V good food for thought, especially the dependent relationship on “popular” books propping up more, supposedly “worthy” endeavours & there’s nothing worse than someone thinking themselves very clever for simply having read a certain book, or indeed looking down on someone for having alternate tastes.
I read the Fifty Shades set because my wife asked me to do so. I thought it was okay and not much to write home about, but it was interesting. What irritated me was her inaccurate depiction of Master/Slave or Dominant/Submissive relationships. She wrote her MC as a broken man who could only get along with women he beat and tortured. He took a weak-willed woman and treated her like a beat wife. What I think she intended as a love-heals-all story turned into something more kin to a Stockholm Syndrome story.
She didn't deserve the way she was treated by the public and by idiots who threatened her. She should have been left alone, and people should have just said, "This book isn't for me. It's not right."
Oh, by the way, after I read that book, I asked my wife what would happen if I treated her like Christian treated the young woman, and she said that if I tried it, she'd bury me in the backyard.
So it's a case of "I think it's steamy, but hell no, it ain't happening to me."
Like you said, read and let read. I've always been fascinated by why certain people need to downplay others for their successes. Maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's organic repulsion, but either way, being creative takes a lot of courage. So kudos to anyone willing to put pen to paper. Just thicken up that skin, as the criticism will come regardless.
Hi Hattie. I did read all 3 books of Fifty Shades from a writer’s perspective and I have to say, as a writer, I found it incredibly irritating. The storyline wasn’t credible. In real life, how does a 28 year old son of an addict become a billionaire? Nothing was explained and would you instantly fall in love with a student who fell out of a lift (elevator)? No. And if people found the sex scenes sexy (apparently the birth rate shot up during that period) then all I can think is they must have led very sheltered lives. It did absolutely nothing for me other than irritate me. And as for the ending....predictable or what? I knew what was going to happen way before it did. Girl meets boy, they get married and have 2 children - one girl and one boy. 🤮 Sick making or what? But hey. She made a shed load of money so am I envious? Hell yes!
I really enjoyed this. Thank you! As a novelist, avid reader, and longtime journalist, I get the point that not all stories can be positive and that not all reviews should be positive. During my journalism career, it wasn't my job to write reviews, so it wasn't much of an issue there. But as a novelist, I admit that I don't think I've ever written a bad review of a book. I even feel a bit guilty leaving 4 stars instead of 5. To be frank, if I hate a book I simply don't write a review at all. Maybe I'm off base about this, but it's the way I roll. Writers have it tough enough without other writers jumping them from behind.
This is so fantastic 💜
V good food for thought, especially the dependent relationship on “popular” books propping up more, supposedly “worthy” endeavours & there’s nothing worse than someone thinking themselves very clever for simply having read a certain book, or indeed looking down on someone for having alternate tastes.
I read the Fifty Shades set because my wife asked me to do so. I thought it was okay and not much to write home about, but it was interesting. What irritated me was her inaccurate depiction of Master/Slave or Dominant/Submissive relationships. She wrote her MC as a broken man who could only get along with women he beat and tortured. He took a weak-willed woman and treated her like a beat wife. What I think she intended as a love-heals-all story turned into something more kin to a Stockholm Syndrome story.
She didn't deserve the way she was treated by the public and by idiots who threatened her. She should have been left alone, and people should have just said, "This book isn't for me. It's not right."
Oh, by the way, after I read that book, I asked my wife what would happen if I treated her like Christian treated the young woman, and she said that if I tried it, she'd bury me in the backyard.
So it's a case of "I think it's steamy, but hell no, it ain't happening to me."
Like you said, read and let read. I've always been fascinated by why certain people need to downplay others for their successes. Maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's organic repulsion, but either way, being creative takes a lot of courage. So kudos to anyone willing to put pen to paper. Just thicken up that skin, as the criticism will come regardless.
Hi Hattie. I did read all 3 books of Fifty Shades from a writer’s perspective and I have to say, as a writer, I found it incredibly irritating. The storyline wasn’t credible. In real life, how does a 28 year old son of an addict become a billionaire? Nothing was explained and would you instantly fall in love with a student who fell out of a lift (elevator)? No. And if people found the sex scenes sexy (apparently the birth rate shot up during that period) then all I can think is they must have led very sheltered lives. It did absolutely nothing for me other than irritate me. And as for the ending....predictable or what? I knew what was going to happen way before it did. Girl meets boy, they get married and have 2 children - one girl and one boy. 🤮 Sick making or what? But hey. She made a shed load of money so am I envious? Hell yes!
I really enjoyed this. Thank you! As a novelist, avid reader, and longtime journalist, I get the point that not all stories can be positive and that not all reviews should be positive. During my journalism career, it wasn't my job to write reviews, so it wasn't much of an issue there. But as a novelist, I admit that I don't think I've ever written a bad review of a book. I even feel a bit guilty leaving 4 stars instead of 5. To be frank, if I hate a book I simply don't write a review at all. Maybe I'm off base about this, but it's the way I roll. Writers have it tough enough without other writers jumping them from behind.