Like Nicholas Sparks, or others under pseudonym like 'Emma Blair' (link)
Would you be looking at gender expectations of the period? It would be beneficial for the article. – Ryan Errington10 years ago
Richard Paul Evans is another writer I've read recently. – Amena Banu10 years ago
What kind of audience reads romance literature, as far as gender goes? That could be important to keep in mind while exploring the writers of romance literature. – aileenmaeryan10 years ago
I think it will be important the not just explore current readers but those of the past few decades. I think the ratio of male to female readers/writers of romance novels could say a lot about the outlook of the times, including what this means for us as readers now. – arcade1310 years ago
Analyse the complications and challenges authors face when writing a new book after publishing a bestseller, that has earned them public acclaim. Most writers dream of writing a successful book but can this achievement turn out to be destructive? Also, our expectations as readers – do we, despite ourselves, have expectations that are inevitably unfulfilled? Do we play a hand in promoting commercial literature and hindering creativity by responding to texts and authors in a certain way?
This piece could include examples of books that successfully followed their bestselling prequels, as well as those that disappointed, and try to analyze the differences. – Amena Banu10 years ago
The last question, 'Do we play a hand in promoting commercial literature and hindering creativity by responding to texts and authors in a certain way?' has potential to be explored as a standalone article. – Yama14410 years ago
I agree with Yama, the topic is too large for numerous in depth questions. The first question relating to our expectations can be the basis of a solid, interesting and revealing article. – arcade1310 years ago
I can definitely see this applied to book series like Harry Potter and the way Rowling was influenced by fans and the films. – Christina Cady10 years ago
I am willing to take up this topic, but I cannot think of content. No one likes a personal opinions post or a short post. I think we either needs lots of ideas or a case study. – Abhimanyu Shekhar10 years ago
I think Harry Potter's books would be a really good comparison as Christina mentioned above. Also J K Rowling's decision to adopt a pen name afterwards. Another more recent example would be Kazuo Ishiguro - whose new release the Buried Giant - as a fantasy novel has created interesting responses. You could examine the responses to his book and compare or contrast the popular responses to his previous works. – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
Explore the portrayal of narcissism in the characters of The Grimm Fairytales , and how this has manifested in the representation in today's popular culture and mainstream television. Are Grimm Tales really suitable for children? What makes them universally appealing? Could explore Philip Pullman's adaptation of them.
This is a good idea but why specifically female narcissism, and not narcissism in general?
Also, the Grimm fairy tales were not really intended for children originally. Although they were called 'Children's tales', many elements were thought inappropriate for children at the time and were changed throughout the tales' various editions. – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun10 years ago
Female narcissism because it hasn't been covered before simply. Actually they were not originally aimed at children, but have been culturally adapted for them. – Yama14410 years ago
..also just add to that, that female narcissism is also prevalent within the Grimm Tales. – Yama14410 years ago
Last year, the world lost legendary author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Known for his use of magic realism, this author could discusses his critically acclaimed novels, such as A Hundred Years of Solitude, which one the Nobel Prize in Literature. Garcia Marquez also incorporated themes about politics and family etc., so it would be interesting to read how these influenced his work.
This would be a great idea. I love his writing style! I am reading .... Years of Solitude at the moment. – Yama14410 years ago
I'd love to read this, being a big fan of Marquez's work. I recommend reading his interview on the Paris Review as it gives an intriguing insight into his methodology. – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
As far as politics and family Marquez was heavily influenced by the novel Pedro Paramo which deals with these topics it's a sort of predecessor to One Hundred Years... you could incorporate something along those lines. – Christina Cady10 years ago
Last semester, I gave "Love In the Time of Cholera" a read for school and I absolutely fell in love with it due to Marquez's intricacies in his exploration in the pros/cons/fantasy/delusions/purity of love. It's something to read. There also was "Very Old Man With Enormous Wings." Thought-provoking in the idea of faith http://www.jonescollegeprep.org/ourpages/auto/2014/1/29/42934518/A_Very_Old_Man_with_Enormous_Wings_pdf.pdf There's also one wonderful magic realism short story that I forgot the title of, but I recalled it involved children experimenting with innovation. You can Google up more free short stories of his. Sure we mostly remember him for the big novels, so its proper to give his short stories the justice it deserves. – AvaKane10 years ago
How often have you done this and do you think it slightly 'impedes' your own experience with the text? For example, I watched Forman's adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest before reading the novel. Despite the book being a favourite of mine, it was rather difficult for me to envision the setting, the characters, the environment, and the overall world of the work without thinking of the adaptation. I couldn't get Jack Nicholson's depiction out of my head when I was trying to imagine who this McMurphy character was. Similarly, the same can be applied with Nurse Ratched, the Chief and the overall layout of the unit these patients were residing in.
I literally just had a conversation about this subject with a close friend of mine. He said he liked to read the book after watching the on-screen adaptation because he knows he generally would enjoy the book more. So, rather than ruin the movie-going experience, he enhances his reading experience. Good topic! – Jemarc Axinto10 years ago
I'm really interested in reading about this, and I agree that it is probably more beneficial to see the film adaptation before reading the novel, but I'd like to point out one stipulation that would benefit being looked into: What happens if the novel has already been read, or has been out for a long time before an adaptation discussion began. Just some food for thought, but great idea for an article. – Matt Collazo10 years ago
My friend and I were talking about this recently. It would be great to see some diverse examples of films that couldn't live up to the source material, as well as movies that exceeded expectations. – Amena Banu10 years ago
Awesome topic. Maybe, point out some of the adaptations you should read the books for BEFORE seeing it and which one you shouldn't read. For example, Inherent Vice - Before. Gone Girl - After. – Thomas Munday10 years ago
I really like this idea! Maybe have a sort of pro/con list for reading the book after watching the movie. I also like the idea of including examples of movies that exceeded expectations set by the book as a couple people have mentioned already. – ekeating10 years ago
Intriguing. We often complain about a film adaptation of a book , as it can never recreate our private images, it'd be interesting to read about the effects vice-versa, and whether doing it in the other order can enrich the book? – Aliya Gulamani10 years ago
I am very stubborn when it comes to this topic. I don't think I've ever watched a movie if it was adapted from a book I haven't read. It would definitely be a cool topic to read about if it were structured by title of book/movie and what the outcome of watching the movie before reading the book was. This could even be done as a collaborative piece with one author watching the movie before reading the book and the other other doing the opposite. – AlexandraRose9 years ago
This is a very personal and subjective experience. Some people may find difficult not to recreate the movie's images in their heads when reading the book. Some people may be able to read the book without any "interference" from the impact the movie has left in them. – T. Palomino2 years ago
List of great contemporary short stories. I read a lot of science fiction and often encounter great short stories. Many authors have fine collections: Arthur C. Clark, Fred Pohl, Larry Niven, Isaac Asimov, etc. A couple years ago I read "The Hard SF Renaissance" which had many good stories. Hard to pick a favorite but maybe Ted Chiang's "Understand" about a guy who has brain damage and is given an experimental drug to heal it. He turns into a super-genius. Nancy Kress's "Beggars in Spain" story was later expanded into a series of books. It's about genetically modified people who no longer need to sleep.
Very interesting idea. I think short stories are a very under-appreciated form. You've mentioned several science fiction short stories but I don't think you should limit yourself just to sci-fi. For a comprehensive list of great contemporary short stories you should try to look across all genres - or if you want to focus only on sci-fi, make sure the title of the article reflects that. – ekeating10 years ago
This is a very interesting topic, because, similar to short film, these shorter pieces rarely generate the hype or special attention they may deserve. One thing I caution is to avoid listing these great stories by title alone; make sure you're able to provide specific reasoning as to what makes said stories so great, independently or as a genre, etc. This way, it become something much more than a comprehensive list of great works, but one that you could argue for as standing out from the rest, which is immediately more interesting to read and digest. Good luck! – Matt Collazo10 years ago
Two other great short story writers of Fantasy and science fiction are Ursula K. Le Guin and Neil Gaiman. I recommend Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" as one of her best. The language is colorful and rich and the story is entirely prose, no dialogue at all. – Travis Kane10 years ago
Did 60s literature do anything more than tell us about what the 60s were like or are there actual life lessons to be learned about from the adventures they went on and the stories they wrote.
