tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354250.post9173261523700121447..comments2024-01-31T01:40:57.553-06:00Comments on Adventures in Reading: Memories of XanthJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094675116398769415noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354250.post-39523735058960524922014-09-09T07:27:09.745-05:002014-09-09T07:27:09.745-05:00Even though I have a good ten to twelve years befo...Even though I have a good ten to twelve years before I need to think about it, I'm pretty sure I'll be with you on this. Xanth won't be the gateway for my son. Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16094675116398769415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354250.post-60734335766978847092014-09-08T19:55:43.932-05:002014-09-08T19:55:43.932-05:00I've had similar thoughts about Xanth to the o...I've had similar thoughts about Xanth to the ones described both in this post and by the commenter. I loved the books as a teenager, but when I recently tried to re-read them it was painful. I have twin daughters and I have been reading Oz to them, but I can't see myself ever sharing Xanth with them. (Well, maybe when they are older, and can understand the context in which I read the books, but at that point they're not going to be gateway books for them.)Michael A. Bursteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04701222644205600836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354250.post-23030031873137981272014-09-08T16:13:55.322-05:002014-09-08T16:13:55.322-05:00I completely agree! I didn't pick up on that t...I completely agree! I didn't pick up on that too much when I was a kid, though I was always a little uncomfortable with how relationships were handled - it never seemed like they were real people with actual relationships. <br /><br />But as an adult? Nope.<br /><br />I thought about addressing it a little bit in my article, but decided stick more with the overall impact of Xanth. Where I consider re-reading early David Eddings, I just can't go back to Piers Anthony. His work was vital to my childhood, but I think that is also where it belongs.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16094675116398769415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7354250.post-13358062005928599362014-09-08T16:09:32.004-05:002014-09-08T16:09:32.004-05:00I too devoured the series when I was in middle sch...I too devoured the series when I was in middle school. I enjoyed it so much that it was quite a shock when I tried to reread Spell for Chameleon as an adult only to discover that it is painfully, awfully sexist. I mean look no further than the nature of Chameleon herself. And if you care to look farther, find the scene where she meets Bink and consider how she is viewed by the townspeople in the context of the trial. Yikes... Weird how stuff like that can go over your head when you're a kid.<br /><br />I still cherish the memories of Xanth and how it swept me into a world of magic and adventure, but I'm afraid I couldn't recommend it to any modern reader.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com