Answer Me This, Flist

[anogete]

I have a question for you, flist.

I was involved in an LJ discussion in a community yesterday, and the crux of it was finding humor through making fun of badly written or executed books/movies/programs/etc. When was was in high school, I was friends with people who spent all of their time making fun of the world - the people, the school we went to, the classwork, the city, everything. They never wanted to discuss real interests with me, nor did they seem to have a true passion for anything. By the time I was a senior, I had cut ties with all of my friends for this reason. I thought I was better off on my own than with people who were so mean, who spent their time making fun of things to make themselves feel better about their empty lives.

Now, let me say that I don't think that everyone who makes fun of something is doing it in a negative way, nor do I think they are all doing it for self defense purposes. Sometimes it is just simply finding humor in a situation. However...

I have never read a book or fanfiction, watched a movie or television program, or gone to a social function with the sole purpose of gathering information so I could make fun of it, be it in my head or to others in person or on the internet. There are so many wonderful things in this world that will entertain and/or touch me. Why would I spend my valuable time on something that I intend to viciously poke fun at? If it's bad, then I don't read it or watch it. Why would I? Humor can be found in so many other things. It doesn't make sense to spend my time being mean. And making fun of something that you consider to be sub par or not measuring up to your high standards is being mean, especially when that something wasn't intended to be bad in the first place. I know, I know... Some movies, books, fanfics are intended to be bad, and that is another matter entirely. The creator has made that piece of media for people to watch/read and giggle over. It is humor. I think it is fairly evident when I come across situations such as these. The movie/book was made to be lovingly poked fun at by fans.

Let's stick with the book example. Why would someone who dislikes a particular book read that book (and other books associated with it) simply to poke fun? Why not read a book you enjoy? If you're looking for a laugh, why not read a humorous book you enjoy? I don't understand why anyone would read something they consider horrible just for the sake of making fun. It comes across as very childish to me. I want to read something that will become important to me, something I will love and enjoy. I don't want to read something stupid and then act like I'm cool because I'm totally making fun of it. How dumb is that?

So, yeah... I guess that's my question. Do you read/watch things for the sole purpose of poking fun at them when you aren't a fan of the creator or piece of media? And, if so, why do you do it? I'm not trying to attack; I'm just trying to understand. Because, on this, my brain just does not compute.

Comments

[shalanar.livejournal.com]

Interesting question. I don't read things solely to poke fun at them. A perfect example would be the ABVH books.

I lOVED the early books. And then the books got down right rediculous. After two books of basically nothing but porn, I stopped reading. I still read peoples flogs of the books, but I won't read the books myself.

While I appreciate people who do read them, and entertain me with their flogging of them, I also don't entirely understand why they continue to read the books if they hate them so much.

Is it jealousy? As in, this person is a horrible writer, but is making bookoo bucks, and thus I must insult her art to make myself feel better? Or boredom? Or just being a small-minded person? Do people who make fun of things that aren't to their taste just have nothing else to occupy their time with? No other things to amuse themselves with? Are they just mean people? I don't know. But I want to understand it as well.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read LKH's stuff up through CS, I think. I didn't like NIC, and I didn't like CS. So, I stopped. I had read things about the direction of ID, and I knew I wouldn't like it. Why read it if I'm not going to like it, right? It's a big old waste of time.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is confused by people reading stuff just to make fun of it. Such a waste, man.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

I read/watch things for the purpose of enjoying them and gaining something from them. Sometimes that happens, and sometimes it really really doesn't. I don't only read/watch things so I can make fun of them. Sometimes I do, if a friend tells me a book/movie is particularly bad I will read/watch it for, as they say, the lulz. Example: 10,000 BC.

I really enjoy shows like MST:3K. They make me laugh so so hard. I enjoy MSTing the occasional fanfic. I just find it amusing. I don't attack the author, and I don't enjoy MSTs that attack the author. I do enjoy MSTs that satirize the ridiculous and absurd.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I guess I just don't find that sort of thing funny. I've never made it through an episode of MST: 3K. To me, it is terribly boring. I usually don't want B movies either, for the same reason. I know many of those movies are made to be tongue-in-cheek and to be lovely poked fun at, but usually it just isn't funny. Like the Pottersues (or whatever it is called) community - I've never read it because it seems like a big waste of time. If I want to laugh, I'll watch a funny movie or read a Janet Evanovich novel. I don't want to read part of some bad piece of fanfiction. What a waste that is.

I think this all begins and ends with my lack of time. I have soooo many things I'm interested in, and I'm rarely ever bored because I'm always pressed for time to fit them all in. I work full time, and when I get home I have a long list of things I want to do and need to do. I'm never rushed, and most of my tasks are for my enjoyment, but it still feels like I have to put aside things I want to do to get to other things I want to do. So, me reading a bad fic or a book just for the lolz seems like such a waste of my time when I could read a good book for the lolz, if you know what I mean.

Because of my past experience, reading something just to make fun of it for being cliche or stupid or silly comes across as being kind of snotty and mean-spirited. Like, "Oh, I'm so much better than you because I don't write or even like crap like this. Haha, this is really sucky." I'm not saying that's the way it is, but that's definitely the way it comes across to me. That's why I have no interest in things like that. I spent my time trying to be an elitist in high school, and it never stuck with me. I never liked it. If I hated something, I just preferred not to talk about it, or just mention in it passing.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

I've found there's a difference between high school elitism and MST:3K

It is different brands of humor, at the root of it.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm sure there is a difference. I wasn't saying they were one in the same. It's just that I don't find either of them very funny. MST:3K humor isn't malicious or mean-spirited. And that's pretty obvious to me. However, I think so many of the instances in which people poke fun at things online are intended to be mean-spirited.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

Oh that's for sure. I follow pottersues, but have fallen back a little because I've found the comments lacking. They haven't even been particularly mean as of late, just boring. Plus the new(ish) person who runs pottersues just isn't funny at all.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Lately, I've noticed how mean people are online. No one has been mean to me in particular - that's not where this is coming from. But I have heard about and seen several instances were people hiding behind their computer screens with anonymous names just say these awful things to others or about others. I looooove the internet. Crazy love it. But sometimes there are some really nasty sides to it. I don't know if people actually feel this way and hide it in their real lives for fear of appearing mean, or if the internet exacerbates these negative emotions. I never change my personality when I'm on the internet. The things I say in my blog or on message boards, I'd say to someone in person. Thankfully, the vast majority of my flist is the same way. Or at least I think they are. I've never met anyone, so I wouldn't know for sure.

Anyway, we need more wuv and positivity, man!

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

I don't know if people actually feel this way and hide it in their real lives for fear of appearing mean, or if the internet exacerbates these negative emotions

A mix of both. The anonymity of the internet makes it very easy for people to shine light on their nasty prejudices and tendencies because they can't be held accountable for it like they can in real life. Because of this fact it attracts, unfortunately, the scum of the earth. Ever been to 4chan? A cess pit of foul racism, sexism and cruelty. It's really almost frightening.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

OMG - Someone to ask! What in the world is 4chan? I've heard about it from several sites/venues, but I have no idea what it is. I guess that's a good thing since, apparently, it's no place for me.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

It's a massive message board that's hosted out of japan, I think. 4 Channel. It's where Anonymous came from and most of the internet memes that are so popular now (lolcats, ORLY owl etc etc). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Ahhh... I had no idea what it was. I think I assumed it was a genre or something. Obviously, way off.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

As for ABVH, I definitely stopped reading once I realized how much I hated the books. I guess there are some books that I truly dislike and I do avoid them like the plague, but then there are others that are just unintentionally silly and absurd that I find them hilarious. Same with movies.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

If I read a book, then I like it in some way, at the very least. It doesn't have to be the best book I've ever read, but it does need to be something I enjoy. The ABVH books just started (1) pissing me off and (2) turning my stomach. Which is why I stopped reading after CS. I never read ID or anything afterward. I actually don't even know what has transpired since then since I stopped following on the blogs and boards.

Anyway, this whole discussion was started because of a conversation I had with someone about Twilight. They considered it to be complete and utter trash, but did admit to reading it for the lolz. So they could poke fun at it with their friends. I'm not really defending Twilight. It isn't amazing literature and I wouldn't consider it a favorite of mine, but I liked the first two books. I liked them, not loved them. I thought they were very addictive, and I can see why so many teenage girls love them. That's really beside the point, though. I don't feel the need to defend Twilight. If people want to hate it, then more power to them. I just didn't understand the mentality of, "I'll read it so I can be cool and make fun of it since so many other people think it sucks ass, too." Why waste your time, you know. Those suckers are 500 pages long. If I had gotten halfway into Twilight and hated it, then my ass would have put it down and moved onto something else.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you. I guess the difference for me is that when I read I book I hate, I stop reading it, but when I read a book that is unintentionally ridiculous and makes me laugh for reasons the author didn't mean (romance novels, for example) I keep reading because they are entertaining me, just not in the way the author intended.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I can understand why you'd read something for the fun of seeing what comes next. I guess I just can't do that. With Twilight, I think people just can't put aside their sense of disbelief. And I don't know whether that is a symptom of the buzz (good and bad) around the novel or if they just don't like the novel. Flat out, the books aren't as good as the Harry Potter books. I'll say that and stand by it. However, I really did like them. I got sucked into the world they occur in. I read the first novel in about five days, on and off. I started the second novel on a Tuesday morning when I got to work. Because I wasn't busy, I read it all day long, then I read it when I got home. I couldn't stop myself. And, the first 150 pages of it actually depressed me (and even made me feel sick). Not for bad writing reasons, but for good writing reasons. In the first part of the second book, Bella is extremely depressed. I sympathized with her because I had gone through something similar in my life. And, from the writing, I think Stephenie Meyer has probably also gone through something similar or she wouldn't have been able to capture those emotions so well. So, if it had enough of an impact on my emotions to depressed me for an entire day, then it can't be that horribly written.

Anyway, I understand why some people don't like it for multiple reasons. However, I do not understand this intense hatred for me. Sometimes it feels like people want to drastically react to something they don't like because many other people do like it. All these fandomsecrets about hating Twilight? Like, woah. Why take so much time to make a secret and post it anonymously if you're just saying you don't like a book? That's a bit obsessive to me. I don't like tons of things, but I don't make secrets about them. I just shove them to the side and move on to things I do like.

Speaking of fandom secrets - I want to post secrets, but I don't have any. I think I've posted maybe three since I've joined. Every time I think of something to submit, I realize that it isn't really a secret, and I'd post it on my journal without any shame.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

fandom secrets bugs me for a number of reasons, none of them important.

I haven't read twilight so I can't say anything about whether it's good or bad. I think what you're seeing, and what is often the case when people say they hate something, is a reaction to the fandom itself. The Twilight fandom has made itself a quick reputation for being wanky, loud and obnoxious. They treat the books as the second coming and talk about them as though Stephanie Meyer is the first person ever to write about wangsty vampires and their human girlfriends. It's frustrating and surprisingly difficult to avoid because the fandom has become to prevalent. That's my reaction to the books, anyway. I need to read them before I actually decide whether or not I hate the book itself or just the fandom.

And I can separate them. I hate the HP fandom, but love the books. But sometimes what I see of a fandom makes me reeeaaalllyy dislike the source material. (SPN is a good example of that. I wouldn't have such a problem with the show if its fans weren't so infuriating)

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I tend to shy away from social fandom stuff, with the exception of LJ. I am (was) reasonably active in the HP community, but only in a very small section of it. Most with the gals at TPP, PotterPlace or the Snape/Hermione 'shippers. For the most part, those people are women between the ages of 25 and 55. So, the wank is considerably less because of the types of people involved. That doesn't mean they're immune to it, though. And age isn't really an indicator of maturity either.

So, I don't know much about the Twilight fandom. I saw the secrets at fandomsecrets, but I don't really consider that to be a big part of the fandom. I've watched a few YouTube videos by fans of the novels. I've browsed and introduced myself at a message board, but I don't post often. The people I've had contact with seem nice. I haven't seen any fighting or wank. I've seen elbowing and ribbing, but it's all between friends. The fan base (regardless of age) seems to be more immature than what I am used to dealing with. Then again, some of the people on the PDS board when I was still running it were pretty immature, too. I'm not saying that as a bad thing, just a fact. They're content with their bubble of the world and they're a bit too easily excitable. I appreciate the enthusiasm for the novels and the fandom, though. Sometimes, it comes across as endearing. Anyway, from my minimal contact with the Twilight fandom, it doesn't appear to be as bad as some people make it out to be. The board I introduced myself at is mostly teenager girls. They're a bit naive and sheltered, but they're friendly toward each other and are friendly toward me. I don't think I'm going to make any best friends, but their enthusiasm over the novels is catching, and I actually like that it rubs off on me. Then again, I may just be lucky in the places I choose to hang around. I like to find the corners of the fandom, instead of popping up right in the middle of it.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

The contact I've had has been overwhelmingly obnoxious. I've seen them on comment boards on the leaky cauldron, trying to convince HP fans that Twilight is more mature. I've seen them on the LJ community ohnotheydidn't spamming posts that didn't include whatisname Pattinson. I've seen them on f!s, I've seen them RP communities pissing and moaning when other players don't want to bow down to the hottness of Edward Cullen. I haven't seen them be wanky within the fandom, but every (big)fan I've come in contact with has tried to convert or just plain annoy once they realized not everyone was going to agree with them.

And I'm not even actively involved in Twilight or HP fandom. I've just found it surrounding me more and more these days.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Wow, I had no idea. I'm not active in any fandom right now, so I guess that's why I haven't seen it. I stick to LJ when I get online. Mostly, I read while I'm in front of my computer, so I just hear the ding if I get mail or a message. I wish people could chill out and just enjoy themselves instead of trying to convert others or argue about what is better - book A or book B.

[falco-conlon.livejournal.com]

Me too :( I really have no problem with Twilight, and when I meet a fan, I'm not going to automatically assume that they're One Of Those, but I thing the strong reaction a ton of people are having to the book, is actually a reaction to the fandom. Not to say that the people on f!s don't need to get over it and stop posting secrets about how they hate it sooooo much and they don't understand how annnyone can like it ooommmmgggggg! It gets very very boring after awhile.

[mist72.livejournal.com]

I think you're right in pointing out that its an entirely different matter when something is made to mock with affection.

There is much difference between that and watching or reading something that you know you will get no enjoyment out of. Or souly for the sake of flaming. Thats a waste of time. I think Shalanar is right in proposing that it stems from jealousy. And shallowness.

However, the appeal of say, MST3K or B movies and the like is more like a bonding experience; a social one, and to watch such things with tongue in cheek and much affection and enjoyment. My sister and I (also MST fans)have always loved watching campy movies, intentional or not. Yes to giggle over or mock. But its because we love them. Not hate them. I'd even go as far to say that the people who produce b-movies do it to pay homage and satire the b-movies that came before, going way back to the history of film; not out of malicious mocking but admiration. And thats the auidence they attract.

But, you're right. Negative deconstruction is something else all together and a waste of time.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I don't like MST:3K, but I don't think it is mean-spirited. You're right - it is a vehicle to make fun of things you love. I make fun of television shows I love. I still make fun of how angsty Angel from Buffy is. I do so because I like him and I love that show. Mal from Firefly? Hello, Captain Tightpants. But I love him. I would never say it to be mean.

It seems like the internet sometimes breeds this mean-spirited vibe that people feed off of. They love to get online and trash things to make themselves feel better. If asked my opinion on a movie I watched and didn't like, then I'll say I didn't like it, but I don't blast it out everywhere. And I wouldn't watch something just to make fun of how bad it is when it wasn't intended to be that way.

I love the internet, but sometimes the people on it are just so darn mean. Not my flist, though! You're all wonderful!

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

Sometimes things are so absolutely horrible that I am compelled to finish watching or reading. And then I will make fun of it. But mostly I don't read or watch things that I don't like. For example, I've stopped reading LKH.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I'm still in contact with some people from the PDS days. Several of you are on my flist. I've been curious as to how many people who were fans of LKH when NIC came out are still fans now. I stopped reading after CS. I think shalanar stopped reading around that time as well. And falco_conlon has stopped (also around the same time). You're not reading them anymore. I don't think mist72 is reading them either. Is anyone from back in the day still reading them? Mara? Susie? Celeste?

[marasmine.livejournal.com]

Yes - I am still reading with caution! And so are Susie and Celeste. I wasn't going to read the last one but I did in the end. The latest one came out on your birthday (belated happy birthday!). I was going to get it from the library eventually but then I read the spoiler chapter and... I haven't done anything about getting it yet but I am considering buying it. As I said in the dim and distant past, I will probably keep reading to the end because it is a series and I am compulsive enough to be bothered by not reading all of them. But the anticipation and excitement are gone, which makes me sad.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I don't even know what is going on in the ABVH books anymore. I know they are still coming out, and every now and then I see a new title pop up, but I don't know the current state of things. I assume they are still going in the general direction they were when I stopped reading after CS. I understand your need to see the series to the end, though. If I could read them without getting annoyed, then I would, even if the excitement was gone.

[bleedtoblue.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Susie read the one about Micah. I passed on that one and don't read the Merry books anymore either. I don't think Celeste is reading them, nor Mara, but I could be wrong. It's kind of like looking at a bad accident. You really don't want to but can't quite help yourself.

[mist72.livejournal.com]

Nope, I'm not reading ABVH anymore. Stopped around NIC. I wouldn't even buy Harlequin which had Edward in it. But hey: thats what fanfic is for!

[neriah.livejournal.com]

I bought Blood Noir. I am sadly disappointed in it. The truth is I haven't liked the way the series has headed since Incubus Dreams. Even that one was shakey but the love affair I started with Wicked and Truth coupled with the start of PDS was enough to get past that.

Now, I have kept up with it because of the supporting cast not Anita per se.

However, it has become so Mary Sue masturbation that I just don't know...

I haven't continued on because of any need to poke fun at it or to be say horrid things about it.

[mist72.livejournal.com]

Dang! PDS Mod reunion here! This thread makes me realize how much I miss our mod hideout.

I still visit PDS and SDS from time to time. Still better than picking up the new AB books :)

Its hard NOT to be continually curious about a series that started out so clever and distinctive (if I may be so bold). Its like we keep hoping for a positive twist, but alas ....

[anogete.livejournal.com]

The only way I know Wicked and Truth is through what I read of your fic. I never read ID (is that the book they were in?), so I haven't been exposed to LKH's version of them. That's probably for the best, right? :-)

Anyway, I didn't even know you were still around LJ. You never post in your journal. Post in your journal, damn you! I'd pop by the PDS board, but I'd be completely lost because I probably don't know anyone there. I'll be a scared newbie.

[neriah.livejournal.com]

I will I promise. I am moving in 10 hours. I wil probably be off line for a few days.

You will always be the patron one of PDS.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Where are you moving? Some place nice?

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Has she ruined Edward yet? I liked him in OB, but everything I read/heard afterward wasn't so hot. I think I remember you saying something about reading the Edward bits in the bookstore when The Harlequin came out.

[mist72.livejournal.com]

Yea I did. Sorta skimmed through it, looking for him. I missed him... But alas, it was not our Edward. It was a watered down character that was there for the purpose to put his acceptance on what Anita was doing with her life. Which, of course, he would never do.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that is one constant of Edward's character. He would never approve of Anita hanging out with the monsters. Period. It's such a shame she's wasted him.

[dreamy-dragon73.livejournal.com]

I don't get it either. What is the point of being mean? Which to me is something quite different from doing a parody or mocking beloved clichés - that can be a lot of fun. A good example of what I mean is Galaxy Quest. It was hilariously funny in its view of fandom(s) without being mean. The negative example for me would be the happiness with which I've seen a lot of people trash the Twilight books. If you don't like them why bother reading them.
Same in fandom. If I don't like what others are doing, I can walk away and find something else to spend my time on. But I guess you're right - it comes down to how much of my very limited time I want to spend on things I don't like. In my case as in yours: as little as possible.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

It's funny you mentioned Twilight. That's what initially prompted this post. I've read Twilight and New Moon. I liked them both, and read them very quickly because they are very addicting and easy reads. However, they weren't the be-all-end-all of my literature experience. They were good reads, but not OMG-my-favorites. Someone I spoke to on a community on LJ said that she thought the Twilight books were complete trash and extremely badly written, but she still read them just for the sake of making fun of them with her friends. Huh? What? That's a 500 page monster of a book and you're reading it for the lolz? For serious? I'd never spend that much time on a book I thought was trash. I think most of those people who bash Twilight are ones who consider it a guilty pleasure of theirs. They feel like they aren't supposed to like it, but they do. I don't have any guilty pleasures. I like what I like, and I don't feel any guilt about it whatsoever. I have two NSync albums, for goodness sake! And I listened to one of them last week. Eat that guilty pleasures! :-)

[dreamy-dragon73.livejournal.com]

Exactly. This whole "guilty pleasures" thing seems to be a way of saying people like something they feel they shouldn't for whatever reason. Hell, I've a couple of those (dragons, vampires anyone? Or Dark!Hermione in the hp fandom) - so? *shrugs*

I had a similar experience with the Twilight books. I read all three of them very quickly, too and while it would be easy to point the many obvious flaws they have on various levels, they do make a very compelling reading. They won't make it on my list of favourites either, but I still liked them and I just know that I will read the next one when it comes out.

[marasmine.livejournal.com]

I have never understood why people waste their time on something they know they aren't going to like. I've given up on things other people think are wonderful, I've enjoyed things other people think are awful. But if I'm not enjoying something at all then I will walk away from it without regrets. There are so many things I really want to read that I don't need to read things I don't enjoy (except in dire emergencies when there is no other reading matter available!).

Bitching and complaining is a hobby for some people. I think the internet lets it get more out of hand because we have that cosy separation and hopeful anonymity. I will admit to getting carried away on occasion, but I am not proud of it. Nobody (except moderators and betas) is forced to read anything outside of school/work. Nobody is forced to watch TV or films (okay - except critics and censors). If more people used their ability to get up and walk away I'm sure they would be much happier.

But to show that it isn't an internet only phenomenon you get a story from the dim and distant days when the internet only had six people using it and Pong was the height of video gaming! When we got married we went to a small family run hotel in Malta for our honeymoon. There was a group of old people staying there - seven or eight of them. They sat together and it became clear that they were a family: Mum and Dad and their children with their spouses. They all seemed ancient to us. The youngest was probably fifty-something. They ate their evening meal about the same time as us every day. And every day they complained loudly and bitterly about the menu, the food, the heat, the roads and the fact that every meal came with fries and side salad. We were very surprised to learn that they had been coming to the hotel for the last ten years - same week, same group, same everything - and intended to keep going there for as long as possible. It has never made any sense to me.

I suppose part of the 'being mean' thing is fitting in with the group or maybe a sense of comfort in knowing that it is going to be bad and not expecting to be surprised. Or maybe the trainwreck response of needing to know how bad it really is. But I think you are right to pity the people whose lives are so empty. Then just shrug and walk away from them because you can do that where they so obviously can't!

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Ha! Those grumpy people at the hotel in Malta are hilarious. I can't imagine being so negative about everything, but I guess that is just in some people's personality. I'm no Sally Sunshine most of the time, but I don't think I'm a downer about everything either. It sounds like they just found comfort in bitching about anything that crossed their paths.

[transephera.livejournal.com]

I've never quite been able to figure that out myself. I see a lot of people have used AB as an example, and I guess that's a good one; I stopped reading at OB because Ni-chan told me what the later books turned into and I wanted to leave with a good impression. Some series you finish just because you've put so much time into them, like Wheel of Time. I don't think I've ever set out to deliberately bash something, though. On occasion I've watched something just because I knew how horribly awful it was, like Vampires vs. Zombies, just for the campiness, but it wasn't mean spirited (although I did want to throw my shoe at the tv after).

I don't have a good explanation for you; I don't really understand it myself. Maybe it's just an outlet for all of the negative feelings they've repressed that they can't express in a rational manner. No idea.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

I used to run an ABVH fanfiction website and forum, and several people on my flist are or were users of that site. So, it is something many of us have in common. I, too, stopped reading ABVH several years ago. I lasted until CS (which was the second novel after OB). I loved OB because I'm a huge Edward fan. Unfortunately, the series just went downhill from there. It used to be my absolute favorite, but now I can't bring myself to read any of the new novels. I even sold all of my old ones because of the bitterness I was left with after reading NIC and CS. I wish I had stopped when you stopped.

[transephera.livejournal.com]

On one hand I'm glad I stopped where I did, because everyone seems to agree that it was steep downhill from there, but on the other hand...every once in a while I'm tempted to catch up with the series, just out of morbid curiosity I guess. You know, that little voice that asks, "just how bad could it be?" Luckily, I've managed to restrain myself so far.

Edward is my favorite, and I don't know if it's just the name, but I always picture Edward Norton as playing him. I wonder if they'll ever manage a movie? I kinda want to see it, and kinda don't. It could totally go either way.

[anogete.livejournal.com]

Edward Norton is a great choice for Edward.

After OB, Anita becomes afflicted with something called "the ardeur," which means she becomes a sort of psychic vampire that must feed off sexual energy. Basically, this is a plot device to allow Anita to have loads of sex with nearly every male character in the series and then some. She becomes the female head of a wereleopard pard and becomes romantically involved with the leader of that pard. Meanwhile, she is also dating Jean-Claude and Asher. And she's sleeping with several others, including Jason. Her sleeping with Jason totally killed me. Because he's second only to Edward in my mind, and I disliked that she pretty much used him when he shows such genuine affection for her. I've heard (but not read) that Edward marries Donna and eventually begins to teach Peter (Donna's teenage son) the ropes of creature assassination. I think Edward has been greatly tamed in the later novels.

Oh, and Asher's wiener isn't scarred and is impressively large. Thank god she solved that mystery for us.

I still love the first nine (?) books. I enjoyed NIC, but did have many problems with it. CS is when I stopped enjoying the series, despite running a very active website about it. I continued with the website until after ID came out, then I passed it off to three others who had more enthusiasm than I did. I never read ID or the two (I think) that have come out since then. LKH says she has no intention of stopping, and that she will continue to write Anita books until people stop buying them. Which is good for the current fans, I guess. She's also written the Merry Gentry books. I've read three of those, I think. I don't really remember. Maybe just two. They're very similar to the ABVH books. The premise is that Merry (half fae) is forced to have sex with multiple fae men in an effort to become pregnant. Apparently, it is difficult for fae to conceive.