My Secret Life

Suggest and discuss books to read (all languages welcome!)
ElleyKat
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Post by ElleyKat »

Lucy_k_p wrote:... in a way that is clearly meant to be erotic and exciting for the reader.
I don't know that I agree with that - I did go and read the first chapter, and this short decription didn't seem to clearly be meant to be erotic and exciting to the reader. It's told in a very matter of fact way (as the narrator states he's telling just what he remembers and not embellishing or making up to fill in gaps). I think it's a clear indication of possibly why the narrator grows up to participate in such deviant behavior.

I can't speak to whether it violates child pornography laws, not knowing much or anything about that. It does seem to be just a paragraph or two that references what a maid did to him when he was 5-8, and then it's mostly about him liking to listen to people pee.

You're probably right that this is a priority for us to record, but then, what is? It seems that most of the "classics" are recorded (many in multiples) already, so it's not like we're sitting here going "No, no, we must have another version of Pride and Prejudice recorded!!"

Since there is that questionable bit about possible child porn in this work, I won't be BCing this one, but if someone has another Victorian Erotica book they want put up and doesn't want their name tied to the creation of the thing, link it to me and I'll look at it and probably post it as a group read.
Otherwise,
The Inevitable by Louis Couperus
is tagged as erotica and has open sections.
I imagine that anything like this will take a longer time to complete, as there will be a much more limited number of readers wanting to read sections, but there are other erotica titles in LV's catalog that have been completed, so I'm sure there could be more.
~Elley

I've had a death in the family and won't be around Librivox much for the next while. I'll be back ... when I'm back. I appreciate your patience in the meanwhile. :)
Peter Why
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Post by Peter Why »

I might read The Romance of Lust named in that other thread that's been mentioned, some time in the future (a year or so away). I've read it, as it's in a book of erotica published by Wordsworth. There are .... um, practices .... that I find unpleasant, but I think overall it would be a fairly easy read, if a bit long.

There's a lovely comment in the Wikipedia article on the book: "Because of the often unrealistic description of sexual activities and positions in The Romance of Lust, Marcus uses the word vector to describe the mechanical sex acts. He also speaks of emotional deprivation in conjunction with the work, because the characters do not interact with one another as real, thinking, and feeling persons would do."

My Secret Life is definitely too long!

Peter
"I think, therefore I am, I think." Solomon Cohen, in Terry Pratchett's Dodger
J_N
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Post by J_N »

I am currently recording a chapter for Psychology of Sex, volume 2 and while most of it is quite modern in it's views, I just came across this part, that fits right into this discussion, where basically rape is seen as OK, because the victim offered an invitation:
Another exciting cause of inversion is seduction. By this I mean the initiation of the young boy or girl by some older and more experienced person in whom inversion is already developed, [...] "He only can be seduced," as Moll puts it, "who is capable of being seduced." No doubt it frequently happens in these, as so often in more normal "seductions," that the victim has offered a voluntary or involuntary invitation.
it's not explicit or anything, but if we don't trust our listeners to make the distinction between a historical text and what is acceptable today, there are a lot of things we could not record :wink:
Julia - Introverts, unite! Seperately... in your own homes.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. ― Susan Cain

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JWMcC
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Post by JWMcC »

"Even aside from the legal issues (There are some countries where this absolutely counts as child pornography . . . .")

Although I'm not that interested in participating in a recording of My Secret Life, I'm curious whether there is a difference between the work being on Project Gutenberg and any potential Librivox version--in other words: PG: text, therefore not child pornography; Librivox: voice, therefore child pornography. Or does anyone know of countries where, in fact, Project Gutenberg has been banned due to the presence of such works in its catalog?
The User Formerly Known as JWMcCalvin
J_N
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Post by J_N »

I believe, in the US child pronography laws only apply to pictures... whereas in Canada (e.g.) fiction depicting minors in sexual situations is illegal as well... Europe is probably split on that topic as well...

Japan is interesting... they have quite strict pronography laws (e.g. the important bits get blurred in videos) but fictional depicitons (e.g. drawings [manga, anime]) of child pornography are allowed [also the national age of consent is 13 years (though it varies from 13-18 depending on the prefecture)].

In a nutshell, anything that could be considered child pornography opens up a potential legal minefield...
Julia - Introverts, unite! Seperately... in your own homes.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. ― Susan Cain

Author death +70 yrs? Legamus!
RuthieG
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Post by RuthieG »

In a nutshell, anything that could be considered child pornography opens up a potential legal minefield...
My bold. Aye, there's the rub: "that could be considered".

Admin hat off. I'm afraid I agree. It may go against the grain here to suggest that we desist from recording anything that may be contentious. However, in view of recent developments, and for the good of LibriVox, I believe we should do so. The concern is that (as with the proposed UK web filtering system) crude keyword filtering will deny access to many legitimate resources. (I shall be interested to see what happens with Project Gutenberg.).

Ruth
My LV catalogue page | RuthieG's CataBlog of recordings | Tweet: @RuthGolding
J_N
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Post by J_N »

RuthieG wrote:Admin hat off. I'm afraid I agree. It may go against the grain here to suggest that we desist from recording anything that may be contentious. However, in view of recent developments, and for the good of LibriVox, I believe we should do so. The concern is that (as with the proposed UK web filtering system) crude keyword filtering will deny access to many legitimate resources. (I shall be interested to see what happens with Project Gutenberg.).
I wonder if other countries will follow suit... I think there is a very fine line between restricting access to illegal content and restricting freedom of information... let's hope they know how to walk on a tightrope... :?
Julia - Introverts, unite! Seperately... in your own homes.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. ― Susan Cain

Author death +70 yrs? Legamus!
RuthieG
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Post by RuthieG »

I think there is a very fine line between restricting access to illegal content and restricting freedom of information
Unfortunately, the proposals in the UK are nothing to do with illegal content. The Govt. is pressurising ISPs into adopting default-on web filtering of content which is deemed 'unsuitable' (unspecified) for children. https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2013/sleepwalking-into-censorship

Ruth
My LV catalogue page | RuthieG's CataBlog of recordings | Tweet: @RuthGolding
J_N
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Post by J_N »

oh wow... not good... :shock: thanks for clearing that up :) [and sorry for the OT]
Julia - Introverts, unite! Seperately... in your own homes.

Spend your free time the way you like, not the way you think you're supposed to. ― Susan Cain

Author death +70 yrs? Legamus!
StarFire
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Post by StarFire »

while browsing books on Gutenberg I came across this book that looked interesting.
As far as i can tell it's not been done yet.


http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30360
--Winter


"I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of the stars makes me dream"
- Van Goph
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

LoC Class HQ: Social sciences: The family, Marriage, Sex and Gender
Subject Erotic literature
Subject Pornography
Subject Sex addicts -- Biography
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
Peter Why
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Post by Peter Why »

The book would be a very long read, though it's definitely better written than much of The Pearl. I've seen some of the text in a collection of erotica.You'd definitely have to have a note in the summary about the possibility of causing offence!

It's a book that, a couple of years ago, I thought about recording but I'm now embedded in another very long solo, so I'll not take this one on unless I need a change. It'll be interesting to see if anyone takes it up; it could even be done as a sort of dramatic reading, perhaps with just a few male and female readers handling all the spoken parts.

Peter
"I think, therefore I am, I think." Solomon Cohen, in Terry Pratchett's Dodger
StarFire
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Post by StarFire »

oh. yeah you would.
I didn't read the whole thing which is why I didn't notice. :shock:
thanks for pointing that out!
--Winter


"I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of the stars makes me dream"
- Van Goph
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