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Forum -> Hobbies, Crafts, and Collections -> Reading Room

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amother

Mauve

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:52 pm

amother wrote:

Maybe your right. I do read them, and I really enjoy them, but at the end of the day they where written by someone who has different values from the average frum girl.

But frum girls have filters too... yes? If you come across something inappropriate, filter, brush aside and move on...

amother

Tan

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 2:56 pm

amother wrote:

But frum girls have filters too... yes? If you come across something inappropriate, filter, brush aside and move on...

Maskim. That's why I read them- as long as it's a small thing ie: reading about other people's religous ideas, customs ect., hints to inapropriate s@x ect. But reading the stuff straight out is what I am looking to avoid and I think OP too.

I dont think you can "brush aside" expilcit [filth], cheating ect, like in GWTW, these ideas seep in if you read them enough.

5mom

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 3:00 pm

amother wrote:

Maybe your right. I do read them, and I really enjoy them, but at the end of the day they where written by someone who has different values from the average frum girl.

She was a clergyman's daughter and she lived 200 years ago, so her world wasn't quite like yours. What's amazing, and what makes her still readable (and funny!) is that she could find and express universal characteristics that resonate to this day.

Actually, I think Pride and Prejudice should be read by anyone with any connection to the shidduch system. What a great analysis - the desperate need for girls to marry before getting too old, the wayward sibling who can ruin the chances of her siblings, a meddlesome mother who doesn't really understand what her daughter needs, and of course the looming presence of money in the background.

amother

Tan

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 3:03 pm

5mom wrote:

Hey your taking me waaay out of context. I love Jane Austen (most ppl think I'm nuts) I love Pride and Prejudice esp. I think they are in general very clean.
Just trying to make a point they where written by a [gentile]. Period. Full stop.

5mom

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 3:06 pm

amother wrote:

And I'm just making the point that a gentile writer may have insights that help us see the world more clearly.

Last edited by 5mom on Fri, Oct 07 2016, 12:33 am; edited 1 time in total

amother

Tan

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 3:07 pm

5mom wrote:

And I'm just making the point that a gentile writer may have insights that help us see the more clearly.

Fair enough.

Fox

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 5:51 pm

The reading life seems to raise more questions than it answers, though I guess that's part of the point.

I personally avoid Jewish fiction like the plague, and it has absolutely nothing to do with quality. When I read fiction, I want a vacation -- I want to go someplace that I wouldn't visit IRL. It could be a time, a place, or just a set of circumstances . . . but I don't want to read about something that resembles my real life too closely. What do I need that for? I have way too much real life already!

However, I know other people who really love to read fiction set in their daled amos. They like the familiarity and recognition of common cultural experiences.

I don't think either perspective is wrong, but they have different dangers. World views that are antithetical to a Torah life can easily be normalized by repeated exposure to non-Jewish literature. However, restricting oneself to Jewish literature often results in lowering one's guard -- and there are plenty of bad Skittles to be found in frum publications.

I keep nudging Sequoia to start some kind of serious online reading circle (that's a book club but without so much wine). However, she continues to be more interested in earning a living . . .

sequoia

Thu, Oct 06 2016, 6:35 pm

If I were to start one, it would be irl.

octopus

Fri, Oct 07 2016, 12:06 am

I read the real memoir of call the midwife and, boy, was there a chapter that I wished I could unread. Felt super nauseous after that.

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