldn’t have written this because she didn’t know what she was talking about,” for instance, is something that I used to say in my professional life about a fellow academic who was notorious for publishing poorly researched work. However, in the end, the person who I was knocking actually published extensive stuff at the same time that I published little (not enough anyway). EL James published a hugely popular book. She actually turned from someone who sat in the back to someone with a creative project that is going to sustain her family financially. I do admire that. I want to be a person who creates and writes and not a person who takes potshots. I’m not saying she may not deserve to be a target of certain kinds of criticisms, but I also think it’s just really easy to make her a target. In the end, she’s the one who is laughing all the way to the bank. In the end, I’d rather be the person with the published book.
I used to get a lot of hassle from people who felt they should control what I was writing on my blog. “Why don’t you write your own blog?” was my reply. “If you know how to do it better than me. Go for it.” I feel like authors who resent EL James’ success should put alternatives on the market. If they are not doing that, it’s their choice. It’s a respectable choice (I wouldn’t want my name on those books, either), but it is a choice.
1. This IS my blog. While I disagree with people, I will respect their blog. 🙂 Or we can agree to disagree.
2. The original question was If you could change one thing about mainstream literature what would you change? I’m not taking a potshot. I used 50 Shades as an example of what I think is wrong in mainstream literature. It’s certainly simply my opinion.
3. I’m working on an alternative. Of course, it might be received just as badly….
I’d offer cheesecake, but as I recall, you’re not fond of it.
I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware that anything I said disrespected your blog. However, now that I am aware that I have, I don’t need to comment here any more, either. Bye.
it wasn’t and you didn’t. Just an open discussion.