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Oops, it's been 4 months since I last updated y'all on what I've been reading/watching. Since it's been so long since I've read most of these books, here are some brief thoughts:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Saga by Brian Vaughn (vol. 1 and 2)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1)
Ya'll get to read my thoughts on Divergent out of the cut since it's especially timely with the release of the movie. I picked it up because I was hearing a lot about the sex/rape scene, and I wanted to read/see it for myself.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, but I will watch the movie. I think this book may very well be well-suited to be a movie, but I'm a little apprehensive about how they'll handle Tris' fears since a lot of that is internal, and even in the book I find Tris' evaluations of her fears suspect. (Also Shailene Woodley is pretty, so there's that too. :P)
Let's start with the things I disliked:
That said, I don't buy into the idea that Tris' fear is actually sex. Rather, it's her feelings of powerlessness/out of control-ness that happen to occur around. A small difference, but I think it's an important one to make. I don't buy into her fear of intimacy -- perhaps out of personal reasons, but she seems uncomfortable not afraid of physical affection because she's unused to it. Her fear of helplessness though are pretty present throughout.
On the one hand I like that Tris negotiates the "sex" scene. On the other... rape itself seems really absent to me in the book, which seems very very odd to me since rape isn't about sex, it's about control/power. So while I'm glad we didn't have a torture porn/rape scene involving Tris, I also find its oversight odd.
Originally posted on DW with
comments.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- I think it was on the Daily Dot that I read about this, but apparently most critics dismiss Natasha as Eye Candy? Which makes no sense to me since IMO she has the most character growth going on in this whole movie. Like Falcon gets introduced, Steve is angsting, but Natasha is the one at a crossroads of choosing who she will be.
- That said, I am not a Scar Jo fan in general, but I actually liked her in this.
- Did not realize that was Peggy, so I was confused for awhile.
- The Steve & Bucky relationship here hits a lot of my reader kinks, so that made me very pleased. But I still want Peggy/Steve/Bucky OT3ness dammit.
- Because I already knew who the Winter Soldier was, I definitely cackled at inappropriate moments.
- Why people leave at the beginning of Marvel credits baffles me. Like, it's only been 6 movies, there're always clips at the end!
- That said I am not actually a hardcore Marvel fan so I have no clue what the trailer was about unless we're heading towards an X-Men/Avengers crossover?
- On a somewhat related note: I don't like that I have to watch Agents of SHIELD to tie up loose ends or whatever. SHIELD feels just like a massive tie-in rather than an independent series to me. Then again, I never watched past ep 3 or so.
- If I wasn't watching this with a slashy lens, I think I would be an even more confused viewer than I actually am.
- I think I've mentioned this elsewhere, but Hannibal is feeling less and less mainstream to me (well, minus the women in fridges. :p). Like, the weird camera tricks, the weird music -- I feel like I'm watching a modern dance piece or something.
- Visually the show is just so rich though, so I do like that. I'm really interested in the way Will now has 2 looks just like Hannibal does in terms of hair and/or glasses.
- Slightly peeved at how quickly the fandom rage about Beverly died out. Like, the field in which I grow my fucks about Hannibal/Alanna is barren, so I was pissed at how that seemed to soothe over fandom.
- SHIT GOT REAL
- SO REAL
- SO MANY FEELINGS
- ajfdlk;asjfdklas;jfkdsal;fjdsakl;fjdaksl;jk!!!1111111111
- I found Sherlock's actions towards Moran really OOC in S1, but now I see what they're doing, I'm intrigued.
- While cruising Tumblr I saw some people were displeased with the way Joan & Sherlock have been slowly drifting. But I actually like it, since it involves Sherlock being called out for the shitty things he does.
- One of those shitty things being how Joan's situation becomes all about Sherlock's wants and needs.
- (People are also still upset at Joan being a woman because they think it's to make her a love interest for Sherlock ugh.)
- I read the comment about "love" as within a non-romantic context though. We need more of non-platonic love in the world.
- JLM and Rhys Ifans were so great in this episode.
- Lucy Liu directing!!!!
- NGL, I want Joan to call out Sherlock out on all his BS in this episode, and he winds up kneeling at her feet. YES, I still want all the nonsexual kink between them. C'mon fandom, churn this shit out!
- I always forget Tatiana Maslany is just one person, it's that good.
- IDK the show is just so slick and suspenseful it just works for me. To the point I can ignore that the story would make more sense with a WOC as a lead. (WOC as protag would make more sense considering science's treatment of WOC historically and currently)
- I dig me some ProClone, but Helena is still my fave.
Saga by Brian Vaughn (vol. 1 and 2)
- So the Texan got me into this, and I am upset that as soon as I get vol. 3 I will be caught up.
- I don't usually read comics, and when I do, it's manga, but I dig this series.
- The art's nice, and I like the relationship between the parents.
- I am also very intrigued by the robot people with TV heads who still for some reason procreate through heterosexual sex. Like, what is the logic behind that? You're robots in space, you still need to do that?
- Solid book. Got me interested enough in Ames' stuff to continue checking her stuff out.
- Also, an Asian leading man!
- I may have already wrote about this?
- The flap is misleading in what the book's about. It makes it sounds like our Heroine is a scientist going into the Wild, but that's not how it is at all. She's part of the people (of color of course) left behind in the fever stricken south.
- I would really like this to be a sequel following the baby girl told by secondary characters.
- Will not be reading more of the author or series.
- Parts of the book were just rough for me, like I guess it's in media res, but i just felt lost at times.
- ILU Ilona Andrews and that's all I have to say.
- Usually reading any new Obernewtyn book is like settling into a good blanket. No matter how long has passed, I just fall right back into it. Sadly, this was the first time it didn't happen for me.
- The book has a very slow beginning. Like, the first half of the 1000 page book is slice of life and quite honestly bored me.
- But when things picked up they picked up and ajfdkaslfjkas;lf j that cliffhanger.
- Man is Rushton a woobie or what? XD
- NEED BOOK 7.
- A black woman on the cover!! What sorcery is this!
- I'm a bit bummed the series doesn't follow our Heroine, because I really liked her.
- But I will check out the rest of the series.
- I would describe the book as a legal thriller fantasy novel if that makes any sense.
- I really liked the smoking priest.
- Solid book. Way better than the last thriller I read, which was Silence of the Lambs which I thought was terrible.
- It's interesting reading the book after watching both movie adaptations.
- I might read the rest of the books if I'm in the mood for a palate cleanser.
- It's a novella/short story, which is a shame because I feel this would make a great novel.
- Would love to have more of the Heroine's POV.
- I finally stuck it out and read this. Did not like it at all.
- Which is a shame since the whole series is something that interests me buttttt I disliked this so much I'm going to steer clear of Cashore.
- I think Joey Hill really shines in writing contemporary (kinky) erotic romance, so I was ecstatic to see the latest Nature of Desire book was out.
- Not my fave of the series, but it was great to see Marguerite again.
- The Male Love Interest... I wanted to read more of his POV, or I guess, his character growth was the least developed for me even though it's the crux of the book.
- I did enjoy that Lidia is not the All Knowing Domme Who Has No Character Growth to Make Because She is Perfect Already.
- On the one hand: Yay Laurenston consistently writes mixed-race heroines! This time we get a half-Chinese half-Polish leading lady!
- On the other hand, this book falls into that category of Weird But Endearing Heroine that falls flat for me. Something about her just doesn't feel right to me. As in, she doesn't feel like a real person to me.
- As a result, will not be finishing this.
- So I really liked Their Virgin Princess enough to keep my eye on the series. So I've been waiting for another book whose premise interests me, which this one does! Hits a similar reading kink as CATWS.
- Unfortunately this book is pretty weak. :/ The excerpt is almost identical to Their Virgin Princess' excerpt. Also, the leading men feel like cardboard cutouts.
- Will not be finishing.
- I've read the first 2 chapters of Shield of Winter on her newsletter, and am not really jazzed about it. I'm also apprehensive about the upcoming short story considering how much I was disappointed with her last short story.
- That said, I'll probably check out both, especially since her short story is being published in an anthology with Ilona Andrews' short story about Jim and Dali. (!!!)
- (Now Dali is how you pull off an Offbeat Female Lead!)
- I am for the first time awaiting an Archangel release though! I really enjoyed the short story about Ashwini and Janvier I read, and I am excited to read their full-length novel! (Also Ashwini isn't whitewashed on the cover!!!)
Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1)
Ya'll get to read my thoughts on Divergent out of the cut since it's especially timely with the release of the movie. I picked it up because I was hearing a lot about the sex/rape scene, and I wanted to read/see it for myself.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, but I will watch the movie. I think this book may very well be well-suited to be a movie, but I'm a little apprehensive about how they'll handle Tris' fears since a lot of that is internal, and even in the book I find Tris' evaluations of her fears suspect. (Also Shailene Woodley is pretty, so there's that too. :P)
Let's start with the things I disliked:
- The writing itself is pretty bland. I could've written better. All the sentences start with "I" or "he", so there's very little sentence variation, which can be pretty boring.
- The romance feels entirely forced to me.
- The ~attraction~ is eye-roll worthy.
- The world-building makes no sense to me, particularly the way the Sorting Hat Choosing Ceremony works. So that's a pretty big flaw to me if I can't buy into the central premise of your story. :/
That said, I don't buy into the idea that Tris' fear is actually sex. Rather, it's her feelings of powerlessness/out of control-ness that happen to occur around. A small difference, but I think it's an important one to make. I don't buy into her fear of intimacy -- perhaps out of personal reasons, but she seems uncomfortable not afraid of physical affection because she's unused to it. Her fear of helplessness though are pretty present throughout.
On the one hand I like that Tris negotiates the "sex" scene. On the other... rape itself seems really absent to me in the book, which seems very very odd to me since rape isn't about sex, it's about control/power. So while I'm glad we didn't have a torture porn/rape scene involving Tris, I also find its oversight odd.
Originally posted on DW with
comments.