Nix Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 @MulticulturalFarmer suggested starting a book reading club so why not see how many people would be interested? The idea is that we pick a book with an aromantic theme, read it and then discuss after everyone had had a chance to read it. For the first book I want to suggest this one: (Marisa Franco: Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — And Keep — Friends.) As posted by @Holmboin this topic: 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MulticulturalFarmer Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 7 minutes ago, Nix said: @MulticulturalFarmer suggested starting a book reading club so why not see how many people would be interested? The idea is that we pick a book with an aromantic theme, read it and then discuss after everyone had had a chance to read it. For the first book I want to suggest this one: (Marisa Franco: Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — And Keep — Friends.) As posted by @Holmboin this topic: Oh later on today I could possibly make a Google poll for it, no guarantees as I've got a few education and job related things to take care of today, but possibly later this week? Or if someone else wants to handle it that's fine too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gray Warlock Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 Anything by Robert E. Howard. Never any romance in his stories. Instead, especially in his Conan tales, there is a recurring underlying theme of the vulnerable and facadic nature of civilization. That savagery and barbarism are the true nature of mankind, and however lofty a society is built, its people are destined to revert to a primal state of being when it is no longer sustainable, or when its tenets are no longer enforceable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MulticulturalFarmer Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 5 hours ago, The Gray Warlock said: Anything by Robert E. Howard. Never any romance in his stories. Instead, especially in his Conan tales, there is a recurring underlying theme of the vulnerable and facadic nature of civilization. That savagery and barbarism are the true nature of mankind, and however lofty a society is built, its people are destined to revert to a primal state of being when it is no longer sustainable, or when its tenets are no longer enforceable. Sounds a lot like the survivalist novels that I've read about before, that talk about the true nature of human beings. For example, there's books like One Second After. Not to mention there are also farmers and people who spend extensive time in the "wild" who talk about such things (people who are assigned to hunt deer). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gray Warlock Posted December 28, 2022 Share Posted December 28, 2022 9 minutes ago, MulticulturalFarmer said: Sounds a lot like the survivalist novels that I've read about before, that talk about the true nature of human beings. For example, there's books like One Second After. Not to mention there are also farmers and people who spend extensive time in the "wild" who talk about such things (people who are assigned to hunt deer). I think they're interesting ideas to explore. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the more the merrier Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 12/27/2022 at 5:48 PM, Nix said: @MulticulturalFarmer suggested starting a book reading club so why not see how many people would be interested? The idea is that we pick a book with an aromantic theme, read it and then discuss after everyone had had a chance to read it. For the first book I want to suggest this one: (Marisa Franco: Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — And Keep — Friends.) As posted by @Holmboin this topic: Yes please to this idea! Platonic sounds fab! Would you be open to including GRSM rep of all kinds? Poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, yet the recent 100 Queer Poems could be an option as well as Julia Shaw's Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality? Hooray for our book club! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 14 minutes ago, the more the merrier said: Yes please to this idea! Platonic sounds fab! Would you be open to including GRSM rep of all kinds? Poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, yet the recent 100 Queer Poems could be an option as well as Julia Shaw's Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality? Hooray for our book club! Well, we still have to decide on the first book :) I have bought Platonic as it is now also available as an e-book for my reader, but Brandon Sanderson also released a new book so I’ll start on that first 😅 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the more the merrier Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 10 minutes ago, Nix said: Well, we still have to decide on the first book :) I have bought Platonic as it is now also available as an e-book for my reader, but Brandon Sanderson also released a new book so I’ll start on that first 😅 Okay! Platonic sounds like a lovely first choice for the future, to my mind. I'm unfamiliar with Brandon Sanderson! Which one are you about to begin and would there be any works of his which you would recommend to the uninitiated? How did you first encounter his writing? Please enjoy this new release treat, Nix! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arden Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 12/27/2022 at 5:48 PM, Nix said: @MulticulturalFarmer suggested starting a book reading club so why not see how many people would be interested? The idea is that we pick a book with an aromantic theme, read it and then discuss after everyone had had a chance to read it. For the first book I want to suggest this one: (Marisa Franco: Platonic: How the Science of Attachment Can Help You Make — And Keep — Friends.) As posted by @Holmboin this topic: Absolutely yes please. I am in desperate need to read up on aro (well specifically aroace but aro works too because it's my most recent awakening) books since I spent all these years pretending, hiding and thinking I felt romantic attraction, that I want aromantisicm to flow through my veins🤣 DM me if you ever start one. I've purchased your suggested first book: it sounds awesome :))) 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 3 hours ago, the more the merrier said: Okay! Platonic sounds like a lovely first choice for the future, to my mind. I'm unfamiliar with Brandon Sanderson! Which one are you about to begin and would there be any works of his which you would recommend to the uninitiated? How did you first encounter his writing? Please enjoy this new release treat, Nix! Nice! And Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy writer whose books have very diverse and interesting magic systems. Most of his books are connected in small or big ways, with the Stormlight Archive as his big, multiple book spanning mega project. So I wouldn’t start there 😅 I read his very first book ‘Elantris’ as my first Brandon book because several of my friends recommended his writing, but mentioned this was his weakest book. So I figured, well if I’ll like that one that will be a good sign? After that one (I loved the magic system but the plot was indeed kind of meh) I read ‘The Emperor’s Soul’ and I absolutely loved it. It is a novella so not a huge time investment either. Also, no romance in that one! By the way, the biggest criticism his stories get is that they are very low on romance and if there is romance it is extremely tame. Which is a big plus in my book ;) The book I’m about to read is called ‘Tress of the Emerald Sea’ and it is the first book of his ‘Surprise! Four secret novels’ project that I backed on Kickstarter last year. Basically Brandon had more spare time during Covid lockdowns because he couldn’t travel so he used that time to write 6(!) books, 4 of which were turned into books for 2023. The man is a machine… Anyway, thank you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 11:41 PM, Nix said: 😅 By the way, the biggest criticism his stories get is that they are very low on romance and if there is romance it is extremely tame. Which is a big plus in my book ;) I'm surprised to hear that considering a podcast I listened to praised him for being very good at writing romance. He really sells that the couple are into each other. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Holmbo said: He really sells that the couple are into each other. Oh he does, that’s not what I (and by extention, certain critics) mean by ‘low on romance/tame romance’. A lot of popular fantasy right now happens to be in the young adult department and I just can’t handle the endless pining, jerky behaviour and (the horror!) love triangles. They also take up way to much of the plot and are therefore almost impossible to ignore. Brandon writes romances a lot more low key, and the couples are just happy to be together without any messy drama. Funny thing, I just finished Tress of the Emerald Sea and it starts with a young girl obviously pining for an unreachable young man so I was very put off by this. Luckily that takes up only the first 30 pages or so, and then the story really starts :) Guess I can start reading Platonic now! Edited January 5, 2023 by Nix Forgot a word 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm_leopardcat Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 14 hours ago, Nix said: Oh he does, that’s not what I (and by extention, certain critics) mean by ‘low on romance/tame romance’. A lot of popular fantasy right now happens to be in the young adult department and I just can’t handle the endless pining, jerky behaviour and (the horror!) love triangles. They also take up way to much of the plot and are therefore almost impossible to ignore. Ugh, I hate that! Why are so many young-asult novels, especially the dystopian, science fiction, or fantasy ones, so focused on romance as a main genre, and with relationships? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loveless Lizard Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 1:09 PM, Nix said: Well, we still have to decide on the first book :) I have bought Platonic as it is now also available as an e-book for my reader, but Brandon Sanderson also released a new book so I’ll start on that first 😅 Another Brandon Sanderson fan?!! 😁 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted February 13, 2023 Author Share Posted February 13, 2023 18 hours ago, Loveless Lizard said: Another Brandon Sanderson fan?!! 😁 Yes! I discovered his books fairly late, but that just meant that I had a lot to read ☺️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loveless Lizard Posted February 13, 2023 Share Posted February 13, 2023 5 hours ago, Nix said: Yes! I discovered his books fairly late, but that just meant that I had a lot to read ☺️ Do you have a favorite book/series? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted February 14, 2023 Author Share Posted February 14, 2023 12 hours ago, Loveless Lizard said: Do you have a favorite book/series? My absolute favorite book of his is ‘The emperor's soul’. What about yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravensplat Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 If you are still looking to do this I'm interested. I have yet to pick up any Brandon Sanderson books but they are on my to read list and by what has been said here have jumped right up. If you want more general GRSM rep and like Sci-Fi and Magic I would recommend Glynn Stewart. He has done quite a few series and a few one short as well and pretty much always has some sort of representation in it. If I remember rightly, and it is hard to check with no wiki or anything, the main Character of Castle Federation is explicitly Demi-sexual. I don't remember if there is any Aro rep in the books but honestly I devour them so quickly I don't always notice till my reread through so it could very well be in there. He certainly doesn't shy away from Enby, Ace and other less well known rep so I imagine it could be in there. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loveless Lizard Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 4 hours ago, Nix said: My absolute favorite book of his is ‘The emperor's soul’. What about yours? The lost metal or the way of kings 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aro_elise Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 the feminine mystique by betty friedan is great. i would consider it essential reading for any feminist (which should be everyone) but it's also interesting to look at it through the lens of amatonormativity: you really see how intertwined it is with sexism. and on the bright side, you see that though there's still a ways to go, we've come quite an astonishing way in 60 years. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unromanceable_npc Posted February 14, 2023 Share Posted February 14, 2023 6 hours ago, Nix said: My absolute favorite book of his is ‘The emperor's soul’. I also really loved The Emperor's Soul! In my opinion, it's one of the best novellas ever written. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 I finished platonic. I thought it was a good read. I'm not gonna join any book club meetings because I already have many online meetings but let me know if you want to have more of a text discussion about it. I could write discussion questions. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted February 15, 2023 Author Share Posted February 15, 2023 5 hours ago, Holmbo said: I finished platonic. I thought it was a good read. I'm not gonna join any book club meetings because I already have many online meetings but let me know if you want to have more of a text discussion about it. I could write discussion questions. That's cool, we can do that. I'm in the middle of Platonic, I hope to finish it this weekend. For some reason I can't seem to read it for very long, even though it's really interesting 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MulticulturalFarmer Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 On 2/14/2023 at 7:25 AM, aro_elise said: the feminine mystique by betty friedan is great. i would consider it essential reading for any feminist (which should be everyone) but it's also interesting to look at it through the lens of amatonormativity: you really see how intertwined it is with sexism. and on the bright side, you see that though there's still a ways to go, we've come quite an astonishing way in 60 years. I can definitely consider that to be a thing for sure; I do know that marriage has its roots in slavery and ownership of women (and I suppose to an extent other marginalized "sexes" aka intersex people) but cheifly women for sure. I wonder if the countries where sexism is less that there's a history of less rigid expectations of marriage roles as well ease of getting a divorce. Granted I'm intersex and my real life experience on this topic might be complicated cause I'm not always caterogized by gender in a binary way by random folks/observers, but this is what I gather from observation and literature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 On 2/16/2023 at 3:13 AM, MulticulturalFarmer said: . I wonder if the countries where sexism is less that there's a history of less rigid expectations of marriage roles as well ease of getting a divorce. My country Sweden is among the ones with the most gender equality in the world. From what I know of our history there's nothing especially gender equal about it. If I were to look for a simple cause I'd say the strong influence of socialism in the building of modern Swedish society. Better social security means more freedom and opportunity for people including women. And socialism has been a more gender inclusive than other political ideologies since also many women were workers. The gender equality was also economically driven, in order to have good social benefits the state needs to have a lot of taxes and so it's better if women work than doing untaxable labor at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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