Letters to the Editor
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Juliebird,
Now you have me curious. Is your husband less curious about other people than you are generally? Are you more open and easy to know than he is? Could be he isn't as curious about you because he thinks he knows you well.
I wonder if the fact that women read more fiction than men do is caused by the fact that women remain more curious about and compelled by human relationships
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Prissy Miss AKA has serious problems
it seems many people are superior to her.
anyone with that extensive an ignore list has serious ego and control issues.
I discuss any topic with anyone, regardless of their position. I do not ignore people.
Prissy feels this is wrong and that she need only discuss issues with those she already agrees with.
Gotta laugh, she shows herself up to be the typical feminist lib puppet-- brittle, incapable of expanding beyond the program, a robot basically. As such SHE HERSELF becomes someone of no consequence, with no opinions worth evaluating or considering.
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Anybody who's over the moon about D.H. Lawrence
Is a dull turd to me.
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unbearable
When I was dating online, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" was my dealbreaker. Not because I have anything against the book, but because it was pretty clear that almost none of the guys who listed it as their most recently read book had actually read it. It seemed like listing this as the most recently read book was shorthand for "I like to watch movies with a lot of sex in them that also seem literarily impressive".
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It's not about what she reads
It's about what she thinks of it.
And whether, by buying a book, she put money in the pockets of somebody like Coulter, Hubbard, Limbaugh or Darth Cheney.
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Speaking of dull turds
I see Smith is on the preach again.
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Well, Juliebird
Since you're open to recommendations, I recommend "Never Let Me Go," by Kazuo Ishiguro. It came out in the last few years. It made me feel actual feelings, not just admiration, not just interest. I am sticking with one recommendation to drive the point home, even though I've read more good books than that recently.
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Jumping into Rand Debate
I guess I'll jump into the Ayn Rand debate. I, too, went thru a Rand phase back in college. And, yes, those books are still on my shelves. If questioned about them, I would respond that, as best I can remember, I'm more Roark than Galt. While there were some interesting premises in "Atlas Shrugged" about government oversight vs. free markets, I found its Utopian ideals to be too...Utopian, for lack of a better word. On the other hand, I found the theme of art for art's sake vs. art as a way to pay the rent in "The Fountainhed" to be much more compelling. I'm still inspired by this theme, from as diverse sources as Mark Rothko's Seagram's paintings to Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdemeanors" to my own personal endeavors. I'm not pretending that Ayn Rand was particularly poetic or subtle, but I'd probably build another shelf before I'd purge these titles from my library.
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@AKA Smith
I can sum it up in one sentence: he's an engineer.
I'd say he's more curious about me than other people in general. And he doesn't think he's got me "figured out". But, he shies away from Deep Questions that lack concrete answers. An example: he doesn't like to discuss films or plays after we've seen them (he says picking them apart destroys the pleasure of the experience), but I revel in critical analysis. He avoids "tragedies" in general, I think because he's uncomfortable processing those cathartic emotions. (I of course, am a tragedian). Self-reflection is not his bag.
But, I don't doubt the depth or the complexity of his feelings, for me and for other things/issues. And I know I'm sufficiently fascinating, even if he'll never read "The Namesake." :)
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@Treeple
That's actually on my "read me soon" list. When I finish it, I'll let you know what I thought!
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" Kill It & Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish" by Ted & Shemane Nugent would end it right there.
Even if the woman had the Obama Girl's body and Samantha Power's mind, if she that book on her bookshelf, and it wasn't a gag gift, I'd get out of there as fast as I could.
Other deal breakers would be books by Dr. Phil or Laura Schlesinger, any books by Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage or Ann Coulter or the other gaping anuses of the Right, and more than one book by Ayn Rand (or even the one, if she went on and on about it).
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You want to know something scary, JackSparx?
I read Alice Munro.
Many people who have been through writing workshops read Munro if they aspire to write good short stories. She is a sort of template for a certain type of writing.
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Books on Feminism
The Vagina Monologues
A Room of One's Own
The Second Sex
Sexual Politics
The Bell Jar
The Beauty Myth
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@AKA I'm not Munro-worthy
But do you know any women who read T.C. Boyle? I'd like to check out their templates, if you know what I mean.
As for Coulter...I once had an affair with the head of the College Republicans chapter. She looked a bit like Coulter.
I'm kinky like that.
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Laura Schlesinger . . .
is even nastier than Coulter. At least Coulter mainly abuses people in the public eye. For years, Schlesinger has abused people who are desperate and confused.
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JackSparx, I've read T.C. Boyle
A guy I dated once recommended him :)
I've read several of his books but only really liked two: A Friend of the Earth and Drop City. I can't read more than one of his books at a time, either, because his writing style starts to feel mannered and I become too aware of the artifice. (I tend not to read "beautifully written" books for this reason.)
Does that count? Not a "fan" fan, but I've read him, all right.
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I love the nasty
One of my ex g/f's loved Dr. Laura's radio show, so we were always listening in the car. But she only read books about dogs.
Not sure if that's related.
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The Road to Wellville
I am not a particular fan but I did read that one. Try taking a creative writing course. However, a word of caution. It can be a ruthless experience. I once read that walking across a high suspension bridge caused people to find the interviewer at the other end of it attactive. Who knows? In a writing workshop you might get lucky. The sheer fear of it can turn people on.