TokyoPlum
I'm a Japanese film and lit researcher / enthusiast living in Tokyo. If I could wish for one thing at the moment, it would be a bigger bath tub that didn't flood the bathroom when I drained it.
On 'The Valley Of Horses': Once More Into The Breach
I remember The Valley of Horses being passed around my middle school in hushed tones--the great thing was that the cover didn't give anything away, so none of the teachers or parents knew it was inappropriate. I think I was more horrified at that age by a lot of the graphic descriptions, but when I compare Valley of the Horses sex with anything-by-V.C. Andrews sex (those books also got secretly passed around), at least the former seemed to be about reasonably healthy sex. Even if I did develop a fear of Jondalar-sized wangs.
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On 'Clan Of The Cave Bear': Neanderthal Fan Fic
Jean M. Auel's characterizations of both male and female genitalia confused the hell out of me. Especially using words like "tangy salt" to describe the lady bits. The sex was so graphic that I actually didn't find it titillating, just shocking
As to pre-internet masturbatory material, I was a total Vampire Chronicles nut. Lestat and Louis nuzzling necks with no sex at all was a lot hotter to me than pages and pages of members, mounds, warm folds, and throbbing.
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On 'The Secret Circle': Teen Witches In ZOMG Love
@fabel Yes, she did--I especially remember that one because it had one of those awesome 80s-era covers with a woman's hand holding a phone and a black-gloved man's hand gripping it from outside the frame.
Her titles were kind of odd, though--Don't Look Behind You? Er, I think I'd be plenty looking behind me if I were being hunted by a devil-eyed man dressed in a maid's outfit.
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On 'The Secret Circle': Teen Witches In ZOMG Love
The author who genuinely scared me as a teenager was Lois Duncan (Summer of Fear, Stranger With My Face, Down a Dark Hall). I remember reading her stuff aloud to my mother and having to stop because she got too scared. (She may have been playing it up for my sake. But maybe not.) I think most of my friends favored R.L. Stine over Christopher Pike, but his stuff always looked more "wooo..ghosties..." scary than legitimate-scary.
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On 'The Valley Of Horses': Once More Into The Breach
@Brooke Adam@facebook I just re-read some of Crystal Singer and remembered why I loved it so much as a kid--so nice to have a heroine who was flawed but also gutsy. And I think it was the first time I read a story where the female lead had sex and it wasn't some enormous life-changing event.