(no subject)

[beccaelizabeth]

Have read more Belgariad. As I thought I vaguely recalled, things have started changing.

Belgarion just declared he and Ce'Nedra would rule jointly, as equals.
This should be yaay.
Instead I find myself sort of sighing about it. He didn't do it because she's just as smart as him and considerably better educated. As far as the bit I just read says, he did it because otherwise she'd be in a snit.

Yes, let's give the little women equality, for otherwise they'll sulk.

I think it manages to be insulting even in the middle of giving her power.

On the plus side, has power. And is better educated than him. And he was raised by Pol, so it would be plain odd if he didn't think of women as smart and strong and such.

It's like the story has good stuff in it but it keeps on ladling in the deeply annoying and distracting me from it.

Comments

[anne_d]

I am surprised you're still reading. I'd have thrown the book across the room and/or jumped up and down on it by now.

Not really, I respect The Book too much for that, but I certainly would have given up and found something else to read. I guess it's just a book of its decade. *Rolls eyes*

[beccaelizabeth]

'give up and find something else' is something I've got the hang of with fanfic but never quite mastered with dead tree. I can count all the books I ever gave up on. Two for Lit and two I was reading for fun. The supposed-to-be-fun ones were one where the series had been setting up philosophical straw man societies just to prove how stupid they were compared to the author/protagonist and had got around to deciding 'turn the other cheek' was in fact evil, and another where it was a romance with a 14 year old boy. Ick. And also, very badly written.

Everything else I tend to read to the end and complain about.

I should maybe get new habits.

Thing is I remember liking the Belgariad and Malloreon. Guess things change.

[anne_d]

I'm ashamed to admit it, but if the book is really bad, I'll read the ending and decide if it's worth reading the rest of the way.

I remember liking Gone With The Wind when I was fifteen, but I've never been able to read it again. Some things hold up, some don't, and some I'm afraid to try.

[beccaelizabeth]

come to think I did that 'read the end' bit with one of the Buffy tie in novels. Actually I skimmed until the first mention of the character mentioned on the back cover, Ethan Rayne, which as it turned out was very near the end. That's another one I only technically read - it was worse than bad fanfic, only with better spelling.

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

One major problem I can see with this is the "giving" of the power. In a "wow, thanks for doing her that favour, so big of you" way.

[beccaelizabeth]

*nods*