LaFemmeDarla
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:53 pm Post subject: Random
book related questions



Organizing my bookcases (books are my crack) I kept
having two thoughts concerning Belle:

1) Besides fairy tales, what kind of books do you see
Belle reading?

and (pretty similar)

2) Is there anything Belle won't read? (books are her
crack too)
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TrudiRose
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:11 pm Post subject:



She wants "adventure in the great wide somewhere," so I
see her reading adventure tales like "Robinson Crusoe".
I think she'd love "Treasure Island," except it wasn't
written in the time the movie takes place. Since she
likes stories with magic and monsters, she'd probably
love fantasy novels such as "Lord of the Rings" and the
Chronicles of Narnia, except, again, they weren't
written back then.

We know she also likes the stories of King Arthur, and
that she's read Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

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LaFemmeDarla
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:30 pm Post subject:



I kept thinking adventures books too. Like something
from Salgari (Mmmm, Sandokan is sexy...).

doesn't matter if it wasn't written in her time. We can
just let imagination run wild here. "Robinson Crusoe"
she might enjoy too (Mmm, Sandokan is sexy...).

A lady after my own heart! I love king Arthur stories as
well. The one thing that makes me giggle a little is
"Romeo and Juliet". The look on Belle and the Beast's
faces when they're into the book is priceless. Must be
I'm all jaded and old now, but I don't go all "that's so
romantic!" when the couple dies in the end.
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NikkiBelle18
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:13 am Post subject:



Hmm... I don't see her reading science books and the
Bible...
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LaFemmeDarla
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:25 am Post subject:



NikkiBelle18 wrote:
Hmm... I don't see her reading science books and
the Bible...


But the bible is cool! All that killing, sex and
violence. I once read the first three books when I was
five. I was traumatized for life.
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NikkiBelle18
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:46 am Post subject:



LaFemmeDarla wrote:
NikkiBelle18 wrote:
Hmm... I don't see her reading science books and
the Bible...


But the bible is cool! All that killing, sex and
violence. I once read the first three books when I
was five. I was traumatized for life.


Read the last one. I strongly advise it if you wanna
have a little laugh.

(Sorry! Hope I didn't offend anyone! )
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AlraM
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:03 pm Post subject:



actually I could see Belle reading a science book. Her
dad's an inventor, she may have that in her someway...
or she may at least be interested in a non-boring
science book... Anything similar to how Asimov explained
things about physics and chemistry would fascinate her,
imo (he made it seem like fabulous stories, and used
analogies a lot)

I do see her reading fantasy stories... And a lot of
children's books that are a lot deeper... I could see
her loving Alice in Wonderland, for example, or the
Chronicles of Narnia... She may also like crazy/funny
books *shrug*

As for what she wouldn't read... uhm... very very very
_bad_ fiction. I'm thinking along the lines of those
soap opera novels that people buy for holidays...
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LaFemmeDarla
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:05 pm Post subject:



AlraM wrote:
As for what she wouldn't read... uhm... very very
very _bad_ fiction. I'm thinking along the lines
of those soap opera novels that people buy for
holidays...


I'm thinking she should stay away from the PotO section
of FFN
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TrudiRose
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 12:50 pm Post subject:



Quote:
actually I could see Belle reading a science book.
Her dad's an inventor, she may have that in her
someway


I actually DON'T see that, personally. She seemed proud
of her father, and encouraged him, but I didn't see her
saying, "What exactly is the problem you're having?" or
"Tell me how this works." She was more like, "Oh, don't
worry, you're smart, you'll figure it out. I believe in
you." I didn't see her wondering about how things
worked. She just wanted adventure and all that. JMO, as
always.

If she WAS going to read non-fiction, I think it would
be a book about other lands and other cultures, since
she's interested in "far-off places."

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AlraM
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Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:00 pm Post subject:



yeah you're right... still, I've read science books that
would appeal to anyone, they were way too engaging.

I do see her interested in cultures... I wonder which
she'd like the most, if she was to know about all the
ones we know now...
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CartoonJessie
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2005 12:38 pm Post subject:



I'ld see Belle reading mystery novels as well. She's
very intelligent and I think she would get a kick out of
solving the ending of a mystery novel before she has
come to that page in the book... So yeah, I think she
would read mystery novels as well.

And fantasy, obviously, because it would let her escape
from her boring world.

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Satin Rose
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:35 pm Post subject:



I see her read the harry Potter books, Lord of the Rings
books and the Narnia Books.
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NikkiBelle18
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Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 4:29 am Post subject:



Satin Rose wrote:
I see her read the harry Potter books, Lord of the
Rings books and the Narnia Books.


For some reason I don't think she would enjoy Tolkien's
way of writing. I mean, she'd enjoy the story, but
Tolkien has quite a strange way of writing things. IMO,
of course.

Harry Potter has her name written all over it though
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nikil
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2005 6:56 pm Post subject:



Satin Rose wrote:
I see her read the harry Potter books, Lord of the
Rings books and the Narnia Books.


Same. I'm not sure she would read A Series of
Unfortunate Events. I can picture her reading science
books that my mom reads since her father's an inventor.
The only books I don't think she would like would be
ones with a lot of blood and gore. *Shudders*

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Riverwood
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:04 pm Post subject:



TrudiRose wrote:
Quote:
actually I could see Belle reading a science
book. Her dad's an inventor, she may have that
in her someway


I actually DON'T see that, personally. She seemed
proud of her father, and encouraged him, but I
didn't see her saying, "What exactly is the
problem you're having?" or "Tell me how this
works." She was more like, "Oh, don't worry,
you're smart, you'll figure it out. I believe in
you." I didn't see her wondering about how things
worked. She just wanted adventure and all that.
JMO, as always.

If she WAS going to read non-fiction, I think it
would be a book about other lands and other
cultures, since she's interested in "far-off
places."


Good point Trudi. But I think in the film there wasn't
enough time to pursue such a tangeant, so I'll agree
with AlraM on this one. I can see her being totally
fascinated by some areas of science like astronomy,
which requires a huge imagination. Of course, that's my
opinion and I can only speak for myself

May
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:22 pm Post subject:



When I started to think about it it came to me that in
Belle's times (1700s) weren't too many books that could
interests her. I don't know too much about it but it was
the age of reason and novels were treat without too much
respect. And I can't imagine Belle interested in
philosophy or science...

I know it's not the right topic but what she REALY could
get for herself to read were some anctient stories (by
Homer for exc.), poems, dramas and mythologys.
Maybe she would be interested in Dante, Milton,
Chaucer... She probably will love Shakespeare. I can see
her reading "Don Kichot"... Maybe some memoires from
journeys? I don't have any more ideas.

Did you know that in the secon half of 1700s telling or
reading fairy-tales in good company was quite
fashionable?

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AlraM
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 1:41 pm Post subject:



teehee, that's very cool I actually didn't

I do see her interested in philosophy, though, cause
it's quite the mental exercise. In some way, philosophy
books are A LOT like fairy tales. They often anecdote,
they often use very very simple words to convey deeper
messages. Stories that illustrate philosophy are
sometimes really exciting, especially when you start to
agree with one of the characters. it can be kinda
boring when you just read about whatever that or that
philosopher is saying, in some textbook. the stories
themselves are pretty nice though

Plato's dialogues on Atlantis for example... I bet she'd
love those!
Or "Utopia". She's enjoy that one a lot too. Especially
since she's quite a dreamer


*me be a philosophy junkie*
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May
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Location: Poland
Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 2:04 pm Post subject:



On the other hand why not? She could be interested in
philosophy... in her own way. She could like "Kandid" by
Voltaire. But I still can not see her reading very
large, difficult book. She would be sooo bored. Idon't
think she's an intelectual type.

Quote:
Plato's dialogues on Atlantis for example... I bet
she'd love those!
Or "Utopia". She's enjoy that one a lot too.
Especially since she's quite a dreamer

that's great excample, thanks

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HeartofTheTiger
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:32 pm Post subject:



AlraM wrote:
actually I could see Belle reading a science book.
Her dad's an inventor, she may have that in her
someway... or she may at least be interested in a
non-boring science book... Anything similar to how
Asimov explained things about physics and
chemistry would fascinate her, imo (he made it
seem like fabulous stories, and used analogies a
lot)...


I think she'd be more into the classic sci-fi books then
the stuff we've got today. Asamov, definately. Maybe
some Arthur C. Clarke. Maybe a few others. "Optomistic"
sci-fi; back in the day where the society had a very
optomistic, "can-do" attitude about things.
I'm sure she'd get a real kick out of Bradbury's
"Feirenheit 451"

AlraM wrote:
I do see her reading fantasy stories... And a lot
of children's books that are a lot deeper... I
could see her loving Alice in Wonderland, for
example, or the Chronicles of Narnia... She may
also like crazy/funny books *shrug*

As for what she wouldn't read... uhm... very very
very _bad_ fiction. I'm thinking along the lines
of those soap opera novels that people buy for
holidays...


Or those 200-page so-called "romance" novels that they
sell in airports and supermarkets.
I can see her getting into mysteries. She could turn it
into a intellectual game in her own mind, playing out
the scenerio in her head as she reads on.

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HeartofTheTiger
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Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2005 3:40 pm Post subject:



AlraM wrote:
teehee, that's very cool I actually didn't

I do see her interested in philosophy, though,
cause it's quite the mental exercise. In some way,
philosophy books are A LOT like fairy tales. They
often anecdote, they often use very very simple
words to convey deeper messages. Stories that
illustrate philosophy are sometimes really
exciting, especially when you start to agree with
one of the characters. it can be kinda boring
when you just read about whatever that or that
philosopher is saying, in some textbook. the
stories themselves are pretty nice though

Plato's dialogues on Atlantis for example... I bet
she'd love those!
Or "Utopia". She's enjoy that one a lot too.
Especially since she's quite a dreamer


*me be a philosophy junkie*


And she could verbalize what she'd learn as a means of
dealing with her problems in that little town.
Especially, with certain... people :

Belle, "Plato once said that for everything that exists,
there is a perfect form of it somewhere. A perfect
table, a perfect chair, a perfect stick. Something so
perfect that everything else is a mere shadow,an
imitation of that one perfect form. Now, if we follow
that train of thought, that means that somewhere in all
of creation, there exists the perfect form of the
perfect absolute and complete brutish moron and he
actually proposed to me an hour ago...."

(A little out of character, IMO; but hey... )

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May
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:46 am Post subject:



And now I don't know what to think about it You see!
you made me confused!

Belle in a kind of dreamer. Every philosopher was a
dreamer in some way but that does not mean that every
dreamer must be philosopher. And imho Belle is not.
I just can't imagine her thinking the way you discribed.
It's just not her. She is too emotional person for this.
Her opinions are made mostly by her feeling and not
hours of thinking. Imo, of course.

She could be interested in some phylosophy books because
they are exciting or funny, not because they make her
smart. I'm sure she's not thinking about it at all.

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AlraM
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:04 pm Post subject:



you're right May. I see her as being very emotional
myself. For example, the concept of perfection, she'd
probably take that idea in her dreaming of adventure
probably... having a perfect day, seeing a perfect
place, etc..

Anyway, that being said I do see Belle as a thinker too.
She does think for herself (evidence - how she feels in
her village), which is pretty critical to philosophers.
I guess I just associate many of her actions and
reactions with the kind of critical thinking
philosophers themselves had.
I do agree that she's more impulsive and emotional
though, but that's not to say that she wouldn't care
about books that are enriching in a moral or ethical
way. I do doubt she'd read philosophy FOR that reason
though.

make much sense? lol, I'm sleepy.
*goes to bed now*
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TrudiRose
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:11 pm Post subject:



I have to agree with May on this. Belle's ethics are
based in emotion - she is warmhearted and kind to
people, and she doesn't like the Beast ordering her to
dinner because it's not polite. I truly cannot see her
reading philosophy books and debating Hume's ethics vs.
Kant's. I think her ideas of "right" and "wrong" are
very ingrained and based simply on emotion and the idea
of treating people well, not an intellectual exercise
like philosphy.

From the movie, we know she likes fairy tales and
stories of adventure and romance. I don't see anything
to indicate that she likes intellectual essays such as
philosophy.

Totally JMO!
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May
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 4:20 pm Post subject:



AlraM --> It make sense, indeed

I Agree with Trudi, Trudi agrees with me... how happy I
am now

yeah, Belle would rather care what her intuition and
conscience say than what "a wise men wrote".

But I still think she would enjoy some philosophy books
in her own bellerian way.

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nota_lone
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:39 pm Post subject:



Stephen King. Belle would not read Stephen King.
-shudder- There's something seriously wrong with that
man...
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Somehow after reading Jane Eyre I thought, "hey, Belle would like this."

I think it's because there are some Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast elements in the story already and Jane Eyre imho is a pretty gusty heroine.

I can also see her really liking Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo, specifically "The Count of Monte Cristoe" and "Les Miserables." Lots of adventure, not always far away places in the case of Les, but really fantastic situations and characters.

Also, while I don't think Belle really would read philosophy, I think she would philosophize/analyze the characters and their actions, especially Edmond Dantes.

Granted none of those books were in print by the time I think Beauty and the Beast is set, but there's my two, well...ok more like three after taxes, cents.

Personally, I LOVE Jane Eyre. Hard to see whether it would be Belle's thing or not. Aside from the time problem, I don't know that being a governess qualifies as an adventure. I'm not sure that Belle's actually all that into romance, you know, as a genre. More as a subplot. I mean, what she actually likes is "Daring swordfights, magic spells". I know there's also a "prince in disguise", but... well, Rochester's not really disguised, is he :P?

You know I hadn't thought of that, but I would argue that it does have a lot of pretty mysterious things in it. Such as the creepy being that roams around Thornfield (I won't spoil it for those who have not read it), and the amount of times Jane strikes out on her own marks the heroine as pretty gutsy, even if the bopok is not an adventure story per say.

Maybe it just reminds me of Belle a bit, Jane's a bit of an outcast herself, ends up in a mysterious mansion with a grumpy albeit ultimately good guy, and is at some point pursued by a guy who she doesn't like.

Oh, I totally agree that it draws parallels with BatB! There's the gothic, sexy Rochester with a, um, secret in his attic vs. the apparently good-looking, virtuous St John... And Rochester even starts angsting it up at the end!

You have a point about the mystery. I suppose it depends whether Belle's into intrigue and suspense, or specifically adventures. Jane does have her little running away thing where she has no food and all that - I suppose that's a little adventurous. She is a strong heroine, it's true.

Those are all very good points!

I think that Belle would be intrigued with mystery for the reasons previously mentioned. She would enjoy figuring out who the villian was before the author drew the reader into that direction.
I don't, however, think that she'd like any deep philosiphy books becuase I don't think she'd generally be able to understand them. In that time period, girls were generally left at home with their mothers to sew and cook and take care of the home so that when they reached puberty they could marry and be able to provide for any children and their husband. They were'nt generally taught to read which is why Gaston and the villagers think her odd. I think the only reason that Belle does know how to read is her father. He probably taught her because he's an inventor and wanted her to grow up to be smart.
Jane Eyre would be a good choice for her and I think it'd be particularly ironic if she happened to read it after Beast's transformation because of how closely it parallels her own life and his.
I also think that the book that she took from the book store was Sleeping Beauty. The Brothers Grimm did have stories out around the time period that BATB is set so I think it's a reasonable assumption based on the fact that 'she doesn't find out who he is until chapter three' which correlates with, at least, Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty. I can also see Belle liking such stories because she's a romantic. We know that because of her love of Romeo and Juliet.
All points stated are, in my opinion, valid points that could each suit Belle's book loving nature as it is portrayed.

Great point, darkdolphin! Why don't you go introduce yourself in the "Be Our Guest" thread?! :)

Very well thought out, Dark Dolphin! Excellent points. :)

I'm glad to see you here! And yes, make a thread in Be Our Guest so we can welcome you properly!

I think Belle would be very fond of Voltaire. I've read a bit of him and he's not what I was expecting--not stuffy or dry or boring at all. He's funny and writes science-fiction, and presents his philosophies using humourous stories.

I also think that Belle likes tragedy; after all, she reads Adam a tragedy in the show and the film (Romeo & Juliet in the film, A version of the Arthurian legends in the show).

The novel was in its infancy at the time of batb and ec, so it's really a challenge to find things to read, let alone a wide array. If I may dip into the nineteenth century, I see Belle liking Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Jules Verne (H.G. Wells is a little sparse for her taste, I think, and Verne would be in its original French for her). I'm not at all sure if she'd enjoy Jane Austen, really--those aren't adventure stories. Perhaps the Bronte sisters would be more to her taste; she'd also probably like Poe's bizarre tales in small doses, and I see her really adoring Shelly's Frankenstein--it's tragic and beautiful and thrilling.

Hm, thinking about it, I think she'd really enjoy The Lost World and Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Gods, and I forgot the epitome of the English language: Oscar Wilde! She'd probably love his fairy tales!

I agree that she'd like "Frankenstein."

With Austen, I think she'd like "Pride and Prejudice" mainly because Lizzie is so clever and sharp-tongued. I think she'd enjoy the scenes where Lizzie gives Darcy a piece of her mind because it would make her think of wanting to tell Gaston off - it would be cathartic. I don't know if she'd like Austen in general - as you said, no adventure - but that particular one, I could see her getting into.

I wonder if Belle is already in line to purchase DH at midnight. :lol:

^ Haha.

At Belle's bookshop (one assumes it's hers anyway, since the Rose is there, as well as the stained glass windows) at Epcot, she's got the basics... Cinderella, and Hunchback...and here's a picture I took of a few more:



And she EVEN has a copy of her own book. ;) Geez, Belle! Write that one up yourself?

ROFL! "Oh, look, a story about Beauty and the Beast! Wow, that almost reminds me of me and... the Beast. I wonder how the story ends." -_-

hehe "Oh! A book about my Beast and me. Oh, someone must be physcic to know about this. sighs What wonderful magic! I must read it!" :P

Belle had her own spoilers at hand!

Personally I always thought she was reading "Beauty and the Beast" during "Belle".

I kind of want to think it's something like that, but if she discovers it's the prince in chapter three... well, that's the premise of my current fic, actually :P

Plus, if she had actually READ "Beauty and the Beast," yet it never occurred to her that the Beast she met might be under a spell...well, she's pretty darn stupid, LOL.

"Hmm. Where have I seen this scenario before?"