This Week's $5 word: Schadenfreude
The word "schadenfreude" has suddenly started showing up everywhere! And especially on one of my Yahoo Loops, where it was tossed about casually until someone finally had to ask- what does it mean?!
Schadenfreude(shädn-froid)
NOUN: Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. ETYMOLOGY: German : Schaden, damage (from Middle High German schade, from Old High German scado) + Freude, joy (from Middle High German vreude, from Old High German frewida, from fr, happy)
*Thank you American Heritage Online
So why are people tossing around that word on my loop? Because of the bloody watered feeding frenzy that happens every time a self-proclaimed Anti-ChickLiter takes a tumble. So why all the schadenfreude? Is it the big $$$ advances? All the publicity? Is it just jealousy? It is what it is- the bigger you are the harder you fall.
So here is the blood just to get everyone caught up:
First we watched Curtis Sittenfield with her diarrhea of the pen in this case, where she basically threw down and called ChickLit writers sluts. Well, don't take my word for it- here it is.
Well then Jen Weiner brought it with this. And this.
And then there is the THIS IS NOT CHICK LIT book, from some of the best (so they tell us) women writers because yeah for some of you writers the warning is needed- um Curtis? Frogs and pink belts on the cover sort of misrepresents...doncha think?
Now we have a new scandal worthy of its own Wiki! Kaavya Viswanathan and "her" book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life. Read the wiki for all the juice. Form your own opinion- but while any one or two of the examples can be explained away- it is the volume of them and the similar sentence structure that really convince me.
Not a ChickLit author, but we also saw some schadenfreude with ol' James Frey. But I've talked too much on my blog about him as is.
So the bottom line- what do these three have in common? It's not chick lit, it's not even a scandal (I personally have not seen Curtis brought up on anything other than a lack of clss or grace)-- the common denominator in why we love to see their blood in the water is that they all are big talkers. Vanity in spades. Cocky in that obnoxious in-your-face way. And that is why the schadenfreude is so yummy.
And the moral of this post is: be a little more humble or your bad ass just might get a boot up it and no one will be there to pull it out. Peace out ya'll.
Schadenfreude(shädn-froid)
NOUN: Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. ETYMOLOGY: German : Schaden, damage (from Middle High German schade, from Old High German scado) + Freude, joy (from Middle High German vreude, from Old High German frewida, from fr, happy)
*Thank you American Heritage Online
So why are people tossing around that word on my loop? Because of the bloody watered feeding frenzy that happens every time a self-proclaimed Anti-ChickLiter takes a tumble. So why all the schadenfreude? Is it the big $$$ advances? All the publicity? Is it just jealousy? It is what it is- the bigger you are the harder you fall.
So here is the blood just to get everyone caught up:
First we watched Curtis Sittenfield with her diarrhea of the pen in this case, where she basically threw down and called ChickLit writers sluts. Well, don't take my word for it- here it is.
Well then Jen Weiner brought it with this. And this.
And then there is the THIS IS NOT CHICK LIT book, from some of the best (so they tell us) women writers because yeah for some of you writers the warning is needed- um Curtis? Frogs and pink belts on the cover sort of misrepresents...doncha think?
Now we have a new scandal worthy of its own Wiki! Kaavya Viswanathan and "her" book How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life. Read the wiki for all the juice. Form your own opinion- but while any one or two of the examples can be explained away- it is the volume of them and the similar sentence structure that really convince me.
Not a ChickLit author, but we also saw some schadenfreude with ol' James Frey. But I've talked too much on my blog about him as is.
So the bottom line- what do these three have in common? It's not chick lit, it's not even a scandal (I personally have not seen Curtis brought up on anything other than a lack of clss or grace)-- the common denominator in why we love to see their blood in the water is that they all are big talkers. Vanity in spades. Cocky in that obnoxious in-your-face way. And that is why the schadenfreude is so yummy.
And the moral of this post is: be a little more humble or your bad ass just might get a boot up it and no one will be there to pull it out. Peace out ya'll.
posted by wilddunz at 6:26 AM
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