Friday, November 29, 2013

Should Readers Be Allowed to Edit Books?

This video cracks me up. It's also a great concept, and I'm hoping the technology becomes available.


If you could edit your books, would you? If so, what kind of content would you block?

Only two more days left of the blog tour...

Jane Eyre meets Supernatural.

Alexia’s nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed wraiths, and forbidden love with a man hunted by these creatures. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with her beloved and risk becoming one of the Soulless. 
Want to learn about the mystery behind the moonless night? Julie Flanders shares Excerpt #5 in the Mystery Sentence GameUnravel the mystery of the Moonless night! Gather all 8 hidden words from the excerpts and figure out the sentence to win a free copy of Moonless. Send your mystery sentence to crystal (AT) crystal-collier.com with the subject MYSTERY SENTENCE before December 10, 2013, and you will be entered to win one of 10 copies of MOONLESS—just in time for Christmas. Happy hunting!

Where did MOONLESS come from? Learn the story behind the story with Misha Gericke.

Have you ever read a book that truly offended you?

Only a couple more days to enter. Do it NOW!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

28 comments:

  1. That app could be useful for preventing kids seeing things you'd rather they didn't, but I don't think I'd use to to edit books I wanted to read myself. If I think something is too profane or hateful I'd rather not read it in the first place!

    Thanks for dropping by my blog earlier!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's true. There are several books I won't pick up because they have content I'm sure I don't want in my head.

      Delete
  2. I've never read a book that's offended me. I look at books as a form of art - the interpretation is very subjective so I find it hard to really get offended.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Crystal, I agree with Yvonne's comments. Matilda loved your comments today.
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think I've been more offended by bad writing than any particular content or theme. I'm also squicked out by huge age differences (esp. when it involves statutory rape) being presented as romantic or normal. I can just imagine some teen girl reading such a book feeling validated in how she's dating a legal adult man, in spite of what her family thinks of him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All very valid points. Granted, I met my hubby when he was 20 and I was 16, so while I agree with the latter half of that statement, I think there are a few circumstances that are the exception. ;)

      Delete
  5. No, I would never consider editing any books that I read. We, the reader, should not have the right to mess around with somebody else's words.

    After all, if we don't like it, we can always move on.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't know. I enjoy filthy language.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi!

    There's not much that offends me, however - there are books that I won't read, and there are things that make me jerk back and reconsider whether or not to continue reading.

    Specifically, taking God's name in vain (you know, that word). I don't want to see it, so I would like to block that out. Any other words are probably okay, I'm used to it. I don't use those words myself but I'm used to hearing and reading them and, like Keith said, if it's part of the art, that's fine. But I'm never okay with anyone taking my God's name in vain - then it gets personal.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd be one of those crazy people blocking all profanity. *shrugs* I totally get it.

      Delete
  8. They have this capability for movies. At one of the schools I sub at, the teacher has a DVD player where you can plug in a USB that skips scenes that wouldn't be appropriate for certain age ranges, meaning we can watch movies that we might not be able to play. It's great...in the classroom.

    As a way to shield kids from inappropriate content, I can see the value. However, if something is going to offend me, I just don't pick it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rightly so. This is where reviews become so important, eh?

      Delete
  9. My gr-daughter visited recently, went into the main bathroom where my husband had left his "reading time" books. She picked up a Jim Butcher book about a wizard; I had refused to read it as it had so much profanity. She proudly told G-pa about the part where he had been reading (which was kinda racy). Lesson learned.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've never really run across language that offends me, that I can think of. If the content offends me, then I just quite reading. I could see this being handy with kids in the house, though. It's an interesting idea, anyway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like it. I could read a book, edit it and feel confident passing it on to my 13 yr old or 8 yr old.

      Delete
  11. I don't find the app in that video all too appealing, to be honest. If we were able to "block" things in a book by tagging them, the overall feel of the story and characters would change, and what if it ended up blocking something important to the plot? That'd make the story real confusing real fast. So, I'd rather just stop reading a book entirely if I stumbled on something that bothered me...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Understandable. I can totally see that, but there are definitely some scene types I wouldn't mind skipping.

      Delete
  12. The video isn't working for me, but I'm against this idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh man! It's cute. I can understand, but I started reading adult books at the age of 13, and it would have been nice to have a few filters on there. =)

      Delete
  13. So anyone reading these comments should know that although Crystal and I met when I was 20 and she was 16 we had absolutely no type of "relations" until we were married at 23 and 19. Least anyone think I should be arrested. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I avoid books with really bad language or inappropriate material, but it takes a lot for me to cross that line. I tend to read books with positive messages of love and hope. Just my thoughts though. :)

    ReplyDelete

Hit me with your cheese!