50 Shades of Gray

I didn't finish, to say the least; which is good because my friend who prides herself on never ever, under any circumstances, quitting any book said it gets worse, and worse, and worse..

I think you lose 50 brain cells per page from that dumpster fire and reading something decent is the only way to regain them.

(Footnote: "Oh, stop, [50 Shades] wasn't that bad, you just didn't read far enough," people are sadists, I'm convinced.)

Oh, I see. If you change your mind, let me know. I'm a romance and fantasy reader, too. :D

Oops, didn't know that was a no-no. So sorry! :(

Are they for personal use or for you to sell? In English or do you prefer Dutch/ French/ German? Any of the above? :P

If for personal use, what genres do you enjoy? I have a lot of books that I donate (I don't have room to keep them all) and could possibly send them to you. I'm not sure if they charge import fees if it's just a person to person shipment; could probably find out.

You're looking for print books?

Thank you. I think people can be a little too detached from things like this and not really understand the depths of how much it dehumanizes a person.

I think that they really did a great job on the Tolkien movies. I can't say that about many (can't think of any off the top of my head--that says something) other fantasy series I can say this about.

I loved the Wheel of Time except the ending. I hated the ending so hard I considered buying hardcopies to burn. I'm almost joking (or so I tell myself).

I tried reading Dune, but then again, only the first book. I got so bored I bought it on Audible and I was again so bored I realized one day that I kept forgetting to turn it back on after having a conversation and I just moved on.

I don't read any series anymore unless it's finished. I learned this the hard way, way back when and a lot of series came out but if they didn't do well enough, the publishers just dropped them stone cold.

I don't read King, because I don't like horror, so I just steer clear of him. Haven't considered reading anything by him, to be honest.

I really enjoyed the Shannara series, but my god was the show bad imo.

I find that fantasy either goes really right or totally wrong, lol.

Do you enjoy Steampunk? I find it can sometimes scratch my fantasy itch, particularly because I'm a machinist by trade, so all the gadgets really hit my sweet spot from time to time.

I haven't heard of Malazan, I'm off to google. Is it a complete series? :P Just checking before I bother, lmao.

Did you read any of the other classics like the Belgariad by David Eddings? Any thoughts on those?

I also like some of the more fluffy fantasies like Ann McCaffrey's Pern series. Those remain my favorites to this day. Not too much politics, but not too little. Sentient creatures that aren't humanoid. Some sci-fi. I like them a lot.

Oh, believe me, you don't want the sensitivity. It definitely doesn't increase enjoyment, lol.

I love the fantasy genre, too. Weirdly, it took me a really long time (decades) to read J.R.R. Tolkien, believe it or not. I'm glad I did wait, though, because for me, I think the movies improved my enjoyment of the books. I was surprised to find the books at times more whimsical than I expected and honestly didn't really like that all that much.

I also don't like the way his tone as a narrator changes. I liked him breaking the fourth wall, personally.

I often re-read my old standbys, and so far I've not been disappointed by any of them. I'm good for a re-read, but sadly, I agree with you that it genuinely seems like the fantasy genre has been mostly abandoned by good writers. That's sad, too, because there's so much richness and depth to it.

Got any favorites?

To you, as well!

I kind of envy you that, btw. Being unbothered by stuff, lol.

Couldn't disagree with this more. The dominatrix crap is all over at minimum the first three books (in fairness, I didn't finish the third one all the way).

Maybe you just don't see it because it's not a big deal to you. People who intensely dislike it are going to see it all throughout (as I said, at minimum) the first few books.

Someone who knows me well and what I've been through told me it continues throughout.

God no! That dominatrix porn goes on and on and on book after book. And it manages to get, of all things, WORSE.

It goes from torture to public humiliation.

When it came to the point where >!he's forced to eat from a dish on the floor like a dog (which by the way was done to me for three years as a child while in foster care, so maybe I'm over sensitive?)!< I quit reading it.

I learned it goes on well past that point, too.

Zero redeeming qualities in those books.

Stop torturing yourself (pun exceedingly purposeful).

Snow is a 4-letter s-word and this is a clean sub! Shame on you!

No, not ready for the sky to swear at me. :P

Yeah. Fantasy is generally a positive-in-the-end genre. Some people here apparently think horror = fantasy, but people read horror for the horror, they don't say, "I want to read a horror book today, let's head for the fantasy section", lol.

I don't mind if writers do this if they find a way to acknowledge that they're not really writing within the typical norms of the genre. The good ones use blurbs from reporters and the like which give a strong indication of the deviation from genre norms.

The rest just seem to think they're being clever or innovative by hiding it.

You're exactly right that in most books there are those who can be killed off without completely destroying the narrative. Secondary and tertiary characters who are well built can still make you cry. (I know, I've both read it and written it).

Main character deaths just aren't done in certain genres. You don't write a romance and then kill off a main character or a main character's family/ best friend/ pet/ etc. It just isn't done because people are reading romance for positivity.

People read Fantasy by and large for escapism to a heroic world where things work out.

There's plenty of horror, suspense, etc. out there. And there are even sub-genres of "dark" Fantasy, but the normal convention for over a century is that those are 'horror-fantasy' (Frankenstein's Monster), not Fantasy [ps, with lots of painful-to-the-reader deaths, lols!].

Yeah, I understood the opinion that war has to be real all the time, everywhere, even in fantasy and Fantasy.

I don't agree, and it has long, long, long (since, you know, Lord of the Rings) been understood that you don't kill off meaningful characters in Fantasy. Because while you read Fantasy for realism, the overwhelming majority of people read Fantasy [sic] for fantasy [sic]. It has traditionally been a safe and welcoming genre for those seeking fantasy (and Fantasy) both, not just for those who want realism while being unsafe to those who want fantasy.

You should NOT have to expect to never read any books with war in them 'because it HAS TO BE realistic.' I will never agree with you on that, and for literally over a century, the Fantasy genre has not agreed with you, either.

Because depending on genre, the readers aren't reading a tragedy. If you give them one when they are reading a genre that's generally positive ultimately, you might squeak past... But you also may draw intense and intense wrath.

Character death (especially main character death) is something I avoid as completely as I can. It used to be that certain genres were safe from that, but some like fantasy have been invaded by character murderers to the point where I have to look almost every new series up before I dare read it.

The thing is, it's shocking at first but then you just stop caring. GoT made me so giving a crap, for example. I just start assuming everyone's going to die and stop caring about any of them. Then I lost interest and wander off to other books. Sometimes I lie to myself and say I'll go back, but I never do.

Like ASOIAF, for example; I've never read it because I couldn't have cared less about the characters by the end of the movies. I didn't even watch the last season at all.

If I wanted realistic war and death, I'd go find it. I have had enough personal tragedy, I don't need to borrow it from books.

Congratulations! Lovely backdrop, lovely couple.

Live long and prosper. :)