Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Psychopathia sexualis
 

A wonderful and quait little treatise on sexual deviancy from the 1890's. All the best bits are in latin though.

Welcome. That's pretty hardcore.

Thanks Hun
 

Thank You for the welcome. I found this little book which is actually quite quaint, as a recommendation in the apendix of Masoch's 'Venus in Furs'. Its interesting that the Victorians actually had quite enlghtened ideas and sympathy towards 'Sexual Deviants', however this good work is undone by their reference to the process of ejaculation as pollution. I prefer to read something that is challenging-never read chick lit and avoid chick flicks as much as I can too.

Chick lit worries me. It shows that girls weren't being raised in a way that encourages them to develop actual interests in things and activities and that at this rate, they might not ever be.

Spare me the Catherine Cookson! I love those books that show the darker side of the human psyche. The closest I have ever come, I think is Wuthering Heights and I have to say that book stirs me more than any modern work. I have just read a foundation in Gothic and as a result have started reading The Casltle of Otranto and will move on to The Monk. I love to watch movies of the books I have read, but think it makes me a little of a bore and chatterbox when I visit the cinema. What are you reading at the moment?

Steer clear of Mysteries of Udolpho. Challenging oneself is one thing but that book is tedium incarnate and contains snippets of some of the worst damn poetry you'll ever read Right now I am reading my friend Jess Gulbranson's book 10 A Boot Stomping 20 A Human Face 30 Go to 10, which is published by Legumeman, the Australian press I work with. I read about half of it then got busy, but I should finish it and have a blurb for him soon. It's a ton of fun, a book about hauntings, conspiracy theory and how we interact with pop culture. One of the things I love about Bizarro is that it doesn't sacrifice intelligence for fun or strangeness for excitement, even in the most scatological or apparenly silly books in the genre. After this, I move onto William Pauley III's Doom Magnetic, which I'm excited about. I've heard from people who read it that it's a reading experience closer to going to the movies than other books are and that it's weird and full of genrebending and excitement, so it should be a good experience. I've been reading the Tao Te Ching a lot too.

Some good recommendations, I will check them out. I do enjoy conspiracy theory/urban legend stuff. Snopes is a great site for this. And Udolpho is little slow, but only have 50 pages left and it goes against the grain not to finish a book.

I'm genuinely impressed. I had to read that book in five page increments over months.

I always have a book in my handbag to pick out when I am at a loose end and am usually reading 4 or 5 at a time. I just pick up what I fancy at the time. I can read anywhere; waiting to pick the kids up, waiting to see the doc or dentist or just when I want to chill with a ciggie and a can of lager. Its my escape. Udolpho is very dark and not easily accessable, I give you that, but I studied this era of history and attitudes to literature and art at the time as part of my degree. I think that maybe helps me to understand the reasons and times that it was written.