Is it Ethical?

As many of you out there I kept hearing about 50 Shades of Gray, and how great it was. I knew the basics, it was based off of Twilight (fanfiction) and that it was very much a erotic novel. So I gave it a try thinking it would be a mindless but good read.

 

Unfortunately, the author really disappointed me with her lack of originality when it came to her plot and characters. I posted a link on my Facebook from a blog I came across that spoke about the ethical issue of turning a fanfiction into a for-profit book.

After receiving a few comments from friends, it seemed that I had to explain why I disliked the story and the book. So I wanted to share it here with you and see what your thoughts are.

I don't like the fact that the story (plot and characters) are literally stolen from another author.
The books (50 Shades of Grey) started out as fanfiction for Twilight. The names originally used were Edward/Bella and so on. When the author decided she wanted to publish a book because she got such a great following on fanfiction (20k+ comments) she took the original story off the internet and only changed the names of the characters.

It's fine if she wanted to leave it as fanfiction, and I applaud her for getting so many followers. However, when she went to publish the story, she should have changed a great deal so that those of us who have read Twilight don't make the obvious connections.

Here are a few examples:

• Both Edward and Christian were adopted by wealthy and loving families
• Edward/Christian have a deep dark secret that makes them dangerous towards Bella/Ana
• Edward and Christian have stalker tendencies and are domineering
• Edward/Christian are both very handsome with reddish hair and a great physic
• Edward/Christian like to give extravagant and expensive gifts
• Edward/Christian both play the piano, and it’s always sad classical music
• Christian has two siblings Mia and Elliot who are just like Emmet and Alice. Mia is a happy and energetic fashion lover and Elliot is the frat boy always up for anything.
• In both books the couple are initially attracted to each other, the hero tries to stay away but the heroine wants the relationship anyways. They end up breaking up because one of them believes that they are in danger. (this is the end of book 1).
• Both stories are set in the state of Washington.
• There is another male who is good friend with the heroine (Jose/Jacob). Ana/Bella thinks of him as a brother while he wants a relationship with Ana/Bella.
• Ana is Bella. She talks like her, she acts like her, she says things that Bella would say, she is clumsy and uncoordinated, beautiful but doesn’t see it.
• Bella/Ana have an eccentric mother who lives away from them with a different husband. Bella/Ana live with their father/stepfather whom they love dearly
• Charlie/Ray (fathers) love to fish and watch sporting games. Charlie is a cop while Ray is ex-military.

I’m sure I’d find many more similarities if I went through the book with a fine toothed comb.

That being said. I don't have a problem with the book having sold a million copies and the author making money. This is not the first book or the last that will catch on with a given group and sell like wildfire.

However, the above is my honest opinion. I have a hard time not finishing books, so I finished the first one but wont be reading the second or the third.

This is by no means great literature, and I did not go into reading it thinking it would be the next Wuthering Heights. What I didn't expect was to find a copy of Twilight with a bit more adult thrown in. If it wasn't for the fact that the plot and characters are someone else's, I'd gladly read the next books and support the author.

To add on to my comment. I have an issue with the fact that the author tried to use Tess of the D’Urbervilles as the classical book that Ana loves (Bella loved Wuthering Heights) and fails miserably and making it tie into the story. She just throws it out there to make herself seem smart. Yet, it’s just something else she stole from S. Mayor and Twilight. At least Mayor was able to incorporate the classic better into the story.

Please let me know what your thoughts are on this. I will not be offended if you do not agree with me or have other thoughts.

Again, I am not annoyed that the book is an erotic novel, in fact that’s part of the reason I wanted to read it. I’m annoyed that there is no originality to the story. It’s just Bella and Edward in human form.

A Delayed Weekend Recap

 

My weekend involved a lot of this:

I spent a good 24 hours reading, which was the majority of my Friday and Saturday. And this is what I read:

I had already finished the first book, and spent my weekend finishing Catching Fire and Mockingjay. The books are fantastic, and while I found a few typos here and there, I couldn’t put them down. The Husband was not too happy with me because my emersion into these books cause at least one batch of burnt pastries and pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a day.

Since I finished the books on Saturday, Sunday was a rest day we ended up turning it into an elaborate date.

Including some of this:

 

And some of these topped with the first home win of the season.

Our awesome goalie saved 30 our of 32 shots on goal. Varlamov is a fantastic young player who shows a lot of promise of becoming one of the greats and will hopefully one day stand next goaltenders such as Partick Roy.

The game winning goal, scored by Matt Duchene. This kid is a month older then my younger brother.

Overall, we had an excellent weekend that has led to what is already a busy busy week. I should be getting my dress for the wedding in this week. I also need to make a run to Shane to drop off my rings, get the car maintained, pay bills, get Hub’s suite dry cleaned. Work. Pack and decide on where we will be on what days of our 2.5 week vacation.

Keep an eye out for our vacation plans coming sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.

Book Club Friday–Three Picassos Before Breakfast

 

I’m linking up with Megan over at A day in the life today for the Friday Book Club. 

I’m on to my nest Dresden book, but don’t want to bore you with all the fictional mambo-jambo, and if you want to read about them go ahead and click on the link and it will take you to my last post about them.

The book I do want to share with you today, is one my Grandfather passed down to me before his lung-cancer surgery. The book is Three Picassos Before Breakfast as told by Anne-Marie Stein, an art forgers wife.   

The book is about the life story of David Stein, a very famous art forger.

David Stein (born Henri Haddad, January 27, 1935, Alexandria, Egypt - Died October 1999, Bordeaux, France) was an artist who, until 1966, had been frequently sentenced for theft by the French courts before becoming an art forger and art dealer with 15 aliases.

What I really loved about this book was not only the story but how much David and Anne-Marie traveled. They would literally live in hotels and small apartments all of Europe, and get up and move every few weeks or months.

I especially love non-fiction books because they each leave you with a part of the real experience and give you inspiration to do something other then the 9 to 5 job and “required” steps. By no means am I saying that this book encourages people to become art forgers, but I believe it encourages people do be better, to experience life on another note and NEVER give up on their dreams.

The book is a fast read. I finished it within a day and a half. Very well written and fascinating to read.

Book Club Friday – Illusions

 

I’m linking up with Megan over at A day in the life today for the Friday Book Club. 

Today’s book is very special to me, I received a copy of Illusions by Richard Bach from my uncle on the day of my high school graduation.

On the inside of the front cover my uncle had inscribed the following words:

You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.

There was also a page number that I could turn to where the quote was underlined in my uncle’s neat head. I read the book in a day, and re-read it the next day. To this day I’ll pick it up and read through. The book is an inspiration and has become my personal bible.

Here is what Amazon has to say about the book:

In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders...until he meets Donald Shimoda--former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches fly and Richard's imagination soar....

In Illusions, the unforgettable follow-up to his phenomenal bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them... and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places--like hay fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep within ourselves.

Over this weekend I will be giving a copy of this book to two of my debaters who are now high school graduates. I hope that it will be as inspiring to them as it was to me and help them in the journey of discovering themselves and becoming full adults. I also do hope that they never lose the childish perspective of life, when everything and everyone is seen through the positive light.

Book Club Link Up !!

 

I’m so excited to link up with Megan over at A day in the life… for her weekly Book Club posts!

 

This week I finally got back into reading. Now that my final semester of undergrad is over, and I can take a breath before my June 6th class starts back up. I’ve been trying to finish the series I started a while back at the recommendation of my Mister and Father-in-Law.

The series is called the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This is a fiction series and more of a “boy read” so if you are interested in mysteries and detective stories this is one heck of a good series to read. There are 13 books and I believe that Mr. Butcher is working on another one.

I am currently on Book 9, and have loved every single one of these books. Dresden is funny, and will make you laugh out loud a great deal.

Here are all the other books in order:

Have any of you read these?

If you have, can you guess who we were for last Halloween?!

 

<3 Hope you are having a great Friday and hope you decide to pick these lovelies up!

They are fun to read!

The New Fit or Fat?!

 

Today is Day 17 of the 25 Days of Fitness… and wanna know what I learned? Do ya?!

My body HURTS… I’m insanely out of shape, and have become obsessed with getting back into shape. The obsession and my nasty habit of perfectionism have kicked in … hence why the blogs have been lacking. I’m trying to put together the perfect guides, and plans and lists to help my self set up a system. I always need a system, some kind of an outline to guide me, otherwise I fall apart and give up.

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When I get obsessed over a topic, whether school, politics, clothing, cars, exercise… you get the idea… I start venting to my grandfather. My grandpa is one of those awesome ones who knows a little about everything, and while he can be grumpy and set in his ways there is always something I can learn from him. So in my insane hunt for a healthier lifestyle and my grandfather’s recent encounter and beating of cancer we’ve talked a great deal about exercising, losing excess fat, staying fit and eating healthy…

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To make a long story short, I was bestowed with two new books about exercising. My grandfather stated that they were his “health Bibles” and knowing the kind of health that man is in at 78… I’m going to say these babies are diamonds! 

 

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The books are both by Covert Bailey who is the author of four national bestsellers. He also happens to be a nutritionist with a Biochemistry degree from MIT. At the age of 78 he is still running, backpacking, skiing and kayaking and lives his life with the philosophy that “staying in shape should be enjoyable.”

I will be sharing my findings from his books with you very soon. For now I wanted to leave you with the Are You Fit or Fat? List which is the table of contents for one of the books.

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Fit people sing. Fat people float.

Fit people are fat-burners. Fat people are sugar-burners.

When Fit people eat sugar, they make glycogen. When Fat people eat sugar, they make fat.

Fit people have lots of fat-burning enzymes. Fat people have few fat-burning enzymes.

Fit people use fat efficiently. Fat people store fat efficiently.

When Fit people exercise, it is usually aerobic exercise. When Fat people exercise, it is often anaerobic exercise.

Fit people “waste” energy in everyday activities. Fat people “conserve” energy throughout the day.

Fit people have long, lean, shapely muscles. Fat people have short, round, fatty muscles.

Fit people can be overweight without being overfat. Fat people can be overfat without being overweight.

Exercise decreases hunger in Fit people. Exercise triggers hunger in Fat people.

 

Dreams and Ambitions

 

Upon my gradation from high school one of my uncles gave me a book, with a page reference on the title page. When I flipped to page 108, in blue ink were underlined the following lines:

“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.”

The book is called Illusions and the author is Richard Bach.

This book has become somewhat of a bible to me, a book that I re-read every once in a while to get a better understanding of my life, how I live it and so on. My copy has become a bit beaten up, from being lugged around almost everywhere with me for a good two years. It has underlining, highlighting, notes, comments and questions that I’ve written throughout the years. 

I picked up my ratty little book last night, after my brain got fried from all kinds of chemical equations and equilibriums. I’ve really been struggling with trying to find a balance in our current life that’s so dependent on my graduation and full of uncertainty. Much like everyone else, the Mister and I have ideas and goals of where we would like to be in the next 2 years, 5 years and 10 years, however I have a really hard time with accepting that I need to wait for things to happen.

Reading, Bach’s words, as well as the notes that I had made throughout the book really gave me a boost in my mood. We truly are never given a dream without also being given the ability to make those dreams come true.

So if your dream is an awesome bikini bod for this coming summer, then get your butt off the couch and to the gym. There are a million different workouts that will get the job done as long as you stick to them and use the tools provided to you.

Whatever your dreams, aspirations and goals, you can achieve them with a little bit of work and persistence.

I hope you all have a fantastic Saturday!

I’m going to study some more, and then we’re heading to the Mammoth game!