Clean Reads discussion

I couldn't finish Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. It's a group of interrelated short stories. I wasn't really enjoying the book, but the there were so many great reviews I thought it must get better so kept slogging through. Then I got to a story about a man having an affair purely for sex and the F word was in every other paragraph, so I quit reading.

Valerie wrote: "Loralee wrote: "I could not finish "The Time Traveler's Wife." The language was strong and the sexual content made me very uncomfortable. "

I agree on The Time Traveler's Wife. I loved the movie, but too many F words in the book so I put it aside.

Karen wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I started reading The Night Circus and the F word is in the first few pages. I quit reading.

I second this. I quit reading the book for the same reason.

Jess wrote: "I had to stop reading the book Elizabeth is missing. I was at least halfway through the book and there had been no use of profanity and all. then suddenly on one page the F word shows up and then i..."

I read Elizabeth is missing and you're right about the F word. I really enjoyed the story, so by the time the F word showed up I was interested enough that I continued to read, but the language really tainted the story for me and I cannot recommend that anyone read it.

Rachel wrote: "Karen wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I started reading The Night Circus and the F word is in the first few pages. I quit reading.

I second this. I quit reading the book for the same reason."

This is good to know, so I can remove this from my "to read" shelf! Thanks for the warning! OOOPS there are several have that title by different authors, so which one, do you mean?

Erin Morgenstern

Rachel wrote: "Erin Morgenstern"

Thank you so much, that's the one I had on my to read shelf, so I removed it.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I hadn't even read more than fifteen pages when I hit the first time it took God's name in vain. I flipped through the pages just to see if it did it again and it did, so I returned it to the library. Kind of a huge disappointment because I've really been looking forward to reading this book for years.

On the Night Circus, we read that for a bookclub, I also normally put down at an F bomb, but had been told by the lady who chose it that the one at the beginning is the only one. The rest of the book is quite clean. We talked in our bookclub about how out of place it was.

I didn't finish The Last Star, by Rick Yancey. It's the 3rd book in The 5th Wave series. Book one had some bad language, but I was interested enough in the story that I finished it. Book 2 (The Infinite Sea) had even more bad language but I finished it anyway. But book 3, The Last Star, was full of terrible language. And even worse for me, is that that language came from children. The main characters in the books are all kids and teens. Even though I wanted to find out how the series ended, I couldn't deal with the bad language anymore so didn't finish the 3rd book. Such a shame, because the plot was very interesting.

I didn't finish Beloved, by Toni Morrison. The overall feeling of the book was very creepy and gave me an "icky" feeling. Within the first couple chapters there was talk of men having sex with cattle. No explicit details, but just the mention of it was disgusting. That's when I quite reading.

I quite reading "The light in the Ruins" by Chris Bohjalian in the first chapter. It started out with a murderer describing how he killed a woman. Very creepy. I figure if the book starts that way, it's best just to turn away.

Lisha wrote: "On the Night Circus, we read that for a bookclub, I also normally put down at an F bomb, but had been told by the lady who chose it that the one at the beginning is the only one. The rest of the bo..."

Oh hey, that is great to know. Thanks for letting us know, so I can return it to my list!

Rachel wrote: "I didn't finish The Last Star, by Rick Yancey. It's the 3rd book in The 5th Wave series. Book one had some bad language, but I was interested enough in the story that I finished it. Book 2 (The Inf..."

Thanks, that series does sound too icky.

I am so glad to read about others who quit reading books because of language/sex/etc. I think I have found the right place to be! I try to include warnings about these categories in reviews I write on goodreads/Amazon because I definitely appreciate knowing this info before I start reading a book but some reviewers seem to think you should not mark a review down because of sex/language/violence.

I have tried to participate in a local book club at our library but the selections for the past two months had f-bombs or other objectionable language within the first 5-10 pages so I didn't make it through them. One was "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht and the other was "Andrew's Brain" by E.L. Doctorow. I know that the book for this month "Nobody's Fool" by Richard Russo is not to my taste based on review comments I found on Amazon so I am not going to even start it.

I get a lot of digital books for free so no longer feel bad about abandoning a book if the language is bad or there are sex scenes that I don't want to read through.

I have stopped reading the following books due to foul language/swearing: "The Grimm Chronicles Vol.1" by Isabella Fontaine, "Cry of the Firebird" by Amy Kuivalainen, Lichgates by S.M. Boyce. The sad thing is that all of these books are listed as 'Young Adult'.

I also want to mention a book called "Stigmata" by Colin Falconer. This book was about the Crusades and I had the impression when I started it that it was a 'Christian' book - not sure if just because it was about religion or for another reason. Anyways it was incredibly violent (probably not surprising for the Crusades but I had not read any books about this period before). There was a LOT of killing and a fair amount of rape taking place. And the fact that most of it was being done/approved in the name of religion was particularly unsettling. Many parts of the story were very interesting but when the main characters had their first sex scene about half-way through the book, I decided I had had enough.

Anna Faversham wrote: "C wrote: Guess no author exists today with out a warped mind, or with MacLean's talent!

I'm an author without MacLean's talent, but I do have an unwarped mind and I like it that way :o)

Perhaps y..."
Thank you for being an author willing to keep up high standards. Your time travel book sounds interesting. I have put it on my to-read list.

Jolyn wrote: "I am so glad to read about others who quit reading books because of language/sex/etc. I think I have found the right place to be! I try to include warnings about these categories in reviews I write..."

You are the kind of book reviewer that I love! Someone who warns potential readers about elements that many do find offensive.

I also do not join book clubs because I read WHEN I want, and only books that sound appealing to me. A synopsis that piques my interest.

Rachel wrote: "I didn't finish The Last Star, by Rick Yancey. It's the 3rd book in The 5th Wave series. Book one had some bad language, but I was interested enough in the story that I finished it. Book 2 (The Inf..."

I appreciate learning this, because I had planned to read this series, but I prefer to avoid it now.

I agree, overall the Night Circus was clean. I was put off by the FBomb but did finish it. Just wish authors didn't lower themselves to that level. It adds nothing to the book. Lisha wrote: "On the Night Circus, we read that for a bookclub, I also normally put down at an F bomb, but had been told by the lady who chose it that the one at the beginning is the only one. The rest of the bo..."

I started listening to Grimspace by Ann Aguirre. I stopped it within 5 minutes . 3 swear words including the F word... a very angry character as well. Didn't think it was going to get much better. Sad because I really liked her Razorland series.

I put down the Red Tent because of the sex act on page 1. I also put down The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime due to language on the first page. I don't mind some of these things in a book, but I think it's a bad sign when I read it on the first page.

I thought I had read a recommendation from someone in this group for author Ken Follett, so I checked out Code to Zero, but quit after the first F-bomb. I must have been mistaken about seeing a recommendation for him, because when I went back to check, I couldn't find it. Other authors whose books I stopped reading due to F-bombs include:
Berenson, Alex
Box, C J
Carnoy, David
Clark, Martin
Connelly, Michael
Cook, Robin (Cure)
Crouch, Blake
David Rosenfelt
DeMille, Nelson
Doiron, Paul
Dunning, John
Fletcher, Aaron
Gaiman, Neil
Galbraith, Robert (JK Rowling writing for adults)
Gautreaux, Tim
Gross, Andrew
Haldeman, Joe
Hearne, Kevin
Hosp, David
Johnson, Craig
Kellerman, Faye
Klavan, Andrew
Krueger, William Kent
Kurson, Robert
Leon, Donna
Mandelman, Avner
Mann, Don
Maron, Margaret
Matthiessen, Peter
Pearson, Ridley
Ponsor, Michael
Quartey, Kwei
Reichs, Kathy
Russell, Kirk
Sanford, John
Seymour, Gerald
Stirling, SM
Thor, Brad
Walker, Martin
White, Randy Wayne
Wilhelm, Kate

I recently picked up Under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino because it was a featured mystery at my local library. I skimmed the first couple of chapters or so at the library to get a feel for the book and was pleasantly surprised at how clean it was. Almost no language, no sexual innuendos, nothing at all that I was uncomfortable with. It was a very intriguing storyline, and I was thoroughly enjoying it. Unfortunately after about 100 pages, there were graphic descriptions of sexual acts and lots of filthy language. I was very surprised because of how clean it had been up to that point. I had to put it down. It was disappointing because I was so fascinated by the mystery.

Cami wrote: "I put down the Red Tent because of the sex act on page 1. I also put down The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime due to language on the first page. I don't mind some of these things in a ..."

So glad you mentioned The Red Tent! I was sad about that book, I was looking forward to reading about Jacob's wives and family, and even got through farther than the first page, but couldn't handle the references that Jacob and others participated in bestiality, etc.

Amy wrote: So glad you mentioned The Red Tent! I was sad about that book, I was looking forward to reading about Jacob's wives and family, and even got through farther than the first page, but couldn't handle the references that Jacob and others participated in bestiality, etc.

Thank you so much for this warning, The Red Tent ,really sounds like a disgusting piece of filth!

Tracy wrote: "So, I'm going to start out with some books that I've had to put down.

I put down My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (which I was thoroughly enjoying) because of the "F word". That word jolts me wh..."
It's a short word: only four letters, but to me it makes such a tremendous difference ! It directly puts a book into another, (cheaper) category, in my eyes. I've never understood why authors have never managed to find a more creative word for emphasis. People have become ever more tolerant of such things - that's true, but authors would still sell more books if they refrained from such language. So, why bother ?

Most recently for me was~

Because of crude vulgarity. One of the main characters is a disgusting vulgar drunk, and I knew I did not want to read anymore from her conversations!

C. wrote: "Most recently for me was~

Because of crude vulgarity. One of the main characters is a disgusting vulgar drunk, and I knew I did not want to read anymore from ..."
I hope it was a library book and that you didn't buy it ! These days you have to be so careful, because you really never know what you're going to get, do you ?

I recently (and reluctantly, because it was very interesting) quit reading The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore, due to occasional bursts of profanity. After a couple of F-bombs, I decided to call it a day. I had also heard that Sue Grafton was okay, but gave up on A is for Alibi after the first few chapters, for the same reason.

Yes, the Red Tent disappointed me, and that was back when I had less discriminating tastes. I plowed on until the author completely turned me off with their severely anti male attitude. That doesn't even get filed in clean/not clean. But it made the difference when a lot of other things didn't.
Nowadays i avoid more types of literary poison as I've become more aware of them.
Recently i was reading a Wonder Woman graphic novel when i came across a depiction of dominance porn. Closed the book and asked both kids , even the adult, to not read it because it had actual porn in it. My kids rely on me to screen stuff, but i haven't bothered with the grown child, but this one way crossed a line. So don't assume comics or graphic novels on the YA shelves are ok for kids.

What an incredibly helpful thread! I will have to make time to read all of this - what a wealth of information!

I've put down Brave New World, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Kite Runner, ...

I actually use my goodreads reviews to report on the cleanliness of a book and list any and all offensive items by category. This way someone else can avoid starting a book like I did. :)

Luisa wrote: "What an incredibly helpful thread! I will have to make time to read all of this - what a wealth of information!

I've put down Brave New World, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Kite Runner, ...

I..."
Luisa - I use my goodreads reviews to report on cleanliness with hopes of helping other readers in the same way. I only focus on four areas (language, sex, religion and violence) and I don't think I go into as much detail as it sounds like you do with Book Radar but I hope it helps others. I definitely want to look at your reviews in more detail though.

I've just deleted (from my Kindle) Ill Wind by Rachel Caine (first in the Weather Warden series). It has the F word a couple of times in the first chapter and started talking a little about sex. I'm not too worried because I wasn't immediately taken in by the book anyway. Disappointed though because I have just finished reading the 3rd book in her The Great Library series and they have been fine and quite enjoyable to read.

Re: Sabrina(post #483) Actually I had won the book in the Goodreads First Reads Book Giveaway(my 5th win, so everyone be sure to enter those!)

Lncropper wrote: "C. wrote: "I wasn't able to start a new thread in this "General" folder, as it was not an option in the drop-down menu, but I would like to get suggestions for~ clean, non-religious Thrillers, Susp..."

Christin wrote: "Big Little Lies
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Had lots of swearing including "F" bombs. I believe there was also some adultery and rape.

In the Land..."
In answer to Anna : for clean historical fiction try Jean Plaidy. She writes about British history, some French and some Italian.

Sabrina wrote: "Lncropper wrote: "C. wrote: "I wasn't able to start a new thread in this "General" folder, as it was not an option in the drop-down menu, but I would like to get suggestions for~ clean, non-religio..."

That sounds like just what I was looking for! Thanks!

C. wrote: "Re: Sabrina(post #483) Actually I had won the book in the Goodreads First Reads Book Giveaway(my 5th win, so everyone be sure to enter those!)"
Well, I've been living and working overseas for a few years (in Belgium) and I can tell you it's a real problem, because all the books I want to read in English, I have to buy from Amazon (as well as pay a large postage fee) and I've had a lot of disappointments so far. When I just can't stand to read them, I either give them or throw them away. It makes me so appreciative of our public library back home - which I used to take for granted !

Re: Sabrina, can you get Kindle books there? That would be a much cheaper option, I think. I also subscribe to Kindle Unlimited for $9.99 per month and can borrow up to 10 Kindle books at once directly from Amazon.

Well, at first I didn't much like that option, because I'm so old-fashioned about books. I like the smell and feel of a new book, turning the pages, etc. But ever since I've bought my new iphone, I've been reading free classic ebooks and have gotten used to it now. So I think that's really good advice and I'm seriously going to look into it. Thanks for the tip C. And the cherry on top of the cake, is that I plan to move soon and have accumulated so many books that I'm tired of lugging them around everywhere, too.

That was what got me using my kindle, too- the free classics. I recommend Elizabeth von Arnim for feel-good heartful reading.

Re: Sabrina, until I got my first Kindle after not being able to read an older library book because of the tiny text, I didn't think I would become such an avid fan of e-book readers, but now I try to get every book in the Kindle edition!

I have over 1300 Kindle books on my Kindle Touch(10/11/17) and my newer Kindle Paperwhite(6/16),and all except for maybe 50, were free! I only download freebies that have several reviews with the majority of those being 4 to 5 stars, and the book's synopsis must really grab my interest, so I have had only a very few disappointments.

I usually check everyday at~

Freebie Books - Links Only - No Self Promotion IV
https://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/r...

for free Kindle books. Always make sure they are still free ,because sometimes they are only free for a few hours, but you can get a refund from Amazon, if you download one whose free option has expired.

Thanks for all that great advice C. Sometimes we aren't really sure of all that is available out there until we try. Thanks again !

YVW, Sabrina. :D

Lora wrote: "That was what got me using my kindle, too- the free classics. I recommend Elizabeth von Arnim for feel-good heartful reading."
Thanks Lora ! That'll nice of you. I always love discovering new authors :)

There were so many graphic sex and rape scenes in Outlander, men raping men and men raping women, I couldn't handle it and had to quit the series entirely.

I also borrowed "I found You" by Lisa Jewell, and couldn't get far due to the incestuous overtones with a brother leering at his sister and desiring her.

Is there EVER going to be an end to these current trends ? For my part; I've really had ENOUGH !

What was so frustrating . . . the stories were so interesting to me I wanted to read them, but I completely agree. I finally, sadly, just had enough and had to quit reading the series. It was so good; and so, so bad. I'm done with it.

I think this trend is like the terrorism and disasters we've been seeing- terrible things, many purposely perpetrated by people determined to drag down our culture. So then, do what Fred Rogers says: look for the good people. Find the ones worthy of support. It is so hard, isn't it? The writing for TV and books has sometimes become so incredibly well done that it makes it hard to walka way when the graphic nature and coarseness are so freely intermixed with incredible story telling. Think of it as resisting addiction, and believe in your spirit and brain, your ability to recover if you do get exposed or hooked. Remember that freedom when you have broken free of something. I'm often over on this group looking into books or seeing what others have to say. While there are those who would shame us for holding ourselves to a standard, I am glad I do this for myself and my family. Thanks for your input!