Capture

I haven't been a horror fan but I am becoming a fan of vampire myth and i'd love to read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. But in any case, the problem i have with horror stories today is that everything is reduced to gore. The gore is the reason, not a result of a good and well developed storyline and rational action. It's pure unadulterated violence. That's my problem with horror.

Good point.

So, what's your relationship to fantasy? What makes the genre so appealing or interesting today? Does it fill a need beyond escapism? Does it, separate from sci-fi, do anything for the human spirit that other genres or writing cannot?

Thanks for responding. Love the quote from Alternative Shakespeares. One thing I especially dislike about the use of theory application is the tendency of academia to suggest that the meaning of a text cannot be intuited without applying some critical perspective to it. I've always preferred close reading of a text compared to application of a particular theoretical framework.

Yeah, I usually feel the same. I feel guilty for not finishing it, but then I realize that maybe the book is just not for me. If I'm not connecting with it, then I won't finish it. I'd rather read when I can be fully engaged in the story from beginning to end.

How do you think the application of analytical and critical frameworks expands or limits the search for meaning or understanding within a text? In uni, many different thematic, theoretical, and critical analytical perspectives from a variety of disciplines, particularly the humanities are taught, and applied to literary works, to divine meaning and significance. Do you have a preferred literary, social, philosophical, critical, etc. perspective which you enjoy applying to a literary text?

So, I read the Wikipedia description of Oscar Wilde, and read the Ellen Terry's bio. Very interesting stories. The reference to Keat's Ode on a Grecian Urn as great. http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~keith/poems/urn.html I also read Tennyson's short tragedy The Cup on which Camma is based. Very easy read but interesting story. It gave a good background to this piece. http://telelib.com/words/authors/T/TennysonAlfred/play/cup/index.html Found Plutarch's On the Bravery of Women: XX which describes Camma. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Bravery_of_Women*/B.html#XX

I started the LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring under protest. I wanted to finish The Hobbit first before starting another book, but I couldn't help it. So, i'm reading both at once. I've also added Ursula Le Guin's The New Atlantis & Vaster Than Empires and More Slow. Short pieces about 35 pages each. More updates to come. : )

I'm in the US, so I didn't realize that it had already seen one season. I was simply curious about anyone's impressions of the way it treated the Van Helsing myth.

I'm a fan of BBC America's Scifi/Fantasy tv shows. The most recent show which premiered on channel is "Demons". The story is about a teenage descendant of Van Helsing, the vampire hunter, who's been called to fight against half-lives, while coming to terms with his father's legacy as a demon hunter. He is mentored by an old friend/partner of his father's who fought with him, who also has a mysterious past as well. Has anyone seen or watched the series? And what do think of the way it addresses the Van Helsing myth? Are there other books, films, or tv shows which you think address the Van Helsing myth well? Thx

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the welcome.

Great post. Thought provoking. I have to agree. Since i've seen film adaptations of the book and loved the story, i thought i should read the book. I honestly didn't get quite far. I don't think poorly of the book, but it was quite slow in many parts, and the chemistry and intensity of Lizzie/Mr. Darcy onscreen was more potent than the book's description in my opinion. I really enjoyed the Grier Garson/Laurence Olivier version as well. I liked the film Emma. I tried reading the book but i didn't get far. I like visual engagement of characters on a screen v. text. Unless the characters are truly engaging, as if telling a story, where i've been fully involved or drawn in by the characters, their personalities, or the storyline, I don't feel I can connect with a book, especially if the reason given is that it must be loved because it is supposed to be "great literature." Characters in some of these classic novels tend to be quite subdued but when put on screen, will come to life in ways they may not when reading a description of them in a book. I'm also a big fan of expressive/interactive dialogue, especially one between the narrative voice and the viewer.

Thank you. I think "persevere" is the best word to use as a motivator.

Thank you. I'm only 40 pages in with the Hobbit but i'm really enjoying it. I'm a fairly slow reader but I hope to get through them sooner than I expect.

I'd like to see Valentine's Day next month. Seems funny and has an all-star cast.

True. I'm inclined to pick a book and read it if i hear many are reading it and enjoyed it. But i find that i'm usually disappointed. A book that is presented as critically acclaimed or great or loved by many, most of the time, doesn't appeal to me. i think hype spoils the experience of reading the book because too many expectations are built up, instead of enjoying the book on its own merit.

Late intro. I registered a few months ago but only posted a few times. I've always loved fantasy lit and film on some level. And i've wanted to get back to reading for a while now to build up fantasy reading creds I guess. I'm currently three chapters in with Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule, and I've recently started The Hobbit; hope to finish it in two months. Look forward to contributing to this forum. Thx.

This is what i'd like to read in the next 6 months. 1) The Hobbit (Tolkien) - Ch.4 2) LOTR Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien) - Just beginning 3) Portrait of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) - Ch.1 4) Of Human Bondage (Maugham) - Just beginning 5) Metamorphosis (Kafka) - Just beginning 6) Sword of Shannara (Brooks) 7) Wizard's First Rule (Goodkind) - Ch. 3 8) Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery) - seen films series 9) Interview with a Vampire (Anne Rice) - will begin soon *crosses fingers*

Yes, he would. *sigh*

the person she was toppled

Great poem. First I've heard of it. I'd love to analyze it further. I'll think more about it, learn more about the historic and literary references, and post a response later on.

Another good one.

This is a good one.

So, strong women can't be emotional. They must always be "strong" and serious, and stoic? So, we can't have diversity anymore in our image of the "strong" woman?