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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 29, 2014 15:13:35 GMT -5
Ah, so Ashes of Love are probably Harlequin type books from decades ago. We have flats and flats of those types of paperbacks we are hoping to get rid of at the booksale tomorrow. It is funny how the styles change over time; there were some NASCAR ones, western ones, and a bunch of sheikh ones. They weren't Harlequin books, they were quite a bit racier than the Harlequin books. I remember starting to read one of them (this would have been mid/late 1970s), but I was so slammed in college that I just didn't have the time to get very far in it. What I DO remember is that it got to the juicy bits far faster than the Harlequin books did!
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Aug 29, 2014 15:38:16 GMT -5
Ah, so Ashes of Love are probably Harlequin type books from decades ago. We have flats and flats of those types of paperbacks we are hoping to get rid of at the booksale tomorrow. It is funny how the styles change over time; there were some NASCAR ones, western ones, and a bunch of sheikh ones. They weren't Harlequin books, they were quite a bit racier than the Harlequin books. I remember starting to read one of them (this would have been mid/late 1970s), but I was so slammed in college that I just didn't have the time to get very far in it. What I DO remember is that it got to the juicy bits far faster than the Harlequin books did! Gotcha. I'm not sure I've read any Harlequins, so my racymeter doesn't really have any scale to it, but I have the impression that books written recently can be much more explicit vs 70's stuff. DH brought home a book that had been donated to his school library (his kids had no interest in a book set in Williamsburg). Flipping thru it, someone had censored it - stuck page size white stickers over explicit parts, and hand wrote a synopsis of the scene. Too funny.
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happyhoix
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Post by happyhoix on Aug 29, 2014 16:01:50 GMT -5
I don't either. In the book club I belong to, I imposed a rule against bodice rippers - or what one member calls 'ashes of love' books. The only book that might be considered a romance that I ever liked was Jane Eyre, because Jane was such a strong character, and Mr Rochester was a jerk for most of the book. One of our book club members is a high school English teacher, and she always tries to read whatever the high schoolers are reading. She tried the first 50 Shades book and said not only was it very shallow, it was poorly written from a grammatical standpoint - and she's a huge romance fan, so it wasn't the genre that turned her off. Her opinion was all I needed to know to stay clear of the series. I want my smut but by god it better be grammatically correct! Well, she is an English teacher, I don't think you can just turn that red pencil instinct off even when you aren't working.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2014 18:12:23 GMT -5
DD proudly announced this summer, I bought a book! Guess which one LOL.
I told her it was a piece of shite that was very badly written and was degrading to women. She said, that's your POV, because you're old, it's not for your age group.
Imagine DD's delight when I laughed and told her it was originally written to titillate middle-aged women LOL.
I haven't read it, and won't. I have enough books to read without reading very badly written shite. Plus I find the whole thing creepy. There is enough sexual degradation of women in the world today without needing making a cult of it in the developed world, where ideally, women can expect better.
ETA: To add insult to injury, DD (who is bilingual) bought the French translation!
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achelois
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Post by achelois on Aug 30, 2014 14:22:21 GMT -5
Haven't read it. Don't plan to see the movie. OR personnel were all excited about it shortly before I retired. I am 62, though, so not too many hormones running around in there. Shoot, now I am infected. Who bit me? I hope it was Zaire. Wait, maybe there IS a hormone left.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 17:26:08 GMT -5
I still haven't read it, nor do I plan to. I don't think I'd like it, based on the things I've heard about it. Graphic sex in a book doesn't bother me, but the way I've seen the characters described probably would. Also, I'm not an English teacher, but poor grammar or errors are very distracting for me in a book.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Sept 1, 2014 14:46:03 GMT -5
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Sept 1, 2014 16:08:25 GMT -5
Yep --- They are in the back of the book with a pull out chart section. Is this a pop-up book? -rofl-then you better not be near sighted and hold the book to close! You'd poke out an eye that way
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michelyn8
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Post by michelyn8 on Sept 2, 2014 10:38:44 GMT -5
Ah, so Ashes of Love are probably Harlequin type books from decades ago. We have flats and flats of those types of paperbacks we are hoping to get rid of at the booksale tomorrow. It is funny how the styles change over time; there were some NASCAR ones, western ones, and a bunch of sheikh ones. They weren't Harlequin books, they were quite a bit racier than the Harlequin books. I remember starting to read one of them (this would have been mid/late 1970s), but I was so slammed in college that I just didn't have the time to get very far in it. What I DO remember is that it got to the juicy bits far faster than the Harlequin books did! Way back in the day when I first started reading romance novels, there were two levels for me. One was the Harlequinn type that was a quick read and sex was only alluded to. I think I started those types when I was about 11 or 12. Then there were the books like Sweet Savage Love. Much more conflict, much rougher characters (especially in that series) and more sex with more description. I hit that stage around 13 or so. I spent most of HS reading stuff like that along with Mary Higgins Clark and whatever else caught my interest (but it was mostly historical bodice rippers....ie: Johanna Lindsey). I was in my late teens, early 20's before I started reading romantic thrillers and then moved onto the full psycho killer and political thriller novels I prefer now. From the little I've read of 50 Shades and the comments here and elsewhere, I think someone looking for a light read with the sex this tries to portray would be better off with something by Bertrice Small and her peers.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Sept 2, 2014 10:49:51 GMT -5
I did make it through all 3 books.
Book 1 - honestly just sort of set the stage for books 2 and 3.
Books 2 and 3 - Ana became a lot stronger as the books went on. Christian became a bit more likable. He still had his moments where he was a controlling ass, but Ana stood up to him.
I think the books could have been a lot shorter (they don't need to describe in depth about every time the couple has sex). I think the editors did a crappy job. Reading the biography it is the author's first book and first books are not usually the best. Although some author's screw up other books too. One of my former favorite authors just killed me in a book when she wrote the first 300 pages from one character's POV and then the second to last chapter she wrote from the other's. Or the authors that jump back and forth from POVs with no real break in between.
Overall, it wasn't absolute shit. It was a fairly enjoyable read, but it isn't life changing or life altering either. It certainly wasn't the best books I've read this year. But it wasn't the worst either.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Sept 2, 2014 10:54:37 GMT -5
I think the editors did a crappy job I felt that way about the Hunger Games. The first book was awesome and stood by itself. I felt like the next two were not needed and if she absolutely had to create a sequel she/her editors could have condensed the next two books into one that was polished better.
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Plain Old Petunia
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Post by Plain Old Petunia on Sept 3, 2014 10:39:54 GMT -5
I think the editors did a crappy job I felt that way about the Hunger Games. The first book was awesome and stood by itself. I felt like the next two were not needed and if she absolutely had to create a sequel she/her editors could have condensed the next two books into one that was polished better. I agree. I think the third book was her working draft. It sure reads like one.
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