Recommended Reading

[hoosier]

divinemrse said:

I say go for "The Other Boleyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory - it's great!

I caught the tail-end of Gene Shalit's review on The Other Boleyn Girl this morning and it was very favorable. The commercials certainly do grab you. And I noticed that the book has been reissued with a new cover to further promote the movie. The monthly mentions email I get from Borders Books recently had a list of books that tie in with the release of the movie-- on Anne Boleyn, the Tudors etc. They all looked interesting but I controlled myself and only got the one on Lady Jane Grey.(Innocent Traitor)

[inuvik]

I have almost completed Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

threecupsoftea.com

www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-Mission-Promote/dp/0143038257/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211384365&sr=1-1

Greg is a former mountain climber who has made it his mission to build schools for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He goes to the most remote, inaccessible places of these countries, the heartland of conservative Islam.

The book details how he came to do this, his passion and commitment over decades, and how he has won the hearts and minds of people the world over. Many predict he will soon win the Nobel Peace Prize. It's a moving, informative and wonderful read!

[mlm828]

Shame on Random House for backing out of publishing The Jewel of Medina. As FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

[hoosier]

Sorry state of things to come. If publishing companies are afraid of offending a certain segment of the population, then no more books will be published because there will always be someone who will take umbrage.

And isn't that why books, specifically novels, are written? Outside of the pure entertainment value, that is. To make one think or to have one experience, however vicariously, how "the other half lives"? If you choose not to read a book because you find it offensive that is your choice. It is not your right to impose your values on someone else.

I will now step off my soapbox.

[maggiethecat]

Lord knows I'm all about freedom of the press but in the current world climate I can't say that I blame them. Um, remember when Salma Rushdie had to go into hiding for years because he wrote a book that inflamed Islamic extremists? Random House is headquartered in Manhattan, the only American city to directly suffer the wrath of that kind of extremism.

Yes, it's a sad decision but publishing companies rarely make decisions that cost them money -- and whoever picks up this book will probably make big bucks because of the controversy.
From what I read on the link provided (and I confess to reading quite quickly, so forgive me if I'm off the mark) there's some steamy stuff when Mohammad takes a child bride. Imagine the fuss if someone tried to publish a book in which Jesus had sex! Oh, wait, "The DaVinci Code" claimed He was married to Mary Magdalene. Oops.

This raises all sorts of questions, and my gut says we're not getting the whole story. Maybe the book was really badly written, which, from what I read, doesn't sound that far off the mark . . .

I'm disappointed but I maintain we're not getting the whole story.

[mlm828]

Aug 16, 2008 13:06:57 GMT -5 maggiethecat said:

Lord knows I'm all about freedom of the press but in the current world climate I can't say that I blame them. Um, remember when Salman Rushdie had to go into hiding for years because he wrote a book that inflamed Islamic extremists? Random House is headquartered in Manhattan, the only American city to directly suffer the wrath of that kind of extremism.

Yes, it's a sad decision but publishing companies rarely make decisions that cost them money -- and whoever picks up this book will probably make big bucks because of the controversy.

I hope they make buckets of money. Besides, the potential for controversy -- and the resulting big sales -- may very well have been a reason for RH's original decision to publish the book. I understand the concerns, but I still think RH cravenly caved in to bullying and intimidation. And I suspect that extremists of no other religious, racial, or ethnic group would be allowed to get away with such tactics. That really bothers me.

Aug 16, 2008 13:06:57 GMT -5 maggiethecat said:

This raises all sorts of questions, and my gut says we're not getting the whole story. Maybe the book was really badly written, which, from what I read, doesn't sound that far off the mark . . .

I'm disappointed but I maintain we're not getting the whole story.

I read the original article and the two linked articles. It appears there is a split of opinion about the merits of the book. So publish it, and let it be tested in the marketplace of ideas. In any event, the quality of the book or lack thereof was not the stated reason for not publishing. Mags knows more about this than I do, but if the book was poorly written or researched, I'd think RH would have figured that out sooner than a few months before publication, if they were doing their due diligence.