tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post112044207600551713..comments2023-09-07T08:13:32.442-07:00Comments on Powellhurst: Books! Books! Books!Martinahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1131457884618947782005-11-08T05:51:00.000-08:002005-11-08T05:51:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1131005700487827102005-11-03T00:15:00.000-08:002005-11-03T00:15:00.000-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127274913239489482005-09-20T20:55:00.000-07:002005-09-20T20:55:00.000-07:00You figured right and you're right about it not be...You figured right and you're right about it not being a consistent distinction, but I like it. For a while, I thought it was just some random thing I made up (I like to do that), but I actually did manage to find a bit about it in one of my dusty, old literary dictionaries. <BR/><BR/>I really should reread some of my old stuff (not dictionaries, but books). When I was in grad school, I had a big interest in the fantastic in literature. I did my thesis on the whole constructions of femininity & telling of another's story thing, but was vaguely thinking about doing my disseration on suspense/spooky stories or some aspect of the fantastic in literature, so I have a fair share of books on the subject.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127274732812161952005-09-20T20:52:00.000-07:002005-09-20T20:52:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127020440216706252005-09-17T22:14:00.000-07:002005-09-17T22:14:00.000-07:00I kind of figured that was the kind of distinction...I kind of figured that was the kind of distinction you were making - but I'm still glad I asked since it wasn't clear and certainly not a disinction that is consistently made in libraries or bookstores. I totally get it though, I have lots of sub-categories that I recognize that aren't necessarily approved by that bastard Dewey. And besides - isn't it fun to explicate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127013080198230402005-09-17T20:11:00.000-07:002005-09-17T20:11:00.000-07:00>>Horror? I mean, don't ghost stories and dracula ...>>Horror? I mean, don't ghost stories and dracula (and early Sandman) and various spookies fall into that category?<<<BR/><BR/>Not necessarily, though you could easily argue that. I don't think that there really is a definitive distinction between Gothic, Suspense, Supernatural Mystery and Horror. The considerable overlap makes it difficult. Some people lump them all together, others don't. For me, their differences are kind of like porn - I know it when I see (read) it, but don't ask me to give you a definition. <BR/><BR/>I think the best definition I've ever seen for Horror described it as a mode rather than an identifiable genre. A ghost story, for example, is often a horror story, but it doesn't have to be. All horror stories, definitely do not contain ghosts or even necessarily elements of the supernatural. The best distinction I can make for you without getting too fussy would be that Horror in the sense of "modern", post-70's writers like Stephen King, Clive Barker, Peter Straub et al hold little appeal for me. All I think when I read them is "ewww gross". <BR/><BR/>Victorian ghost stories or Gothic of the sort that has strong connections to/is seen as a precursor to Romanticism and the supernatural stories of that age do. Even though I'm picking different time periods here, it's not so much about time as feel, you understand. As tale candy, I totally enjoy 20th century "Gothic mysteries" like Victoria Holt/Mary Stewart/Phyllis Whitney sort. For me, it's like the difference between watching Friday the 13th or Freddy Kruger movies and something like the Deborah Kerr "Turn of the Screw" (excellent b&w movie, if you haven't seen it! I love the way the ghosts or crazy governess question is left open) or even something like "The Others". They all have ghosts in them, but the stories are told in completely different modes. <BR/><BR/>For me, what I think of as "Horror" lacks a certain subtlety. It makes me just want to cover my eyes as opposed to covering them, but peeking out from the gaps between my fingers so I can be scared just a little more.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127003351745949082005-09-17T17:29:00.000-07:002005-09-17T17:29:00.000-07:00OK, I have been away for a while and can see that ...OK, I have been away for a while and can see that there has been MUCH discussion going on! Now to defend my comments!<BR/><BR/>1) YAY goodwill<BR/>2) Favorite books/authors - So hard for me to answer (thus JIVE) because it depends on what types of books and authors you are looking for. Authors I read without fail? Ones I really like, but never seem to get back to? Ones I recommend? There is some overlap, but not 100%. I do however stand by the ones selected previously, though that is by no means the definative list.<BR/>3) K, again I stand by what I said, since I was pretty sure that was what you meant<BR/>4) So here is the thing about reading things that I was dubious about. I don't take books that I HAD to read for school into account, because of the whole HAD to read them. There was no choice. I mean I chose NOT to read a lot of the assigned books and such, but that was mostly a laziness/time managment decision. Yeah, I have read lots of articles and texts on lots of things, but that does not really play into my current reading habits unless I happened upon something that really struck my fancy and then it just managed to work its way into my collection. Did I think I would like Beowulf, probably not, but I read it anyway and even thought about taking the classes to learn how to read it in the orignial because I liked it that much. Ultimately laziness won out, but really I have to recommend the VERSE translation over the PROSE translation. I am not quite that lazy.<BR/>4) I have only read the Golden Dragon, so I don't know much about her other books. I want to read them, the just have not made their way into my to read stack yet. <BR/><A HREF="http://fiftythirty.blogspot.com/2005/04/book-16-kingdom-of-golden-dragon.html" REL="nofollow">My Golden Dragon Review</A><BR/>5) me eithermonqueehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16157758427896341038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1127001645168585462005-09-17T17:00:00.000-07:002005-09-17T17:00:00.000-07:00Yay! I am honored that the Jenquestions get to be...Yay! I am honored that the Jenquestions get to be purple. I have a question for you about your disliked genres - Horror? I mean, don't ghost stories and dracula (and early Sandman) and various spookies fall into that category? And if Italo Calvino isn't a cowboy name, I don't know what is! (hee hee! OK, I am kidding with that last one - but for real on the horror).Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998413591822017096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126985046774596462005-09-17T12:24:00.000-07:002005-09-17T12:24:00.000-07:00Yay! I will go read it and comment there and will ...Yay! I will go read it and comment there and will answer the three questions you added to my post here.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and regarding #4 (above your last comment): You're right, though to put a positive spin on it, it's not unheard of for me to balk at reading something, then find that I actually like it after giving it a chance. I would, for example, never have laid hands on The Sandman or some of the comic books Carlton leant me, if it hadn't been for book guiltMartinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126928615555158842005-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:002005-09-16T20:43:00.000-07:00OK! I finally did it - I put it up here, with a l...OK! I finally did it - I put it up <A HREF="http://lawofsympathy.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">here</A>, with a link back to this entry. It was loooong and I didn't want to risk crashing your blog by adding it in the comments! If you want me to, I will, though. (I added 3 questions, I hope that's OK - I added a) what book did you think you would love but didn't (to go along with the hate/love question) b) do you have to finish a book if you start, and c) how do you find new authors)Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998413591822017096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126458022559065192005-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:002005-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:00#4 - Oh, man! You've got to come up with your own...#4 - Oh, man! You've got to come up with your own perfect phrase for "I don't want to read the Nicholas Sparks book you have just recommended to me, because it might end our friendship forever." OK - maybe that one is a little specific... hee. But there are too many things you WANT to read to be bullied by someone with taste that doesn't mesh. On the other hand, sometimes you come across a gem you would have never found if not for a recommendation. I think I usually *try* to read something (except for Nicholas Sparks), and if I just can't get into it I say "I just couldn't get into it." Sometimes it is a timing issue for me - what doesn't work right now might work in a year or even a month - so I'll say that too. It saves a lot of agita.<BR/>And I should stress that some book recommenders I trust more than others, especially if they have pointed me right at least once before.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998413591822017096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126414976117675802005-09-10T22:02:00.000-07:002005-09-10T22:02:00.000-07:00Hey mans -Thanks for posting your book answers MQ....Hey mans -<BR/><BR/>Thanks for posting your book answers MQ. Here are some comments:<BR/><BR/>1) Yes, Goodwill counts.<BR/><BR/>2) I don't think favorite bookS/authorS is jive. Asking a person to pick one is TOTALLY jive. What is even MORE jive is expecting that the list would remain static. How can a person like books and seriously say there was just one perfect work that is better than all others? That would make a good neurotic author tale - the guy who goes mad trying to write the perfect story.<BR/><BR/>3) I meant contemporary writers/works by "contemporary".<BR/><BR/>4)Wow. You've never read something you were dubious about? I have plenty of times. Some of it's because of the literary studies in grad school thing. You have to read (or at least pretend to have read or read articles about) a lot of shit you might not normally want to. The rest is because my literary backbone is constructed completely of jello. I have this weird fear of offending by people by just fessing up and saying I'm just not interested when they recommend a book - especially if they feel compelled to loan it to me. Then I feel like I have to read it, because they might try to ferret out what I thought about it.<BR/><BR/>4) I don't think I've ever read Isabel Allende. What did you like about The Golden Dragon? What kind of stuff does she write?<BR/><BR/>5) Of course the questionnaire is long. I am incapable of writing anything short and to the point. :-)Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126414810708843552005-09-10T22:00:00.000-07:002005-09-10T22:00:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126242273639429232005-09-08T22:04:00.000-07:002005-09-08T22:04:00.000-07:00I'm working on it. My links and archive area seem ...I'm working on it. My links and archive area seem to have disappeared now and my visible posts only go back to July 15th & that cuts off mid-post, but at least there's something here now and the whole thing is there in the preview mode. I think I have figured out that the blogger is doing something wonky to the template. It got a little better when I changed templates after I noticed ealier that parts of code were missing on the old one.Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126237167744934372005-09-08T20:39:00.000-07:002005-09-08T20:39:00.000-07:00Woot! You are a rock star to get this back online...Woot! You are a rock star to get this back online.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998413591822017096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1126154647086785612005-09-07T21:44:00.000-07:002005-09-07T21:44:00.000-07:00What are you reading right now?- Julia Quinn It's ...What are you reading right now?<BR/><BR/>- Julia Quinn It's in His Kiss<BR/>I just started it, but her last one that I read was good.<BR/>-Also a Terry Pratchett Discworld Book - Moving Pictures<BR/><BR/>What is the last book that you bought?<BR/><BR/>- Does at Goodwill count? Because that is the Julia Quinn. Non goodwill... I am not sure, I have been using the Library a lot lately.<BR/><BR/>What are your favorite books?<BR/>-Jive question! I have lots of favorites, for different things. One that pops in my head (because I have moved everything in my bookcase) is To Kill a Mocking Bird. Others...Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Princess Diaries, hmmm, I am sure there are others.<BR/><BR/>Who are your favorite Authors?<BR/>-Twice as Jive! - Deborah Grabien, Meg Cabot, Jasper Fforde, Christopher Moore, Bill Bryson, Tom Holt meh, there are others, but that will do for now. Oh Yeah also Jonathan Lethem<BR/><BR/>Which genres are your favorites?<BR/>-The good ones - Duh! (no order here) romance, mystery, history, sci-fi, fantasy<BR/><BR/>What books did you think you would hate but loved?<BR/>-Hard one for me to answer. I try not to decide to hate anything before it has given me good reason. That said I don't usually pursue things I think I will hate. Off the cuff I have nothing for this one.<BR/><BR/>What kind of books do you dislike most?<BR/>-poorly written ones. That is really the thing that gets me. I can and do read books in all different genres, all different levels of sophistication and the thing that pisses me off more than anything is when it is poorly written. It has to be a pretty compelling story for me to get beyond that. Actually reading back over this even more than poorly written is one that is poorly EDITED. Typos and things like that. I just finished one that had a girl eating a sandwich. At the begining of the paragraph it was a chicken sandwich, by the end of the paragraph it was a Tuna sandwich. GAH!!!<BR/><BR/>Do you mostly read contemporary work, older works or both?<BR/>-Both, but a lot of contemporary work. (does that mean contemporary publishing or setting?)<BR/><BR/>What are some of the funniest books you've ever read?<BR/>Tom Stoppard - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Tom Holt - Who's Afraid of Beowulf, Thorne Smith - Nightlife of the Gods<BR/><BR/>Which books were so good that you read them in one sitting?<BR/>-this is my preferred method of reading, so lots.<BR/><BR/>Which books have impacted you most?<BR/>The Way of Chuang Tzu - Translated by Thomas Merton, The poetry of John Donne, The Connie Blair Series Books by Betsy Allen, Bunny Modern by David Bowman<BR/><BR/>Which books/authors do you consider to be most overrated?<BR/>-I have a hard time with this too. Back to the whole I try not to read stuff I don't/won't like so some stuff that I like I am sure is overrated and the other stuff I haven't read, so I am not really in a position to say. (although yours is really good. I have not read that one, but I did read a couple of others in the series and they were NOT all that).<BR/><BR/>Which good, but little know book or author would you rescue from obscurity?<BR/>David Bowman - Bunny Modern (amazon.com sales rank #1,168,533 in books)<BR/><BR/>How many books do you generally read at a time?<BR/>-1 or 2, many more than that and I will not go back to finish something<BR/><BR/>What ratio of fiction to non-fiction do you read?<BR/>So I really was not sure so I looked on my book blog for this year 34 books 0 non-fiction so 34 to none<BR/><BR/>When (if) you read non-fiction, what are your favorite subjects?<BR/>-history, fashion and the best of all THE HISTORY OF FASHION<BR/><BR/>Which book that you haven't gotten around to yet do you want to read?<BR/>-Undaunted Courage (I am watching a Lewis and Clark show right now, so that comes to mind)<BR/><BR/>What is your earliest memory involving books?<BR/>-hard to say. There have always been books and I don't tend to think that way. One of my best way back memories with books is when my dad would read out loud to all of us. I always liked that, partly because they were not just childrens books, but books that were appropriate for children.<BR/><BR/>What were your favorite books as a child?<BR/>- Connie Blair, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Just for You by Mercer Mayer<BR/><BR/>Which children's book do you like now?<BR/>Connie Blair (they really hold up!), Princess Diaries, Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende, His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman<BR/><BR/>What frequently recommended book have you been unable to finish?<BR/>-That one book, by that guy, with the Time Travel... Jen knows which one, it has not been a matter of not finishing though, rather a matter of never wanting to start. <BR/><BR/>If someone were to ask you for a book recommendation right now, what would it be?<BR/>-The Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende<BR/><BR/>This was a LONG Questionnaire!!!!monqueehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16157758427896341038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1125971820859125752005-09-05T18:57:00.000-07:002005-09-05T18:57:00.000-07:00It's ok, take your time. It tooks me a couple mont...It's ok, take your time. It tooks me a couple months to get around to finishing it myself. It was kinda fun, though. It reminded me of a lot of things I'd like to reread. I can't wait to see yours. You should bug MQ until she posts hers too!Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1125971816711088922005-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:002005-09-05T18:56:00.000-07:00It's ok, take your time. It tooks me a couple mont...It's ok, take your time. It tooks me a couple months to get around to finishing it myself. It was kinda fun, though. It reminded me of a lot of things I'd like to reread. I can't wait to see yours. You should bug MQ until she posts hers too!Martinahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919215971601240222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9037641.post-1125965123131712862005-09-05T17:05:00.000-07:002005-09-05T17:05:00.000-07:00Oooh - good questions. It will take me a while, b...Oooh - good questions. It will take me a while, but I will work on it!Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16998413591822017096noreply@blogger.com