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Chargement... Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novelspar Sarah Wendell, Candy Tan
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Overall? Clever, but no match for the Smart Bitches website. I'd flipped through the book indecisively several times before deciding that, yes, I needed a copy to come home with me. The main reason is Chapter WTF: Defending the Genre, which starts on page 120, contains some cool history and feminist viewpoints, and wraps up with an expert opinion on dealing with friends who are derisive about romances: The sad truth is that anyone who presumes romances are all dumb, and that the readers thereof are as well, will never appreciate the genre unless they read one. They most likely will never do so, or won't recognized the romance for what it is because it's not [sic] wrapped up in a more attractive and socially acceptable cover. If a romance is marketed outside the romance bookshelf, then that book "transcends the genre" and doesn't count anyway. So those people will go on putting down your reading material because smart women don't read romance in their worldview. Also, I want to track down a number of the romances name checked by the authors and the romance authors whom they interviewed along the way. This is a very funny, very informative book about romance novels for romance readers by romance enthusiasts. The two "smart bitches" run a website called "Smart Bitches Trashy Books" and credit it with "all of the romance, none of the bullshit". That last phrase is a fair summary of the book, though one would have to add "laugh out loud funny". The book examines the structure of the romance novel, looks at subgenres, discusses the disdain in which romance novels are widely held, and takes a look at the future of romance. (Note: one thing I learned is that romance is Big Business. Many may look down on the genre, but it makes a ton of money for publishers). It is snarky, joyful, and altogether a good read. This discussion of the romance genre by two of the women behind Smart Bitches,Trashy Books is equal parts informative and tongue in cheek. They provide the history of the genre, discuss the many tropes associated with it, and explore the reasons why so many women love it and why so many women are maligned for loving it. An enjoyable read with a lot of substance, though the constant nudge, nudge humor grew tiresome by the end. The creators of the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books website do what they do so well. They look at the good and the bad of the romance genre; the silly, the serious, and the ludicrous. Some of the subjects are light, like bad romance covers, and "cringe-worthy plot devices", while others are serious, like rape, diversity, and plagiarism in romances. Recommended for people who read romances, or hate romances, or just don't get what it's all about. But not for anyone who is offended by obscene (but amazingly creative) language, or by explicit (and weird) sex. It was a little bit surprising to discover that the kind of romance that I enjoy reading is so old that it doesn't even qualify as what they refer to as "Old Skool". I had almost as much fun reading this as the authors seem to have had writing it. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name... We do it in the dark. Under the sheets. With a penlight. We wear sunglasses and a baseball hat at the bookstore. We have a "special place" where we store them. Let's face it: Not many folks are willing to publicly admit they love romance novels. Meanwhile, romance continues to be the bestselling fiction genre. Ever. So what's with all the shame? Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan--the creators of the wildly popular blog Smart Bitches, Trashy Books--have no shame! They look at the good, the bad, and the ugly in the world of romance novels and tackle the hard issues and questions: -The heroine's irresistible Magic Hoo Hoo and the hero's untamable Wang of Mighty Lovin' -Sexual trends. Simultaneous orgasms. Hymens. And is anal really the new oral? -Romance novel cover requirements: man titty, camel toe, flowers, long hair, animals, and the O-face -Are romance novels really candy-coated porn or vehicles by which we understand our sexual and gender politics? With insider advice for writing romances, fun games to discover your inner Viking warrior, and interviews with famous romance authors, Beyond Heaving Bosoms shows that while some romance novels are silly--maybe even tawdry--they can also be intelligent, savvy, feminist, and fabulous, just like their readers! Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)809.385Literature By Topic History, description and criticism of more than two literatures Fiction Genre Fiction RomanceClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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To say I enjoyed reading this book is an understatement. When I picked it up at the bookstore to flip through a few months ago I was texting my twilight friends the definition for 'vampire' before I got to the last word, storing away information about the various archetypes of heroine to compare against my favorites and thanking god that I knew enough about the female anatomy before I read my first romance that I never believed in the magical hymen that every romance heroine has.
There were some portions that I skimmed over quickly--parts of the chapters labeled 'Corset' (about heroines) and 'Codpiece' (about heroes), 'Bad Sex' (about rape in romance) and 'Love Grotto' (about sex scenes) had sections where I just skipped them to the next header for whatever reason. Like any other Fandom meta-essay analysis book (which if you're into the Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, or Star Trek fandoms you will have read at LEAST one meta-essay book, in my case I read them like a thirsty man needs water) some of it can just be very dry and 'well I knew that'.
This book though I think is good for anyone who has a friend (male or female) who constantly teases them for liking books about 'women who swoon at men's feet and have sex willy-nilly' (I hear this a lot). Now you can pull this book out, flip to the section they just accused you of enjoying and have them read just how wrong they are. This isn't a comprehensive guide to romance books, this is a guide for the genre itself told in a witty, intelligent and easily understandable way. There's illustrations (of Mavis, the romance reader stereotype), ridiculous 'Create the Perfect Title for Your Lordly Hero' (because every historical hero needs a title that conveys his dark, brooding self) and the 'Oh Honey What's Your Problem?' (involving some of the more ridiculous reasons heroines are still virgins) games and best of all--its funny. It takes its subject matter seriously, but makes fun of all the tropes, stereotypes and plots that make the genre hard for outsiders to swallow. ( )