Trip!... and 11/50
The University of Southern California has firmed up their funding, so I am officially accepted. To top it off, they've invited me to come visit (plane and hotel covered, possibly meals as well). The catch? I was invited a few days ago, and I'm going... this Wednesday. That's a fast turnover, for me. I like to have some time to plan things, mull them over. On the other hand, two and a half days in Los Angeles. Who's going to turn that down?
Yeah, so, while I was leaning toward U. Oregon a week or two ago, now I'm leaning toward USC. They offered me more money, and I think it works out to more take-home pay even after adjusting for a higher cost of living. (Still not sure about that, but I've got a teeny-tiny bit of time left to double check.) The particularly iffy point is that Oregon seems to have more faculty who work a bit closer to what I do than USC does. Having supportive faculty who know what you're doing is crazy important. BUT, USC has strong film/media studies departments, which I would love to have access to. And, both schools are supportive of the multi-disciplinary approach, which is what I take, and I think that they would consequently be flexible about me writing papers that aren't exactly on a given course's topic.
Anyway, I'm still thinking about it, and most likely will continue going back and forth until the last minute, so let's talk about how I've been avoiding thinking about this:
11. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
This book is a great reminder to be careful what you wish for. I've been wanting Hamilton to chill on the supernatural sex thing for a few years now, and she did. Thing is, I wanted her to lay off the sex so that she could return to the neat supernatural mysteries that she was writing before, and she didn't, exactly.
This book wasn't horrible; I went through it pretty quickly, and it was not the succession of sex scenes that her more recent Anita Blake books have been. The writing was sloppy though. There was a lot of movement by the characters in this one (and a huge cast), and Hamilton often forgot to include hints that, for example, character A followed character B to the kitchen. We're just suddenly presented with character A's thoughts about a chair in the kitchen, which made me stop reading and flip back a bit to see if I had missed something several times.
Aside from the writing, the big problem that I have is just that the whole book reads like a Mary Sue's inner dialogue as she goes about her day. The heroine acts like a jerk, but it's because she's trying to save lives, and the person she's being a jerk to just doesn't understand that! She's moody, because the two most dangerous beings on the entire planet (plus one or two other, less dangerous beings) are metaphysically fighting over her! And god forbid any of the people she's treating like dirt try a subtle rebuke, because she just doesn't need it right now! I mean, seriously, who cares? Anita Blake used to be a really cool character, but now she's supposed to be crazy-powerful (but can't take care of herself), totally practical (except about her love life, which is taking over the rest of her life), very professional (yet every new person she meets thinks she's a slut, and is too unprofessional to fake otherwise)...
It saddens me. Blake was a cool character. But now everyone she meets is written to insult her because she's a slut - and in a seriously childish manner, at best. Most of the characters are male, and they either want to sleep with her, blame her for something that is clearly not her fault or are scared to sleep with her in case she takes over their minds. And female characters never like her - one or two try to use her, but apparently Hamilton thinks every single woman on the planet simply couldn't deal with meeting a woman as competent and promiscuous as she's made Anita Blake out to be. It feels like the book insults both men and women, all to make Anita Blake seem great. But she seems less and less great all the time. This past book was a let down. I think I may finally give up reading the Anita Blake series.
Yeah, so, while I was leaning toward U. Oregon a week or two ago, now I'm leaning toward USC. They offered me more money, and I think it works out to more take-home pay even after adjusting for a higher cost of living. (Still not sure about that, but I've got a teeny-tiny bit of time left to double check.) The particularly iffy point is that Oregon seems to have more faculty who work a bit closer to what I do than USC does. Having supportive faculty who know what you're doing is crazy important. BUT, USC has strong film/media studies departments, which I would love to have access to. And, both schools are supportive of the multi-disciplinary approach, which is what I take, and I think that they would consequently be flexible about me writing papers that aren't exactly on a given course's topic.
Anyway, I'm still thinking about it, and most likely will continue going back and forth until the last minute, so let's talk about how I've been avoiding thinking about this:
11. Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton
This book is a great reminder to be careful what you wish for. I've been wanting Hamilton to chill on the supernatural sex thing for a few years now, and she did. Thing is, I wanted her to lay off the sex so that she could return to the neat supernatural mysteries that she was writing before, and she didn't, exactly.
This book wasn't horrible; I went through it pretty quickly, and it was not the succession of sex scenes that her more recent Anita Blake books have been. The writing was sloppy though. There was a lot of movement by the characters in this one (and a huge cast), and Hamilton often forgot to include hints that, for example, character A followed character B to the kitchen. We're just suddenly presented with character A's thoughts about a chair in the kitchen, which made me stop reading and flip back a bit to see if I had missed something several times.
Aside from the writing, the big problem that I have is just that the whole book reads like a Mary Sue's inner dialogue as she goes about her day. The heroine acts like a jerk, but it's because she's trying to save lives, and the person she's being a jerk to just doesn't understand that! She's moody, because the two most dangerous beings on the entire planet (plus one or two other, less dangerous beings) are metaphysically fighting over her! And god forbid any of the people she's treating like dirt try a subtle rebuke, because she just doesn't need it right now! I mean, seriously, who cares? Anita Blake used to be a really cool character, but now she's supposed to be crazy-powerful (but can't take care of herself), totally practical (except about her love life, which is taking over the rest of her life), very professional (yet every new person she meets thinks she's a slut, and is too unprofessional to fake otherwise)...
It saddens me. Blake was a cool character. But now everyone she meets is written to insult her because she's a slut - and in a seriously childish manner, at best. Most of the characters are male, and they either want to sleep with her, blame her for something that is clearly not her fault or are scared to sleep with her in case she takes over their minds. And female characters never like her - one or two try to use her, but apparently Hamilton thinks every single woman on the planet simply couldn't deal with meeting a woman as competent and promiscuous as she's made Anita Blake out to be. It feels like the book insults both men and women, all to make Anita Blake seem great. But she seems less and less great all the time. This past book was a let down. I think I may finally give up reading the Anita Blake series.