5 ms·

Aw jeez, my mom had these books. She wouldn't let me read them as a kid. I'll elaborate a bit, I don't think I'll dox myself, since she kept to herself a lot.

Aw jeez, my mom had these books. She wouldn't let me read them as a kid. I'll elaborate a bit, I don't think I'll dox myself, since she kept to herself a lot. Unfortunately I don't have space for them, so her copies either got sold or trashed when she recently died of a very treatable illness that she elected to not treat or mention to anyone for several years. I did keep her Clan of the Cave Bear books (Children of the Earth?) because the cover art always enchanted me, and I judge books by their covers. I also kept a few of her romance novels. She never talked to me about sex beyond "wear a condom" type advice, and her and my dad completely hated each other for as long as I could remember. So it's funny to imagine her having a sex drive. She was pretty old when she had me, I guess usually you have to have some sex drive to get pregnant, and then it just faded after I came along. I like to think that people will read meaning into my bookshelf when I die, but seeing it from the other side - No. The math books will get chucked. Maybe someone will keep a couple volumes of manga as a novelty. The book with a secret compartment will be worth a couple bucks. The books are worth more to me as decorations than to anyone else as anything. It's all right, I guess. I don't know what to think. Mom's good parts deserved better than her bad parts. I guess there isn't much meaning to it all in the end. She died doing what she loved, playing with crystals and avoiding doctors.

noelwelsh 3y ago
My recollection is that the Children of the Earth series is basically soft porn in anthropological wrappings.
- jhbadger 3y ago
  Basically yes. Back in the day they were one of the most popular books for "concerned parents" to try to get banned from school libraries because of the sex scenes. And the anthropology wasn't that accurate even for the time, although it was amusingly correct in its assertion that Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens were amorous together, long before people like Svante Pääbo showed that with actual genetics.
- ReactiveJelly 3y ago
  I read the first chapter and then got bored and read the synopsis on Wikipedia. That kinda ruined the magic for me. Just like with video game skyboxes, it's more fun sometimes to look at the cover and imagine that the book is profound and would deeply resonate with one's soul. In Skyrim you can actually visit the mountains on the horizon, and they're just boring mountains. What a letdown!
  - noelwelsh 3y ago
    If you only made in through one chapter you saved yourself a lot of time. The first book is by far the best of the ones I read, and the series goes downhill very quickly. But I know what you mean. It's an amazing concept.
yard2010 3y ago
I can't help but feel great empathy.. I wish you and your family all the best
DougMerritt 3y ago
> I don't think I'll dox myself, since she kept to herself a lot. It took me very little detective work to determine that you ...(drum roll) are me. No wonder I almost posted the above. > I judge books by their covers. On second thought, although I like great covers, you're not me. Carry on; you do you.
- gilleain 3y ago
  I always judge books by their covers - that's what covers are for! You look at the image they chose to use, read the blurb on the back, and decide whether you want to read it. (Yes, I know - the phrase means "Look past surface details and see inner beauty" and so on. It's just that for books the heuristic works pretty well).
  - krapp 3y ago
    It doesn't really, because a book cover is advertising, not information - it doesn't really tell you any more about the contents of the book than the pictures of food on a fast food menu accurately represent what you get on your plate.
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      That's actually a good analogy, because the pictures of food on fast food menus are still useful in most cases. You can see the lettuce poking out and ask for it to be removed, or ask for extra cheese. The way a book is advertised absolutely tells you about the book, in most cases. There is a series of thought and decisions which go into making a cover, including finding a compatible artist and giving them a solid brief. As with fast food, there are exceptions... But they are exceptions. It may be more of an heuristic than a rule, but it's undoubtedly often useful. The cover is part of the book, and an important part; both up to and beyond the advertisement.
      - edgyquant 3y ago
        It’s not a good analogy. Fast food images show the sandwich, even if a better version of it. This isn’t always the case for books, for instance in the expanse series the authors stated they write the book and send it off and then the publisher picks an image which has little relation to the books plot and was solely chosen to look cool alongside the books name.

noelwelsh 3y ago

My recollection is that the Children of the Earth series is basically soft porn in anthropological wrappings.

jhbadger 3y ago
Basically yes. Back in the day they were one of the most popular books for "concerned parents" to try to get banned from school libraries because of the sex scenes. And the anthropology wasn't that accurate even for the time, although it was amusingly correct in its assertion that Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens were amorous together, long before people like Svante Pääbo showed that with actual genetics.
ReactiveJelly 3y ago
I read the first chapter and then got bored and read the synopsis on Wikipedia. That kinda ruined the magic for me. Just like with video game skyboxes, it's more fun sometimes to look at the cover and imagine that the book is profound and would deeply resonate with one's soul. In Skyrim you can actually visit the mountains on the horizon, and they're just boring mountains. What a letdown!
- noelwelsh 3y ago
  If you only made in through one chapter you saved yourself a lot of time. The first book is by far the best of the ones I read, and the series goes downhill very quickly. But I know what you mean. It's an amazing concept.

yard2010 3y ago

I can't help but feel great empathy.. I wish you and your family all the best

DougMerritt 3y ago

> I don't think I'll dox myself, since she kept to herself a lot. It took me very little detective work to determine that you ...(drum roll) are me. No wonder I almost posted the above. > I judge books by their covers. On second thought, although I like great covers, you're not me. Carry on; you do you.

gilleain 3y ago
I always judge books by their covers - that's what covers are for! You look at the image they chose to use, read the blurb on the back, and decide whether you want to read it. (Yes, I know - the phrase means "Look past surface details and see inner beauty" and so on. It's just that for books the heuristic works pretty well).
- krapp 3y ago
  It doesn't really, because a book cover is advertising, not information - it doesn't really tell you any more about the contents of the book than the pictures of food on a fast food menu accurately represent what you get on your plate.
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    That's actually a good analogy, because the pictures of food on fast food menus are still useful in most cases. You can see the lettuce poking out and ask for it to be removed, or ask for extra cheese. The way a book is advertised absolutely tells you about the book, in most cases. There is a series of thought and decisions which go into making a cover, including finding a compatible artist and giving them a solid brief. As with fast food, there are exceptions... But they are exceptions. It may be more of an heuristic than a rule, but it's undoubtedly often useful. The cover is part of the book, and an important part; both up to and beyond the advertisement.
    - edgyquant 3y ago
      It’s not a good analogy. Fast food images show the sandwich, even if a better version of it. This isn’t always the case for books, for instance in the expanse series the authors stated they write the book and send it off and then the publisher picks an image which has little relation to the books plot and was solely chosen to look cool alongside the books name.