Recent comments in /f/books

asdonne t1_jdze25n wrote

Reply to Looking for a magic based book series similar to Harry Potter, but with more fleshed out Worldbuilding by GeroThewKing

It's not Terry Pratchett's Diskworld series? There are a lot of books and they are not all related so the reading order is not obvious. Within the series there are several mini series focusing on particular characters. Death himself has about 4 books dedicated to him. And it's an all round fantastic series of books.

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gnatsaredancing t1_jdzdqqd wrote

Reply to comment by Bookanista in This one by LM Montgomery did not age well by Bookanista

I get that but you think of it in in modern terms. A perv who wants children.

Life was hard throughout most of history. When so many people suffer, innocence is a wonderful quality. An innocent is unaware of the suffering. An innocent doesn't suffer. Even just seeing an innocent can soften the harshness of the world for a short while as you see life through their eyes.

To be able to keep someone childlike and innocent was a great gift and achievement. It essentially means you were able to spare them the suffering of the world. And not at all in some creepy pop culture lolita adult acting like a child way.

Sexuality is one of the gateways to losing innocence because while sex and intimacy and love can be wonderful, it's also the gateway to heartbreak. To learning the ways of sexual manipulation. Of romantic betrayal and so on. The turning from boy or girl to man or woman. A loss of illusion and protected innocence and a gaining of greater understanding of the world.

A young woman could be seen as innocent and childlike while at the same time being competent and lustful (but inexperienced). It has nothing to do with modern views on such phrases.

Eric kissing Kilmeny isn't a sleazy abuse. It's just a turning point from one phase of life to another. You're just hung up on how we see those words instead of what they actually mean in the context of the story.

Frankly, even today we can easily write about a 60 year old with a childlike sense of innocence as they take joy in imagining shapes in the clouds. The meaning of the words hasn't changed that much except for people who are dead set on interpreting them one way only without a care for context.

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oxford-fumble t1_jdzdhjv wrote

Reply to Post book depression by bertiewoooster

Yes, absolutely.

The best way I’ve found to deal with it, is to give some space to parse your thoughts on the amazing story you’ve just read, and then start another book :)

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