Comments on closetwriter: Sharing Thoughts About "Butterfly", by Kathryn Har...

I, too, read this back in 1991, but could not reme...

2009-10-18T15:34:38.147-04:00

I, too, read this back in 1991, but could not remember the author. Thanks for posting so I was able to find it.

By the way, there was a sequel written to "Butterfly", but, naturally, I can't remember the name. So if anyone does know it, please post.

Hey Lea! Very nice review. This book sounds very i...

2009-07-19T22:45:59.584-04:00

Hey Lea!
Very nice review. This book sounds very interesting! And that it stood the test of time, you are right... very well done!!!

I agree with you and everyone else about people dubbing romance novels trash... Put it on the big screen and it gets all the awards for being the most romanatic movie ever... put it in paperback format... and it gets called trash!!! I can show them trash if they would like!!
Wonderful post!!
Thanks for re-introducing us to a wonderful book! The funny thing is.. no matter how old the book is... the story still holds true today!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend, Lea!! And I hope you have a great Monday!

Hey Amy! I'm sorry to say I just haven't been abl...

2009-07-19T12:32:08.596-04:00

Hey Amy!

I'm sorry to say I just haven't been able to fit it in yet. But it is my goal to read it when I next get some vacation time.

I'll be sure to post my thoughts when I do read it. :)

Best
L

I think you're right about the black jewels trilog...

2009-07-19T07:17:34.957-04:00

I think you're right about the black jewels trilogy! I was thinking romance and those aren't so they didn't pop in my head. Have you started them yet?? You know, Christine (the happy ever after blog) I finally got her to read them. She read the first two last I heard and she loved them both. I'm not sure if she has the last book, but it really is a great trilogy, with some awesome characters!

Hi VFG! Thanks for your comment. This is a really...

2009-07-18T10:34:37.138-04:00

Hi VFG!

Thanks for your comment. This is a really good story and one I don't think I will ever forget And, yes it is lovely it has stood the test of time.

You have a great weekend too.

Best
L

Hi Crazy Lady!

I do think "Butterfly" is a gem and plan to re-read the revised version at some point. It is a well told poignant tale. :)

Thanks so much for your nice comment!

L

Hi Cindy!!

So nice to know of someone else who has read the book. Awesome is right and I so liked the way the 4 women's lives intersected at "Butterfly". Very unique.

Thanks for your book memories. I read "Renegade Love", a long, long time ago and remember it being amazing!

Best
L

Hi Amy!

Thanks for you note.. :) I think the "Black Jewels" Triology will be the one to stand out for you girl!

Best
L

Hi Lea, This book does sound wonderful. It sounds...

2009-07-18T07:42:15.633-04:00

Hi Lea,

This book does sound wonderful. It sounds emotional.

I can't say there are any romance novels for me that have stood the test of time, since I have only been reading them for less than 4 years now. But I don't plan on stopping any time soon. So maybe I can answer that question in about 10 years or so :).

Have a great weekend!

I read Butterfly around the same time you did and ...

2009-07-18T00:53:09.506-04:00

I read Butterfly around the same time you did and it was awesome and scary (I was 20 so reading about the lives of these 4 women was eye opening).

I don't remember the first romance I ever read but I do remember when I read A Rose In Winter by Kathleen Woodiwiss. Having never really been a reader before I had no clue how the story was going to work. I also remember Come Love A Stranger being a wonderful new world.

It was Katherine Sutcliffe's book Renegade Love that made me the romance reader I am now. Talk about a dark tortured hero! The epilogue was mind blowing and I was floored.

I know Renegade Love would stand the test of time because it was unflinching in many parts even though the heroine was so pure/angelic. I haven't re-read Woodiwiss in years though so I can't say for sure but I remember them fondly.

CindyS

What an amazing-sounding book, Lea! Thank you for...

2009-07-17T16:37:52.465-04:00

What an amazing-sounding book, Lea! Thank you for bringing this gem to my attention. I wish I could help you out on the question, but since I've only just started reading romance, I'm not sure I could tell you! LOL

Hey Lea! I loved this review. Wow, what an intere...

2009-07-17T16:34:23.110-04:00

Hey Lea!

I loved this review. Wow, what an interesting story and one that I've previously never heard before. How wonderful too that it's been re-released, has 91 reviews, and boats a five star rating. Proves that the oldies are definitely goodies.

Have a wonderful weekend!

;) VFG

LOL - Ms. M.!!! YIKES woman - you NEVER have to a...

2009-07-17T11:55:36.722-04:00

LOL - Ms. M.!!!

YIKES woman - you NEVER have to apologise for being LATE to visit. Some days I don't even get by to everyone's posts.

We all have lives and this is blogging. lol

Glad you stopped by though. I just wanted you to know that your great post provoked some thoughts in my stale grey matter... ;)

You have an awesome weekend.
L

Hi Lea! Sorry I am late getting over here. Great...

2009-07-17T11:34:13.418-04:00

Hi Lea! Sorry I am late getting over here. Great review.
I absolutely love revisiting books from years ago and like Mary G, one of the first books I owned and reread over and over for YEARS (still do!) is Flame & the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I just adored that woman's writing.

Hi Chris: Thank you! I don't remember the plots ...

2009-07-17T08:22:24.937-04:00

Hi Chris:

Thank you! I don't remember the plots and characters of all the books I've read over the years either and have been trying to slowly add to "Goodreads", to jog the memory. lol

"Butterfly", just happened to be an especially poignant read and has many themes woven into the narrative.

Best
L

Hi Dottie:

Well said!! You are absolutely correct and have communicated your thoughts with such passion. ;)

I agree completely, and I guess in a convoluted way I was trying to communicate that in my post. I think "Butterfly", addresses so many issues of concern to women and while, yes, is escapist it also is very thought provoking. That being said, I've read a thousand different novels over the years that come under the "romance" umbrella that have elicited the same response.

You are quite correct about the "forest and trees", analogy. I also think that those who denegrate the romance genre and particularly the sub-genre of erotic romance are the ones that are reading it under the covers with a flashlight at night.

Thanks for your well thought out comment.

L

Hi B:

Thanks for weighing in! The cover art in the late 80's and 90's was very different from today because I think women have become more sophisticated and forthright in their tastes with respect to romance. What appealed then, doesn't appeal now, etc. I'm going to purchase the 2007 version of "Butterfly", because apparently it was edited from the original version and I'd like to see what has changed.

As for "Jane Eyre", absolutely, I agree, a timeless classic romance. While I prefer Charlotte's work to Emily's, to each their own right??? LOL

As for Austen, man, I so hear you, but I have been convinced to give P&P another try by a good friend looking at it from another perspective.

Thanks so much B!

L

Should have known it was old cos of that first cov...

2009-07-17T01:17:46.089-04:00

Should have known it was old cos of that first cover, was not attracted to it. But that second was nice.

Great review.

And grrrrr on those who trash romance, honestly, those big books that gets huge prizes and stuff can be so awfully boring sometimes. And sometimes I don't even understand why people think they are well written. But they are approved. Romance are not, neither is fantasy. And in the end I have read beautifully written materpieces, but still only 2 books in my entire lifetime has gotten a 5 from me, one fantasy. Because it's a book I could re'read every day

Read it like that was part of your review, but it was Dotties, if you wonder why I went of track lol.

Hm can I say Jane Eyre :=)
Cos in teh end P&P was rather boring

Hi Lea! I've read so many books over the years th...

2009-07-16T23:31:52.389-04:00

Hi Lea!

I've read so many books over the years that I can no longer remember individual titles, memory like a sieve, and worse every year, lol.

But I beg that person who said that romance is a trash genre to show me the book, story, novel that doesn't have some aspect of romance within it. It hurts my brain and my heart to hear people say such things, and it leads me to believe that 1) these individuals do not read, period, or 2) the only spines they crack are textbooks, and who reads a text for enjoyment. Reading is not only a quest for knowledge, but a quest to see what else is out there. It a journey to unknown lands, people, and situations that we, the readers, would otherwise find impossible to enjoy or attain. It is the oldest form of escapism known to man, even the ancient cavemen used hieroglyphics to commemorate occasions of great happiness or sadness. Who is to say what is valid or invalid but the reader who is taking the journey.

I feel sorry for those individuals who can't see the forest passed the trees, they are truly without imagination and the strength of wisdom to live beyond today.

Without romance in the world, it would be a sorry place that I won't want to visit, let alone have to exist within.

Dottie :)

Thanks for sharing with us, Lea! I read a lot of ...

2009-07-16T21:36:51.868-04:00

Thanks for sharing with us, Lea!

I read a lot of romances in 1985, 1986, and 1987... but I have no idea what they were. I gave them all away, and my memory is atrocious... *sigh* So glad that now I have LibraryThing, so I can keep track of all the stuff I read, along with my rating and a few notes. Plus the reviewettes on my blog.

Wow Mary: The Flame & The Flower by Kathleen Woo...

2009-07-16T20:04:10.048-04:00

Wow Mary:

The Flame & The Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss, was the first historical romance beside Harlequins I ever read too and loved it. I read all her books and then just about every historical romance I could lay my hands on from there. LOL

I finally overdosed on them!

I still have my copy somewhere I'm pretty sure. Pretty timeless book that one. :)

Best
L

Hi Lea What a great question. I have tons of keepe...

2009-07-16T19:16:01.327-04:00

Hi Lea
What a great question. I have tons of keepers but I'd probably have to say The Flame & The Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss. It's the first romance novel that I read that wasn't a Harlequin. I remember it cost $1.75 (showing my age). I read it once a year for ages. I lent it out so many times & have repurchased it so many times.I could still enjoy it today but I don't read historicals as much as other genres. It was many peoples "first".

Hey Cybercliper! Thanks! I agree, there are some ...

2009-07-16T18:57:39.157-04:00

Hey Cybercliper!

Thanks! I agree, there are some great 80's & 90's romance novels out there that deserve to be remembered. I actually have "Time Without End", by Linda Lael Miller. That is a timeless series too IMHO.

I still haven't added a lot of these books to Goodreads and I should. lol

As for Ms.M.'s post. I also agree, knowledge is in reading the written word, I don't care what form it is.

Thanks so much again!
L

Great review!! I love hearing about and finding so...

2009-07-16T18:48:03.380-04:00

Great review!! I love hearing about and finding some of the older books that might be getting lost with time. I just discovered a 4-book vampire series circa 1990by Linda Lael Miller that is wonderful.

Ms. Moonlight's post was great!! I look at it this way, you get out what you put in. If you read, exercise your brain and thought processes, be open to new things, you can learn a lot from romance novels.