Analyze authors who have become their own type of "brand", such as Nicholas Sparks or Sarah Dessen, who have easily identifiable work. For example both Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen have their own "brand" of romance novels. Is the predictability of their work what continues to draw back readers because they know what to expect? Does the predictability lessen their literary merit? Look for other authors across different genres that have their own brand of work.
Doesn't every author has a brand? It is that author's voice, which is specific to a writer. You can pick out a writer from Stephen King to Margarett Attwood by just reading the work. That's why people have favourite authors ad will read their newest book. I think what you are talking about is writing-by-rote. What would be a really interesting article is analysing where the line between 'author's voice/brand' and 'writing by rote' is... – Francesca Turauskis10 years ago
I thin this is an interesting topic because authors like Nicholas Sparks become almost tired because all their novels become predictable – samcel10 years ago
Recently there have been a numerous books published by people who have been put in the spotlight by their appearances and contribution to Television (Lena Dunham's "Not that Kind of Girl," Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?," Amy Poehler's "Yes, Please," and Tina Fey's "Bossy Pants" to name a handful.) This article would be a discussion of why these types of books are so appealing, while it is primarily female writers that produce such books, and some books that break from this convention while following a similar trend (such as BJ Novak's "One More Thing.") This article would use subjects such as the struggle for for the female voice in Hollywood, reader demographics, and trends in the memoire genre as support for the discussion.
I have not read any of the mentioned, and those are not books I would typically put on my list to read, so it would be interesting for someone to write on the appeal of this books for anyone--not just fans of the celebrities. I would like to know which ones would be worth reading for someone who is just an avid reader. – Liz Watkins10 years ago
I have not read any of the books mentioned but my mother has. She loved them and is a big believer in some of them. I would to read an article about what is so note-worthy about these books. – abutler69 years ago
Compare 50 Shades to another erotic novel. For example, Taming the Beast I thought was an excellent book about a girl who has [what I think is considered] too much sex. It had intriguing characters and an interesting plot. I've never read 50 Shades but everyone has told me it was terrible. Why is it so bad? Is it just this erotic novel that is poorly written or is the whole genre just terrible?
Have not read, but I have heard much about The Story of O and The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice (writing as A. N. Roquelaure) as novels that reintroduced erotic literature to the world. You also should look at the Marquis de Sade's works. – Liz Watkins10 years ago
Awesome topic! Another series worth mentioning is The Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz. Like 50 Shades its features explicit BDSM but its not treated as fantasy but rather as a life style. – Cagney10 years ago
I'd like to explore the various obvious and also subtle elements of Chris Hadfield's autobiography "An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth." Since the book is obviously from the point of view of an astronaut, I would like to explore the themes he mentions from the POV of a regular person and what his statements can mean for a life that isn't destined for the stars.
Most of Hadfield's autobiography is geared toward the "regular person" and he is often quite obvious about that. Try to focus of the more subtle interpretations rather than the obvious. – Natalie Sheppard10 years ago
Is the popular, best-selling book an actual tale of love, romance, and how two people find their way to one another? Or does the book hint at tones of abuse and misunderstanding?
It would be interesting to explore this potential abuse with gender in mind. The fact that Anastasia Steele (a woman) submits to the borderline abuse of Mr. Grey (a man) could look bad for both genders. No woman wants to be portrayed as someone who eagerly accepts abuse, and no man wants to portrayed as someone who eagerly abuses. I have not read the book or seen the movie, so I cannot say that the behavior is or is not abusive. But based on what I've read and what I've heard, the gender roles of the romance - whether abusive or not - could be worth looking into. – aileenmaeryan10 years ago
I have read the book. It would be classed as abuse technically. (though in my opinion it is terribly written, nothing to do with the content!)
I haven't watched the film, judging from the content of the book, most of it will be censured since it is not been made into a pornographic film.
This has potential to be expanded on does 50 shades promote sexual freedom, or social normalisation of abusive relationships? Could also look at Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty erotic novels, though these are written a lot better than 50 shades. – Yama14410 years ago
I haven't read the books or seen the fims, but I've read summaries, what others have written about them, and excerpts of the original text. Incidentally, I'd have to agree about the awful writing style! One of my friends likes the book (which I found surprising) but, from what I've heard and read, it does strike me as an attempt to eroticise an abusive relationship. I seem to remember reading something about Christian Grey presenting Anastasia with a rare edition of Hardy's 'Tess of the D' Urbervilles' (?) If this is correct, that strikes me as pretty disturbing, given that Grey is a 'dom' and I interpret what happens between Alec and Tess as rape*. Interestingly, when I recently attended a lecture/discussion about Heathcliff and Rochester at the Bradford Literary Festival, an audience member observed parallels between the romanticising of Heathcliff by some readers and the popularity of Christian Grey and '50 Shades.' One of the lecturers said that her mum had been impressed by the film because, unaware of the context, she had interpreted it as a ''film about a young woman who escapes an abusive relationship." She was therefore shocked and disturbed to learn that, in the sequel books/movies, Anastasia and Grey reconcile their relationship and go on to marry and have children. In contrast, Bronte shows Isabella initially being drawn to Heathcliff, but eventually escaping his violence with her son, terrified and disgusted at this brutality. For me, Heathcliff is more of an abusive brut than a romantic hero, and is evident that this is how Bronte intended to portray him. Yet, considerable readers and film adaptations have romanticised this character. Traditionally, we tend to regard fiction as a reflection of real life. Yet, fiction and narrative also influence social discourse and change. I often wonder if real people sometimes confuse abusive and disfunctional situations with 'passion' because the media is frequently guilty of doing the same thing... Anyway, these are just a few of my thoughts ☺️. *In 'Tess of the D' Urbervilles', two women speculate that 'more than persuasion had to do with the coming of it [Tess's pregnancy out of wedlock.]" One of the women evidences this by telling the other that people heard crying coming from the woods around the time the rape would have occurred. Apparently, another edition included a scene in which Alec seemingly drugs Tess. – AnnaConda5 years ago
I'm currently reading The House of Suns, by Alastair Reynolds. It is written from the point of view of three characters, two of which are women. The chapters alternate the point of view. Some other:
Night Train (Martin Amis) Charlotte Markham And The House Of Darkling (Michael Boccacino) All those Sherlock Holmes pastiches by female authors which have Doctor Watson as narrator Lindsey Davis’ Marcus Didius Falco novels End Of Story (Peter Abrahams) The Woman In Black (Susan Hill) Endless Night (Agatha Christie) The Trade Mission (Andrew Pyper) Alan Bradley’s Flavia De Luce novels Several works by Daphne Du Maurier like The House On The Strand
What would be the focus point of this article? Any particular reason why an author would write from the viewpoint of the opposite gender? – Ryan Errington10 years ago
I thought this was an excellent idea.
- 'Any particular reason why an author would write from the viewpoint of the opposite gender?' that would be the premise for writing an article on it. Case in point G.R.R.Martin is obviously a man, yet he does 'write women very well'. Peter Carey has also done this in The Chemistry of Tears. – Yama14410 years ago
John Green (TFIOS) and James Patterson (Maximum Ride) are also good examples of this. Very interesting topic. – Mary Awad10 years ago
Agatha Christie's detective novels, like Murder in Mesopotamia, were narrated by a male detective. She had multiple such characters that had separate qualities that fit separate situations and thus filled separate books. – Abhimanyu Shekhar10 years ago
This is a great idea, I feel like it does need a slightly more focused analysis though - there are so many quotes from authors (particularly from male writers writing women) that simple back up the idea that they just write interesting people. It would maybe be interesting to see if there are any trends or tropes authors narrating in the opposite sex follow. Does this cross-narration fit into certain genres more than others? (a lot of the above seem to be crime or horror), Do we have many women writers narrating as men for love stories? Or male writers narrating as women for war stories? – Francesca Turauskis10 years ago
An article covering Michael Cunnigham's novel The Hours , and its subsequent adaptation into a film.
In a sense it could be a review article, but I feel there is a lot of groundwork for this i.e how realistic is the potrayal of Virginia Woolf. (does this matter?) 3. The role of the novel Mrs. Dalloway in fiction – metafiction (fictional analysis of fiction) (The phrase presentation, rather than comparison is used)
I wanted to write about this for my Film and Literature course but I got a little bit confused as to how to approach it, as I can imagine you are. Namely because its focus on three women is exciting but also complex. Perhaps it may be useful to create or highlight the connections between the three characters and address how these are translated on the film? – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
yes exactly, there is a lot to cover.
I put metafiction in the title because I was thinking of maybe focusing on the role of the book 'Mrs. Dalloway' in The Hours, and then any other analysis that emerges. Perhaps splitting it into a two , or even three piece article. – Yama14410 years ago
That's definitely possible. I really like the sound of this. I think the metafiction angle would be a lovely way to approach the book and take apart its complex structure. – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
Briefly and broadly examine the role of sleep and dreaming in Shakespearean literature, and sleeping as a social construct within 16th century Europe (the Elizabethan period)
Potentially using some material from Historian Roger Ekrichs book ' At Days Close: A History of the Night-time' as it relates to the aforementioned.
Interesting premise. Hamlet's soliloquy easily comes to mind ("To sleep, perchance to dream..."). What other Shakespearean dramas deal with sleep and dreaming? – S.A. Takacs10 years ago
A Midsummer's Night Dream definitely. Also Romeo and Juliet, in the final scenes when Juliet is sleeping but Romeo think he's dead. Macbeth and The Tempest may also have some subtle but relevant examples. – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
' Hamlet's soliloquy easily comes to mind ("To sleep, perchance to dream..."). ' That is actually one of the quotes I was considering using as a starting point!
Yes, A Midsummers Night Dream definitely! Thanks for the other references. I was also thinking of Othello. – Yama14410 years ago
Othello is a great play. Could you refresh my memory: where is sleeping/dreaming mentioned or in what context is it presented? Just curious! – S.A. Takacs10 years ago
Well I would have to re-read it, but I was thinking of referring to this article as well (if I can get my hands on it) “Shakespeare and Sleep Disorders”, Neurology 49 (1997): 1171–72. There are several references throughout Othello.... when I have time I'll post a few here.. – Yama14410 years ago
