Books and Peeves
Currently I'm going through my book collection to weed out things I can get rid of, it pains me, but I know there are some books I am not going to read again or didn't love enough to actually keep around. I am trying to go through the ones I haven't read just in case I find any hidden gems. So far the pile of things to get rid of includes: all Robert Jordan Wheel of Time past book 6, Flowers in the Attic and sequels, some romance book I bought under a deluded hope to find some porn (the internet has spoiled me.), the parody of Grapes of Wrath? The Grapes of Paradise, Snow White Blood Red, the supposed adult retelling of fairy tales and the 158 pound Marriage which has several things guaranteed to pull me out of a book: a main character I can't stand and dumb actions from almost everyone. FFM is a big fan of Irving so I read it on his rec.
Speaking of recs from FFM: 100 Years of Solitude He loves it and swears it is one of the best books he has ever read--and he is well read so it's not like it is the best out of 20 books or something like that. But right now, I'm not loving it. I don't know if it is partly because I'm not really into reading that kind of book right now--sort of fairy tale like with the mysticism; but I am past 100 pages and I don't really like any of the main cast (really, right now my favorite character is a minor character introduced like 20 pages ago!). This book sort of meanders for me but it did pick up with the war starting so maybe I'm just kind of blood thirsty at the moment?
But this does bring me to another topic: Grown men lusting after very young girls skeeve me out. Big time.
I feel the need to preface this by saying that I don't believe in forcing modern behavior onto past events--like if a book had every person aghast at slavery during the Civil War, or at least the main character because only bad people would believe in such and by bad, I mean unrelenting evil. I am also aware of other cultures, and I don't want to force a western morality. Even in the U.S. the age of consent varies by state.
In 100 Years of Solitude the character I liked the most, Aureliano, because he seemed intelligent and serious and I imagined his eyes to be captivating has issues with intimacy with women. He grows into manhood without having sex (OMG! Virgins die if they're male apparently!) and he's kind of afraid of being weird. He tries to hook up with this girl who is being prostituted by her grandmother (70 dudes a night!) and he can't get it up, which I didn't really blame him. The way the girl was described inspired more pity than desire. He tries to go back and marry her but she's not there. Then he sees this nine year old girl and he's fixated. Really. He hangs around to look at her and he's happy when her older sister befriends his sister so he can see the girl more and then he gets so hot for her that he sleeps with this other woman, Pilar ( a whole different issue I have!), and he calms down for a bit. He does end up marrying the young girl, maybe a few years later--the book is wonky with dates--but there is this whole line where he asks for her hand and someone says 'You'll have to raise her first'
I've read Lolita and enjoyed it but it didn't treat the fixation like an event to be celebrated. I've only seen it written once not creepy and it was a memoir about a guy who mentioned that he had met his wife when she was in the third grade and he was working at a newspaper and coming to photograph the class, but it wasn't like he was obsessed with her at that point.
It isn't so much the age difference as when it occurs. I've known couples with many years between them but they work out fine. When the storyline appeared, I thought it would end up like he would wait some years before he proposed, but apparently not.
Also, I must point out that I have never seen the opposite of this. I've never even heard of a woman looking at a prepubescent boy and going 'oh yeah, he'll make a good husband! I've gotta get some of that!'
//end rant
In other news: I was driving and IWSNT came up and I couldn't listen to it. Yeah, this is going to be a process.
Also, I picked up Maus I & II and Persepolis so I do have an alternative to the other books I'm reading.
Speaking of recs from FFM: 100 Years of Solitude He loves it and swears it is one of the best books he has ever read--and he is well read so it's not like it is the best out of 20 books or something like that. But right now, I'm not loving it. I don't know if it is partly because I'm not really into reading that kind of book right now--sort of fairy tale like with the mysticism; but I am past 100 pages and I don't really like any of the main cast (really, right now my favorite character is a minor character introduced like 20 pages ago!). This book sort of meanders for me but it did pick up with the war starting so maybe I'm just kind of blood thirsty at the moment?
But this does bring me to another topic: Grown men lusting after very young girls skeeve me out. Big time.
I feel the need to preface this by saying that I don't believe in forcing modern behavior onto past events--like if a book had every person aghast at slavery during the Civil War, or at least the main character because only bad people would believe in such and by bad, I mean unrelenting evil. I am also aware of other cultures, and I don't want to force a western morality. Even in the U.S. the age of consent varies by state.
In 100 Years of Solitude the character I liked the most, Aureliano, because he seemed intelligent and serious and I imagined his eyes to be captivating has issues with intimacy with women. He grows into manhood without having sex (OMG! Virgins die if they're male apparently!) and he's kind of afraid of being weird. He tries to hook up with this girl who is being prostituted by her grandmother (70 dudes a night!) and he can't get it up, which I didn't really blame him. The way the girl was described inspired more pity than desire. He tries to go back and marry her but she's not there. Then he sees this nine year old girl and he's fixated. Really. He hangs around to look at her and he's happy when her older sister befriends his sister so he can see the girl more and then he gets so hot for her that he sleeps with this other woman, Pilar ( a whole different issue I have!), and he calms down for a bit. He does end up marrying the young girl, maybe a few years later--the book is wonky with dates--but there is this whole line where he asks for her hand and someone says 'You'll have to raise her first'
I've read Lolita and enjoyed it but it didn't treat the fixation like an event to be celebrated. I've only seen it written once not creepy and it was a memoir about a guy who mentioned that he had met his wife when she was in the third grade and he was working at a newspaper and coming to photograph the class, but it wasn't like he was obsessed with her at that point.
It isn't so much the age difference as when it occurs. I've known couples with many years between them but they work out fine. When the storyline appeared, I thought it would end up like he would wait some years before he proposed, but apparently not.
Also, I must point out that I have never seen the opposite of this. I've never even heard of a woman looking at a prepubescent boy and going 'oh yeah, he'll make a good husband! I've gotta get some of that!'
//end rant
In other news: I was driving and IWSNT came up and I couldn't listen to it. Yeah, this is going to be a process.
Also, I picked up Maus I & II and Persepolis so I do have an alternative to the other books I'm reading.