@#%^&*- Is That REAL Language?

 "REAL LANGUAGE"?????

This is my SaSR R&R Tuesday post -- not fully a rant but more an extension on the REALISM topic from last week!

So this is my question --- do books need to have all the bad language and cuss words to be considered "real"?  A while back I had e-mailed an author and pointed out that although I really liked the action and plot in her book I didn't like the language.  She responded that it was "real language" with a bit of an indication that I was NOT real!!

I was raised in a pretty conservative home and when I was in high school I was referred to as a "goodie two shoes" on occasion. [Hmmm - wonder where that phrase comes from?]
There was not much swearing at our house that I can recall.  Somewhere along the way I made a conscious decision not to use swear words.  Heck, darn and drat are about as harsh as I get!  I don't even like to say 'crap' even though my kids rooms might have looked like that sometimes when they were teens!  I just don't find the need to use rough language to express myself.  

So needless to say I wonder why bad words have to be so prevalent in books. I understand that there is likely to be bad language in a cop story. [Unless it is inspirational - they manage just fine without bad language!!]  I have read some good PI stories where there is some language but the book isn't peppered with it - just a word or five out of the whole book.  However there are other books where it seems like it is every tenth (or even fiftieth) word and I don't like it!! [And if cops really talk that way all the time I sure am glad I don't have to work around them!!]

Then lets look at contemporaries.... again - I don't like it but I find it more and more.  A couple of months ago I tried to read a fantasy story by a popular author and couldn't get past the first chapter because of course language. I had read several books by another author then I listened to one last year which was a cop story with a lot of bad language.  I haven't been inclined to pick her books up again and may end up giving away a half dozen or so that I had collected. 

I really find it hard to swallow foul words in historical romance!  Okay so maybe the people in the streets would have used gutter language and maybe the gents would have too.  But I would just a soon not read it!

If I have accepted a review book then I will get through it but I am likely to make a note near the end of the review that it contains rough, raw, crude or swear language depending on the severity! I will also not steamy, graphic or explicit sex.  Why do I note those aspects??? Because I think there may be some other readers out there who may want to be forewarned about the language or the explicitness.

I guess I want my reading to be escapism that softens the harsh realities of the world! I like the rose colored glasses!
So how do YOU feel about bad language in books???

Again this week there will be a drawing from all comments made on this post - leave your e-mail please so I can reach you!  I will draw a winner Friday morning to chose a book from the Friday Pick books!

How Important is "REALISM?" - Comment Giveaway!

How important is realism?
If you read fantasy or scifi there is a lot of room for the author to stretch realism.  But if you read historical or contemporary romance how important is it for the plot/facts to be completely realistic?  Is it okay if the events are possible even if they may not be probable?  Would that effect how you like or rate the book?

This is a real snowman but how likely is it?

Picture from Bing Images -

Go to page:http://www.kentuckykatz.com/page/1419913

Actually - I have had lack of realism effect my rating.  I read one story where the circumstances were so improbable to me that it ruined the rest of the story.  Now in that instance, I recall I had some trouble with liking the characters and felt there was lack of consistency. Every thing felt flat as well as unbelievable. So the lack of realism only compounded an unhappy read for me.

On another occasion the circumstances of the story were on the edge of believable - it could happen but not likely! But I liked the characters and the intent of the story so much that the "stretch of the circumstances" didn't bother me. I still found the story engaging, upbeat, sweet and fun and therefore overlooked the improbabilities!  I would however mark the story down by at least .25 because of the realism issue.

Now on to a more technical area of accuracy: what about a historical romance that has a feature definitely out of time? For example buttons before they were in use?  Would you notice? Would you care?  I for one wouldn't know when buttons began to be used without looking it up (probably at a good historical author blog!) So I probably wouldn't notice that type of detail. But I know there are some historical readers who would definitely notice!

So tell me what you think?? How important is realism to YOU in the books you read?

Leave a comment to win a book from the Friday Picks!  Winner will be randomly selected from all comments made through Thursday midnight and announced Friday with the Friday 1/15 pick winners!

This is my SaSR Tuesday topic today.