The fact that Dom listened to and reviewed amish romance stories to help Calluna get more narration work is more romantic than anything that could be in those books.
As someone who is autistic, the being treated like a child thing is genuinely something that does happen, and it's annoying as hell. Sometimes it's not intentional but it's still very irritating to say the least.
When I tell people I'm on the spectrum they always say "are you serious? You don't seem autistic" well what's your image of autistic? Cuz I'm pretty sure you've noticed how bad I am with hugs and sarcasm. It's just so annoying but at least I get a chance to educate them a little.
@@bookworm3696 I'm autistic and whenever I talk to people I sometimes copy their facial expressions or mannerisms to communicate with them better and one time I did this while talking to this girl and afterwards she got mad at me for "looking too judgemental" lol
I‘ve only got Aspergers, but I’ve developed to be on guard 24/7 to see if people are interacting with me honestly or not as a result of that patronizing crap. As a kid I picked up on how differently people spoke to others compared to how they spoke to me, and now I get unreasonably distant and depressed any time someone so much as smiles at me in a gentle fashion. Worst bit is it makes me reflexively scrutinize every facet of my behaviour when it happens and usually all they’re doing is grinning at something completely unrelated
@@abbiebagnell1398 Christian Tinder would imply sex. Christian Mingle is only for the holiest of holy heterosexuals (or so I hear, having never used it myself).
"To help with her harvest." Nope. No metaphor there at all. Wouldn't want all of those ripe, matured crops to wilt on the vine due to neglect. They're just waiting to be picked. Hopefully he'll stick around in the future to help her with all the plowing she needs and sow her furrows.
As someone who stupidly resisted therapy for years in part due to social stigma the positive message toward it pleases me greatly. It can be a huge help and is no different than any other form of medical care. Well done as always Dominic.
Something I always say is it’s easy to puff up and get scary but it takes great strength and courage to be vulnerable and small around a person who’s essentially a stranger. Going to therapy is a show of strength. I also have a friend who says “you should be smart enough to get yourself out of a problem you’ve gotten into and part of being smart is knowing when you need help.”
"The actual Amish have literally nothing to do with Amish romance novels, and in fact find the fetishization of the lifestyles and love lives baffling and insulting." Gee, it's almost like treating someone's beliefs and culture as exotic fetish fuel without caring about them as people is deeply offensive. Who knew?
Why are you even surprised? This is nothing new and has been Done over and over and over. Finally understanding cultural appropriation when its a white culture and religion involved?
Well, yeah. These novels are the only exposure to the amish many Americans will have, and worse, almost none of these books come from an amish person, or even a former amish person. If an amish person wrote a book like this, it likely wouldn't be nearly as hated or rage inducing to many amish people. Edited for clarification
I've read a few blogs by ex-Evangelicals and it's crazy! I had no idea this crazy, fundamentalist version of Christianity exists. But I am glad y'all have escaped.
It’s also bizarre that an Amish person punches someone, because they take “turn the other cheek” very seriously. Pacifism is a core tenet of their religion.
What on Earth are you talking about? Please name a show that doesn't have more than one type of woman in it? And all this is is the same person with different colored hair. Seriously you feminists are stupid.
Loved the video! Two points though: The Amish do, in fact, enroll special needs children in public schools. If a child needs extra help, they won't try to educate them at home. Amish women also do read these novels. Trust me, they were a hit among the Amish ladies who would come to my local library growing up.
My dog had a better romance than 50 shades. He was raised around my other dog both were chihuahuas and after a few years the female got hit by a car and he would sit on the porch and look at the spot she got hit for at least 2 weeks.
@Casandshail Unfortunately she didn't. But she had puppies a few weeks prior and we still have her though she is also getting up there in age. The puppy's dad died about two to three years ago and he was about 12 or 13.
I feel like the one thing most Christian romance have over secular romance is that the male love interests tend to be generally good people. Yeah they might be a bit grumpy, a bit of a Lothario, but in general they're all super high on the Why Are We Supposed to Like Him? scale. Or maybe that's just my experience idk my mom had a whole library of Historical Christian Romance and 9/10 times the plot was "Rich Delicate Impossibly Attractive Noblewoman falls in love with Big Burly Man who thinks she's she best thing since sliced bread"
That's a point I hadn't taken time to consider. They also sidestep most consent problems you might run into in romance novels by not having sex because religion, not that they don't lust for each other, they just don't cross the line so consent doesn't even come up. Having genuinely good people genuinely getting to know each other is kinda nice. Some of them don't even harp on the religion part much. Still super formulaic. Definitely not where you want to go if you're actually reading romance novels for sexy feels, but it can hit the other psychological buttons.
Really? So they're all not like "Voices In the Wind", by Francine Rivers? (Libby Anne, of "Love, Joy, Feminism" did a review on it. The comments on it are gold, someone even did fan fiction that was awesome. www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2017/01/voice-in-the-wind.html ) But the main male interest is problematic. Plus some of Rivers history is a bit wrong.
It's a large niche on Kindle. I guess people like to fetishize simple living, the "exotic" Amish people with a little religion thrown in. Just search "amish romance kindle books" on Amazon - there are over 3000 results.
I discovered Amish romance when I worked at Barnes and Noble and had to stock the Christian Fiction section. I am now a librarian and work at a small rural library which is part of a larger system. These books are so popular with older women!
@@Thalymor my library system has a shocking amount of these books. We have a lot of old people in my county. I read one of them . . . It was something . . .
8:22 So, wait...Amish Dad won't give his blessing because his daughter violated Amish beliefs, but he's totally okay with Amish Boyfriend violating Amish beliefs by punching somebody? The traditional Amish are very open and upfront about the fact that they are avowed pacifists who avoid physical confrontation ... Did the author not do her research, because if there is one thing besides the horse and buggy transports that most people know about the Amish, it is this.
Ok but as an autistic person who feels misunderstood and not listened to by the people around them and has a LOT of social anxiety, the third one sounds amazing, the kind of wishfulfillment that'd make me start crying because of how great it sounds
The romance with the autistic male love interest actually read to me, based on your summary, as a romance between two autistic people. Dinah's love of poetry would be her special interest. And the stress based speech impediment is another autism thing, from which her social isolation was learned. So what you described as Amos' autism endearing Dinah to him, so she could put her guard town sounded like me as two people, unknowningly from the same group, finding safety and then love with eachother because of it.
As someone who probably isn't the target audience either, I really appreciate your willingness to actually try to sit down and take these books that really weren't meant for you on their own merits, rather than just get worked up and angry about them.
Every time I come back to these videos, I'm always pleasantly surprised when the outtakes feature Dom's cat. Easily the best part of the videos. 😂 Also I love it when men aren't afraid to just... show love and be silly with their pets. It's so wholesome and we should encourage it more.
Suddenly I'm scared that some non-german-speaking person will put “nicht wahr” into Google translate and receive “not true”, which is why I want to clarify that in this case, “nicht wahr” is the German equivalent to “isn't it” as in a sentence like “Wow, Dominic's German pronunciation is pretty good, isn't it?” Or, alternatively, you could translate it's meaning as “I know right” Just wanted to prevent any miscommunication ^^'
@@jaojao1768 No, his "vadder" was quite good, actually. You have to remember that he wasn't speaking standard German here but Pennsylvania-Dutch/Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch which is much closer to German dialects in the Palatinate than standard German but even considering this Pennsylvania-Dutch has an own twang to it when it comes to pronunciation and vocabulary. It does have Swiss and American English influences. Surely, his "vadder" wasn't perfect but close enough and you can hear that he clearly did his research on the language.
I agree completely that his vadder wasn't bad at all, pennsylvania dutch didn't change that much in the 300 something years since they immigrated since they barely leave their communities and is very hard to understand by someone speaking high german. as someone with german as their native language I think that's super interesting and listening to it reminded me of a heavy dialect my grandma used to speak
My goodness Mr. Noble I can't do that, the magical space kitten will not allow me to support people through Patreon until I complete the somewhat unique task of using my free credit to order an Amish Romance novel on Audi... wait a minute, I think we can make this work!
AdoraBell I think OP meant in the specific media being enjoyed, meaning that women are rarely depicted in yaoi yet are the primary audience, and evangelical women are the primary audience for Amish romance but aren’t generally characters in them.
Who ever really knows if a mis-read statement is poorly phrased or poorly interpreted, very chicken and egg. Maybe Op phrased it badly, or maybe your specific life experience influenced what you interpreted.
@@siriuslyconfused1 No, the OP worded it badly. the phrase "in the media" generally refers to all media, not just specific sub-genres. The phrase should have been in the medium. But I will agree that my specific life experience does mean that I assume that people think that yaoi is aimed at gay men.
Dom don't believe the assertion that the Amish don't read these things. I grew up with lots of Amish neighbors, and we had a bookmobile come down our road a couple times a month. Amish women love to read and they'd grab mystery and romance novels by the basket load. Literally. I don't recall if Amish Romances were a thing at the time, but they definitely stocked up on those cheesy romance novels. You know the ones with a ripped shirtless guy embracing a beauty in a skimpy red dress sort of stuff. Great video though. I really like the Amish and being around them so much has definitely affected how I approach the world. I'm not surprised that a segment of the population romanticizes/fetishizes their way of life in fiction.
I think it's not just for Evangelicals. They tend to be stocked in large suburb & city bookstores, so I think that fetishization if *simplicity* & being out in the coubtry is what's drawing in 9-5 women.
@Goddess 18 Definitely Amish. Although like Dom said there is a lot of diversity in attitude between groups. In the community where I grew up, bikes weren't allowed for example. But go to another congregation five miles away and you'll see Amish kids riding bikes. That being said the Amish communities around my hometown tend to be more liberal with rules since they are not as isolated from us English/Yankees as some other communities tend to be. While they usually maintain rules where possible, special exemptions are made for, say, young men who need a cell phone for work purposes or my old neighbor who needs a breathing machine to survive.
6:15 Wikipedia tells me that "Pow-wowing" was a term used by English-speakers to describe the folk magic used by the Pennsylvania Dutch, which includes not just the Amish, but also german-speaking immigrants to the area in general, most of whom were Lutheran. The Pennsylvania Dutch didn't start calling it Pow-wowing until the turn of the 20th century: before that, they called it "Brauche" or "Braucherei".
And "Brauch" simply means traditional ritual, or custom. It's still used in German today, for example in sentences such as "(etwas tun) so wie es Brauch ist" - "(doing something) according to tradition", or "sich für alte Bräuche interessieren" - "having an interest in old customs / traditions". "Braucherei" would then imply the sum or total of these customs as an overarching or broader term, like the relation between the english words "scene" and "scenery". The ending -ry is closely related to the modern german -rei, in fact in older form of German the y is much more common.
And "Brauch" simply means traditional ritual, or custom. It's still used in German today, for example in sentences such as "(etwas tun) so wie es Brauch ist" - "(doing something) according to tradition", or "sich für alte Bräuche interessieren" - "having an interest in old customs / traditions". "Braucherei" would then imply the sum or total of these customs as an overarching or broader term, like the relation between the english words "scene" and "scenery". The ending -ry is closely related to the modern german -rei, in fact in older form of German the y is much more common.
Thank you Dom. I never knew that I needed to hear someone shout "Amish Punch!" when decking a thief wearing a Grffyndor shirt, but know I know I couldn't have lived without seeing it
Honestly it's not that hard. Some black slacks, suspenders and a dress shirt is all you need for men's. Now the women's is different but Thrift shops are wonderful.
@@PhoenixAngel429 I'm pretty sure it was the women's clothes that the question was about and you may be near thrift shops that have Amish clothes but I know I'm not. There aren't any Amish anywhere near where I live.
Mirjan Bouma he’s a RUclipsr who does sketch comedy, where he play all the roles. Usually just a few minutes long, he’s relatively small but growing quickly. He’s also a writer for the RUclips channel screenrant and despite the massive dislike for the channel people say that Ryan is the one redeeming quality of it, there he does pitch meetings, he plays the role of a greedy stupid executive and a psychotic writer and pitch different movies in the weirdest way possible. They’re good, if you’re into stuff like sketch comedy he’s good.
Because the target audience is often Evangelical mom's these books are prime fodder for suburban book clubs, hence the discussion questions at the end of the book, they're meant to prompt group analysis of the book.
There's a new trend of books including discussion questions at the end of the book for when book clubs read them, this seems to be particularly true of Christian romance books.
@@DisabledDragon they do for children's books, I forgot about that. Now that I think about it, @Deborah Kelty, you're right. I'd forgotten that too, just had read a Christian romance recently and seen it.
I've seen discussion questions pop up when watching films too! Mostly ones with more adult rated titles. I think it's supposed to be a way for the parent to ask their kid what they thought about the material and so that they can have a discussion on the topics that the movie had.
Ulterior motive aside, I liked this episode because it gave me a peek into stories\books I would never be exposed to. I hope you will do more with these "non-conventional" stories.
When I was in Basic and AIT, both of my chaplains had tiny libraries. Bc they were my chaplains, they were predominantly Christian fiction, including Christian romance. And I desperately needed books to read in my downtime. There's some not great tropes specific to Christian romance and I think you nailed why a lot of Christian romance does focus on the Amish - or at least what non-Amish folk think the Amish/Mennonite/anything that seems vaguely Amish life is about. I kinda preferred the Christian fantasy romances (oh yes, those do exist) that at least made up people and cultures instead but, uh, hey. The point is I do kinda get why some folks gravitate to these. They're often safe. "All the problems were solved easily and/or by God," is exactly what some folks are looking for as comfort reading. It's like getting the magic sword and saving the world bc hey, it's the protag! Only with religion. You don't even have to be the chosen one, you just need faith. Which is a lot of words to say I prob will pick it up on Audible, out of curiosity and to compare with others I've read if nothing else. Also like a LOT of books have been coming out with basically study guides for the last chunk of years. I assume it's bc they're gearing towards being things read in book clubs, and trying to give ideas for discussion topics? I haven't read any Jodi Picoult in a while but she used to do that all the time. I thought it was really weird the first few times, but I'm assuming some folks get something out of it so hey.
darkgryphon42 you got to read fiction at Basic?! I had to burrow my battle buddy’s Nordic mythology book. He was a true blue Asatroian the book was (barely) allowed. At AIT I found the library on base. I devoured sooooo much.
It's actually possible I'm misremembering and it was just the one chaplain in AIT - that was back in 2001 so it's been a while! 'Cause now you mention it I remember that being a thing. The chaplain in Basic and his wife also ran a weekly meeting on their own time for women who had past trauma that was getting kicked up again during Basic and he relaxed a lot of rules for those meetings. So it might be that it was just during quiet times at those meetings I was digging through whatever he had on the shelf.
Johanna Geisel it’s one of the terms I could find (but can’t find again for some reason) Odinism is the better term. Believing in the Nordic religion. Also under Heathenry. But that’s a blanket term for Germanic and Scandinavian religions.
Hey Dom, my mother reads these books and you are correct that the first author routinely includes book club questions at the end of her work. I had no idea they carried over to the audio format, however, and find that completely fascinating.
Just wanted to point out, Pow-wow is a Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic tradition. While yes, the word is an Algonquian word, the practices are deeply rooted in Central and Eastern European folk lore and traditions, brought over by German speakers in the Trans-Atlantic migrations of the 17th and 18th centuries. What stands out to me regarding this "witch" character, is that calling her a Powwower would be incorrect if she is not a Christian character. The most important piece of literature to the practitioners of Pow-wow is the Bible, and Christianity is central to the belief system.
I'll admit, I like some Amish romance as a form of escapism. The problem, of course, is finding the authors that are able to respect the culture without fetishizing it or making it out to be the perfect way of life. I would recommend a full-on novel if you decide to read more of the genre, preferably by someone like Beverly Lewis. Her stories are less cheerful, but also more realistic. As for the therapy thing, the Amish do use modern medical facilities and acknowledge trauma.
@Mandi W Like any religion, there are a few problems and pros and cons to it. There is a bit of sexism, but the Amish absolutely detest violence. The creepy woman is definitely an outlier who needs to ne investigated by social services. It sounds about as accurate as that Children of the Mountains special from a few years ago was about the area I live in. I.E., they mainly focused on the outliers and more extreme cases, as well as possibly making up a part or two for sensationalism.
I was hired to ghostwrite a short story for a novelist who specializes in this particular subgenre of romance. It's basically the literary equivalent of Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley for Evangelicals who want a "simple humble life and romance" without actually full-hog committing to the chauvinistic lifestyle. Was really fun researching how they live without power, though! Quite a bit of ingenuity has to go into a life off the grid, no matter who's doing it.
i tried to read one of these & it went much deeper than i thought: it was a family dealing with the death of their oldest daughter who died (in childbirth?); the father was having a fall out & relating to his ‘heathen’ outcast brother because he couldn’t cope with the way the amish are suppose to handle their grief. the living daughter is determined (her mother recalls her ‘first determined steps at nine months old’) & has her own business, but, you know, it be marrying time.
As a American Librarian who lives a area decently populated with Amish I do have to say yes these books do horrifyingly well. I do not understand it and I do not understand why people need to slam on their brakes when driving so they can stop and take pictures of the buggy riding by. I should also say this is not the worst thing stupid romance books wise. I have seen a steady rise in ww2 romance books lately and I find that far more disturbing personally.
I’m not sure why this would be terribly surprising; wartime romance seems to always be popular (people relocating, sufficiently large stakes, scores of men stationed up in other people’s houses) I’d imagine most of them have plots with home romances and man leaves or European women falling for foreign soldiers who happen to be stationed nearby. It doesn’t seem terribly shocking to me but I know little.
@@KattWithAnAtSign let's add you can go right the f*** back to the 1940s and find *contemporary* romances with The War as a backdrop. You know, Fall in Love to defeat the JapaNazis! Do it for yout country!
The questions at the end are a common thing in Evangelical Christian novels because in some circles you have to justify the benefit of any activity so explicitly including "study questions" for "Bible/book study" groups helps your audience to have a built in excuse for "reading frivolous romance novels" being "spiritually educational"... 🙄
I would add that it’s not just Evangelical Christian novels. A lot of mainstream light fiction includes “study questions” at the end for book clubs as well. Not sure if this is a North American thing?
@@zuzu-0 This is very true, it's not just a Christian thing, but it is VERY common in Christian books for this reason. I agree it's more common for anything being marketed to book clubs as an aid to those ventures.
Therapist here! Most of my clients are on medicaid. Their insurance covers therapy so they don't even have a co-pay. For people without insurance my company has a scholarship program where interns can counsel them. Therapy can be a lot more affordable than people think!
A question if you don’t mind, and if you do please simply treat this as if I’ve never spoken and don’t mind me as I mean no offense, do you have any sites or such that you could recommend for a person who needs therapy? I know a person who suffered from abuse and never got therapy because her mom didn’t care and my friend has no insurance and cannot afford it.
So to further explain the Amish obsession in Evangelical circles, there's been a couple decades push in a lot of Evangelical circles for "courtship culture" which goes even more traditional/conservative with the moral rules for romance (i.e. Finding a spouse) and a common refrain is "How will I ever find someone with the extremely restrictive potential pool of partners this limits me to?" And Amish romance novels respond with, "Well, it works for the Amish somehow..." The other odd trend this collection brought up that I was unaware of before was the whole big age gap thing that is a glaring common thread among all these stories, but isn't really examined besides, "Don't worry, it's fine...", which is explained even better if you understand the underlying Evangelical history of "courtship culture" because if you have limited options in potential partners, you might need to expand your consideration to... older candidates. Which has even ickier connotations given the already problematic emphasis on patriarchal authority that "courtship culture" has... 😮 So that combined with it making it very easy to avoid any sort of "controversial topics" of modern society ends up being super appealing for its simplicity allowing it to mesh with the minutiae of differing Evangelical beliefs well enough to still have a wide audience among Evangelicals. That said, I hadn't considered the broader underlying implications of it being safe for being "white" and "American" in addition to the "Christian" aspects I was familiar with, but I think that applies, but in the sense that it's something your average Evangelical doesn't even consciously consider... 🤔
I remember hearing in school (I think) inbreeding got really bad in amish communities so they called in men from outside the communities to diversify the population a bit
@@gwendolynstata3775 Exactly what I thought- you read about the awful genetic conditions that only exist among the Amish & just... Cousin marriage is Not A Good Thing, & cousin mariage *repeated* over generations... I can't even.
When you teased this book in the A Clockwork Orange episode I thought it was the basis of a Lost in Adaptation, the book’s film adaptation being some obscure Hallmark Channel movie
Something to know about the Amish. They don't fully commit to the life until they are adults. The kids are raised in the community but aren't expected to join the church 100% till after the wild summer. They're still fairly young adults at this point (baptisms into the religion in full happen around 16-23) and MAY come to regret the decision later in life, but there is at least the semblance of "we want you coming into this eyes wide open" entirely absent from most Christian groups in the US.
I took an Amish studies class as part of my sociology minor in college & it was one of my favorite classes. Respectfully taught by a man who was raised by Amish relatives but remained an outsider, it was fascinating to hear the inner details presented without bias.
Re-watching this while in Quarantine in 2020, "But I swear to goodness in 2019 there so much worse shit going on.." Oh 2019, strange that I miss you now.
I must say, the message of "don't look for love, god will bring love into your life" is a lot more wholesome than I expected. Sure, it comes with the usual needless supernatural baggage, but in fairness not worrying about looking for love because it can always come into your life regardless is rather hopeful.
Hey man, thought you should know; a TON of evangelical fiction (or fiction aimed at evangelicals) has discussion questions in it. Probably so that the evangelical women can all get together and make sure they have the same opinions.
6:19 Pow-wow is indeed the “PA Dutch” magical system and tradition. It is concerned chiefly with healing and protection. Usually charging for it is a no-no and will bring you bad luck. I live in southcentral PA (specifically York County) where this heritage is a huge deal (it’s not exclusive to the Amish). I happen to have a copy of “The Lost Friend” which is a collection of Powwow spells and prayers and such. This system basically combines German folk magic and yes… indigenous “vibes”… with Christianity. The indigenous peoples in question here in PA are the Lenni Lenape or the larger Algonquins. The German settlers loved to name stuff using “their language” which was usually merely an approximation to “sound” Algonquin. They “borrowed” a lot from them and now you also have Appalachian Granny Folk Magic which is very similar and sometimes indistinguishable. And there’s always a tension with this; you’re bastardizing our Christian beliefs and you’re evil but please heal my family member and or protect us from evil but don’t tell anyone about it and thank you and I hate you…. 😂 It’s actually a fascinating topic I encourage anyone to explore. Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions are full of rich and interesting (sometimes morally questionable) history and such. 😊
Dom listening to Amish romance is the video I didn't know I needed. Thank you! I will only forgive the plug if we get more plugs from Calluna/Heather's books.
Not sure if anyone is interested to know this but: Deutsch and Dutch originate from the same Nethersaxon word duts/dutz which means something like "the people". While the Dutch stopped calling themselves by this word eventually, Dutch/Flemish merchants brought it to the English language were it's still used. Germans kept using it to describe themselves while English people used it for people from the Netherlands, so hence the confusion.
Quick note from an American folklore nut about 6:03. I'm not sure if anyone's touched on this yet, but "Pow Wow", in the sense she's using it at least, is a form of religious faith-healing, traditionally seen in Pennsylvania German communities. Much like "Granny Magic", or Bracherais (forgive my spelling on that one), it's really not consider "magic" in most circles and definitely not in traditional Wicca (there could be some who tie it in, but from a historical perspective, they're different branches). If anything their practices tie super close to the bible, and have roots in a book called "The Long Lost Friend", by Johann George Hohmann. Actual Pow Wow users are seen as healers, closer to doctors than actual witches, and are very much against witches as a whole. It sounds like the person didn't really know how important they are to some Penny-Dutch communities, because calling someone who's using Wiccan practices a "Pow-wower" is often times seen as an insult. (It's a romance book, not a history lesson, so I'm not calling the author out here, just saying it sounds like she wasn't informed) I'm not going to deny that the use of the word Pow-wow is a little "yikes", but since Hohmann didn't give a reason for using the term, no one's sure if it's a reference to religious ceremonies of Indigenous Americans, or if the German immigrant got it from somewhere else. Jury's still out on that one. Okay. Fun history/folklore chat over :)
Francesco Nicoletti They didn't do witch burning in America, that practice was restricted to Europe. Everyone in the Salem Witch trials was hanged or tortured or crushed to death, but not burned.
"Pennsylvania Dutch is actually a form of German, it got the name because people kept mispronouncing the word deutch". That's the most American thing I've ever heard.
Now I'm remembering that story about how my German great-grandpa changed the family last name to Miller so it would sound more 'American'. We've lost track of what it was originally. Maybe it wasn't easily pronounce-able as well?
@@bugeyedmonster2 probably Müller. It's a really common last name in Germany. The letter ü is usually transcribed as ue when you don't have the option of using an ü (e.g. when using an American keyboard) but the ü sound doesn't exist in the english language and Müller means Miller.
@@annakilifa331 One of dad's cousins did research, and it wasn't Mueller. Great-grandad changed it to be more "American sounding" and because this was WWI and Germans were the "bad guys", and to prove their loyalty to the US. I'm given to understand (from what dad's cousin found out talking to an older relative, who has now passed on) that being of German ancestry sort of went out of style during the WWI, and a lot of folks changed their last names then. I wish I had a good contact for this cousin of my dad's. I heard most of the story third-hand, and only talked to him once when I was much younger.
@@bugeyedmonster2 Probably "Müller" as it is just one letter off, americans struggle with the ü and the name origin, being an old ass job, is pretty much the same. And if not, kinda.funny that he chose Miller.
My family vacations in upstate NY and there's a significant Amish population in the area. While I can't say they're typical, there is some flexibility when it comes to technology. Many people hire them to do carpentry work (e.g. build decks/porches). They can't own power tools, but if you'll provide them they'll use them. They'll go to the gas station/min-mart to use a pay phone if they need to.
Lived in Waterloo Region in the 80s and 90s, and there were often Amish people on the buses. Not point in hooking up the wagon to the horses for 2-3 people when you could take a bus.
I will look into this heartfelt-ly (?) recommended reader and sacrifice one of my unused audible credits for her ;-) By the way - I love the outtakes at the end :-)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
The fact that Dom listened to and reviewed amish romance stories to help Calluna get more narration work is more romantic than anything that could be in those books.
you know i would like this comment but it's at 666 so imma leave it alone
It is indeed an act of true love. Calluna, looks like you found a keeper!
I think it's so sweet.
I think it was all just an excuse to Amish cross dress.
As someone who is autistic, the being treated like a child thing is genuinely something that does happen, and it's annoying as hell. Sometimes it's not intentional but it's still very irritating to say the least.
it's slightly more annoying when you copy the speech patterns of whomever your speaking to and you get in trouble for being patronizing.
When I tell people I'm on the spectrum they always say "are you serious? You don't seem autistic" well what's your image of autistic? Cuz I'm pretty sure you've noticed how bad I am with hugs and sarcasm. It's just so annoying but at least I get a chance to educate them a little.
@@bookworm3696 I'm autistic and whenever I talk to people I sometimes copy their facial expressions or mannerisms to communicate with them better and one time I did this while talking to this girl and afterwards she got mad at me for "looking too judgemental" lol
@@beccamckenzie9983 😂😅
I‘ve only got Aspergers, but I’ve developed to be on guard 24/7 to see if people are interacting with me honestly or not as a result of that patronizing crap. As a kid I picked up on how differently people spoke to others compared to how they spoke to me, and now I get unreasonably distant and depressed any time someone so much as smiles at me in a gentle fashion. Worst bit is it makes me reflexively scrutinize every facet of my behaviour when it happens and usually all they’re doing is grinning at something completely unrelated
Honestly friend, listening to Amish Romance just to hype up your partner's career is a better romance plot than anything you just described to me.
Somebody ought to make that the plot of a romance novel.
Cemetery of Choice A romance novel about listening to a romance novel. There needs to be more meta romance.
"Jesus swipes right so you don't have to"-- should be the slogan of Christian Mingle
I'm too cute to need an app so I thought that was describing toilet behavior.
Soooo.. Christian Tinder eh?? Not sure how there isn't an app for that already..
@@abbiebagnell1398 Christian Tinder would imply sex. Christian Mingle is only for the holiest of holy heterosexuals (or so I hear, having never used it myself).
Nobody:
The Dom: So I listened to an Amish romance novel on audible
No one:
Absolutely no one:
I mean literally absolutely no one:
@@patrickmedland7473 Not even God:
Dom: *puts on a bonnet* so, Amish romance novels.
boldly going where no man...
@@patrickmedland7473 Everyone: Amish audio books? Yay!
I mean.. doesn't "nobody: " indicate that everyone is speaking and nobody is silent?
When the ‘child’ said, “You should kiss him and make a BABAE!” I cracked up, it made my day.
Same! I love these skits!
@@harrisonpeterson3733 Amish Punch! haha
#notallmengoodguybrock
Especially since she’s already pregnant.
Me too, I reminded me of how Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek pronounces it as bebe.
Listening to an audio book because your girlfriend voiced it.
Thats actually really cute
Are we gonna be wierded out when he listens to and reviews a heavily erotic novel read by his girk?
@@bar-1studios I personally wouldn't be. That's what ya do
@@bar-1studios I mean... If you aren't into that sorta thing yeah
A very supportive man :)
@@bar-1studios I probably would be a little bit.
The Dom: "healing crystals used to annoy me but 2019 has do much going on..."
Me watching in 2020: "oh honey, if only you knew..."
Sounds almost quaint, a sign of a bygone era
I was thinking the same thing.
Me watching in 2021: we need more crystals.
@@miasummer2978 we need to loot an entire mine at this point
@@miasummer2978 Dang I'm too late to say this.
'Jesus swipes right so you don't have to.' Best quote EVER! I may have to use this some time.
Wouldn't that mean that HE's getting the girls nstead of me?
I need that quote on a t-shirt
@@empressfreya9872 I agree. I would so buy it.
It worked for me. 😁
That’d be a great ironic shirt.
"To help with her harvest." Nope. No metaphor there at all. Wouldn't want all of those ripe, matured crops to wilt on the vine due to neglect. They're just waiting to be picked. Hopefully he'll stick around in the future to help her with all the plowing she needs and sow her furrows.
Whoever you are, I love you XD
“You should kiss him and make a babay!” I died 😂
especially since she's already pregnant lol
Me too. I love his little masquerades ❤️
I love mummy doms reaction!
My reaction was literally “OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL DOM?!” 🤣
I laughed at the more rhan I think I should have...
As someone who stupidly resisted therapy for years in part due to social stigma the positive message toward it pleases me greatly. It can be a huge help and is no different than any other form of medical care. Well done as always Dominic.
Something I always say is it’s easy to puff up and get scary but it takes great strength and courage to be vulnerable and small around a person who’s essentially a stranger.
Going to therapy is a show of strength.
I also have a friend who says “you should be smart enough to get yourself out of a problem you’ve gotten into and part of being smart is knowing when you need help.”
"The actual Amish have literally nothing to do with Amish romance novels, and in fact find the fetishization of the lifestyles and love lives baffling and insulting."
Gee, it's almost like treating someone's beliefs and culture as exotic fetish fuel without caring about them as people is deeply offensive. Who knew?
This explains for about 85% cultural appropriation for those who don't understand it
Why are you even surprised? This is nothing new and has been Done over and over and over. Finally understanding cultural appropriation when its a white culture and religion involved?
Well, yeah. These novels are the only exposure to the amish many Americans will have, and worse, almost none of these books come from an amish person, or even a former amish person. If an amish person wrote a book like this, it likely wouldn't be nearly as hated or rage inducing to many amish people.
Edited for clarification
CutUr BullShit You need to learn the difference between surprise and sarcasm.
Want to know what's also offensive? Speaking for an entire culture that you have no part in as if you have any idea how they feel.
“Basically national treasure but Amish” is a sentence I never thought I’d hear and I love it
“Amish Scooby gang” oh my god
“JESUS SWIPES RIGHT SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO” this is so amazing
Book three:
"Amish, introverted, anti-social, speech impaired poetry fanatic"
Holy crap are we playing adjective bingo?
I bet it's an author self insert🤓
So... Emily Dickinson?
Oh, POETRY. That makes more sense. I heard "poultry".
@@otakukaku i'd read that book 😂😂
I was watching a gay thai film and have no idea why RUclips dropped me here but... good video, really. It was fun
Link?
You can’t just use the words “gay Thai film” and not drop a link or title, bro. 😫
@@TheSlipperyNUwUdle mydramalist.com/25339-driver this one, coul not find a link , tho, sorry. :'|
@@TheSlipperyNUwUdle Might I recommend “Your Name Engraved Herein”?
As an ex-evangelical who grew up reading Amish romance...
Holy balls what an excellent summary of why this weird-as-shit genre exists.
Awsome profile picture
What the hell, same.
I didn’t even know this was a genre until now
I've read a few blogs by ex-Evangelicals and it's crazy! I had no idea this crazy, fundamentalist version of Christianity exists. But I am glad y'all have escaped.
My mom frickin LOVED these books for years. Augh
"Not on my lack of watch!" is honestly one of the best string of words ever formed into a sentence.
Ohhh I just got it… 😂🤦🏻♀️
It’s also bizarre that an Amish person punches someone, because they take “turn the other cheek” very seriously. Pacifism is a core tenet of their religion.
I love how Dom gives us a wider variety of female characters than many tv shows with actual budjet
Lita Rowan can this comment get like a billion trillion likes?
What on Earth are you talking about? Please name a show that doesn't have more than one type of woman in it? And all this is is the same person with different colored hair. Seriously you feminists are stupid.
@@MamaMOB that was part of the joke, chill
@@MamaMOB r/woooosh
*budget
Loved the video! Two points though:
The Amish do, in fact, enroll special needs children in public schools. If a child needs extra help, they won't try to educate them at home.
Amish women also do read these novels. Trust me, they were a hit among the Amish ladies who would come to my local library growing up.
@Charisma Girl They were certainly around 10 years ago because our local library stocked a ton of them, but go off I guess.
Yup, the Amish ladies who lived near the library I worked at checked out literal armloads of these books.
"Still better than 50 Shades of Grey"
Yea..that's a high bar to get over.
My dog had a better romance than 50 shades. He was raised around my other dog both were chihuahuas and after a few years the female got hit by a car and he would sit on the porch and look at the spot she got hit for at least 2 weeks.
@@selestielwolf7949 so uh...when's the book coming out?
@@aidoll3692 Don't know but it will make millions
@Casandshail Unfortunately she didn't. But she had puppies a few weeks prior and we still have her though she is also getting up there in age. The puppy's dad died about two to three years ago and he was about 12 or 13.
remember when "a better love story than twilight" was the bar to hurdle? please don't challenge writers, they might deliver.
I feel like the one thing most Christian romance have over secular romance is that the male love interests tend to be generally good people. Yeah they might be a bit grumpy, a bit of a Lothario, but in general they're all super high on the Why Are We Supposed to Like Him? scale.
Or maybe that's just my experience idk my mom had a whole library of Historical Christian Romance and 9/10 times the plot was "Rich Delicate Impossibly Attractive Noblewoman falls in love with Big Burly Man who thinks she's she best thing since sliced bread"
That's a good point, actually. They're really, really blah, but they're also not usually problematic.
Aw, that's actually really cute. We need more genuinely wholesome romances.
@@dennisthemenace3695 "YA writer, it's 4pm! Time for your scheduled 'bad boy falls for relatable, Not Like The Other Girls main character"
That's a point I hadn't taken time to consider. They also sidestep most consent problems you might run into in romance novels by not having sex because religion, not that they don't lust for each other, they just don't cross the line so consent doesn't even come up. Having genuinely good people genuinely getting to know each other is kinda nice. Some of them don't even harp on the religion part much. Still super formulaic. Definitely not where you want to go if you're actually reading romance novels for sexy feels, but it can hit the other psychological buttons.
Really? So they're all not like "Voices In the Wind", by Francine Rivers? (Libby Anne, of "Love, Joy, Feminism" did a review on it. The comments on it are gold, someone even did fan fiction that was awesome. www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2017/01/voice-in-the-wind.html )
But the main male interest is problematic. Plus some of Rivers history is a bit wrong.
I have spent time with the Amish, Sexy Amish romance consists of hand holding and livestock auctions.
Why is this so accurate (I live in Amish country)
@@tanya5267 Do not forget Volleyball tournaments!
Natalie Knight Kickball is a big thing around here too lol
@greyhawk volleyball can be sensual
@greyhawk
Keep going......
"Not on my lack of watch" murdered me
Fetishized amish, now that’s a niche section
It's a large niche on Kindle. I guess people like to fetishize simple living, the "exotic" Amish people with a little religion thrown in. Just search "amish romance kindle books" on Amazon - there are over 3000 results.
"Speak dirty to me"
_"house drawn carriage"_
*"OH YES"*
YUP
I mean theres nun and mormon porn sooooo-
They need to expand that niche though. Get that bread!
Plushypony 94 You’re a man of culture I see.
Is it sad that I was already well aware that this sub-genre of romance novels existed because that’s literally the ENTIRETY of my grandma’s library??
I discovered Amish romance when I worked at Barnes and Noble and had to stock the Christian Fiction section. I am now a librarian and work at a small rural library which is part of a larger system. These books are so popular with older women!
@@Thalymor my library system has a shocking amount of these books. We have a lot of old people in my county. I read one of them . . . It was something . . .
The 'Amish Scooby Gang' is the greatest off hand joke I have ever heard. Well played Dominic well played indeed
It would make a great name for a band.
Because of the buffy kick I'm on but i just imagined an amish version of the show and i kinda want to see that happen
8:22 So, wait...Amish Dad won't give his blessing because his daughter violated Amish beliefs, but he's totally okay with Amish Boyfriend violating Amish beliefs by punching somebody? The traditional Amish are very open and upfront about the fact that they are avowed pacifists who avoid physical confrontation ... Did the author not do her research, because if there is one thing besides the horse and buggy transports that most people know about the Amish, it is this.
Yeah, it's not even a whole "it's okay because hes a man," it's just innacurate to their lifestyle and would be a problem regardless of gender.
I like to believe that thumbnail is what happened to Terrence after his exorcism...
Exorcism?? What did I miss?
Who is that from?
"In 2019 there is so much worse shit going on" he said, still unaware about 2020
We might as well buy an entire stock of healing crystals
Awww that's actually really sweet of you. Calluna/Heather is a lucky girl!
Yay, Calluna!
Ok but as an autistic person who feels misunderstood and not listened to by the people around them and has a LOT of social anxiety, the third one sounds amazing, the kind of wishfulfillment that'd make me start crying because of how great it sounds
The blooper of you cradling your cat and then realizing that you were getting fur all over your shirt, and have to put them down is too relatable.
I can't hold the work cat because I'll track fur into the kitchen
The romance with the autistic male love interest actually read to me, based on your summary, as a romance between two autistic people. Dinah's love of poetry would be her special interest. And the stress based speech impediment is another autism thing, from which her social isolation was learned. So what you described as Amos' autism endearing Dinah to him, so she could put her guard town sounded like me as two people, unknowningly from the same group, finding safety and then love with eachother because of it.
As someone who probably isn't the target audience either, I really appreciate your willingness to actually try to sit down and take these books that really weren't meant for you on their own merits, rather than just get worked up and angry about them.
Agreed. I've seen so many bad reviews from people who weren't the intended audience.
Every time I come back to these videos, I'm always pleasantly surprised when the outtakes feature Dom's cat. Easily the best part of the videos. 😂 Also I love it when men aren't afraid to just... show love and be silly with their pets. It's so wholesome and we should encourage it more.
Great job at pronouncing the word "Deutsch", as a German native speaker I am impressed.
Nicht wahr?!
Yeah, I was impressed by that too, though his pronounciation of Vater was less than stellar
Suddenly I'm scared that some non-german-speaking person will put “nicht wahr” into Google translate and receive “not true”, which is why I want to clarify that in this case, “nicht wahr” is the German equivalent to “isn't it” as in a sentence like “Wow, Dominic's German pronunciation is pretty good, isn't it?”
Or, alternatively, you could translate it's meaning as “I know right”
Just wanted to prevent any miscommunication ^^'
@@jaojao1768 No, his "vadder" was quite good, actually. You have to remember that he wasn't speaking standard German here but Pennsylvania-Dutch/Pennsilfaanisch-Deitsch which is much closer to German dialects in the Palatinate than standard German but even considering this Pennsylvania-Dutch has an own twang to it when it comes to pronunciation and vocabulary. It does have Swiss and American English influences. Surely, his "vadder" wasn't perfect but close enough and you can hear that he clearly did his research on the language.
I agree completely that his vadder wasn't bad at all, pennsylvania dutch didn't change that much in the 300 something years since they immigrated since they barely leave their communities and is very hard to understand by someone speaking high german. as someone with german as their native language I think that's super interesting and listening to it reminded me of a heavy dialect my grandma used to speak
We need a t-shirt with ‘Jesus swipes right so you don’t have to’ on it.
My goodness Mr. Noble I can't do that, the magical space kitten will not allow me to support people through Patreon until I complete the somewhat unique task of using my free credit to order an Amish Romance novel on Audi... wait a minute, I think we can make this work!
So, Amish Romance is the equivalent of Yaoi: The Target audience aint depicted in the media.
The target audience is straight women. Both times. We are, as far as I last checked, widely depicted in media.
AdoraBell I think OP meant in the specific media being enjoyed, meaning that women are rarely depicted in yaoi yet are the primary audience, and evangelical women are the primary audience for Amish romance but aren’t generally characters in them.
@@siriuslyconfused1 Definitely worded badly if that was the meaning.
Who ever really knows if a mis-read statement is poorly phrased or poorly interpreted, very chicken and egg. Maybe Op phrased it badly, or maybe your specific life experience influenced what you interpreted.
@@siriuslyconfused1 No, the OP worded it badly. the phrase "in the media" generally refers to all media, not just specific sub-genres. The phrase should have been in the medium. But I will agree that my specific life experience does mean that I assume that people think that yaoi is aimed at gay men.
Dom don't believe the assertion that the Amish don't read these things. I grew up with lots of Amish neighbors, and we had a bookmobile come down our road a couple times a month. Amish women love to read and they'd grab mystery and romance novels by the basket load. Literally. I don't recall if Amish Romances were a thing at the time, but they definitely stocked up on those cheesy romance novels. You know the ones with a ripped shirtless guy embracing a beauty in a skimpy red dress sort of stuff.
Great video though. I really like the Amish and being around them so much has definitely affected how I approach the world. I'm not surprised that a segment of the population romanticizes/fetishizes their way of life in fiction.
Imperiused -- his point was that an Amish reader will get the dead tree version, not the _audiobook_
I think it's not just for Evangelicals. They tend to be stocked in large suburb & city bookstores, so I think that fetishization if *simplicity* & being out in the coubtry is what's drawing in 9-5 women.
@@donsample1002 Oh, right, good point.
@@sarasamaletdin4574 I don't mean fetishize in a pornographic sense. Just a cultural sense. To make an idylic image of something.
@Goddess 18 Definitely Amish. Although like Dom said there is a lot of diversity in attitude between groups. In the community where I grew up, bikes weren't allowed for example. But go to another congregation five miles away and you'll see Amish kids riding bikes. That being said the Amish communities around my hometown tend to be more liberal with rules since they are not as isolated from us English/Yankees as some other communities tend to be. While they usually maintain rules where possible, special exemptions are made for, say, young men who need a cell phone for work purposes or my old neighbor who needs a breathing machine to survive.
6:15 Wikipedia tells me that "Pow-wowing" was a term used by English-speakers to describe the folk magic used by the Pennsylvania Dutch, which includes not just the Amish, but also german-speaking immigrants to the area in general, most of whom were Lutheran. The Pennsylvania Dutch didn't start calling it Pow-wowing until the turn of the 20th century: before that, they called it "Brauche" or "Braucherei".
And "Brauch" simply means traditional ritual, or custom. It's still used in German today, for example in sentences such as "(etwas tun) so wie es Brauch ist" - "(doing something) according to tradition", or "sich für alte Bräuche interessieren" - "having an interest in old customs / traditions". "Braucherei" would then imply the sum or total of these customs as an overarching or broader term, like the relation between the english words "scene" and "scenery". The ending -ry is closely related to the modern german -rei, in fact in older form of German the y is much more common.
And "Brauch" simply means traditional ritual, or custom. It's still used in German today, for example in sentences such as "(etwas tun) so wie es Brauch ist" - "(doing something) according to tradition", or "sich für alte Bräuche interessieren" - "having an interest in old customs / traditions". "Braucherei" would then imply the sum or total of these customs as an overarching or broader term, like the relation between the english words "scene" and "scenery". The ending -ry is closely related to the modern german -rei, in fact in older form of German the y is much more common.
That's so interesting!
Yeah I suspected it was anti native American racism on someone's part, but likely not the author's. Thanks for the context!
Silver Ravenwolf's books really delve into it.
Thank you Dom. I never knew that I needed to hear someone shout "Amish Punch!" when decking a thief wearing a Grffyndor shirt, but know I know I couldn't have lived without seeing it
I work at a bookstore in Canada and we now have a "Christian Fiction" section FILLED with these.....
Hilarious, because not all people who live like this are "Amish." In Canada I believe we have "Mennonites".
Dominic did you get Amish costumes just for this, or did you happen to already have some?
The Public want answers Noble
Honestly it's not that hard. Some black slacks, suspenders and a dress shirt is all you need for men's. Now the women's is different but Thrift shops are wonderful.
@@PhoenixAngel429 I'm pretty sure it was the women's clothes that the question was about and you may be near thrift shops that have Amish clothes but I know I'm not. There aren't any Amish anywhere near where I live.
@@MamaMOB Can't be to hard to find stuff with Halloween around the corner. The dress looked more to me like a Pilgrim/Thanksgiving costume.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought this
So the TL'DR is: "Honey read me a bedtime story."
I am okay with this.
OK can we just all agree that kid sized cross dressing Dom is the greatest thing !
Doms dress up multiple selves sketches are the greatest thing, hands down.
Mirjan Bouma it’s my second favourite one person playing multiple roles sketches on RUclips.
After Ryan George of course.
Mirjan Bouma it’s my second favourite one person playing multiple roles sketches on RUclips.
After Ryan George of course.
@@JustASammy12345 never heard of him!
Mirjan Bouma he’s a RUclipsr who does sketch comedy, where he play all the roles. Usually just a few minutes long, he’s relatively small but growing quickly.
He’s also a writer for the RUclips channel screenrant and despite the massive dislike for the channel people say that Ryan is the one redeeming quality of it, there he does pitch meetings, he plays the role of a greedy stupid executive and a psychotic writer and pitch different movies in the weirdest way possible.
They’re good, if you’re into stuff like sketch comedy he’s good.
Every time you said "HASHTAGNOTALLMEN GOODGUYBROCK", I felt a wave of healing energy pass through my body. 🤣😆
THIS IS A STICK UP. 😂
Ok, hear me out...
I want an "Amish Punch!" T-Shirt right now!!
Lmfao! I'd love to see how that plays out to anyone who hasn't seen this video. Might be taken a bit out of context...
😂😂😂😂😂!!!
Dom: I did this for Calluna.
Me: Awwwww 🤗
In a video about romance stories, Dom admitting that was the most romantic part. :)
Because the target audience is often Evangelical mom's these books are prime fodder for suburban book clubs, hence the discussion questions at the end of the book, they're meant to prompt group analysis of the book.
There's a new trend of books including discussion questions at the end of the book for when book clubs read them, this seems to be particularly true of Christian romance books.
That's the case for a LOT of Christian books, not just Romance ones.
They do (did?) a similar thing in children's books sometimes for teaching.
@@DisabledDragon they do for children's books, I forgot about that.
Now that I think about it, @Deborah Kelty, you're right. I'd forgotten that too, just had read a Christian romance recently and seen it.
Yes but it's not new, it's been happening for at least 25 years. Read a Wanda Brunsetter
I've seen discussion questions pop up when watching films too! Mostly ones with more adult rated titles. I think it's supposed to be a way for the parent to ask their kid what they thought about the material and so that they can have a discussion on the topics that the movie had.
Ulterior motive aside, I liked this episode because it gave me a peek into stories\books I would never be exposed to. I hope you will do more with these "non-conventional" stories.
Me too. I was wondering why these books to keep showing up in Audible
When I was in Basic and AIT, both of my chaplains had tiny libraries. Bc they were my chaplains, they were predominantly Christian fiction, including Christian romance. And I desperately needed books to read in my downtime. There's some not great tropes specific to Christian romance and I think you nailed why a lot of Christian romance does focus on the Amish - or at least what non-Amish folk think the Amish/Mennonite/anything that seems vaguely Amish life is about. I kinda preferred the Christian fantasy romances (oh yes, those do exist) that at least made up people and cultures instead but, uh, hey.
The point is I do kinda get why some folks gravitate to these. They're often safe. "All the problems were solved easily and/or by God," is exactly what some folks are looking for as comfort reading. It's like getting the magic sword and saving the world bc hey, it's the protag! Only with religion. You don't even have to be the chosen one, you just need faith.
Which is a lot of words to say I prob will pick it up on Audible, out of curiosity and to compare with others I've read if nothing else.
Also like a LOT of books have been coming out with basically study guides for the last chunk of years. I assume it's bc they're gearing towards being things read in book clubs, and trying to give ideas for discussion topics? I haven't read any Jodi Picoult in a while but she used to do that all the time. I thought it was really weird the first few times, but I'm assuming some folks get something out of it so hey.
darkgryphon42 you got to read fiction at Basic?! I had to burrow my battle buddy’s Nordic mythology book. He was a true blue Asatroian the book was (barely) allowed.
At AIT I found the library on base. I devoured sooooo much.
It's actually possible I'm misremembering and it was just the one chaplain in AIT - that was back in 2001 so it's been a while! 'Cause now you mention it I remember that being a thing. The chaplain in Basic and his wife also ran a weekly meeting on their own time for women who had past trauma that was getting kicked up again during Basic and he relaxed a lot of rules for those meetings. So it might be that it was just during quiet times at those meetings I was digging through whatever he had on the shelf.
darkgryphon42 sounds like an awesome chaplain and an awesome battalion to allow that.
@@CBSmith-js9yl What is an Asatroian?
Johanna Geisel it’s one of the terms I could find (but can’t find again for some reason) Odinism is the better term. Believing in the Nordic religion. Also under Heathenry. But that’s a blanket term for Germanic and Scandinavian religions.
“Bonnet rippers”
Hahaha...that’s really good!
"Amish PUNCH!"
I lost it at that moment.
Not nearly has exciting as a Falcon Punch, nor as likely to win an argument as the “I am a Man” Punch. 3/5 would throw again.
AmishDorf is just a worse falcon clone.
Hey Dom, my mother reads these books and you are correct that the first author routinely includes book club questions at the end of her work. I had no idea they carried over to the audio format, however, and find that completely fascinating.
(Three Years Later)
Dominic: "Well, I'm Amish now...somehow..."
Just wanted to point out, Pow-wow is a Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic tradition. While yes, the word is an Algonquian word, the practices are deeply rooted in Central and Eastern European folk lore and traditions, brought over by German speakers in the Trans-Atlantic migrations of the 17th and 18th centuries.
What stands out to me regarding this "witch" character, is that calling her a Powwower would be incorrect if she is not a Christian character. The most important piece of literature to the practitioners of Pow-wow is the Bible, and Christianity is central to the belief system.
someone certainly follows the Lore podcast
That's fascinating, thanks for sharing!
It's still messed up that they use an Algonquian word for their European folk magic.
Powwow is used by Native Americans to designate a gathering for the purpose of dance and socialization. It's widely used.
yyyyyyyyyea . . .
I'll admit, I like some Amish romance as a form of escapism. The problem, of course, is finding the authors that are able to respect the culture without fetishizing it or making it out to be the perfect way of life. I would recommend a full-on novel if you decide to read more of the genre, preferably by someone like Beverly Lewis. Her stories are less cheerful, but also more realistic. As for the therapy thing, the Amish do use modern medical facilities and acknowledge trauma.
What do you think about Wanda Brunstetter ?
@@aliciabell6688 Not one I'm as familiar with, but from what I have read by her, there was a decent level of quality.
@Mandi W Like any religion, there are a few problems and pros and cons to it. There is a bit of sexism, but the Amish absolutely detest violence. The creepy woman is definitely an outlier who needs to ne investigated by social services.
It sounds about as accurate as that Children of the Mountains special from a few years ago was about the area I live in. I.E., they mainly focused on the outliers and more extreme cases, as well as possibly making up a part or two for sensationalism.
I was hired to ghostwrite a short story for a novelist who specializes in this particular subgenre of romance. It's basically the literary equivalent of Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley for Evangelicals who want a "simple humble life and romance" without actually full-hog committing to the chauvinistic lifestyle. Was really fun researching how they live without power, though! Quite a bit of ingenuity has to go into a life off the grid, no matter who's doing it.
It's funny you opened with that joke because I came here from rewatching your Fifty Shades vids😹😹😹
i tried to read one of these & it went much deeper than i thought: it was a family dealing with the death of their oldest daughter who died (in childbirth?); the father was having a fall out & relating to his ‘heathen’ outcast brother because he couldn’t cope with the way the amish are suppose to handle their grief. the living daughter is determined (her mother recalls her ‘first determined steps at nine months old’) & has her own business, but, you know, it be marrying time.
As a American Librarian who lives a area decently populated with Amish I do have to say yes these books do horrifyingly well. I do not understand it and I do not understand why people need to slam on their brakes when driving so they can stop and take pictures of the buggy riding by.
I should also say this is not the worst thing stupid romance books wise. I have seen a steady rise in ww2 romance books lately and I find that far more disturbing personally.
WW2 Romances??? Please tell its not "He's a Nazi, but I love him and I can change him!" tropes...
A rise in what? Please tell me your joking
I’m not sure why this would be terribly surprising; wartime romance seems to always be popular (people relocating, sufficiently large stakes, scores of men stationed up in other people’s houses) I’d imagine most of them have plots with home romances and man leaves or European women falling for foreign soldiers who happen to be stationed nearby. It doesn’t seem terribly shocking to me but I know little.
@@maryhornsby9441 Nah, more of a Pulp throwback. Girl-archeoligist-resistance fighter-spy swept up in a save-the-allies plot with canoodling.
@@KattWithAnAtSign let's add you can go right the f*** back to the 1940s and find *contemporary* romances with The War as a backdrop. You know, Fall in Love to defeat the JapaNazis! Do it for yout country!
The questions at the end are a common thing in Evangelical Christian novels because in some circles you have to justify the benefit of any activity so explicitly including "study questions" for "Bible/book study" groups helps your audience to have a built in excuse for "reading frivolous romance novels" being "spiritually educational"... 🙄
Huh. That explains my newer copy of Madeleine L'Engle.
Horrendous
I would add that it’s not just Evangelical Christian novels. A lot of mainstream light fiction includes “study questions” at the end for book clubs as well. Not sure if this is a North American thing?
@@zuzu-0 This is very true, it's not just a Christian thing, but it is VERY common in Christian books for this reason. I agree it's more common for anything being marketed to book clubs as an aid to those ventures.
Honestly dont see what the problem is with reading some smut. Jesus never said " Thou shalt not commit read porn " in the bible
Therapist here!
Most of my clients are on medicaid. Their insurance covers therapy so they don't even have a co-pay.
For people without insurance my company has a scholarship program where interns can counsel them.
Therapy can be a lot more affordable than people think!
A question if you don’t mind, and if you do please simply treat this as if I’ve never spoken and don’t mind me as I mean no offense, do you have any sites or such that you could recommend for a person who needs therapy? I know a person who suffered from abuse and never got therapy because her mom didn’t care and my friend has no insurance and cannot afford it.
So to further explain the Amish obsession in Evangelical circles, there's been a couple decades push in a lot of Evangelical circles for "courtship culture" which goes even more traditional/conservative with the moral rules for romance (i.e. Finding a spouse) and a common refrain is "How will I ever find someone with the extremely restrictive potential pool of partners this limits me to?" And Amish romance novels respond with, "Well, it works for the Amish somehow..."
The other odd trend this collection brought up that I was unaware of before was the whole big age gap thing that is a glaring common thread among all these stories, but isn't really examined besides, "Don't worry, it's fine...", which is explained even better if you understand the underlying Evangelical history of "courtship culture" because if you have limited options in potential partners, you might need to expand your consideration to... older candidates. Which has even ickier connotations given the already problematic emphasis on patriarchal authority that "courtship culture" has... 😮
So that combined with it making it very easy to avoid any sort of "controversial topics" of modern society ends up being super appealing for its simplicity allowing it to mesh with the minutiae of differing Evangelical beliefs well enough to still have a wide audience among Evangelicals.
That said, I hadn't considered the broader underlying implications of it being safe for being "white" and "American" in addition to the "Christian" aspects I was familiar with, but I think that applies, but in the sense that it's something your average Evangelical doesn't even consciously consider... 🤔
"the Amish are doing okay!"
*Genetic defects due to inbreeding and high cases of sexual and child sexual abuse intensifies*
I remember hearing in school (I think) inbreeding got really bad in amish communities so they called in men from outside the communities to diversify the population a bit
@@gwendolynstata3775 Exactly what I thought- you read about the awful genetic conditions that only exist among the Amish & just... Cousin marriage is Not A Good Thing, & cousin mariage *repeated* over generations... I can't even.
@Charisma Girl this whole convo is about the amish, why the hell would you need to bring up jewish and muslim people here????
When you teased this book in the A Clockwork Orange episode I thought it was the basis of a Lost in Adaptation, the book’s film adaptation being some obscure Hallmark Channel movie
I'm pretty sure I've seen this hallmark movie.
Oh God let Dom review the Christamas Shoes
@@bar-1studios oh lord. Please!!!!!
@@bar-1studios From your lips to God's ears.
Amish women absolutely do read these! I used to work in a library near an Amish community and the ladies would check out literal armloads of them.
Didn't know I needed to see The Dom in drag, but I'm not disappointed.
You must be new here. That's like every other review for him. His milkshakes bring the boys to the yard often and with gusto.
The Brits are known for their drag comedy.
Something to know about the Amish. They don't fully commit to the life until they are adults. The kids are raised in the community but aren't expected to join the church 100% till after the wild summer. They're still fairly young adults at this point (baptisms into the religion in full happen around 16-23) and MAY come to regret the decision later in life, but there is at least the semblance of "we want you coming into this eyes wide open" entirely absent from most Christian groups in the US.
Yes, I can respect that so much more than some other religions. JWs spring to mind
I'm glad you seldom pass up the chance to cross-dress. I really love it when you do! Also, that bit about Jesus swiping right was hilarious!
I took an Amish studies class as part of my sociology minor in college & it was one of my favorite classes. Respectfully taught by a man who was raised by Amish relatives but remained an outsider, it was fascinating to hear the inner details presented without bias.
Me: *about to read a book.*
Dominic (The Dom) : *''Now I'll upload a new video.''*
Me: *"The book can wait."*
Re-watching this while in Quarantine in 2020, "But I swear to goodness in 2019 there so much worse shit going on.." Oh 2019, strange that I miss you now.
I must say, the message of "don't look for love, god will bring love into your life" is a lot more wholesome than I expected. Sure, it comes with the usual needless supernatural baggage, but in fairness not worrying about looking for love because it can always come into your life regardless is rather hopeful.
Often, the best way to get what you want is not to chase after it, but to change yourself in such a way that it comes to you.
Hey man, thought you should know; a TON of evangelical fiction (or fiction aimed at evangelicals) has discussion questions in it. Probably so that the evangelical women can all get together and make sure they have the same opinions.
Super weird subject matter for a video. I loved it! Way to support your gf while making good content along the way.
“In 2019 there is so much going on” ohhh if you only knew
That's the new "Better than Twilight" meme
6:19 Pow-wow is indeed the “PA Dutch” magical system and tradition. It is concerned chiefly with healing and protection. Usually charging for it is a no-no and will bring you bad luck.
I live in southcentral PA (specifically York County) where this heritage is a huge deal (it’s not exclusive to the Amish). I happen to have a copy of “The Lost Friend” which is a collection of Powwow spells and prayers and such. This system basically combines German folk magic and yes… indigenous “vibes”… with Christianity. The indigenous peoples in question here in PA are the Lenni Lenape or the larger Algonquins. The German settlers loved to name stuff using “their language” which was usually merely an approximation to “sound” Algonquin. They “borrowed” a lot from them and now you also have Appalachian Granny Folk Magic which is very similar and sometimes indistinguishable. And there’s always a tension with this; you’re bastardizing our Christian beliefs and you’re evil but please heal my family member and or protect us from evil but don’t tell anyone about it and thank you and I hate you…. 😂
It’s actually a fascinating topic I encourage anyone to explore. Pennsylvania and the surrounding regions are full of rich and interesting (sometimes morally questionable) history and such. 😊
Next free credit I will get it, and the fact you did this all to boost traffic to Calluna's VA career is such a sweet and lovely gesture!
"Amish Scooby Gang" was not something I expected to hear...
Let me recommend the yaoi Amish romance manga called Rumspringa no Joukei. 18+
Why would you let such cursed phrases pass your fingers
I'm.........confused.
What the hell it looks pretty cute
Uhh... what...? Pretty sure some of those words don't belong in the same sentence with each other...
@@Minam0 the art is very nice, I am not even joking in my recommendation XD
I mean, as soon as you like yaoi...
You went from being heavily dyslexic to a dedicated book reviewer. Now that's a fantastic character arc.
Dom listening to Amish romance is the video I didn't know I needed. Thank you!
I will only forgive the plug if we get more plugs from Calluna/Heather's books.
Not sure if anyone is interested to know this but: Deutsch and Dutch originate from the same Nethersaxon word duts/dutz which means something like "the people". While the Dutch stopped calling themselves by this word eventually, Dutch/Flemish merchants brought it to the English language were it's still used. Germans kept using it to describe themselves while English people used it for people from the Netherlands, so hence the confusion.
Jesus swipes right so you don't have to. That's going to be some Christian date sites motto isn't it?
Diarra Harris as a Christian I would love that to be Christian Mingles motto.
Hands down on of the best I've watched of your output, kudos for getting so emotional at the end !
Quick note from an American folklore nut about 6:03. I'm not sure if anyone's touched on this yet, but "Pow Wow", in the sense she's using it at least, is a form of religious faith-healing, traditionally seen in Pennsylvania German communities. Much like "Granny Magic", or Bracherais (forgive my spelling on that one), it's really not consider "magic" in most circles and definitely not in traditional Wicca (there could be some who tie it in, but from a historical perspective, they're different branches). If anything their practices tie super close to the bible, and have roots in a book called "The Long Lost Friend", by Johann George Hohmann.
Actual Pow Wow users are seen as healers, closer to doctors than actual witches, and are very much against witches as a whole. It sounds like the person didn't really know how important they are to some Penny-Dutch communities, because calling someone who's using Wiccan practices a "Pow-wower" is often times seen as an insult. (It's a romance book, not a history lesson, so I'm not calling the author out here, just saying it sounds like she wasn't informed)
I'm not going to deny that the use of the word Pow-wow is a little "yikes", but since Hohmann didn't give a reason for using the term, no one's sure if it's a reference to religious ceremonies of Indigenous Americans, or if the German immigrant got it from somewhere else. Jury's still out on that one.
Okay. Fun history/folklore chat over :)
AE McAuley so the sort of person that got burnt at the stake in the 1700 then.
Francesco Nicoletti They didn't do witch burning in America, that practice was restricted to Europe. Everyone in the Salem Witch trials was hanged or tortured or crushed to death, but not burned.
AE McAuley I really really enjoyed learning that. I would appreciate more research in shitty paperback romance novels.
@@cecilyerker does it really matter how you die if you're murdered in a horrible way?
AE McAuley Thanks for bringing this up! I was going to. Essentially, it is folk magic, but that’s not incompatible with Christianity...somehow.
4:31 that look from momma Dom towards her domling is pure gold. It's perfect mom-look.
"Jesus swipe right so you don't have to!"
I'M DYING
"Pennsylvania Dutch is actually a form of German, it got the name because people kept mispronouncing the word deutch".
That's the most American thing I've ever heard.
Now I'm remembering that story about how my German great-grandpa changed the family last name to Miller so it would sound more 'American'. We've lost track of what it was originally. Maybe it wasn't easily pronounce-able as well?
@@bugeyedmonster2 probably Müller. It's a really common last name in Germany. The letter ü is usually transcribed as ue when you don't have the option of using an ü (e.g. when using an American keyboard) but the ü sound doesn't exist in the english language and Müller means Miller.
@@annakilifa331 One of dad's cousins did research, and it wasn't Mueller. Great-grandad changed it to be more "American sounding" and because this was WWI and Germans were the "bad guys", and to prove their loyalty to the US. I'm given to understand (from what dad's cousin found out talking to an older relative, who has now passed on) that being of German ancestry sort of went out of style during the WWI, and a lot of folks changed their last names then.
I wish I had a good contact for this cousin of my dad's. I heard most of the story third-hand, and only talked to him once when I was much younger.
And it's funny because New York had an actual Dutch community.
@@bugeyedmonster2 Probably "Müller" as it is just one letter off, americans struggle with the ü and the name origin, being an old ass job, is pretty much the same.
And if not, kinda.funny that he chose Miller.
My family vacations in upstate NY and there's a significant Amish population in the area. While I can't say they're typical, there is some flexibility when it comes to technology. Many people hire them to do carpentry work (e.g. build decks/porches). They can't own power tools, but if you'll provide them they'll use them. They'll go to the gas station/min-mart to use a pay phone if they need to.
In Wisconsin some use phones in a specific office to receive business propsals.
Lived in Waterloo Region in the 80s and 90s, and there were often Amish people on the buses. Not point in hooking up the wagon to the horses for 2-3 people when you could take a bus.
I liked the reveal that this whole video was all just a piece of Domish Romance.
Not even mad at the SO plug.
this was interesting and funny.
Awh, I love that this was for your partner and also that you didn’t hid that. So sweet!
I will look into this heartfelt-ly (?) recommended reader and sacrifice one of my unused audible credits for her ;-)
By the way - I love the outtakes at the end :-)
I chuckle every time you say "#NotAllMenGoodGuyBrock" XD