tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post2118325104635763975..comments2023-11-02T13:04:31.154+00:00Comments on Rape and Adverbs: HEARTS AFLAME, BY JOHANNA LINDSEYMeriamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-21135280061411412432008-02-14T21:25:00.000+00:002008-02-14T21:25:00.000+00:00Okay, now I've read a couple of reviews for Secret...Okay, now I've read a couple of reviews for Secret Fire and just came across this:<BR/><BR/><I>The love scenes alone are original. Yes, she's drugged - but not by Dimitri (at first). However, I've never read anything sexier than what happens when these two are together. Later, Katherine's imperial temper and scathing wit collide with Dimitri's tyrant of an aunt, which results in an absolutely shocking punishment, followed by one of the coolest rescue scenes ever (in a kitchen, no less).</I><BR/><BR/>Blimey, I can't remember this kitchen bit. Methinks a reread is in order...Meriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-29778558951498468352008-02-14T21:19:00.000+00:002008-02-14T21:19:00.000+00:00That sounds like a cool childhood - living on camp...That sounds like a cool childhood - living on campus! I had a local library and some very disapproving librarians... I loved the early Lindseys. But <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Fire-Johanna-Lindsey/dp/0380750872/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203021808&sr=1-16" REL="nofollow">Secret Fire</A>... that was a tough one to love. I couldn't believe the premise. He basically <I>kidnapped her for sex!</I> And drugged her! And - and - !!<BR/><BR/>If I were to pinpoint my favourites, they would be the ones where the hero almost took a backseat to the kickass heroine - Like Savage Thunder (remember That Horseride?) and The Magic of You and Defy Not the Heart.<BR/><BR/>You know, this makes me want to go buy copies - the bodice ripper copies, naturally - of vintage Lindsey. By the time I could afford to buy my books, Lindsey lost most of her magic and I had moved on.Meriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-44041846766425150772008-02-14T04:40:00.000+00:002008-02-14T04:40:00.000+00:00I remember this one. Used to read it sitting on t...I remember this one. Used to read it sitting on the floor of the bookstore. <BR/><BR/>My mum was a poor student then, but we lived on campus, so the university bookstore was a quick bicycle ride away. And boy, did I spend a lot of time in the romance aisle in those days, reading Johanna Lindsey.<BR/><BR/>I know I used to reread certain parts of this book. But I think it was the woman being abducted by the Russian aristocrat and fed aphrodisiac that I used to reread most often--me and my politically incorrect self. :-)Sherry Thomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12313921077346721887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-67592663663921537702008-02-08T13:15:00.000+00:002008-02-08T13:15:00.000+00:00More than any of the above, however, I'm intereste...<I>More than any of the above, however, I'm interested in how one evaluates a variety of fiction--genre and literary--without either getting completely relativistic (every thing's good sometimes, for someone) or putting down one genre for not being another.</I><BR/> <BR/>Isn't it all about judging a novel against what it's trying to achieve? I like <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Kermode" REL="nofollow">Mark Kermode</A>, a British movie reviewer, because he understands/ appreciates genre (his favourite movie is the Excorist - he has a phd in horror films) and takes them as seriously as they take themselves. Anyway, my point is, even within one genre (say, romance) you can't review all books equally. For example, reading Present,s I'm not rating them against the entire genre, against Gaffney or Kinsale, because they'd all get Ds and Fs. I have to rate them against other categories, bearing in mind things like the restrictions of word count and the guidelines. Is that relativistic?<BR/> <BR/>(Have I completely misunderstood you?)<BR/> <BR/>Anyway, please expound, I'm intrigued by this.<BR/> <BR/><I>Does it makes sense to give very different genres equal levels of critique?</I>Meriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-18275782916066644532008-02-07T15:48:00.000+00:002008-02-07T15:48:00.000+00:00I love reading the classic great reviewers, and re...I love reading the classic great reviewers, and reading about reviewing too. At the same time, there's a lot in those reviews that I don't feel a need to imitate. Especially as I'm writing online, and typically not about brand-new books. The medium and timing don't <I>necessitate</I> a different style, but they open up the possibilities.<BR/><BR/>It's one thing to write a static essay, quite another to write a conversation starter. Ditto a broad-audience piece versus a small blog where I might be half of my own audience (which is partly along the lines of Frye's "public critic" concept, but not entirely).<BR/><BR/>Likewise, writing about a book before it comes out is different from discussing an older work with a mixture of those who have and haven't read it. And in terms of discussion, I think the review style on different sites strongly shapes the kinds of conversations that tend to happen there.<BR/><BR/>More than any of the above, however, I'm interested in how one evaluates a variety of fiction--genre and literary--without either getting completely relativistic (everything's good sometimes, for someone) or putting down one genre for not being another. I've seen some people do well at this through a relatively uncritical list along the lines of Good Books I Like In All Genres. What I'd like to do (though as I currently have no time to write, it'll take me a few hundred years) is explore where the more analytical approach takes that conversation. Does it makes sense to give very different genres equal levels of critique? In purely analytical terms, of course it does; in a more review-oriented sense, I'm not sure.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-78876601429134086852008-02-06T22:53:00.000+00:002008-02-06T22:53:00.000+00:00I've been thinking a lot about reviews, too. Espec...I've been thinking a lot about reviews, too. Especially after the VS,BS blog extravaganza and the subsequent reviews. <A HREF="http://teachmetonight.blogspot.com/search/label/Northrop%20Frye" REL="nofollow">Laura's post at TMT</A> and one at <A HREF="http://dearauthor.com/wordpress/2008/01/31/are-dull-book-reviews-killing-the-literary-genre/" REL="nofollow">Dear Author</A> had me thinking about the kind of reviews I want to write, what kind I enjoy most. <BR/><BR/>Both you and Tumperkin write excellent reviews, although I think you have very different styles. Your reviews are far more analytical (veering towards criticism), whilst Tumperkin's are pure entertainment, more 'the public critic' Frye talks about. I always enjoy her posts, and they're very persuasive. She makes me want to read books I would <A HREF="http://tumperkin.blogspot.com/2008/01/keeper-7-sioux-by-irene-handl.html" REL="nofollow">never</A> <A HREF="http://tumperkin.blogspot.com/2007/10/keeper-3-emily-by-jilly-cooper.html" REL="nofollow">otherwise</A> <A HREF="http://tumperkin.blogspot.com/2007/10/keeper-2-tempestuous-reunion-by-lynne.html" REL="nofollow">consider</A>.<BR/><BR/>By far my favourite reviewer in terms of entertainment/ enjoyment is <A HREF="www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com" REL="nofollow">Candy</A>. I remember she wrote one review as an interpretive dance routine (if only I had the time to find it).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, it's interesting, it's hard work, I have a long way to go. I should read some Hazlitt and Orwell or something.Meriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-18532698552832426022008-02-06T16:58:00.000+00:002008-02-06T16:58:00.000+00:00Concise takes work. Also, there's review and then...Concise takes work. Also, there's review and then there's critical essay.... I tend to blend the two forms, and I'm still developing my ideas on how to structure that combined form.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-31533711016829807432008-01-28T16:54:00.000+00:002008-01-28T16:54:00.000+00:00Thanks, T. I'm not really into this period either,...Thanks, T. I'm not really into this period either, but HA is my exception. <BR/><BR/>This review is particularly long and rambling because there was so much I wanted to write and discuss that it all got a little out of hand. I need to master the art of a concise review.Meriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11832436776375729050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2758962596079172350.post-1751011017230856182008-01-24T21:29:00.000+00:002008-01-24T21:29:00.000+00:00This sounds cool! I'm not really into this period...This sounds cool! I'm not really into this period but I think I'll give this a whirl.Joanna Chambershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11008683032460114886noreply@blogger.com