(no subject)
Haha. Why yes, I do in fact feel most at home on alien worlds.
Am currently embedded in two fabulous sci-fi novels (The Birthday of the World by Ursula K. Le Guin and Dune Messiah [which I'm rereading for the first time since I was eight]...if you don't know who that is by, you have serious issues that must be remedied immediately). It's been a long time since I was so into sci-fi...I think I read a couple high fantasy and one weird sci-fi (about gargoyles and...sentient robots...and...alchemy...it was really weird) during the school year, but not much else. And my freshman year, even less. It's been a sad case of deprivation for the girl who lived and breathed this stuff for almost a decade. It feels like reawakening little bits of myself that have been sleeping a long time. (No, I'm not going to make a crack about the David Lynch movie about that. Really, I'm not. "Father!!! *dramatic hand gestures at the moon* The sleeper!! must!! awaken!!!" *facepalm* Couldn't resist.) Bits that were practically the center and base of my childhood image/opinion of myself as a good/intelligent/whole/independent person.
The Birthday of the World is a great collection of interrelated short stories. Although I admit I was rather skeptical of The Left Hand of Darkness when I read it, um, six years ago?, these more recent semi-spin-off stories are fabulous. Besides, I'm always more curious about how sexuality might otherwise play into human society rather than "it doesn't, because they're sexless most of the time." Her parodies of Earth sexism are wonderful ("Men must be protected from education!" in one memorable society) while still retaining an empathetic earnestness that satire doesn't possess. Plus, her more microfocused studies of relationships are by far the best. My personal favorite was the everyone-is-bisexual (pretty much, a few people were straight and this was considered weird and not talked about; plus, there were references some common stereotypes of why people "turn" gay/lesbian, and inverted it to apply to being straight) society where marriages/stable households consisted of four people, two men and two women. Wow, the dynamics of power in relationships like that....I would have a field day. Plus, while not a walk in the park, living on that world would definitely not be as horrible as some of her other places. Le Guin's somewhat blunt (but very poetic) storytelling style fits in beautifully with the cultures she creates. ([Because I can never shut up about this manga, grr.] The topic of sexuality and society is one of the reasons why I love Loveless. It sets up an implicit societal tension about sexuality, and then subtly challenges and subverts it.)
Dune Messiah is way better now than it was when I was eight. Dune was wonderful even at age seven, and it's kind of never left me since, but I don't think I had the patience to work out the plot subtleties or world-weariness of the characters of its sequel. With my background as an (occasionally very frustrated) history major, it's also great to consider Frank Herbert's complex views on history vs. myth, power, and social and religious movements. I also have a theory that overexposure to Dune's discussion of Bene Gesserit teachings of careful analysis of minute facial expressions, body language, and vocal inflections is one of the reasons why I'm so overly analytical with myself and (some specific) other people. Besides, it's great paranoia fuel. Plans within plans...
Okay, enough babbling. Yikes, I need to pack...maybe when I get back my room will have packed itself in my absence?
Am currently embedded in two fabulous sci-fi novels (The Birthday of the World by Ursula K. Le Guin and Dune Messiah [which I'm rereading for the first time since I was eight]...if you don't know who that is by, you have serious issues that must be remedied immediately). It's been a long time since I was so into sci-fi...I think I read a couple high fantasy and one weird sci-fi (about gargoyles and...sentient robots...and...alchemy...it was really weird) during the school year, but not much else. And my freshman year, even less. It's been a sad case of deprivation for the girl who lived and breathed this stuff for almost a decade. It feels like reawakening little bits of myself that have been sleeping a long time. (No, I'm not going to make a crack about the David Lynch movie about that. Really, I'm not. "Father!!! *dramatic hand gestures at the moon* The sleeper!! must!! awaken!!!" *facepalm* Couldn't resist.) Bits that were practically the center and base of my childhood image/opinion of myself as a good/intelligent/whole/independent person.
The Birthday of the World is a great collection of interrelated short stories. Although I admit I was rather skeptical of The Left Hand of Darkness when I read it, um, six years ago?, these more recent semi-spin-off stories are fabulous. Besides, I'm always more curious about how sexuality might otherwise play into human society rather than "it doesn't, because they're sexless most of the time." Her parodies of Earth sexism are wonderful ("Men must be protected from education!" in one memorable society) while still retaining an empathetic earnestness that satire doesn't possess. Plus, her more microfocused studies of relationships are by far the best. My personal favorite was the everyone-is-bisexual (pretty much, a few people were straight and this was considered weird and not talked about; plus, there were references some common stereotypes of why people "turn" gay/lesbian, and inverted it to apply to being straight) society where marriages/stable households consisted of four people, two men and two women. Wow, the dynamics of power in relationships like that....I would have a field day. Plus, while not a walk in the park, living on that world would definitely not be as horrible as some of her other places. Le Guin's somewhat blunt (but very poetic) storytelling style fits in beautifully with the cultures she creates. ([Because I can never shut up about this manga, grr.] The topic of sexuality and society is one of the reasons why I love Loveless. It sets up an implicit societal tension about sexuality, and then subtly challenges and subverts it.)
Dune Messiah is way better now than it was when I was eight. Dune was wonderful even at age seven, and it's kind of never left me since, but I don't think I had the patience to work out the plot subtleties or world-weariness of the characters of its sequel. With my background as an (occasionally very frustrated) history major, it's also great to consider Frank Herbert's complex views on history vs. myth, power, and social and religious movements. I also have a theory that overexposure to Dune's discussion of Bene Gesserit teachings of careful analysis of minute facial expressions, body language, and vocal inflections is one of the reasons why I'm so overly analytical with myself and (some specific) other people. Besides, it's great paranoia fuel. Plans within plans...
Okay, enough babbling. Yikes, I need to pack...maybe when I get back my room will have packed itself in my absence?