Timing Is Everything
Mar 21st 2008
Claudia DainOn Writing!
Does this ever happen to you? It happens to me all the time.
I start reading a book and it goes splat. It just doesn’t work for me. My mind wanders. I can’t find my way into the world. I’m bored. I know I should like it. I know I wanted to like it. But I don’t.
I put the book aside and when I pick it up again, months or even years later, I love it. I fall right into it. I can’t understand what my problem was with it the first time.
It also works in reverse. I’ll read a book I love from the very first line. It’s my favorite book. I love everything about it. Naturally, I’ll read it again and again.
And then, one horrible day, I won’t enjoy that book anymore. It just doesn’t work. Maybe I’ve rung the bell too many times. Maybe I just can’t walk that particular path again, but whatever it is, that book is done for me.
Timing. It’s all timing. Sometimes we’re at the right place to enjoy something and sometimes we’re not.
Has this ever happened to you? What do you do when it happens? Do you give the book another try, later? Do you keep a keeper forever, loving it with the heat of first love? Why do you think the timing has to be right to love a book, or does it?
60 Comments »
Kathy/Cookiedough on 21 Mar 2008 at 5:37 am #
oh, this happens to me all the time.
I think it is the head space you are in when you start.
I tend to put it aside and pick it up again in a few months or weeks. Sometimes it’s a fit, sometimes not, like the pair of pants at the store. It’s your size and colour, but when you try it on…not so much.
If I find a book or books by an author that I really enjoy, I go back to visit. I go through them and snuggle in like a warm blanket. I tend to do this only for romances though.
Paula M on 21 Mar 2008 at 6:43 am #
I agree with Cookie I think also that sometimes you have to be in the right frame of mind to read some books. I have certain books that I keep and can keep going back to them and read them over and over again.
If I get a book I can’t get into I sort of know whether it is a book that I will go back and try again or whether it is a book that is a total non-starter. I do give books a second go and hate it when I have to reject a book.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 6:53 am #
I also think it’s where you are in your life. Maybe it’s just a plot I don’t care for. I don’t like books where the the h/h fight till the last 5 pages. Then, they were in love all along. Or the heroine is extremely “feisty”. Another word, to me, for being a total b****. Or the author & I just aren’t connecting for some reason known only to the cosmos.
If it’s a favorite author, I will definitely try again one day. Who knows how it will be then. Doesn’t happen often. The saddest thing is when a beloved keeper suddenly, without warning, becomes one for the library donation box. I’m always shocked and can’t understand. Like you, Claudia, maybe I have gone one time to many to that particular well. I don’t give away a keeper lightly. I may even try it again in a few months. If I still don’t enjoy it, I pass it along for someone else to love.
It never puts me off the author, however.
Susan K (soon to be Susan M) on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:32 am #
I had this happen to me with the book I am currently reading. I bought the book 2 years ago and couldn’t get into it. So I put it back on the shelf. I looked at it several times since then but just didn’t feel I could read it. A couple of days ago I read another book by the same author and decided to give the shelved book another try. I love it! I think it does have to do with your frame of mind.
Judy F on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:44 am #
I agree frame of mind or whatever is going on in your life at the time. I have only thrown one book against the wall when I finished. I should have gave up but I kept trying to like it.
I have put books down only to pick them up later and falling in love with the book
KariE on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:54 am #
Oh, yes I have had this happen to me. Like the majority so far, I normally put it back on the bookself until a later date. The first time it happened I got upset with myself because I felt that I didn’t give the book a change the first time around. Then I thougth that maybe it just wasn’t a good book, but considering the author, I doubted it. Then I realised that, like you said, Claudia, timing is everything.
I’m having a problem with a book I am reading right now and I just can’t finish the book. It’s a great contemporary by an author I’ve never read before. I read the first half in one sitting, the third quarter in another sitting but I just can’t get the last quarter of the book in. If I don’t finish it I will never know who the killer is an why he/she did it. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will finish it. I hope.
Barbara Vey on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:56 am #
It’s just like with movies. One day it sucks and then the next time you see it, it’s like, “Is this the same movie?”
I’ve found that when I went through my divorce, I hated any book that had any mention of a divorce. When my mom was sick, I couldn’t read past a parent passing away. Those are the obvious ones, but I’m sure lots of things work on us at a subconscious level every day.
As others have mentioned, especially if it’s an author I’ve enjoyed in the past, I’ll give it another chance or if it comes highly recommended. Then I’m usually glad I took the time.
ladydawgfan on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:59 am #
I have several like this, including one that is on my TBR shelf, not because I can’t get into it, but because I relate too closely with what the heroine went through during her childhood. I am reading it a little at a time, bit by painful bit. The author is one of my favorites, and I really respect her work. I know that it will all work out in the end, unlike the trainwreck of MY life, but still, the book is difficult to read. And unfortunately, it is the first in a series, so I can’t start the others until I read the first.
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:21 am #
There ARE books that don’t work for me after a while, but I usually get rid of them. THEN, years later, I sometimes regret it. I have two old 80s romances that for some reason I decided to revisit after I’d gotten rid of them, and I ended up re-buying them, because I found I loved them again. Who knows why? Sometimes I wonder if it’s nostalgia–I remember how I felt when I read them the first time, so they’re always special. Then again, I don’t get nostalgic for the Barbara Cartlands I grew up reading.
Hmm, interesting topic.
And there’s definitely subjects I have trouble reading. For example, I’m a huge Mary Jo Putney fan, but I had a hard time with The Wild Child. I’m glad I persevered and read the whole thing, but the first part, where the heroine appears to be mentally disabled (but she’s not) was difficult because I kept thinking of my son. It was just difficult to get through. It ended up being a really great book, though.
I suspect I could read it a lot easier NOW, too.
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:23 am #
Oh, and during the hard years with my son, I couldn’t read anything heavy. Light as air was the criteria for any book. It had to make me laugh and nothing else. I had quite enough drama in my life.
Now that he’s doing so well, though, I’ve started enjoying the darker books again. I find them satisfying. But it took me years to get back to that place.
Karen Hawkins on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:27 am #
Claudia, oh yes! I’ve done that. Like Barbara, I couldn’t read divorce books when I went through my divorce! And it seemed as if EVERY song, movie or book was slanted in that direction. Drove me crazy. Glad I’m over all of that and I even wrote a book about a woman getting over a divorce that’s coming out in November.
ladydawgfan, that you’re identifying so strongly with the heroine is a true testament to that author’s skill, but you’re right — sometimes, the ‘too close to home’ factor can really affect how you enjoy a book.
I tend to like lighter, happier reads and if a book is really angsty, I’ll put it away until I’m in a certain mood. Otherwise, I won’t finish it and I HATE not finishing a book, though it happens once in a while.
I always feel wasteful if I buy a book and don’t read every page, though I’ve done it!
doglady on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:34 am #
I agree with the consensus. Sometimes it absolutely depends on your frame of mind at the time. When that happens I put the book aside and get back to it later - weeks later, months later, sometimes years later.
I am the stubborn type. I KEEP books forever. Some of my favorites I have worn out copies and had to buy new ones.
If a book is less than stellar, I don’t necessarily quit on that author. Especially now that I am writing myself I realize just how hard it is to shine every single word! That is NOT, however, a problem our Goddesses have at all! You ladies have never written a bad book!
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:52 am #
You have no idea how relieved I am to find I am not alone in this! As Barbara V said, this happens to me with movies, too.
And I love the idea of a comfort read. That’s true, Sabrina. Sometimes a book swings in and out of keeper status, but once a keeper always a keeper.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:54 am #
Doglady, I don’t give up on an author either, not just for one book I can’t fight my way into. But if I can’t find my way in after 4 or 5 books, then I do start to drift off. Although, I only do that for an author I’m taste-testing.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:59 am #
It is about frame of mind, isn’t it, which is totally out of our control. I know exactly what you mean, Karen and Barbara, about when you’re going through a hard time, like a divorce, and the subject seems to surround you! No escape! And you really want and need to escape into fiction.
I’m at a place in my life now, don’t really know why, unless it’s empty nest, but I want Light and Fun reads. I just don’t want to go anyplace dark or introspective or even too emotional. It’s the main reason why I changed up my books from dark and angsty to romps. My frame of mind had changed.
Oooh, this is getting to be like a session with a therapist! Sorry. LOL
Karen Rose on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:11 am #
I definitely find this with comedy movies - things I found funny ten years ago go splat now and make me feel all Bevis and Butthead-y. Of course, this does not apply to Pee Wee Herman’s Big Adventure or Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure - those remain funny.
A friend had the first season of WKRP on DVD, and last month we re-watched the Thanksgiving episode … “Oh the humanity!” when they drop the turkeys out of the helicopter, thinking they could fly. We laughed until we cried, all those years later, so I was pleased to see that some things hadn’t changed.
I’ve never seen the end of Steel Magnolias. DH had just been sick when it came on and I lost it when Julia Roberts dies. Had to turn off the TV. I should go back and give that one a try now.
Kathy/Cookiedough on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:25 am #
I’m in a Preston/Child kick right now…does it mean I am in a deep dark funk? lol
I like watching my seven seasons of Buffy over again. it is comfort food for your brain.
The new Pride and Prejudice does it for me too. My friend is in a Mansfield Park mood right now. She keeps borrowing my vhs copy. I think I’ll just give it to her!
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:30 am #
I love when I fall into a mood to watch or read something, when it gives me the lift I’m expecting it to give me. The worst is when it fails! I think, is this the end of the ride? I LOVED this ride. It’s one of the reasons I don’t like to read a favorite story *too* often or watch my favorite movie *too* much–I’m afraid I’ll kill the joy!
On Steel Magnolias, Karen, feel free to let that movie go. I thought it was over-rated. When Julia decides, under pressure from her husband, to have a baby when she knows it will kill her, I lost sympathy for them both. But that’s just me. *G*
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:32 am #
And WKRP is one of the funniest shows ever made! Ditto for Everybody Loves Raymond. Double ditto for Frasier. Those shows have yet to go dry for me. I’m so relieved!
Meg on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:53 am #
There has only been one book that I just could not finish. I have come across a few that the beginning was slow, but I tend to set them down for a day or a week and then go back to them. In the months after my husband’s funeral, every book that I picked up had a widow in it. Either the heroine was a widow or her best friend was a widow… I felt a kind of connection with these characters and I didn’t want to put any of the books down because they were really good. Of course there were a few tears but in the end I just loved those books all the more.
Nicole Jordan on 21 Mar 2008 at 9:58 am #
Yep, definitely must be in the right mood for a book, even my very fave authors. But most of my keepers have held up over time. What I loved then is still what I love now.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:20 am #
I’m a bit jealous that Once A Keeper, Always A Keeper is true for so many of you. I’ve had Keepers go belly up on me, though I haven’t tried Sabrina’s method of letting them go cold only to find they went hot again. I should try that. I wonder if it would work?
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:22 am #
Meg, how great that you were able to see the widows in your fiction as kindred spirits! That takes some courage. I find it very encouraging to think that you found comfort and companionship in books at such a tough time in your life.
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:22 am #
Claudia, I love all three of those, too. DH and I really miss WKRP.
BZHAnne on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:23 am #
I think those times when a favorite book suddenly goes yucko happen because all that that book can tell you about yourself and/or others and/or the world has been told. You got the message. You internalized it totally. You’ve gone on, grown and the book has served its purpose. Sad, but when that happens it’s time to let someone else learn from its pages. That’s why libraries are so wonderful. you can ake that formerly beloved book and donate it to your local library and let who knows how many others enjoy it and learnlife lessons (hopefully) from it.
As for first impressions, there I must disagree for my own part. I used to hang onto even the worst of the wallbangers and try them later. But I soon learned that such tactics did not work in almost all cases. If it was lousy the first time, it was most likely gonna be lousy, period. And who has room on their shelves for lousy when there are so many that are good?
Kim on 21 Mar 2008 at 10:57 am #
Claudia–definitely! I call it my “book mood”. Currently there are no less than 30 books on my tbr pile with a book mark in them. Lately I just have a hard time getting into anything. I think its because I have 5 historicals that I “have” to read but all I’m thinking about are the new Vicki Pettersson and Jeaniene Frost arcs that I have coming. I’m totally in urban fantasy mode. Occasionally I get in a thriller mood when I’ll read nothing but James Patterson and Dean Koontz. And sometimes its historicals.
I do the same thing with movies. Sometimes I’ll go through and watch all the Adam Sandler or Kevin Smith movies I have. Or all the ER seasons.
The DH and I just picked up Young Guns again. I remember loving this movie but now it just fell flat with me. It bored me to tears. The worst part is I was just on Amazon getting ready to order Can’t Buy Me Love and Lucas when I thought “UGH, what if they suck now too.” So I haven’t checked out yet *g*
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:04 am #
Anne, that’s an interesting viewpoint on the lessons learned from a book. I hadn’t thought of that, but it does make sense and would explain a lot. I also find that my tastes have changed right along with the general culture. A lot of books that I loved seem slow to me now, too much set-up, too much description. I’ll watch old movies and think, “They’d never get away with this now. 45 minutes to introduce the heroine and set up her backstory?” I was watching “Now, Voyager” with Bette Davis a couple of months ago and was struck by this. It’s both a woman’s journey and a love story, very closely bound, and a fantastic movie, but I watched it like a present day editor, cutting, cutting, cutting.
Times have changed and I’ve changed with them!
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:06 am #
Kim, I’m laughing/sobbing over Young Guns. That movie was so edgy for its time. Maybe that’s why it hasn’t aged well for you? Edgy can really date a movie!
ladydawgfan on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:10 am #
Kim, rent them first!!! I was in the same boat recently with a movie I loved long ago. I was about to buy it and waited. I saw it on Starz and was bored out of my mind, wondering what I thought was so great about it. I was glad that I had saved the money, knowing then that I would have been royally ticked at myself for wasting money on something I would likely never watch again!!
BTW, BZHAnne, I love the term “wallbangers” for books that just don’t click. I, truthfully have only had a few that have just been absolute stinkers. That term is very appropo for what happened to them!!
Kim on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:13 am #
Claudia–you’re absolutely right! Some movies just can’t withstand the test of time.
LDF–excellent idea!!! Now, to see if our video store has them *g*
Lisa H on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:14 am #
Sabrina - What were the two 80’s novels you now love again? I’d love to know.
For me, I’m a once a keeper always a keeper. I re-read my favorites once a year or every other year. (Shanna by KEW is my all time favorite)
I am now reading a Jodi Piccoult novel “My Sister’s Keeper” It is the most realistic and heartwrenching book I have ever read. I find myself crying every other chapter and don’t think I can read another book like this again. However I would reccomend this book, because it is so well-written and well-researched. But I don’t want to hear about such painful topics in such detail, I just can’t take it.
When I don’t like a book, I am not likely to give it a chance again, only because there are so many authors writing great books (like you goddesses) that I tend to read something new instead.
Meg on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:49 am #
I sometimes find myself so jealous at all of you who have time to re-read your favorites. I can think of certain books and say: “Oh my God, this was such a great book!” but my tbr list is so long that I just can’t get around to re-reading. My sister is one of you who reads really fast and re-reads her faves all the time. We tried to read a 5-book series together one time but it just did not work. She was done way before I was. I told her one day “Slow Down! Wait for me!”
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 11:55 am #
I loved WRKP also. And th e Turkey epiisode should be in one of those top 100 lists that somebody is always putting together. And I guess time does change our views on things. I remember when Lucy/Desi was the funniest thing coming down the pike. Actually, at the time is was the only thing on the pike. Early tv, you know. Now, I find them mostly boring.
I don’t tend to keep books I don’t enjoy. The library is a good respository for them. My closest branch has a fabulous paperback collection that is all donated by patrons. Quite a few of them were mine. I’ve also participated in Book Crossing. That’s sort of a fun thing to do. Those of you who write may hate me, but I’ve even slipped a very, very few into the trash can because I felt they did a disservice to some poor tree by being published. So many good writers have a hard time getting published at that it makes me wonder. And I’m not talking sex scenes/language here. Just piss poor writing. TG it hasn’t been very many.
Karen Rose on 21 Mar 2008 at 12:15 pm #
Sabrina - you can get WKRP on DVD.
Claudia - I loved Now Voyager with Bette, but I think you’re right about the amount of time for set up. Modern audiences wouldn’t be that patient.
As for books, my faves stay my faves. I just pulled Amanda by Kay Hooper from my keeper shelf to re-read. There is a love scene in that book that is so intense - love it. And my top re-read trilogy of all time is the Chesapeake books by Nora Roberts. Ethan’s story is my favorite, but there are great moments in all three. I hope those never go cold for me - it would be too sad.
Marie on 21 Mar 2008 at 12:39 pm #
I love In the Prince’s Bed, but I can’t finish it. I refuse to watch that poor little girl get her heartbroken. Oh I know it ends happy, but there is that heartbreak that is in every book. So the way it ends is Only to me. Only to me.
That is the way I’m reading romances from now on. Not reading the heartbreak. It works I guess. Man I want to know how it ends.
Sorry back on topic. A book that hasn’t done it for me gets thrown in the TBR pile usually not to be picked back up.
Castles by Julie Garwood is a book that I have read since I was tiny and it hasn’t lost any of it’s luster. I don’t know of any of my favorites that I have stopped liking one day.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 12:43 pm #
OMG Yes, Karen R. I love that series! When “Chesapeake Blue” came out, I actually stopped at Walmart on my way home from a long, hard drive off vacation to buy it even tho it was in hardback. HBs are not my favorite purchases. But I couldn’t wait forever to read it. I read the whole series about once a year. Right now, I’m re-reading “Match Me if You Can” by SEP. Soon to be followed by “Natrual Born Charmer”. Love those Stars! It’s hard to choose a favorite of hers but “Nobody’s Baby but Mine” was my first one. So, I guess it’s my fave of the bunch. All are on the keeper shelves.
Like others before me today, I’m in a place of needing light, humourous reading. I have things in the TBR pile. Waiting patiently and I’ll get to them.
Sabrina, I loved “The Wild Child” from the git go. But I didn’t have stuff going on that made it too close. I love both Mary Jo Putney and Jo Beverly. But I sure have to be in the mood for the intensity. They are amazing.
Alice Audrey on 21 Mar 2008 at 1:02 pm #
It happens more than I like. I’ll give a book a second chance if I can’t see why I don’t like it, and maybe even a third or fourth chance with some time between. If I can’t get into it then, regardless of why I SHOULD like it, I give up.
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Mar 2008 at 1:52 pm #
Marie, are you talking about my book? I promise you, Katherine does get her happy ending! *G*
I know what you mean, though, sometimes I’m not up for that myself.
Lisa H, the two books I was referring to are Rebecca Brandewyne’s Upon a Moon-dark Moor and Across a Starlit Sea. The first one wouldn’t be considered PC now, and generally I don’t like the old books like that, but I still love this one. Don’t know why.
Also, they’re first person and sort of gothic. Like the books that Claudia described, they take too long to get going, but whoa, mama, when they do …
I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who isn’t used to those old 80s books, though.
Karen Hawkins on 21 Mar 2008 at 2:06 pm #
The 80s books were wayyy different, weren’t they? True bodice-rippers. Whenever I hear that term, I know it’s from someone who hasn’t read a romance in over 20 years.
Lisa H on 21 Mar 2008 at 2:37 pm #
I just read an old 80’s romance called “Love in Disguise” by Edith Layton. It is slow going, but the depth and descriptions are layered and rich. The characters are wonderful and very fleshed out. I really enjoyed reading something so different from a dialogue driven style.
I would like to check out those books, Sabrina. I believe in reading different styles and genres to help my own writing improve.
The Regency women of the 80’s were so much more inhibited than the Regency women of today! LOL!
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 2:52 pm #
I started reading historical romances in the late 1970s! They were *very* different then and I can’t imagine that I’d enjoy them now. It’s not the quality of the writing because the writing was wonderful, it’s the story and the way it’s told. A lot of them were only from the heroine’s 3rd person POV, which keeps the hero at a distance. They were very heavy on the history, which I loved, and the hero/heroine might not have even been together on the same page for 50% of the story. Still, they were great romances. Then.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 2:54 pm #
I’ve never heard of a person who didn’t fall in love with Nora Roberts’ Chesapeake trilogy. I’m going to have to read that!
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 2:56 pm #
Margaret, my take is that Lucy/Desi shows are boring for you now because you’ve walked that road too many times. Every ounce of joy and laughter has been squeezed from it. If you saw an episode today for the very first time, you’d howl with laughter.
Karen Hawkins on 21 Mar 2008 at 3:08 pm #
Lisa H, I don’t think of Edith Layton as a romance author so much as a romantic novelist. She’s an incredible author though and oh such a richly textured writer. And you’re right about the heroines. I always grin when someone says the heroines in today’s Regencies are too ‘modern’ or ‘independent.’ They really should read Caro Lamb’s biography (who had a Britney Spears like breakdown after her very public affair with Lord Byron — who was a bisexual and was eventually ostracized for his affair with his half sister), or that of Sally Jersey. There were some incredibly independent, saucy, and unconventional women during that time who didn’t give a flip for the supposed conventions of the day. In fact, I just read a research book that suggested that the tight, repressive morals of the Victorian era were due, in large part, to the lack of morals of the Regency era.
And oh, Claudia, I ADORE the Chesapeake trilogy. They’re wonderful - some of my fave books.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 3:17 pm #
Karen, I think I have that research book! I’ve yet to crack the spine, but it looks delicious and I can’t wait to bite into it. It has a blue and white cover, right?
City of Laughter is another great research book about Georgian England; things were pretty racy!
I’m going to get the Chesapeake trilogy from the library as soon as I finish my own book. That will be my treat to myself. Thanks for the recommendation!
cail on 21 Mar 2008 at 3:34 pm #
i LOVE Nora’s Chesapeake Trilogy. It’s one of my frequent rereads. I really love all of her romance trilogies.
Sometimes I can get into a book after not liking it much the first time, but usually, if I have a strong aversion to it, I don’t pick it back up. I do sometimes skip certain parts of a book to get to the best part when I’m rereading a classic, but recently you ladies have kept me extremely busy with your new releases, so I haven’t had the opportunity to over read a book.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 4:00 pm #
Claudia, I’m sure you’re right about “I Love Lucy”. Don’t forget that I saw them first run back in the 50’s and, then, many, many times thru the years. Maybe someday they might be funny to me again.
If you’re going to read the Chesapeake series, be sure to read them in order. LOL Listen to me telling an author how to read a series. Duh. Originally a trilogy, but people were screaming for Seth’s grown-up story. So, it became a quartet.
Sea Swept (Cam), Rising Tides (Ethan), Inner Harbor, (Phillip), Chesapeake Blue (Seth). The best thing about these books is the strong relationship and interaction of the men.
Living not far from the Bay, I have a real fondness for that body of water.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 4:25 pm #
See? Everyone loves the Chesapeake trilogy! LOL I’m so glad to get the input; nothing is better than word of mouth. Given our conversation of today, wouldn’t it be hysterical if I couldn’t get into it? *G* If I couldn’t, I’d just keep trying, figuring I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for it since it’s such a huge favorite.
Margaret, is it clear on the book covers which book comes first in the trilogy? Oh, I suppose I could go to Nora Roberts website; it would be listed there should I forget.
Also, Margaret, since you saw I Love Lucy as originally aired, was it a huge hit from the start? Did you love it from the first episode? I want to think it’s a bit slapstick for today’s audience—-and then I think of Adam Sandler. *g*
Suzanne Enoch on 21 Mar 2008 at 4:47 pm #
For me it’s more about tone than plotline. And I definitely tend to read lighter books when I’m happy, and darker books when I’m in a funk about something. And when I pick the wrong book for the mood I’m in, it’s like pulling teeth to make myself read it.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 5:14 pm #
Wow, Suzanne, it’s the opposite for me; dark mood requires a happy read and visa versa. Isn’t it amazing how we’re all wired so differently? But if the mood and the book don’t line up it’s agony.
Sabrina Jeffries on 21 Mar 2008 at 5:26 pm #
I’m like Claudia–dark for light times; light for dark times. Because I read to escape, I want to escape whatever time I’m in. *G*
>>The Regency women of the 80’s were so much more inhibited than the Regency women of today!
We-e-ell, not really. Depended on the authors you read. Some of those 80’s authors had women doing things that were really outrageous (an erotic auction scene in one of Rosemary Rogers’s books comes to mind). And there were lots of books with women dressing as men. I’m not sure that Edith Layton would be representative of the racier historicals. Even back then, there was quite a range. There could be lots of history, but the books weren’t necessarily all historically accurate. It truly depended on the author.
The few I kept as re-reads I probably couldn’t stand to read from beginning to end–they just move too slowly. I only re-read the parts I like. *G*
Lisa H on 21 Mar 2008 at 6:05 pm #
Sabrina - I didn’t read books where women did “outrageous” things…but I wish I had!
Karen Hawkins on 21 Mar 2008 at 6:56 pm #
Hey, do you all remember the lady pirate books? Her name was Regina or Regan or something like that . . . who wrote those? She had a LOT of partners, though she kept coming back to her true love. Verrrrry racy, though set in Regency times.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 7:40 pm #
Oh, I missed those, Karen. I did read Skye O’Malley, which was amazing.
Then there was the GREAT story about a young English woman who was taken captive and put into a harem, becomes the head wife, had kids, goes back to England as an old woman, has descendants, and one of her descendants gets her own book, where she is married, has a forced affair with the king, her husband gets mad, she leaves England, gets captured and put into a harem, but can’t make a life there because she’s a grown woman and can’t really assimilate like her grandmother did, finds her true love, who has arranged to rescue her by torturing the woman responsible for her being in the harem.
Ring any bells? All that story was in 2 books and it literally delivered me to that time and place. The old style of romance with lots of characters and more than one love interest for the heroine.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:11 pm #
Margaret, is it clear on the book covers which book comes first in the trilogy? Oh, I suppose I could go to Nora Roberts website; it would be listed there should I forget.
Claudia, she does have them listed in order on her web site. Along with all the other trilogies, etc. she has written.
If you scroll back up the page here, I have them in order and the name of the brother featured. Nora has them listed by publication date.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:17 pm #
>Also, Margaret, since you saw I Love Lucy as originally aired, was it a huge >hit from the start? Did you love it from the first episode? I want to think it’s >a bit slapstick for today’s audience—-and then I think of Adam Sandler. *g*
I don’t remember, Claudia. We’re talking half a century ago. A lot of water has passed under my bridge since then. I was a teenager. I think I’ve read that Lucy was an immediate hit but became so rather quickly. Little or no competition in those days. People knew Desi as a sexy, Cuban band leader/singer. If they knew of him at all other than Mr. Ball. She was a major star at the time. Mostly B movies but those stars were often more popular than the really big stars. Nobody knew she could do slapstick, either. It had to grow on us. We were into the old vaudeville players turned tv stars.
That’s all I know. Ms. Trivia Expert is having brain drain tonite.
Margaret on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:19 pm #
In the last post, I meant to say “I don’t think Lucy was an immediate hit but……” Sorry it came out wrong.
Claudia Dain on 21 Mar 2008 at 8:23 pm #
Margaret, I think I heard that I Love Lucy was an immediate hit, too. I was wondering if you remembered it from a personal perspective, like how I remember how all my friends were crazy about The Monkees TV show or how The Mod Squad changed the face of television entertainment for a while. Certain shows explode onto the scene, others are a slow build. I think Frasier was a bit slow to build an audience, or am I remembering that wrong? I do remember that the actor who played Frasier was the highest paid TV actor, making far more than most movie actors. That’s impressive.
Pesky on 27 Mar 2008 at 2:56 pm #
Not so much the favorites losing their appeal. If I like a book it’s always like revisiting an old friend.
Words or phrasing in new books can tend to kill a book for me…
One of my favorite authors started annotating laughter by writing Ha Ha after her character had made a statement…probably had been there in all her novels, but this time it bothered me….now i find myself struggling through her books that I normally love.
Another author referred to “yummy tweed” in the middle of a mystery. I had been entrenched in the mystery. I lost the whole plotline and never finished the book. “Yummy Tweed” indeed.
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