Seven naked women receive seven happy endings with their respective Peeping boyfriends. Can’t get more romantic than that.

I’ve gotten to the era when I really appreciate his foray into geriatrics (Old Age Is Not for Sissies).

Dr. Seuss is great for weaving life lessons into fun rhyming prose and I love to read them to my children for that reason – they might just learn something while reading a wonderfully fun book. It’s the same reason I like Russell Hoben and the “Francis” books he wrote. Because unlike so many of the children’s books out there today, these authors were able to teach a lesson within the context of the story without it feeling like it was the reason for the story or that you were being beaten over the head with it.

I don’t read romance books to learn a lesson however. If the characters have issues / baggage to deal with and overcome in the process of the main story of developing a loving relationship with another character, that’s great. I love characters with depth and substance. But I want that issue to be their issue to deal with in their own way – without feeling as if I am being preached to on this topic or that.

Anyway, once after a particularly frustrating day of dealing with intractable children in uniform, my sergeant and I were marveling at how persons with such highly respected and professional public personas could resort to tantrums that would put recalcitrant three year-olds to shame behind closed doors. I ranted that I was sick of working with a bunch of friggin’ Zax. The sergeant had no idea what I was talking about, so I whipped out my trusty SNEETCHES book and read him the story of the Zax. The story was so apropos, he actually had it framed and hung on his office wall. Every time he has to go and deal with those whiners, he looks at the picture and superimposes different workplace faces onto those stubborn Zax! LOL

Diane
admiring all the Seuss-like poetry, and wishing I was clever enough to think of some

Would you, could you, kiss with zeal?
Could you, would you, with a SEAL?
If he cries ‘Eternal mate!’,
Would you, could you, copulate?
I would not, could not kiss with zeal,
I could not, would not with a SEAL,
Could not believe I’d met my fate,
Would never, ever copulate,
I do not like all this Wham!Bam!
I do not like it, Sam-I-am.

I don’t want to read something that will frustrate me because it’s dealing with an issue that I know can’t possibly be resolved. I might touch on some ‘issues’ in my books, but they’re not what the book is about. They’re things that are out there in the real world, but my characters aren’t trying to put an end to them…they’re too busy solving the immediate problems and falling in love.

I don’t want to see ‘issue’ movies, either.

As for issues, well, I hope if I ever introduce anything serious into my books that I handle it in a realistic way, but I admit I don’t go out of my way to tackle tough issues in a romance. I don’t mind reading it, but I don’t want to write it. Maybe I don’t feel qualified. I don’t know. Maybe I just like to keep my books light. One author who blends “serious” topics with her genre fiction is Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. I respect her skill, even when she’s writing from points of view that are the opposite of mine. Heck, ESPECIALLY when she’s writing about points of view opposite of mine. But as much as I love her books, I also love authors who are just entertaining me. Depends on my mood, I guess.

Although I understand the basic principles of the “issue book” debate, I also think it’s kind of a red herring, at least outside those books that really “preach” an issue. Because IMO all Romance is “issue” fiction in that it pertains to the issues of love and often marriage, offering a somewhat idealized image of a love relationship for the reader’s acceptance and approval. Some books may seem “heavier” and some “lighter,” but I think you’ve always got some “issues” in a genre that is so focused on the ever after happiness of a couple who must overcome some obstacle(s) in solidifying their relationship and making us root for them. Ultimately, I think when people talk about issue books what they often mean is that they don’t want to read books that seem to *endorse* some kind of political, social, or other kind of idea or issue, or “preach” about an issue, or deal with something so heavy-handedly that it seems to take over the whole book. But fundamentally I think all genre fiction is issue-oriented, just like all children’s lit.

But you have to admit Sam-I-Am was a tool.
Only someone evil would put you in a box with a fox.

I always thought the key line was “I will not, will not with a goat.”

I’ve never sat and verified whether or not the book has more than fifty words that are repeated over and over and over again, but it is plausible that there might only be fifty words used in that book.

BTW, I think that the stars used in the Sneetches may be representing more than just difference. It may also be symbolic of the yellow stars that Jews were forced to wear during World War II by the Nazis. The next time you read that story, imagine they had six points rather than five and see if you can finish without your voice cracking.

Another fan of Seuss,

Linda

Actually, I had this great April Fool’s Day joke worked out but it ended up killing the server here at DA.

Well, I think someone found a way…

Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, LLC has been acquired by the Dear Author Media Network (D.A.M.N. Inc.) and behold our new site: Dear Bitches. To bring you higher quality news, reviews and witch-hunts of defenseless authors, Dear Author and Smart Bitches merged in a hostile takeover decided to combine forces in 2008. The result? Dear Bitches. Rest assured that this change will result in 200% more top-notch kerfuffles, drama and conflations as well as 5000% more content, as Jarah and Jandy learn to utilize Jane’s fearsome powers of time management. This may or may not have required evolving into a ninja robot lawyer with laser eyes and a million monkey minions to do our bidding.

href=”http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/”>

And there’s nothing wrong with that either.

Absolutely.
But you have to admit Sam-I-Am was a tool.
Only someone evil would put you in a box with a fox.

Serious Seuss, forsooth, you say! The man I read was only play.
He did not preach, he did not prattle, he did not lecture, he did not twattle. He did not posture on his box, he did not teach me to love lox. I cannot listen anymore, I think I’ll go and shut my door.

Ha! I love it!

Although I, personally, do prefer my reading to have a marriage of entertainment and gritty elements. Not lecturing or preachy moralizing or posturing but a thoughtful examination portrayed within the context of a great story. That’s all.

(Says I, as if this is an easy thing to do, and I know it’s not, which is why I admire writers who can pull it off.)