This week, booklist, etc., etc.
1. On Saturday, I went and had lunch with frobisher at the Milwaukee Public Market. It was excellent.
2. Sunday, I discovered I was hitting a wall in Bring it On (Laura Anne Gilman), in that the SAME THINGS that had happened in the previous two books were happening in this one. And I suddenly hit a point where I was tired of the over-arcing plot GOING NOWHERE. No forward movement in TWO AND A HALF BOOKS. NONE. So I got annoyed and stopped reading. (say what you will about some of the fluffy crap I was reading--like Black Wings/Night/Howl, but at least THE PLOT MOVED in those)
Then meganbmoore was talking about Scandal at me, and I was bored. So I marathonned the episodes I hadn't seen (well, I saved the last two for Monday). And, yeah. Ridiculous, over-the-top, whatever. But it was still fun. Aside from the True Love of the President for Olivia Pope (maybe he's just jealous of her amazingness, idek).
3. This will be relevant to some members of my flist: thg_kink - a Hunger Games kink meme.
Also,
A multi-fandom, multi-ship place in the shade
And, it is Michael Trucco's birthday, so there is a 'Make Sam Happy'-fest goin' on. (icons, prompts, fics, gifs, fanmixes, etc.)
4. In other news, I'm getting really tired of rape being the go-to threat for any given female protagonist (it's especially prevalent in urban fantasy, though not limited to it). I'm aware rape sucks, but good grief, it's boring. Can't we move on and threaten women with other things? I'm pretty sure having your teeth drilled with no anesthetic is way more effective. At this point, I just roll my eyes at rape threats. But teeth squick me out.
I don't know if it's because there's a subconscious "rape fantasy is hot" thread to it all or what, but it's really annoying.
Also, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, I kind of miss the days when Buffy's tiny size was an asset to trick people into thinking her helpless. Most UF novels have tiny protagonists who are constantly going on about how awful it is that everyone out-classes them in height/weight, and how they'll never defeat larger opponents. And I'm like "WTF IS THIS." because it's FANTASY, people. Vampires, magic, demons and angels are AOK, but short women beating the shit out of tall, built dudes is COMPLETELY OUT? wtf. (and it's so often coupled with rape threats. So, again, rape fantasy? idek)
So far, I haven't found a single UF heroine taller than 5'4". As someone who is 5'6", this makes me sadface. It's harder to identify with the skinny hot protagonist when she's also shorter than me. Where are all the tall women hunting vampires, dammit?
5. What have I been reading?
A Misbegotten Match by Rita Boucher (re-read)
A Reckless Wager by Lois Menzel (re-read; ahoy the victim-blaming rapist was only following his 'instincts' mentality)
At Dagger's Drawn by Lois Menzel (re-read; better than ARW, but only because Caroline probably would shoot Philip if he threatened her)
The Viscount Takes a Wife by Marcy Stewart (this book is so awful and meandering, and I wanted to punch the 'hero' in the face a lot. I suppose it's not his fault he has about four different personalities that never mesh)
Black Wings by Christina Henry (kinda silly and ott, but while the 'romance' aspect is eye-roll-worthy, it's not the worst thing I've ever read. And the heroine consistently saves her own ass, even if she keeps passing out/getting injured and having to be healed)
Black Night by Christina Henry (it is like delicious id-crack wish-fulfillment fic. Just with not enough women, so it's not completely awesome. Also, rape. sigh.)
Black Howl by Christina Henry (still don't like the portrayal of women other than our heroine, keep pretending that JB is a chick. Laughing maniacally at the ending which is just ridiculous, WHAT)
Curse the Dark by Laura Anne Gilman (still decent uf, though sloooow assss mollasssessss plooottttt)
Ganymede by Cherie Priest (not as amazing as Dreadnought, but still good. Also did not contain rape threats)
The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee (I didn't want to like this book, quite a bit of the time. But it was compelling and entertaining enough to keep me reading. contained multiple rape threats. I spent 90% of the novel pretending the protagonists were Sam Anders and Kara Thrace [not because they really matched, mind. But because.])
Dark Descendant by Jenna Black (needs less rape and threats of rape, good grief)
6. What have I tried to read?
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - seemed to be more interested in whining and going on about how Horrible Life Was as opposed to telling a story. Got annoyed by the prose early on, never got better. Stopped after the prologue and the first chapter, skipped to the end. Oh, look, more murdered women and girls. Yay.
Bloodlands by Christine Cody - prose style was difficult (borderline FRAKKING ANNOYING, tbh) to follow, and while the prologue was all right, flipping through the rest of the book made me want to roll my eyes and throw it across the room at the same time. Also, did I mention the prose was annoying to decipher? Yeah.
Night Child by Jes Battis - supernatural crimes unit! This should be so up my alley. Instead, the first chapter contains at least three conversations that make no sense because all the dialogue is attributed to one person. I don't know if that's an editing mistake or what. I also didn't care about what was going on, the prose didn't pull me in (which, Dark Descendant is not that great a book, but by god, the prose was interesting enough to make me read it all the way through). And I wanted to like this book. I love the concepts behind it! Cop show with magic! (ask me again if I would have watched Ron's silly magic show, despite my dislike of Ron's plot stylings. Then again, TRICIA AS A NECROMANCER, I WAS ALREADY SOLD)
7. In job-hunt news: still looking. Had an exam for a position earlier in the week and I'm on their list now. Whatever that means.
2. Sunday, I discovered I was hitting a wall in Bring it On (Laura Anne Gilman), in that the SAME THINGS that had happened in the previous two books were happening in this one. And I suddenly hit a point where I was tired of the over-arcing plot GOING NOWHERE. No forward movement in TWO AND A HALF BOOKS. NONE. So I got annoyed and stopped reading. (say what you will about some of the fluffy crap I was reading--like Black Wings/Night/Howl, but at least THE PLOT MOVED in those)
Then meganbmoore was talking about Scandal at me, and I was bored. So I marathonned the episodes I hadn't seen (well, I saved the last two for Monday). And, yeah. Ridiculous, over-the-top, whatever. But it was still fun. Aside from the True Love of the President for Olivia Pope (maybe he's just jealous of her amazingness, idek).
3. This will be relevant to some members of my flist: thg_kink - a Hunger Games kink meme.
Also,
A multi-fandom, multi-ship place in the shade
And, it is Michael Trucco's birthday, so there is a 'Make Sam Happy'-fest goin' on. (icons, prompts, fics, gifs, fanmixes, etc.)
4. In other news, I'm getting really tired of rape being the go-to threat for any given female protagonist (it's especially prevalent in urban fantasy, though not limited to it). I'm aware rape sucks, but good grief, it's boring. Can't we move on and threaten women with other things? I'm pretty sure having your teeth drilled with no anesthetic is way more effective. At this point, I just roll my eyes at rape threats. But teeth squick me out.
I don't know if it's because there's a subconscious "rape fantasy is hot" thread to it all or what, but it's really annoying.
Also, and I cannot believe I'm saying this, I kind of miss the days when Buffy's tiny size was an asset to trick people into thinking her helpless. Most UF novels have tiny protagonists who are constantly going on about how awful it is that everyone out-classes them in height/weight, and how they'll never defeat larger opponents. And I'm like "WTF IS THIS." because it's FANTASY, people. Vampires, magic, demons and angels are AOK, but short women beating the shit out of tall, built dudes is COMPLETELY OUT? wtf. (and it's so often coupled with rape threats. So, again, rape fantasy? idek)
So far, I haven't found a single UF heroine taller than 5'4". As someone who is 5'6", this makes me sadface. It's harder to identify with the skinny hot protagonist when she's also shorter than me. Where are all the tall women hunting vampires, dammit?
5. What have I been reading?
A Misbegotten Match by Rita Boucher (re-read)
A Reckless Wager by Lois Menzel (re-read; ahoy the victim-blaming rapist was only following his 'instincts' mentality)
At Dagger's Drawn by Lois Menzel (re-read; better than ARW, but only because Caroline probably would shoot Philip if he threatened her)
The Viscount Takes a Wife by Marcy Stewart (this book is so awful and meandering, and I wanted to punch the 'hero' in the face a lot. I suppose it's not his fault he has about four different personalities that never mesh)
Black Wings by Christina Henry (kinda silly and ott, but while the 'romance' aspect is eye-roll-worthy, it's not the worst thing I've ever read. And the heroine consistently saves her own ass, even if she keeps passing out/getting injured and having to be healed)
Black Night by Christina Henry (it is like delicious id-crack wish-fulfillment fic. Just with not enough women, so it's not completely awesome. Also, rape. sigh.)
Black Howl by Christina Henry (still don't like the portrayal of women other than our heroine, keep pretending that JB is a chick. Laughing maniacally at the ending which is just ridiculous, WHAT)
Curse the Dark by Laura Anne Gilman (still decent uf, though sloooow assss mollasssessss plooottttt)
Ganymede by Cherie Priest (not as amazing as Dreadnought, but still good. Also did not contain rape threats)
The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee (I didn't want to like this book, quite a bit of the time. But it was compelling and entertaining enough to keep me reading. contained multiple rape threats. I spent 90% of the novel pretending the protagonists were Sam Anders and Kara Thrace [not because they really matched, mind. But because.])
Dark Descendant by Jenna Black (needs less rape and threats of rape, good grief)
6. What have I tried to read?
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire - seemed to be more interested in whining and going on about how Horrible Life Was as opposed to telling a story. Got annoyed by the prose early on, never got better. Stopped after the prologue and the first chapter, skipped to the end. Oh, look, more murdered women and girls. Yay.
Bloodlands by Christine Cody - prose style was difficult (borderline FRAKKING ANNOYING, tbh) to follow, and while the prologue was all right, flipping through the rest of the book made me want to roll my eyes and throw it across the room at the same time. Also, did I mention the prose was annoying to decipher? Yeah.
Night Child by Jes Battis - supernatural crimes unit! This should be so up my alley. Instead, the first chapter contains at least three conversations that make no sense because all the dialogue is attributed to one person. I don't know if that's an editing mistake or what. I also didn't care about what was going on, the prose didn't pull me in (which, Dark Descendant is not that great a book, but by god, the prose was interesting enough to make me read it all the way through). And I wanted to like this book. I love the concepts behind it! Cop show with magic! (ask me again if I would have watched Ron's silly magic show, despite my dislike of Ron's plot stylings. Then again, TRICIA AS A NECROMANCER, I WAS ALREADY SOLD)
7. In job-hunt news: still looking. Had an exam for a position earlier in the week and I'm on their list now. Whatever that means.