My Titus 2 Order is Here!

[Trynn]

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-HA. This is gonna be fun. 

I vote for Colorado over KOCH. Trynn, I hope you feel like procrastinating!

Damn you people! I'm never gonna get my papers done!

I may or may not have time this week, as I'm about to start working more 12 hour days. Possibly next week.... We'll see. I do have a paper I plan on procrastinating on tonight.... And one I have to resubmit because I forgot something. Whoops.

[blessalessi]

 

I'm surprised about Aunt Olga giving Mr. Moody money to start a business too.  Also, is Aunt Olga Mr. Moody's sister?

That's such a strange concept in fundiedom: a female relative bailing out an adult man (!) that it has to be based in reality.  Wondering now if Steve was paid off by his siblings at some point, when his parents went into residential care? Or if Aunt Tami has helped out at some cash strapped point in the past?

[FundieFarmer]

I'm interested to see if Sarah will eventually wind up writing a second series. 

[princessmahina]

I'm interested to see if Sarah will eventually wind up writing a second series. 

She said that was the plan, right? I wonder which Maxwell family the second series will be loosely based on. Nathan and Melanie seem like a good option. I'm sure there are a lot of chicken-related hijinks for the new family to get into. 

[Trynn]

Maybe Sarah felt the Moody kids were getting too old for the target audience? I've seen this happen on tv shows and such. Introducing new characters as babies doesn't really work because their still waaaaay younger than the target audience while the older kids are still aging out, so you get this gap thing. A better solution, but one not a ails so to fundies, would be for the family to adopt a sibling the same age as the target audience.

Moses and Matilda or whatever her name was are a bit young yet to carry the series, but perhaps Max, Mollie, Motch and addy are getting a bit too old?

I haven't actually read the books, so maybe I'm wrong.

[Elegant Mess]

You must be such a righteous person for the US Postal Service to bless you with such a package.

 

Jesus loves you best!

 

Enjoy!

You would have received automatic bonus points from me if you flagged down the postal carrier to retrieve your package rather than waiting on the Lord's good timing to deliver it to you (like the Maxwells did with one of Uriah's parts several years ago during a conference tour in Florida!).  

[sparkles]

A target audience may age out and move on, but I don't think you necessarily have to age your characters in order to continue to engage your readers, you just need, you know…an imagination so you keep coming up with new story lines. In Ann Martin's Babysitters Club books, the characters were pretty much frozen in time throughout the entire series—more than 200 books. A few new characters were introduced but the core remained the same. It was the fact that each book had a unique story that built on series canon that kept readers engaged until Martin decided it was time to end things.

Sarah's run out of ideas for the Moody series because she has no imagination and can only draw from what goes on around her. I mean, "Elisa?" That's the best you could come up with? She's said the end of the Moodys doesn't mean the end of her writing—dammit—so what she'll come up with next is anyone's guess. What's happened on the blog recently?

[freejugar]

Maybe the next book is about the kids of Sarah. I mean Mollie

[Jana814]

A target audience may age out and move on, but I don't think you necessarily have to age your characters in order to continue to engage your readers, you just need, you know…an imagination so you keep coming up with new story lines. In Ann Martin's Babysitters Club books, the characters were pretty much frozen in time throughout the entire series—more than 200 books. A few new characters were introduced but the core remained the same. It was the fact that each book had a unique story that built on series canon that kept readers engaged until Martin decided it was time to end things.

 

I loved that series. I didn't realize till years after I stopped reading them that she never aged the characters. 

[mango_fandango]

I think the fact that Mollie is getting married is quite interesting, seeing as none of the Maxwell girls are married. If Mollie was 11 during the main story, she'd only be 21 in the epilogue. 

And only six kids, two of whom are twins. I'm surprised there aren't more. Maybe Sarah thought it best not to introduce more kids. Or maybe she couldn't think of any more M names. 

[Trynn]

But Sarah, with her limited reading choices, wouldn't be aware that not aging the characters is an option. Or would she?

[Handmaiden of Dog]

I guarantee you that she is NOT going to be writing about Mollie and Lucas and their brood because Sarah could no more write about life in Africa than she could about Life on Mars.

 

So Joey wants to be a preacher, Max wants to be a preacher, Mollie is marrying a preacher.  I get the feeling that Sarah doesn't have too many ideas of how to make a living.  There is on-line computer work (check) construction (check) and preaching to the masses (check.)  Maybe in her next series the dad will have an irrigation business or be a photographer.  I was a bit disturbed that the unmarried sisters had to take over the sewing business from Molly because she is becoming a married woman, but then I realized it would be a bit difficult to run a mail order custom sewing shop out of Africa if your customers are all fundy SAHM in America.

 

 

[iweartanktops]

I guarantee you that she is NOT going to be writing about Mollie and Lucas and their brood because Sarah could no more write about life in Africa than she could about Life on Mars.

 

So Joey wants to be a preacher, Max wants to be a preacher, Mollie is marrying a preacher.  I get the feeling that Sarah doesn't have too many ideas of how to make a living.  There is on-line computer work (check) construction (check) and preaching to the masses (check.)  Maybe in her next series the dad will have an irrigation business or be a photographer.  I was a bit disturbed that the unmarried sisters had to take over the sewing business from Molly because she is becoming a married woman, but then I realized it would be a bit difficult to run a mail order custom sewing shop out of Africa if your customers are all fundy SAHM in America.

 

 

I couldn't agree more. How could she possibly know anything about life in Africa? I'm willing to bet she doesn't know much about life in the United States outside of her own neighborhood and the fundie conferences they go to. They've made it clear that they don't keep up with news through any outlet other than word of mouth at the local grocery store or other local places around town. I had at least double her exposure to other cultures and lifestyles by the time I was ten years old. And I was pretty sheltered as a child, myself! 

The more I read through the blog and old Maxwell threads, the reality of their lives - particularly Sarah's - sets in and it's so depressing. 

[Justme]

It doesn't matter that Sarah knows nothing of living in Africa. Chances are, nearly all of her readers know nothing about living in Africa either.

I'm surprised Steve allowed Sarah to write about daughters getting married as that has not happened in the Maxwell house. Sarah shouldn't be thinking of husbands, she needs to focus on her "work".

[Georgiana]

@anjulibai, I am ALWAYS blessed by your commitment to ordering and looking at Tits2 material to educate us all.  As we all know, the Maxwells and the Moodys are such excellent examples of what glorious harvests you reap when you purpose yourself to live as Tits Men and Women.  I always hope that someday someone will look at me and say "That Gee, she is a PRIME example of Tits in action!" 

[Sundaymorning]

It doesn't matter that Sarah knows nothing of living in Africa. Chances are, nearly all of her readers know nothing about living in Africa either.

I'm surprised Steve allowed Sarah to write about daughters getting married as that has not happened in the Maxwell house. Sarah shouldn't be thinking of husbands, she needs to focus on her "work".

I agree. Sarah can probably write whatever she wants about such things, and most of their audience will take it as face value. In fact, they might be even proud how much their children are learning from those "wholesome" Moody books, and how educated Sarah is.

[iweartanktops]

Well, if she does decide to start writing about life in Africa, I will be reading! I'd be interested in how she describes it given she hasn't been there, has very little, if any imagination and is allowed very limited research on Africa. I would also love to know what actual country in Africa, since Africa is a continent with many different countries, languages, cultures, etc. 

[twin2]

From anjuibai's synopsis of the epilogue, it sounds like Sarah's writing style still seems to be just a random train of thought.

I can't wait to to hear what the hiking rules are!

[blessalessi]

But Sarah, with her limited reading choices, wouldn't be aware that not aging the characters is an option. Or would she?

I doubt Poor Sarah expected to be home long enough to write 10 Moody books.  They started as something to do while she was waiting to get married.  It is interesting everyone thinks Mollie is Sarah.  Sarah was Mollie's (10 years on age) when she started writing....  I wonder if any missionary boys ever knocked Steve's door asking after Sarah?

The aging of the family would have been important to show the progression to a large open-wombed clan, given that Ma Moody was pregnant in book 1. 

I really doubt Sarah ever expected to write any further beyond the first four books.  The transition from Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring and then back round again to Summer Days was painful!

[CyborgKin]

@anjulibai, I am ALWAYS blessed by your commitment to ordering and looking at Tits2 material to educate us all.  As we all know, the Maxwells and the Moodys are such excellent examples of what glorious harvests you reap when you purpose yourself to live as Tits Men and Women.  I always hope that someday someone will look at me and say "That Gee, she is a PRIME example of Tits in action!" 

You've reminded me of the story of 'Studying Titus' in The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Aged 45 3/4

It's an amusing tale which some may enjoy https://books.google.com.au/books?id=8HGATDMiWLwC&lpg=PA108&ots=7otnrsAhPI&dq=adrian plass titus&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q&f=false

[socalrules]

A target audience may age out and move on, but I don't think you necessarily have to age your characters in order to continue to engage your readers, you just need, you know…an imagination so you keep coming up with new story lines. In Ann Martin's Babysitters Club books, the characters were pretty much frozen in time throughout the entire series—more than 200 books. A few new characters were introduced but the core remained the same. It was the fact that each book had a unique story that built on series canon that kept readers engaged until Martin decided it was time to end things.

 

The Babysitters' Club and Nancy Drew were my drug growing up. I spent all my money on books and most those series. I did so, especially with the Babysitters' because I could connect with the girls. Pain, joy, love, hate, fear. I understood where they were coming from. I think that's how most people felt. I learned about diabetes because of Stacy's having it. I learned about learning disabilities becaue of Claudia having to deal with it. Hell, I leaned about snowstorms in Connecticut. I became a  voracious reader due to a friend having one of the books and lending it to me because she thought I would like it. It changed by life. With Nancy Drew, she was just badass and drove an awesome convertible. I wanted to be her. Those are some of the reasons those two series were so popular. With the Moodys, I doubt many people, even the fundies, can identify with the Moodys. Most of the kids likely read them because their parents found the books acceptable. They have nothing to compare it to and I don't see how I it would lead to a love of reading like the Babysitters' Club did for me. The kids are too fundy "perfect". No one has a personality and normal fundy kids don't even talk like the Moody kids. What kid, even a fundy one, says that there was a mishap? I am sure most fundy kids get a chance to play in their yard, run around with the dog or actually have fun. The Maxwells/Moodys are unrealistic and boring even for the fundies. I highly doubt that kids are under the covers with their flashlight to finish the next, exciting Moody book. What do the Moody kids do that makes other kids want to be them? Nothing. What are they learning from the Moody kids? Nothing.

[Jana814]

I feel like Sarah wrote these books to try and show Fundie children a "perfect" family.  

[Naga Viper]

Well, nothing says perfect like a father who's a patronizing micromanager and a mother who's a SAHM and yet manages to be absentee half the time...

There's also the possibility that the books—particularly this final installment—represent a degree of wish fulfillment for Sarah.  Which is heartbreaking all over again, because while marrying, preaching, and reproducing may not be the widest range of options, even the Moody kids get to fly the coop in the end.

[Palimpsest]

Maybe Sarah felt the Moody kids were getting too old for the target audience? I've seen this happen on tv shows and such. Introducing new characters as babies doesn't really work because their still waaaaay younger than the target audience while the older kids are still aging out, so you get this gap thing. A better solution, but one not a ails so to fundies, would be for the family to adopt a sibling the same age as the target audience.

 

Moses and Matilda or whatever her name was are a bit young yet to carry the series, but perhaps Max, Mollie, Motch and addy are getting a bit too old?

 

I haven't actually read the books, so maybe I'm wrong.

The Cousin Oliver thing rarely works.  I don't think Steve would approve of adoption either.

[sparkles]

I feel like Sarah wrote these books to try and show Fundie children a "perfect" family.  

Which makes them completely unrealistic and sets up parents and children alike for failure and frustration. If Sarah wants kids to aspire to be like the "perfect" Moodys, why not show they got that way? How they grew in their faith as a family, overcame obstacles, learned to love Jesus and one another as only good Christian brothers and sisters can (right, Sarah?) The best children's books have relatable characters and use conflicts as teachable moments. But the Maxwells are so convinced that showing any kind of conflict is ungodly, even if there's a positive outcome and important lessons learned along the way.