Book General Discussion

[ladyfiaran22]

I've finished reading a biography of Gia called Thing of Beauty and she was seriously messed up. Her mother never accepted her being a lesbian and she did so much heroin, I squicked me out. I first heard of Gia from the Angelina Jolie film but the real Gia was a lot more hardcore

[Tim]

I only heard of Gia through the Angelina Jolie movie. I think that was one of her first roles.

I didn't know it was based on a real person though.

[ladyfiaran22]

Jan 11, 2019 18:10:24 GMT -5 Tim said:

I didn't know it was based on a real person though.

Yeah, Gia was one of the biggest supermodels of the late 70s but her career was over in the early 80s because of her addiction, photographers couldn't airbrush the track marks on her arms.

[Tim]

That's a shame.  Addiction destroys another life.

[ladyfiaran22]

Since I'm sick, I've been catching up on some reading from the books I ordered for Christmas. Right now I'm reading Richard III in the 21st Century: www.goodreads.com/book/show/21246405-this-time
It's about a rich old guy who owns a company which built a time machine and brings back Richard III right before he's killed during the battle of Bosworth and how he adjusts to the 21st century. It's a cool book and as a Ricardian it's fascinating to see how people perceive him since many people think he's the evil hunchback from Shakespeare. I'm a member of the Ricardian Society, we think Richard didn't do all the bad stuff in the play and that Shakespeare did a number on him. To us, the Tudors are the bad guys 😄

[Tim]

I'm a member of the Ricardian Society, we think Richard didn't do all the bad stuff in the play and that Shakespeare did a number on him. To us, the Tudors are the bad guys

I agree.  Richard III was the victim of a smear campaign by his enemies, the Tudors.  If you ask me, it was Henry Tudor who killed the two Princes, since he had a clear motive (their claim to the crown was better than his was). 

Of course, when Shakespeare wrote his play, the Tudors were still in power.  Of course, Richard is gonna be the bad guy.

[ladyfiaran22]

Feb 23, 2019 17:28:36 GMT -5 Tim said:

I'm a member of the Ricardian Society, we think Richard didn't do all the bad stuff in the play and that Shakespeare did a number on him. To us, the Tudors are the bad guys

I agree.  Richard III was the victim of a smear campaign by his enemies, the Tudors.  If you ask me, it was Henry Tudor who killed the two Princes, since he had a clear motive (their claim to the crown was better than his was). 

Of course, when Shakespeare wrote his play, the Tudors were still in power.  Of course, Richard is gonna be the bad guy.

Awesome, another Richard supporter here. It makes a lot of sense that Henry Tudor killed the Princes, especially since if Richard killed them it would have been a huge PR blunder and at the time people did accept that the boys were illegitimate. Then again, I'm not a fan of the Tudors in general since Henry Tudor was a greedy bastard and Henry VIII was a nasty piece of work, I do feel bad for Mary Tudor since her dad divorcing Catherine of Aragon and the whole thing with Anne Boleyn messed her up *huge history nerd talking* 😄

[Melinda Halliwell]

I felt bad for Henry VIII's wife's who got the thing end stick of it whether it was being divorced or beheaded.

The fact Henry broke from the Roman Catholic church to marry Anne Boleyn only to have got rid of her when she didn't have a boy turned me of, of him although the Tudor era generally interests me.

All they were used for was to produce male heirs which only Jane Seymour did.

And yes Mary Tudor really got it when she was claimed illegitimate and pronounced Lady Mary Tudor once Henry divorced Katharine and then Elizabeth too prior to her mum being executed who clearly was on trumped up charges through the bribed nobility and Henry wanting her gone obviously.

I haven't read any books on Richard III but have watched a couple of documentaries on him plus have the White Queen and the White Princess on DVD whilst owning all the Tudors seasons 1-4 too.

[ladyfiaran22]

Feb 24, 2019 7:17:35 GMT -5 Melinda Halliwell said:

I haven't read any books on Richard III but have watched a couple of documentaries on him plus have the White Queen and the White Princess on DVD whilst owning all the Tudors seasons 1-4 too.

I love The White Queen, I have it on my queue in Amazon Prime. Since I'm a history major it's more like guilty pleasure since The War of the Roses is one of my major areas of interest since it isn't exactly correct history, but it is a favorite. Plus Aneurin Barnard as Richard is hot, it's my idea of a popcorn show since I'm normally very serious. The Tudors show was unwatchable for me, Catherine of Aragon was shown as an ugly old crow-like woman and Henry was fucking some girl against a desk while talking to his minister, that really turned me off and I had to stop watching😣

[Melinda Halliwell]

Which is understandable. When my mum watched the Tudors all she saw was sex, sex, sex and no history which she didn't like.

I explained how the show wasn't meant to be historically accurate and that, that never happened originally although I did enjoy Natalie Dormer playing Anne Boleyn.

Aneurin Barnard's portrayal of Richard was good I thought too and I liked his relationship with Anne Neville then.

[ladyfiaran22]

Since I'm done writing my papers, here's some of the books I read in seperate posts. My paper for US History was on 60s music and how it reflected the various social issues of the time. This is one of the books I read: books.google.com/books/about/Respect_Yourself.html?id=berlBQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description
It's about Stax Records in Memphis, it's rise and fall. Stax was very active in the US Civil Rights movement and this annoyed the white people who ran Memphis, and that many of its artists became wealthy and the white elite was jealous. Unfortunately, the label went bankrupt in the mid 70s after the city council found out about some dodgy loans the label got from a local bank and got the IRS and FBI after them. Some great music came from that label but the jealousy of the white people who ran the city brought them down.

[nimue]

I am currently rereading Emma, by Jane Austen. I don't think I need to give a summary   It's one of my favorite books, very funny, witty, light-hearted...

[Melinda Halliwell]

The first time I knew of Austen was when my history teacher in senior school told our class to watch a six-part miniseries that was coming on about Pride And Prejudice in 1995 for our GCSEs.

I'd never seen any period dramas before that and so generally didn't watch them then.

My mum joined in with me and we were both pleasantly surprised how good it was then consisting of the storyline and acting.

Mum loved Colin Firth as Mr Darcy especially when he came out of the water and spoke to Elizabeth afterwards outside Pemberley and I liked the scenery and estate there.

That programme got me started liking period dramas, in general, reading and watching them such as Sharp, Tom Jones A Foundling, Emma, Hornblower, and Vanity Fair.

We visited Bath 3 year's ago and saw the Austen museum with people dressed up but never went inside it having my sister with us and everything for those who've heard what she's like then.

Next time perhaps.

I liked Robin Hood and saw the Kevin Costner film which I own and read the book of also.

In later year's I became fascinated with the Tudor's and their lives in general watching the ITV 6 part drama then the Tudor's TV programme and owning all 4 seasons on DVD.

I saw and read the Other Boleyn Girl afterwards by Phillipa Gregory with the BBC one of drama before the Natalie Portman movie which the first one I must say I preferred the writing and acting of actually.

From that I've visited Hampton Court 3 times and Hever Castle once as has my sister with staff from the residential home she's in.

In the last 2 years I've to become fascinated with the Lancaster's and Plantagenet's having watched but not read yet The White Queen and The White Princess also by Philippa Gregory visiting Lancaster town and the Cathedral there.

Fun fact Emma by Jane Austen inspired the movie Clueless in terms of similar storylines taking an unpopular girl and trying to set her up with someone then.

[nimue]

I first saw film adaptations of Pride and Prejudice when I was eleven, both the 1995 version, and the one from 1980 (which I prefer). The one I really don't like is the one from 2005, with Keira Knightley, which is a very unpopular opinion. I don't like how they cut out so much of the story, think the leads are miscast, and don't like how they exaggerated the proposal scene and the Bennet's financial situation... They weren't that poor! My mother was an English teacher, so obviously made us watch (and read!) all the classics (Austen, the Bronte sisters, Dickens...). I'm glad she insisted so much, and from such an early age, because now I really enjoy them!

[Melinda Halliwell]

I didn't mind the 2005 Pride And Prejudice film actually and own the film on DVD and have seen it also on TV but will always hold a place in my heart for the 1995 BBC adaptation too.

I've not seen but have heard of the 1980 Pride And Prejudice also.