Comments on: Grenades Optional

By: Francesca Hawley

Francesca Hawley — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:51:02 +0000

I’m coming to the party late on this one – but I’d also say Bernard Cornwell does a good job with this. His Sharpe series even got made into a long running PBS series that did REALLY well.

Thanks for a great post!
Francesca

By: Crystal Jordan :: Blog » Blog Archive » Did I Mention?

Crystal Jordan :: Blog » Blog Archive » Did I Mention? — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 07:11:10 +0000

[...] Check it out… grenades optional. [...]

By: Deidre

Deidre — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:40:03 +0000

He once checked out one that had a neutral sounding name, but wouldn’t even finish it due to the way the author described a good looking man, which was not what he was interested in reading about. His words, not mine.
Ugh, sometimes you just wanna scream.

Deidre

By: Crystal Jordan

Crystal Jordan — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:11:16 +0000

I’m a librarian, Deidre, and being the wicked girl that I am, I’d find a female author who wrote under a man’s name or with initials, recommend the book to him, and see if the guy could even tell the difference.

By: Deidre

Deidre — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:49:16 +0000

I work at a public library and I have one older gentleman in particular who will not read female authors, because and I quote “they don’t write the way I think.” I like the man, but come on. Open up your mind, dude!

Deidre

By: Rob Graham

Rob Graham — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:15:32 +0000

I must be really different from most guys then. I still love to read.

In my most recent ‘manfiction’ read the heroine is an FBI agent and a former head of an Hostage and Rescue Team. She’s smart, tough and I love her.

I’ve been reading the Harry Dresden books recently and Harry’s best friend (and I do wish they would admit they’re crazy in love with one another) Karrin Murphy is another very smart, very tough woman.

Even in my escapism I prefer women to girls.

By: Eden Bradley

Eden Bradley — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:29:58 +0000

Yep, that’s what I was saying, too, Crystal. Sandra Brown and Jodi Picoult don’t write chick lit, so although I agree with MsMenozzi that men in chick lit novels are often depicted in a negative light, it wouldn’t apply to the authors he mentioned.

By: Crystal Jordan

Crystal Jordan — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:22:14 +0000

Yeah, I’m not saying anything against him or even disagreeing with his major points. He did make a few wrong assumptions there.

By: MsMenozzi

MsMenozzi — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:20:28 +0000

Well, in Stephen’s defense, I think he was trying to say that, in quite a few “Chick-Lit” (not my classification, but you know what I mean) novels, the men are frequently clueless or insensitive jerks – and that it is okay. It’s escapism, not rocket science, and so is “Manfiction” (what we used to class as “adventure” when I worked in the bookshop).

I honestly don’t think he is casting aspersions – you know he’s like many of us and reads anything he can get his hands on, including YA and some chick lit. But bear in mind – most of his readers through EW aren’t going to know Jodi Picoult or Sandra Brown from Eve, despite their success. (To be honest, I don’t know which characters he’s referencing from those stories, but I have seen it in other “ChickLit” novels, and it sort of put me off.)

Sadly, I think he used those generalizations to make a quick point – shorthanding, as it were.

But that’s just my opinion.

By: Mari

Mari — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:57:17 +0000

I don’t think SK is saying anything bad here. Both the men in my life read and they read a lot. They just read very different things than I do. The BF reads the manfiction and still manages to love my mss. Then again, most of my mss include monsters and/or sword fights along with the steamy sex and hot relationships.

Guys will always look at things differently than girls and therefore want different things out of their entertainment. Thank God! Otherwise we’d all be bored with one another!

~Mari