I hate it when people call books or authors pretentious. I'm just going to come out and say it. I hate it.

I completely respect it if people find certain books or authors unnecessarily convoluted or even condescending. I may not agree with them, but that's just fine. Some books do seem unnecessarily convoluted. Sometimes authors can come off as condescending. However, that doesn't mean that these books or authors ARE overly convoluted or condescending. As a reader, I think our opinions are incredibly valid and that we can feel or react to novels and authors in any way that we find fit as long as we recognize that our perception of anything is not necessarily the reality of that thing (and, of course, as long as we aren't careless and disrespectful with our views).

But back to my problem with calling a book (and anything or anyone, really) pretentious. When someone calls something pretentious, they are expressing the opinion that that thing is pretending to be smarter than it actually is, that it is pretending to be more impressive than it actually is. And how the heck does that person know (not just feel, but actually know) that that book/author/thing ISN'T as smart or impressive as it endeavours to be? Just because an individual isn't impressed with a particular book/author does not mean that book is any less intelligent and just because that book/author's form of intelligence doesn't mesh with that reader does not mean that the book/author must be pretending. 

I really don't think that we can ever accurately judge how smart anyone, particularly someone as distant as an author, is and saying that someone or something is pretentious is really the most pretentious thing anyone can do. (Inception: I have entered the horrible cycle of pretentiousness! Ahh!)

I also think it is incredibly disrespectful to say that an author is PRETENDING to be smart. There are thousands upon thousands of variations of intelligence and just because some types of intelligence don't ring true for certain readers doesn't mean that they are invalidated and thus pretentious. And I personally don't think that someone can convincingly pretend to be smarter than they actually are--if someone says something is pretending to be smart, they must on some level recognize that some form of intelligence exists in whatever they are criticizing and, in that case, the thing is just smart. No pretending involved.

What do you think? Does this piss you off too?

Thursdays with Luxa, formerly known as Let’s Discuss, is a weekly post hosted by Thoughts and Pens. Since she took over, Charlotte has changed the name to Thursdays with Luxa if you want to find it on her blog. The discussion posts are supposed to have something to do with books, but you can pretty much choose your own topic. You can link up to your discussion post at Charlotte’s blog, and also visit other posts and participate in the discussions they are having. When you link up, it should be to a post made in the past seven days, even if Thoughts and Pens post hers every Thursday. You don’t have to post weekly discussion posts, and you can participate when you feel like it.

Discussion Thursdays with Luxa: When Favorite Books have Babies

Actually, first I have to say thank you to Charlotte, because she’s the one who made me come up with the idea to do a discussion post about this point. It seems it is very popular to sell a new book as ‘a mix between The Hunger Games and Vampire Academy’ or ‘This has some similarities to Graceling and Beauty and the Beast’ – these kinds of blurbs really tell me nothing at all! And very often, I find them quite off-putting, too. If someone thinks they are awesome enough to compare their newest book to Graceling, for example, it means my expectations are going to be sky-high, since I loved that series. And at the first thing that either seems like a pale copy, or actually has nothing to do with either Graceling or Beauty and the Beast, I’m not going to be happy I was tricked by that stupid blurb.

I want the blurbs to be an actual short summary of the book I am about to decide if I want to read or not – and that summary has to be completely without spoilers, too. It would be great if it was like the short-pitch used to actually sell that book to a publisher or an agent or an editor. I want a book to be able to draw me in all on its own, to be interesting enough for me to pick it up without trying to surf on the wave of popular books that have been released before it. And more often than not – those books that are supposedly the babies of other books (whether those books are among my favorites or not) I will not pick up. Because it’s as if they need the hype in order to find readers, and I have no inclination to be a part of a hype-machine and just feel cheated in the end.

Thanks for stopping by, remember to sign up for Thursdays with Luxa so I can come visit your discussion post as well.

Let's Discuss is a weekly post hosted by The Fiction Conniption and oh, Chrys. The discussion posts are supposed to have something to do with books, but you can pretty much choose your own topic. You can link up to your discussion post at both blogs, and also visit other posts and participate in the discussions they are having. When you link up, it should be to a post made in the past seven days, even if The Fiction Conniption and Oh, Chrys both post theirs every Thursday. You don't have to post weekly discussion posts, and you can participate when you feel like it.

Let's Discuss: Safe Sex

When I read a book where sex happens, it makes me really happy to read something like 'and he reached out for a condom before...' and then the actual action between the characters continues. I think safe sex in my books is very sexy, and also extremely important. It should be just as natural for the fictional characters in books as it should be for us real people out here in the real world. I also like it if the characters for some reason 'forget' the condom in the heat of the moment, there is some kind of consequence for that - at least that it makes them think about what could happen because of it.

There are quite a few examples of books I have read that integrate safe sex in a truly great way! Making him Sweat, Shine, and Just one Day come to mind without having to think too much. I'm sure there are lots of others I have already read, but this is a starting point. What do you think about safe sex in your reads? Do you think it's sexy too?

Thanks for stopping by, and for participating in the discussion. Do you think I should change the name of my discussion posts from Let's Discuss to Sexy Sundays? LOL I don't know why, but I keep writing about sex, I'll see what I come up with for next time...